With each passing day, it's becoming more unlikely that All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard will return to the lineup this season.
Count teammate Manu Ginobili among those who think Leonard is done after playing in only nine games during the current campaign.
"He's not coming back," Ginobili said Wednesday morning after the team's shootaround. "For me, he's not coming back because it's not helping (to think he is returning). We fell for it a week ago again. I guess you guys (media) made us fall for it.
"But, as I said maybe a month ago. I don't know when it was. We've got to think that he's not coming back, that we are who we are and that we've got to fight without him. That (mindset) shouldn't be changing. At least, until he's ready for the jump ball."
Leonard, 26, has struggled to overcome tendinopathy in his right quadriceps since before the start of training camp. He missed the Spurs' first 27 games of the season before making his debut Dec. 12, playing for a month before he was shut down again. He hasn't appeared in a game since then.
Leonard told reporters March 7 that he could return to the lineup “soon,” although he didn’t give a target date. But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich poured cold water on speculation that Leonard's return this season is imminent, saying Leonard still hadn't been cleared to play by his doctors.
In his seventh season with San Antonio, Leonard averaged 16.2 points. 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in the nine games he played.
Leonard will miss his 63rd game of the season Wednesday night when the Spurs (41-30) host the Washington Wizards (40-30).
The Silver and Black had their shootaround at the AT&T Center after having their team photo taken Wednesday morning. Ginobili chuckled when he was asked how nice it was to see Leonard back in uniform as he joined his teammates at midcourt for the photo.
"It was very brief but good to see him around," Ginobili said.
The Spurs, Ginobili said, have tried to keep Leonard in the loop, even though he doesn't practice with the teammates and has continued his rehabilitation process apart from the team, for the most part, since his injury was disclosed Sept. 30.
"He's out there. He's with us," Ginobili said. "It's hard when you don't practice with a team. The bulk of the camaraderie is pregame, postgame and halftimes, and when you're going through adversity or some trouble. He's not with us most of the time, so it's hard. I've been in that situation. Not for so long, but for a month and a half.
"It's hard. Sometimes you feel like an alien to the core group, and you've got to fight through it, make an effort to still be around and be part of the everyday topics, and the good things, the bad things. You've got to make an effort."
Ginobili said he tried to remain engaged with his teammates when he was sidelined for any length of time.
"Tried to stay involved, tried to talk to the guys, different groups and stay a little bit later after practice to see what's going on in the locker room," Ginobili said. "It doesn't come as natural as when you are playing and when you struggle and when Pop shows a video or when he yells at you.
"Even in those situations, you support each other. It's hard when he's barely been with us in the whole season, maybe a month. So it's a bad situation."
Every player has a different personality, of course, and that applies to how they handle injuries.
"For him, it's a little harder because he's not that outspoken," Ginobili said. "He's just a hard worker and a focused individual on his game, his weaknesses, and strengths, so I assume it's a little harder for him. But hard to tell when he's an introvert."
