The National Basketball Association (NBA) trade deadline is creeping up as Feb. 8 is almost upon us, and it seems that the San Antonio Spurs star player, small forward Kawhi Leonard has been rumored to be interested in leaving the team. It appears that Leonard has been feeling discontent on the way that he is being treated by the staff of the Spurs, which is why he wanst out of the organization.
Although the San Antonio Spurs are renowned for keeping a cohesive and cooperative team with very little on and off-court issues, Leonard has been rumored to have some disagreements with the coaching staff of the Spurs. This apparently started when Leonard was sidelined previously this season due to a quad injury in the leg, which has put him in a position where he can't play for an indefinite period of time.
Additionally, Leonard has been feeling that his needs have not been met by both Gregg Popovich, who is the team's head coach, and RC Buford, the team's general manager. Leonard's camp have expressed feelings of lack of synchronicity and communication between the star player and the organization, which could be the reason behind Leonard's potential exit from the Spurs.
However, San Antonio is known for keeping a healthy relationship with their star players over the years, which is something that they will have to employ if they are interested in keeping Leonard on their team. Recently, Leonard's injury has proven to be quite a challenge since he missed most of the games for the regular season of the NBA. Fortunately, even in Leonard's absence, the Spurs are still comfortably sitting on 3rd overall in the Western Conference.
Other rumors suggest that Leonard may feel that not enough effort is being put into acquiring the necessary talent in order for the Spurs to become a true championship-calibre team. Popovich addressed these rumors, stating that "nobody wants to come back more than Kawhi," which means that perhaps the rumors of Leonard's desire to leave the Spurs may be false.
Popovich also stated that like any player worth his salt, Leonard only means to evaluate his other options, and that all these speculations made by the media are "silly."
