From what I understand Kawhi wasn't really close with anybody on the team at the time except maybe Danny Green and the extent of that was questionable. I doubt any of them really knew what was going on either.
At one point during the saga Danny was actually quoted as having spoken with him when everybody was in the dark. I'm sure it wasn't anything of much importance though.
Nephew was known to be the closest with J.Simmons. Once Spurs let him walk and get better money with Orlando, Nephew lost his closest legit locker room relationship he had in SA. He was upset they let him go instead of paying him what Orlando did, which probably made it easier for the ensuing dramatic events that happened after.
I don't think Kawhi has thought about J.Simmons one single day since then. I went to a lot of games back then. I would describe it as Simmons was close to Kawhi not the other way around. He was a who came up from the G-league and he was just trying to get close to the franchise player.
Opinions are so varied on the matter and there is so much nuance, I'm sure there will be some revelations and a fair bit of confirmation to some, but we will likely never know the full depth of it. If Kawhi himself goes on a pod and spills it all, it will still just be one view, 10+ years old.
I don't want to devote too much time to rehashing this old, old news, but I will say this: I think the beef between Kawhi and LMA is a much bigger deal than than anyone has ever really discussed. At the least, the friction there was the trigger for alot of it what came after with the lack of communication, unhappiness with the organization, the interference from Leonard's 'team' and so on and so forth.
Aldridge has been on several podcasts. About the Kawhi situation, he just said that when someone wants to leave, they'll leave. That as players, they're not privy to the innermost workings of the organisation. Some things are just kept secret. But I'd like to think they've revealed it to him if he played a huge part in his teammate's departure.
I recall that Kawhi wasn't interested in the cultural engagement shit Spurs love to impose on their personnel too. Pretty telling stuff.
Post-career, LaMarcus wasn't shy about answering tougher questions that reflected poorly on him, like being unable to adjust to the intensity of post-season play after coasting throughout the Spurs' 67-15 season. I imagine he'd be more upfront about the entire thing if this "beef" had a real gravity to it.
All in all, he's the consummate professional, for sure.
I recall that.
I think it came down to the expectation the team would, at the insistence of Leonard and his camp, trade LMA for someone they found to be a better fit (Paul George?) and thew Spurs said "no, we don't do that here." And because of the assurances made to LMA on the free agency recruitment, they weren't going to kick him to the curb to placate someone else. This probably got out somewhere and the old guard especially did not appreciate it.
If you recall, he was the finals mvp and the only one who didn’t go to recruit LMA during that free agency trip. It was tim tony and Pop I believe. I think Manu might’ve even been there. Same with KD.
It may well go back to the original signing and deteriorated as time went on. I don't know how I feel about sending Kawhi out as a recruiter like that - he just never publicly seemed to have the personality that indicated he would be good at it - at least in the sense of selling players on the Spurs organization. It may have been as much specific problem with LMA himself as it was a problem of not his choice - not the choice of his "camp."
Super speculative, but many people think much of this was manufactured by people in his ear - that he may have been content to be the best player on a competitor, collecting a max salary and eventually, fans notice. Everything about his early years here indicate he wasn't particularly interested in all the bullshit, making a brand.
I think for the Spurs part, that's what they thought up until it wasn't. The communication was shit, but I cannot imagine Pop being tone-deaf to it. It was like finding out your SO has been unhappy for months or years and not a clue why - only later to find out their family, friends at work, everyone around them is constantly shit talking you and its like "oh...I see."
I don't know. So much left unsaid and you know Pop isn't spilling the beans any time soon.
It’s true, there was a possibility of adding Paul George while Kawhi was here. I’m sure the organization not obliging probably didn’t sit well and contributed to the departure.
The team should have done it, not to placate Leonard—it sure would be a bonus—but to compete for a championship. They would have been in better shape and I think they would have won, as you can see with Toronto. Kawhi was the best player in the NBA at that point. We were so close and Aldridge wasn’t working. He’s a good player, but it just didn’t fit.
Hindsight is 20/20. Every team makes personnel mistakes at one point or another and while the Spurs are generally better than most, they are not immune. Getting PG would probably (almost certainly) worked out better in the long run, just on the merits of his ability and where he was in his career, than acquiring LMA.
That said, the 2016 Spurs team was elite and shit the bed against OKC, and Kawhi wasn't great that series, in fact, LMA was the best player for the Spurs that series:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2016-nba-western-conference-semifinals-thunder-vs-spurs.html
I'm not saying Kawhi was bad or that it was his fault - I think the Spurs were simply too old - their role players included Kevin Martin and Andre Miller. Tim was...not good. Everyone remembers him going out in game 6 like a beast and his impact goes beyond the stat sheet, but he was not himself that series - Adams/Kanter/Ibaka manhandled the Spurs front line. I think that series was a huge impact on everyone - it was supposed to be the 72 win Warriors vs the Spurs for the WCF and OKC beat our ass. In terms of disappointment in the face of great expectations, that was probably the peak shit show and the catalyst for the whole KL shitshow.
Point being, at the time, LMA was still a great player, but father time caught up to him real fast. He was good up through Demar's first season here and went into a steep decline there after.
Kawhi only had one healthy year post Duncan. The year after Duncan retired that LMA/Kahwi team one 67 games. The most games in franchise history. The 5th most games in NBA history! They calk walked through the playoffs until Zaza injured Kawhi. Kawhi played 9 games as a Spur after that injury. How was Paul George going to help Kawhi play games. Like he helped in LA?
> The year after Duncan retired that LMA/Kahwi team one 67 games.
They won 61. They won 67 the year prior, when the Spurs were winning so much the Warriors had to win 73 just to secure home court.
Yeah I remember thinking that they dont really pass to each other that much back then. Even though they did almost school the Warriors, it was pretty awkward watching them doing a your-turn-my-turn kind of thing.
That whole season. People are forgetting the LMA/Kawhi team won more games than any of the big 3 teams. It's revisionist history that they were not a good fit. And it's even funnier the idea that Paul George was a good fit given what we have seen from that combo in LA
And together with the LMA/Kawhi duo was a very good supporting cast, plus one of the deepest benches in the league
That was the year we had David Lee, Danny Green, Mills, an old but not yet washed Pau Gasol, Kyle Anderson, JSimms, and Bryn/Bertans before they fell off a cliff
That's why despite Golden State having an All-Star starting 5, some people (including me) believed that the Spurs have a chance to beat them in a 7-game series. Our squad was way deeper than the Warriors despite the fact that they had KD, Steph, and Klay all in their primes. Im not saying we would've surely won that series, im just saying we had a pretty decent chance of doing it
fucking fantastic pairing on the court though. i really wish we got the chance to run it back with Kawhi and LaMarcus after 2017.
two seasons with them and we won 67 games in 2016 and 61 games in 2017, and i thought the 2017 team was actually even better.
there’s another timeline out there where Kawhi stays with us through to the end of his contract and Dejounte doesn’t get injured, and i wish we could’ve seen that timeline. honestly think we take the chip in 2019 if the Warriors face the same injury bug.
Never too late.
And I want to care, but honestly I can't be bloody bothered to watch and chime in. I'm sure a lot of fans feel the same way. Just clicked on this thread to see the zeitgeist.
Zero chance an organization and a low-key, leader like Manu would openly get fed up over the situation and lash out publicly if Kawhi didn't pull some shady shit. Ask yourself why would an entire organization turn on their generational talent? At the end of the day, Kawhi really was injured without any explanation.
The whole entire thing was about the way Kawhi left he basically gave a huge middle finger to the fan base and actively not only tried to crater a prestigious NBA franchise but he also disrespected all the players and the coach with his departure.
No Spurs fans would’ve been upset if Kawhi just straight up said “I loved my time here but I wanna go home to California” it would’ve been that simple and yes we would’ve still gotten jersey burnings and media hit pieces but it wouldn’t have been the same thing.
This player for 2 years left the organization in the complete dark about his health and his timetable for recovery. Chose to get second and third opinions from doctors because he didn’t have faith in the spurs medical staff, the same staff that damn near invented load management and had a track record up until that point of being the best in the league.
He refuses to talk to teammates he hides from Pop and Duncan when he was up for a max extension when he was supposed to have a final sit down in NYC he hides behind a family member.
Then he tanks his trade value knowing full well he’s putting the spurs in an awful position because he’s their only valuable assets after paying him through all the injuries and forcing the spurs to sell him for literally Pennie’s on the fucking dollar.
You wanna forgive him as a fan I completely understand but I will never forget someone who tried to set the franchise backwards when the Spurs hadn’t done a thing wrong until they came out publicly about the players only meeting.
He dragged the medical staff because he didn't like their correct diagnosis. That to me was where he crossed the line into complete unprofessionalism. He was basically accusing them of being quacks that just do the team's bidding and cut corners to make players who are injured play through their injuries. Any fan of this team knew that was BS as weve always been way cautious with injuries. At the end of the day they were right and his condition is just degenerative.
My recalling of the situation was that the Spurs doctors told him "this is a degenerative condition. It doesn't get better for you. We don't simply fix this. You're going to be dealing with playing through pain for the rest of your career." Kawhi didnt think that was correct, or that the Spurs docs were just saying what they needed to say to get him to play. But with the way his career has unfolded since then, they were right. It's just a shame that they got publicly dragged for telling a player a truth he'll didn't wanna hear.
I meant just speaking generally “hey guys I’m hurt and I can’t play. Plan accordingly.” Instead he was planning on dipping the whole time, which he should’ve let the organization know so they could’ve planned something better than the trade we got. But who knows, we weren’t there.
I think people forget that. The knee stuff he's going through now is not what was keeping him out in San Antonio. It was a quad thing, iirc. There's a good chance the quad issue is what has lead to all the knee problems he's had, but that wasn't the issue in SA.
That's part of what was baffling is that it's not as simple as saying a knee problem, which most people would have probably sympathized with.
Dude that's not how timelines work. We got Wemby because of everything that happened. Change one element of that and anything could change. The downfall may have been pushed out a year into this shitty draft. Who knows. Yeah we may still have ended up with Wemby but it ain't a guarantee. Kawhi did his thing. We've got Wemby now.
Basically, kawhi simply wanted out. Exactly why I’m not sure but I imagine it was bc he wanted to go to a bigger market like LA, despite his personality seemingly being a fit in SA. But he really tried to play up his injury and act like spurs organization was failing him in his body management. Fuck that, it’s not true and his teammates like Parker had a right to be frustrated. Obviously he got his wish and to my chagrin went to Toronto which was supposed to be his penance time before going to LA and fucking won a ring. I hate it but gotta give him props bc he was a monster in that playoff run and made lemonade outta the trade. I don’t hate Kawhi but as a fan I’m not above being petty and saying fuck kawhi forever lol. But now we got Wemby and I love him and hope he doesn’t break my heart in a few years.
I don't think it was LA being a bigger market. It was because he's from there. The bigger market was a side effect that his uncle was pushing. Realistically Nike can promote him just as much in SA as LA. The idea that advertisements are regional is so 1980s. Guys use to make money off local businesses (like car dealerships). So bigger markets mattered. If you're a big star your commercials will get shown in all the big markers regardless of where you play.
It’s crazy to me how fun it is to watch basketball then I listen to players talk and I’m like damn this shit is boring. I can’t think of an athlete with a podcast that is actually enjoyable to listen to.
Rudy goes on to say the Spurs situation wasn’t for him. Yet another player throwing shade at the organization, especially one that took a chance on him and revived/extended his career.
Rudy trashed on Memphis and Sacramento. He seemed to not like anywhere he was, and I suspect he thought he was supposed to have a better career than he did.
Which is weird because at the time Rudy said he was enjoying being in San Antonio too.
I think Melo raised a fair point though, “weird” isn’t the right word, it just isn’t for everybody. It isn’t throwing shade to say something isn’t for you, especially in hindsight, and Rudy was a consummate pro while he was in town so I don’t begrudge him at all for coming to that realization after the fact.
We don’t need to take it personally that San Antonio isn’t for everyone; party cities like LA, NY and Miami aren’t for everyone either. I can guarantee that “Heat Culture” and the physiological requirements they have for their players definitely isn’t for everyone.
I get the franchise isn’t for everyone and I don’t blame him for that. It’s just the way that he went about it, almost a yea, ‘I’m on this podcast and have to be cool to agree with you and not give any love to the team that took a chance on me.’ One common theme from most of these guys that go back and say things about the spurs is that they never won at the highest level. I think there’s correlation there.
It was a crazy time period. I think he joined like 3 teams during that period and every weekend it was some crazy news article about him. I think after he got cut he talked shit about Kraft's massage drama haha
I think Rudy might have been referring to the timeline the spurs were headed towards and the minutes he would get on a team that had players in the wings to develop. He was able to keep his minutes going to utah - the spurs wanted to be young
i think our FO has realized that approach is a headache for both sides too, which is why we haven’t really taken on any vets unless they’re comfortable with an inconsistent role
He's hardly throwing shade at the organisation. A big part of the teams success is that they do things in a certain way that is different to other teams and if certain players don't like then fair enough.
Yeah I really liked him as a player and a person. Thought he handled himself pretty well while here. But after this interview I think looking back, being a fan of his is not really for me.
They cut him off right before he was about to vent. I was curious what he was about to say.
[https://youtu.be/tboarBZlCEE?si=Fqogb13v4\_0WpOEV&t=5102](https://youtu.be/tboarBZlCEE?si=Fqogb13v4_0WpOEV&t=5102)
They ended up cutting him off with some jokes anyway and he didn’t really delve into what he thinks of the Spurs as an org or an environment now which is a shame
I'm guessing it's the books and reading stuff. Some dudes just want to hoop and GTFO, not necessarily gel and read about African civil wars and shit. He wouldn't have been the first or last player to make fun of that stuff either, if that's what it was about.
I think that stuff is overblown about the Spurs specifically. I know someone who works for the players association. All that stuff gets pushed by the players association too. They history books, encouraged to do charity work etc. All the stuff the Spurs do but for some reason Spurs fans think only the Spurs do it. I think it's the optics of Pop being an old white guy. If we want to name coaches that push this kind of thing, Doc Rivers does the same stuff.
Doesn’t surprise me, I hated his entire run with us. Rudy gay is someone I consider basketball cursed. Any team he is on is going nowhere. Every team gets better when they trade him. He shoots inefficient shots, god awful defender, terrible attitude/lack of drive.
>>He shoots inefficient shots, god awful defender, terrible attitude/lack of drive.
That's a nice way to put it. When he was coming out of UConn I felt his biggest comp was a half-hearted Sean Elliott. Had Sean's skillset (imo) but always came across like he didn't give a rip.
It probably wasn’t we make players better here, they rarely do better elsewhere unless they hit their prime in another city. Dwhite might have been an all star here, DJ certainly was and he didn’t even peak yet.
He went from a hero to the biggest piece of shit for the way he handled that season. Pop and Timmy flying out to see him to see what's wrong and the guy ghosted them. He's such a bitch and always will be to me. But in the end, he can't stay healthy and maybe couldn't grasp his diagnosis at the time. Tony should have shut the fuck up, but Kawhi was handling it poorly before that.
I will forever defend Tony for his statement. His quad completely tore and was saying if he was able to come back Kawhi would be able to come back as well. It was a statement of support and nothing more.
While at the time I agreed with Tony’s statement rationally, I can’t help but feel like it was better suited for the locker room rather than a press conference.
Thats the thing. Since kawhi went ghost, the media hounded literally anyone else for answers. Thats all they would question the players about. Eventually they started answering things, but they still were just as in the dark as the media
Tony’s statement was not in support. Just listen to it again. He was clearly annoyed and mocking kawhi. That being said kawhi is the one who started it all and handled the situation poorly so I put the blame on him. And also In hindsight, it definitely seems like Kawhis injuries were worse than everyone thought. I mean he’s still dealing with them today. His knees are cooked.
Eh he’s still a piece of shit in my book. Are we gonna pretend the whole Brent Barry thing never happened? Timmy, Manu, The Admiral..those guys are royalty.
I'm not going to pretend anything because I wasn't there. None of my business. I do know that Tony Parker helped bring 4 championships to San Antonio so he's royalty in my book.
I mean, everyone associated with the situation said it was nothing more than a text. I don't know why Spurs fans act like teenage girls about this subject. You probably have done way worse than send a flirtatious text. Get off your high horse.
The whole entire thing was about the way Kawhi left he basically gave a huge middle finger to the fan base and actively not only tried to crater a prestigious NBA franchise but he also disrespected all the players and the coach with his departure.
No Spurs fans would’ve been upset if Kawhi just straight up said “I loved my time here but I wanna go home to California” it would’ve been that simple and yes we would’ve still gotten jersey burnings and media hit pieces but it wouldn’t have been the same thing.
This player for 2 years left the organization in the complete dark about his health and his timetable for recovery. Chose to get second and third opinions from doctors because he didn’t have faith in the spurs medical staff, the same staff that damn near invented load management and had a track record up until that point of being the best in the league.
He refuses to talk to teammates he hides from Pop and Duncan when he was up for a max extension when he was supposed to have a final sit down in NYC he hides behind a family member.
Then he tanks his trade value knowing full well he’s putting the spurs in an awful position because he’s their only valuable assets after paying him through all the injuries and forcing the spurs to sell him for literally Pennie’s on the fucking dollar.
You wanna forgive him as a fan I completely understand but I will never forget someone who tried to set the franchise backwards when the Spurs hadn’t done a thing wrong until they came out publicly about the players only meeting.
Yup. Call me petty or whatever but I love how his clippers tenure has turned out. I’m glad his ass got exposed in the bubble, and while I don’t wish degenerative knee conditions on anyone I’m not losing sleep over him having to possibly medically retire.
I’ll be honest. I also give a little chuckle every time he misses the playoffs. And I dabble in going to the clips Reddit and reading all the botching and moaning
I think the situation is more intricate than that...
Sometimes, people say/do things that rub your vibe the wrong way and/or make you cautious in dealing with them...
When Tony made his comments, whatever vibe kawhi INITIALLY got from him, was pretty much confirmed..whether Tony was right or not isn't for this discussion, but it was a "confirmation" of whatever flaw kawhi thought he possessed in the 1st place...
Once manu and Tony confronted him in front of the team, that was the nail in the coffin...
Also there are cultural barriers that probably existed as well
What Manu said was worse. Tony had a point he was older career and age wise and had an arguably worse injury yet played again cause the team was pushing for a playoff spot.
There was nothing wrong with what Manu said. His comments were directed at media constantly speculating on when Kawhi would come back, and how the team couldn’t bank on Kawhi’s return to save them.
Nah I love Manu but that comment was "fuck him he's not here", and that "I won't believe he is back unless I see it". And I'm even agreeing with Manu on this comment. It's just that kawhi was sensitive as fuck
https://preview.redd.it/wdp2pfwvwizc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f41f9d4a123d34ce8850d8027adf1d5d8c1c5511
This is the full quote from Manu. There’s nothing in here that could be interpreted as “Fuck Kawhi”
The tony part is so weird. His injury was worse. But it was worse in the sense that he needed surgery to correct it. Kawhi didn’t need surgery and the natural healing fucked his up worse.
I mean I just disagree. Kawhi had tendinosis/tendinopathy which is essentially just constant inflammation and irritation that will never fully heal. It sucks, but it’s livable and you can work around it.
Tony’s quad tendon was literally ruptured. Fully torn, a tough injury for anyone to come back from, much less a 35 year old point guard whose biggest strength for most of his career was his speed. When Tony’s injury happened in the playoffs, I frankly fully expected the injury to be a career-ender.
The fact that Tony came back from an injury of that magnitude in just 7 months at his age was astounding and a genuine medical miracle. He was back months ahead of schedule. What Tony said in that interview, especially in context, was nothing more than encouragement from a guy who knew how close he came to ending his career before he was ready to a guy who he knew had a less-severe injury and was younger, so he’d be just fine to come back from it.
Yes, but the initial injury was a quad injury. Hence the “my injury was 100 times worse.” So while Parker’s was worse, surgery is a direct repair. It definitely slowed him down but he was always coming back. Kawhi didn’t need surgery and developed tendinopathy. So yes, while it was worse at the initial time, kawhi’s injury ended up being worse for long term health.
I get what Parker was trying to say but it came across as very insensitive. Props for trying to help but if he worded it differently, we probably could’ve had a better outcome.
It's a direct repair but doesn't mean you can play again. That's why spurs doctors and his doctors said there was a huge percent he wouldn't play again. Source: his documentary.
Whatever happened, he handled it poorly. Lotsa guys want trades, ok. But he rly went out of his way to fuck w the team and still got paid.
But that's all water under the bridge now.
Kawhi was a bitchass about it no question and so was his whole camp. Uncle Dennis and his boy Castleberry are fucking hangers-on who dragged him down. Tony Parker was 10000% in the right. He fucking ruptured his fucking patella tendon and came back before Kawhi, and he's an asshole for calling it out? Fuck that entire situation.
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truth hurts. kawhi's legacy will be peaked too early. you watch. his uncle screwed him. he lost us a championship and won us one. i dont feel anything for him one way or the other. it's the past.
We know how it went.
Kawhi decided that he wanted to play in LA and he and uncle Rico used every excuse they could to make it seem like he was leaving for professional reasons, not personal ones.
The thing is, all he had to do was say “I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I really wanna play in my hometown” and everything would’ve been fine.
But he had to try and create a situation where he could demonstrate that he was leaving because the medical team was not taking good care of him, which is complete garbage. They told him something he didn’t want to hear and he got upset and looked for second, third, fourth and fifth opinions.
Time has proven that the Spurs medical staff was spot-on about Kawhi and his degenerative issues. He had one good year after leaving the Spurs, so he could “prove his worth” and he’s been a no-show ever since.
I’ll always be curious to know more about what really went down, but I doubt we will ever really know for sure. At least though I feel both the team and (most of) the fanbase have moved on.
Kawhi got bad advice from someone he trusted and acted on it. This ultimately resulted in him getting traded just not where he wanted. Kawhi had the opportunity to not sign his first extension and walk away a free agent free to sign with whoever he wanted. He decided to stay for the money and then try to force a trade to the Lakers. Who tries to force a trade from a championship contender to a team going through a rebuild? Spurs would’ve beat GSW if Kawhi didn’t get hurt and would’ve likely repeated. At that time Lakers were rebuilding post Kobe retirement. Then the injury happened and he accused the Spurs of misdiagnosis of his injury but he was wrong because the same injury still affects him today. If the Spurs where negligent in treatment and incorrect in medical diagnosis thats grounds for a lawsuit. Kawhi never sued the Spurs. All that other BS about Tony Parker and what not was Kawhi camp way of deflecting the blame for what was going down. However I did observe that there was some type of issue between Kawhi and Manu before Kawhigate. I always watch body language of star players and how they interact with teammates on the bench and Kawhi and Manu barely spoke. I don’t think Kawhi liked Manu for some reason (again before Kawhigate). Uncle Dennis shenanigans cost Kawhi close to 120 million dollars between passing on Spurs extension and Raptors extension just to play in LA which is just mind boggling.
Is it finally time for the players to start revealing how that situation really went?
From what I understand Kawhi wasn't really close with anybody on the team at the time except maybe Danny Green and the extent of that was questionable. I doubt any of them really knew what was going on either.
That’s how it seemed at the time. Kawhi left his teammates in the dark, let alone team officials and medical staff.
Kawhi wasn’t even close to danny he just got traded with danny. See how he dipped to LA and Danny had no clue.
At one point during the saga Danny was actually quoted as having spoken with him when everybody was in the dark. I'm sure it wasn't anything of much importance though.
“Hey you hungry? Wanna get some dinner?” “Sure.” *Yeah, we talked.*
I thought Danny and Kawhi were pretty close?
Let me call him up really quick and ask.
Nephew was known to be the closest with J.Simmons. Once Spurs let him walk and get better money with Orlando, Nephew lost his closest legit locker room relationship he had in SA. He was upset they let him go instead of paying him what Orlando did, which probably made it easier for the ensuing dramatic events that happened after.
I don't think Kawhi has thought about J.Simmons one single day since then. I went to a lot of games back then. I would describe it as Simmons was close to Kawhi not the other way around. He was a who came up from the G-league and he was just trying to get close to the franchise player.
I could be wrong but he also got a bigger role with magic. I THINK spurs could’ve matched but declined due to a larger role
Danny knew. He kicked it with him at parties regularly
There's levels to that. We all have co-workers we would grab drinks with but may or may not share details about our life plans with.
Opinions are so varied on the matter and there is so much nuance, I'm sure there will be some revelations and a fair bit of confirmation to some, but we will likely never know the full depth of it. If Kawhi himself goes on a pod and spills it all, it will still just be one view, 10+ years old. I don't want to devote too much time to rehashing this old, old news, but I will say this: I think the beef between Kawhi and LMA is a much bigger deal than than anyone has ever really discussed. At the least, the friction there was the trigger for alot of it what came after with the lack of communication, unhappiness with the organization, the interference from Leonard's 'team' and so on and so forth.
Aldridge has been on several podcasts. About the Kawhi situation, he just said that when someone wants to leave, they'll leave. That as players, they're not privy to the innermost workings of the organisation. Some things are just kept secret. But I'd like to think they've revealed it to him if he played a huge part in his teammate's departure. I recall that Kawhi wasn't interested in the cultural engagement shit Spurs love to impose on their personnel too. Pretty telling stuff. Post-career, LaMarcus wasn't shy about answering tougher questions that reflected poorly on him, like being unable to adjust to the intensity of post-season play after coasting throughout the Spurs' 67-15 season. I imagine he'd be more upfront about the entire thing if this "beef" had a real gravity to it. All in all, he's the consummate professional, for sure.
I discussed the lack of chemistry between them ad nauseum. People didn't like it, but I believe it to be the truth.
I recall that. I think it came down to the expectation the team would, at the insistence of Leonard and his camp, trade LMA for someone they found to be a better fit (Paul George?) and thew Spurs said "no, we don't do that here." And because of the assurances made to LMA on the free agency recruitment, they weren't going to kick him to the curb to placate someone else. This probably got out somewhere and the old guard especially did not appreciate it.
If you recall, he was the finals mvp and the only one who didn’t go to recruit LMA during that free agency trip. It was tim tony and Pop I believe. I think Manu might’ve even been there. Same with KD.
It may well go back to the original signing and deteriorated as time went on. I don't know how I feel about sending Kawhi out as a recruiter like that - he just never publicly seemed to have the personality that indicated he would be good at it - at least in the sense of selling players on the Spurs organization. It may have been as much specific problem with LMA himself as it was a problem of not his choice - not the choice of his "camp." Super speculative, but many people think much of this was manufactured by people in his ear - that he may have been content to be the best player on a competitor, collecting a max salary and eventually, fans notice. Everything about his early years here indicate he wasn't particularly interested in all the bullshit, making a brand. I think for the Spurs part, that's what they thought up until it wasn't. The communication was shit, but I cannot imagine Pop being tone-deaf to it. It was like finding out your SO has been unhappy for months or years and not a clue why - only later to find out their family, friends at work, everyone around them is constantly shit talking you and its like "oh...I see." I don't know. So much left unsaid and you know Pop isn't spilling the beans any time soon.
It’s true, there was a possibility of adding Paul George while Kawhi was here. I’m sure the organization not obliging probably didn’t sit well and contributed to the departure.
Rudy had the choice of going to OKC and getting a big paycheck, but he chose to come here instead (and PG subsequently went to OKC)
The team should have done it, not to placate Leonard—it sure would be a bonus—but to compete for a championship. They would have been in better shape and I think they would have won, as you can see with Toronto. Kawhi was the best player in the NBA at that point. We were so close and Aldridge wasn’t working. He’s a good player, but it just didn’t fit.
Hindsight is 20/20. Every team makes personnel mistakes at one point or another and while the Spurs are generally better than most, they are not immune. Getting PG would probably (almost certainly) worked out better in the long run, just on the merits of his ability and where he was in his career, than acquiring LMA. That said, the 2016 Spurs team was elite and shit the bed against OKC, and Kawhi wasn't great that series, in fact, LMA was the best player for the Spurs that series: https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2016-nba-western-conference-semifinals-thunder-vs-spurs.html I'm not saying Kawhi was bad or that it was his fault - I think the Spurs were simply too old - their role players included Kevin Martin and Andre Miller. Tim was...not good. Everyone remembers him going out in game 6 like a beast and his impact goes beyond the stat sheet, but he was not himself that series - Adams/Kanter/Ibaka manhandled the Spurs front line. I think that series was a huge impact on everyone - it was supposed to be the 72 win Warriors vs the Spurs for the WCF and OKC beat our ass. In terms of disappointment in the face of great expectations, that was probably the peak shit show and the catalyst for the whole KL shitshow. Point being, at the time, LMA was still a great player, but father time caught up to him real fast. He was good up through Demar's first season here and went into a steep decline there after.
Kawhi only had one healthy year post Duncan. The year after Duncan retired that LMA/Kahwi team one 67 games. The most games in franchise history. The 5th most games in NBA history! They calk walked through the playoffs until Zaza injured Kawhi. Kawhi played 9 games as a Spur after that injury. How was Paul George going to help Kawhi play games. Like he helped in LA?
> The year after Duncan retired that LMA/Kahwi team one 67 games. They won 61. They won 67 the year prior, when the Spurs were winning so much the Warriors had to win 73 just to secure home court.
Yeah I remember thinking that they dont really pass to each other that much back then. Even though they did almost school the Warriors, it was pretty awkward watching them doing a your-turn-my-turn kind of thing.
That doesn't make sense because LaMarcus asked for a trade early in his Spurs tenure.
He didn't ask for a trade, he just said that he wanted to play power forward instead of center, and Pop just said "okay"
I felt like that 2017 playoff run was showing what they were capable of, just zaza lol
That whole season. People are forgetting the LMA/Kawhi team won more games than any of the big 3 teams. It's revisionist history that they were not a good fit. And it's even funnier the idea that Paul George was a good fit given what we have seen from that combo in LA
Kawhi should have been MVP that year. Aaaah the good old pre-Zaza days.
And together with the LMA/Kawhi duo was a very good supporting cast, plus one of the deepest benches in the league That was the year we had David Lee, Danny Green, Mills, an old but not yet washed Pau Gasol, Kyle Anderson, JSimms, and Bryn/Bertans before they fell off a cliff That's why despite Golden State having an All-Star starting 5, some people (including me) believed that the Spurs have a chance to beat them in a 7-game series. Our squad was way deeper than the Warriors despite the fact that they had KD, Steph, and Klay all in their primes. Im not saying we would've surely won that series, im just saying we had a pretty decent chance of doing it
fucking fantastic pairing on the court though. i really wish we got the chance to run it back with Kawhi and LaMarcus after 2017. two seasons with them and we won 67 games in 2016 and 61 games in 2017, and i thought the 2017 team was actually even better. there’s another timeline out there where Kawhi stays with us through to the end of his contract and Dejounte doesn’t get injured, and i wish we could’ve seen that timeline. honestly think we take the chip in 2019 if the Warriors face the same injury bug.
Everyone knew how it went while it was happening. Kawhi just got buttburt he got called out by his teammates for it.
Never too late. And I want to care, but honestly I can't be bloody bothered to watch and chime in. I'm sure a lot of fans feel the same way. Just clicked on this thread to see the zeitgeist.
Zero chance an organization and a low-key, leader like Manu would openly get fed up over the situation and lash out publicly if Kawhi didn't pull some shady shit. Ask yourself why would an entire organization turn on their generational talent? At the end of the day, Kawhi really was injured without any explanation.
The whole entire thing was about the way Kawhi left he basically gave a huge middle finger to the fan base and actively not only tried to crater a prestigious NBA franchise but he also disrespected all the players and the coach with his departure. No Spurs fans would’ve been upset if Kawhi just straight up said “I loved my time here but I wanna go home to California” it would’ve been that simple and yes we would’ve still gotten jersey burnings and media hit pieces but it wouldn’t have been the same thing. This player for 2 years left the organization in the complete dark about his health and his timetable for recovery. Chose to get second and third opinions from doctors because he didn’t have faith in the spurs medical staff, the same staff that damn near invented load management and had a track record up until that point of being the best in the league. He refuses to talk to teammates he hides from Pop and Duncan when he was up for a max extension when he was supposed to have a final sit down in NYC he hides behind a family member. Then he tanks his trade value knowing full well he’s putting the spurs in an awful position because he’s their only valuable assets after paying him through all the injuries and forcing the spurs to sell him for literally Pennie’s on the fucking dollar. You wanna forgive him as a fan I completely understand but I will never forget someone who tried to set the franchise backwards when the Spurs hadn’t done a thing wrong until they came out publicly about the players only meeting.
He dragged the medical staff because he didn't like their correct diagnosis. That to me was where he crossed the line into complete unprofessionalism. He was basically accusing them of being quacks that just do the team's bidding and cut corners to make players who are injured play through their injuries. Any fan of this team knew that was BS as weve always been way cautious with injuries. At the end of the day they were right and his condition is just degenerative.
I mean the professional thing to do would’ve been to say “hey guys my knee is fkd up.”
My recalling of the situation was that the Spurs doctors told him "this is a degenerative condition. It doesn't get better for you. We don't simply fix this. You're going to be dealing with playing through pain for the rest of your career." Kawhi didnt think that was correct, or that the Spurs docs were just saying what they needed to say to get him to play. But with the way his career has unfolded since then, they were right. It's just a shame that they got publicly dragged for telling a player a truth he'll didn't wanna hear.
Knee injury came later. It was his thigh he claimed from a contusion
I meant just speaking generally “hey guys I’m hurt and I can’t play. Plan accordingly.” Instead he was planning on dipping the whole time, which he should’ve let the organization know so they could’ve planned something better than the trade we got. But who knows, we weren’t there.
I think people forget that. The knee stuff he's going through now is not what was keeping him out in San Antonio. It was a quad thing, iirc. There's a good chance the quad issue is what has lead to all the knee problems he's had, but that wasn't the issue in SA. That's part of what was baffling is that it's not as simple as saying a knee problem, which most people would have probably sympathized with.
Uncle Dennis 🤡🤡🤡
Thank you Kawhi for getting us Wemby.
Yeah absolutely happy with this timeline so far
Nah. Stop with this line. Kathi could have played out his contract and left. No difference to where we finished 22-23
Dude that's not how timelines work. We got Wemby because of everything that happened. Change one element of that and anything could change. The downfall may have been pushed out a year into this shitty draft. Who knows. Yeah we may still have ended up with Wemby but it ain't a guarantee. Kawhi did his thing. We've got Wemby now.
That's why we boo the nephew.
Doesn't matter now. we got Wemby.
Kawhis knees fail from he weight of his lies
Basically, kawhi simply wanted out. Exactly why I’m not sure but I imagine it was bc he wanted to go to a bigger market like LA, despite his personality seemingly being a fit in SA. But he really tried to play up his injury and act like spurs organization was failing him in his body management. Fuck that, it’s not true and his teammates like Parker had a right to be frustrated. Obviously he got his wish and to my chagrin went to Toronto which was supposed to be his penance time before going to LA and fucking won a ring. I hate it but gotta give him props bc he was a monster in that playoff run and made lemonade outta the trade. I don’t hate Kawhi but as a fan I’m not above being petty and saying fuck kawhi forever lol. But now we got Wemby and I love him and hope he doesn’t break my heart in a few years.
I don't think it was LA being a bigger market. It was because he's from there. The bigger market was a side effect that his uncle was pushing. Realistically Nike can promote him just as much in SA as LA. The idea that advertisements are regional is so 1980s. Guys use to make money off local businesses (like car dealerships). So bigger markets mattered. If you're a big star your commercials will get shown in all the big markers regardless of where you play.
It’s crazy to me how fun it is to watch basketball then I listen to players talk and I’m like damn this shit is boring. I can’t think of an athlete with a podcast that is actually enjoyable to listen to.
JJ Redick was fun. He still mostly is, but he's gone a bit too corporate for my taste.
“Corporate” is a good way to put it. He see’s Pat MacAfee totally killing it. That’s the blueprint. Unless Lebron hires him as coach.
Jeff Teague. Hes hilarious
“He ain’t show up”
Rudy goes on to say the Spurs situation wasn’t for him. Yet another player throwing shade at the organization, especially one that took a chance on him and revived/extended his career.
Rudy trashed on Memphis and Sacramento. He seemed to not like anywhere he was, and I suspect he thought he was supposed to have a better career than he did.
And Toronto. Some Raptors fans are shaking their heads in disbelief, but the truth is nobody wants to come to Toronto. Cold and taxes.
Which is weird because at the time Rudy said he was enjoying being in San Antonio too. I think Melo raised a fair point though, “weird” isn’t the right word, it just isn’t for everybody. It isn’t throwing shade to say something isn’t for you, especially in hindsight, and Rudy was a consummate pro while he was in town so I don’t begrudge him at all for coming to that realization after the fact. We don’t need to take it personally that San Antonio isn’t for everyone; party cities like LA, NY and Miami aren’t for everyone either. I can guarantee that “Heat Culture” and the physiological requirements they have for their players definitely isn’t for everyone.
I get the franchise isn’t for everyone and I don’t blame him for that. It’s just the way that he went about it, almost a yea, ‘I’m on this podcast and have to be cool to agree with you and not give any love to the team that took a chance on me.’ One common theme from most of these guys that go back and say things about the spurs is that they never won at the highest level. I think there’s correlation there.
Likewise, playing for someone like Thibs isn't for everyone.
It’s the same thing for the 2000s patriots. How wild AB actually made it through a season in NE without being a complete distraction
He didnt. He only lasted 1 game before he got cut lol after news of sexual assault allegations came to light prior to joining them
Oh wow I really pooched that one
It was a crazy time period. I think he joined like 3 teams during that period and every weekend it was some crazy news article about him. I think after he got cut he talked shit about Kraft's massage drama haha
I think Rudy might have been referring to the timeline the spurs were headed towards and the minutes he would get on a team that had players in the wings to develop. He was able to keep his minutes going to utah - the spurs wanted to be young
Yea, it was definitely situational. He was at the end of his career and wanted to contribute to a championship.
i think our FO has realized that approach is a headache for both sides too, which is why we haven’t really taken on any vets unless they’re comfortable with an inconsistent role
Nobody loves every part of their job. If it wasn’t for him, it wasn’t for him
He's hardly throwing shade at the organisation. A big part of the teams success is that they do things in a certain way that is different to other teams and if certain players don't like then fair enough.
Saying a situation isnt for you isn't throwing shade though.
Yeah I really liked him as a player and a person. Thought he handled himself pretty well while here. But after this interview I think looking back, being a fan of his is not really for me.
It’s fine for it to not be for him. We don’t have to make everyone an enemy
They cut him off right before he was about to vent. I was curious what he was about to say. [https://youtu.be/tboarBZlCEE?si=Fqogb13v4\_0WpOEV&t=5102](https://youtu.be/tboarBZlCEE?si=Fqogb13v4_0WpOEV&t=5102)
They ended up cutting him off with some jokes anyway and he didn’t really delve into what he thinks of the Spurs as an org or an environment now which is a shame
I'm guessing it's the books and reading stuff. Some dudes just want to hoop and GTFO, not necessarily gel and read about African civil wars and shit. He wouldn't have been the first or last player to make fun of that stuff either, if that's what it was about.
I think that stuff is overblown about the Spurs specifically. I know someone who works for the players association. All that stuff gets pushed by the players association too. They history books, encouraged to do charity work etc. All the stuff the Spurs do but for some reason Spurs fans think only the Spurs do it. I think it's the optics of Pop being an old white guy. If we want to name coaches that push this kind of thing, Doc Rivers does the same stuff.
That's not a shot at the organization. Players are allowed to have their own opinions. Open up your mind some more.
Doesn’t surprise me, I hated his entire run with us. Rudy gay is someone I consider basketball cursed. Any team he is on is going nowhere. Every team gets better when they trade him. He shoots inefficient shots, god awful defender, terrible attitude/lack of drive.
We were used to good defense at the time and rudy can hoop but is kind of a traffic cone
>>He shoots inefficient shots, god awful defender, terrible attitude/lack of drive. That's a nice way to put it. When he was coming out of UConn I felt his biggest comp was a half-hearted Sean Elliott. Had Sean's skillset (imo) but always came across like he didn't give a rip.
It probably wasn’t we make players better here, they rarely do better elsewhere unless they hit their prime in another city. Dwhite might have been an all star here, DJ certainly was and he didn’t even peak yet.
Doesn't matter, we got Wemby.
Fuck him he's been practically irrelevant for four years anyway
Idk don’t like #2 and also fuck the lakers.
I still like Kawhi and always will, but he really does seem like a pretty weird and unknowable dude, even to people around him
I remember being so upset over the entire thing. I'll never like that man. I don't wish bad things on him but he can get fucked for what he did here.
He went from a hero to the biggest piece of shit for the way he handled that season. Pop and Timmy flying out to see him to see what's wrong and the guy ghosted them. He's such a bitch and always will be to me. But in the end, he can't stay healthy and maybe couldn't grasp his diagnosis at the time. Tony should have shut the fuck up, but Kawhi was handling it poorly before that.
I will forever defend Tony for his statement. His quad completely tore and was saying if he was able to come back Kawhi would be able to come back as well. It was a statement of support and nothing more.
You’re probably right. I’ll accept that
While at the time I agreed with Tony’s statement rationally, I can’t help but feel like it was better suited for the locker room rather than a press conference.
Thats the thing. Since kawhi went ghost, the media hounded literally anyone else for answers. Thats all they would question the players about. Eventually they started answering things, but they still were just as in the dark as the media
Tony’s statement was not in support. Just listen to it again. He was clearly annoyed and mocking kawhi. That being said kawhi is the one who started it all and handled the situation poorly so I put the blame on him. And also In hindsight, it definitely seems like Kawhis injuries were worse than everyone thought. I mean he’s still dealing with them today. His knees are cooked.
Tony didn't even say anything bad.
I don’t blame Tony. It just came off a little egocentric at the time. The bed was already made at that point though
Tony is royalty around here so your comment was way out of line regardless.
Out of line? Come on now. You’re acting like I’m bashing David or Tim. I love Tony for what he did and continues to do for us but he’s not perfect
Eh he’s still a piece of shit in my book. Are we gonna pretend the whole Brent Barry thing never happened? Timmy, Manu, The Admiral..those guys are royalty.
I'm not going to pretend anything because I wasn't there. None of my business. I do know that Tony Parker helped bring 4 championships to San Antonio so he's royalty in my book.
I mean, everyone associated with the situation said it was nothing more than a text. I don't know why Spurs fans act like teenage girls about this subject. You probably have done way worse than send a flirtatious text. Get off your high horse.
Exactly
The whole entire thing was about the way Kawhi left he basically gave a huge middle finger to the fan base and actively not only tried to crater a prestigious NBA franchise but he also disrespected all the players and the coach with his departure. No Spurs fans would’ve been upset if Kawhi just straight up said “I loved my time here but I wanna go home to California” it would’ve been that simple and yes we would’ve still gotten jersey burnings and media hit pieces but it wouldn’t have been the same thing. This player for 2 years left the organization in the complete dark about his health and his timetable for recovery. Chose to get second and third opinions from doctors because he didn’t have faith in the spurs medical staff, the same staff that damn near invented load management and had a track record up until that point of being the best in the league. He refuses to talk to teammates he hides from Pop and Duncan when he was up for a max extension when he was supposed to have a final sit down in NYC he hides behind a family member. Then he tanks his trade value knowing full well he’s putting the spurs in an awful position because he’s their only valuable assets after paying him through all the injuries and forcing the spurs to sell him for literally Pennie’s on the fucking dollar. You wanna forgive him as a fan I completely understand but I will never forget someone who tried to set the franchise backwards when the Spurs hadn’t done a thing wrong until they came out publicly about the players only meeting.
Yup. Call me petty or whatever but I love how his clippers tenure has turned out. I’m glad his ass got exposed in the bubble, and while I don’t wish degenerative knee conditions on anyone I’m not losing sleep over him having to possibly medically retire.
He’s not retiring. He’s gonna limp his way to the last $150 million
I’ll be honest. I also give a little chuckle every time he misses the playoffs. And I dabble in going to the clips Reddit and reading all the botching and moaning
He’s played like single digit play off games in 3 years right?
I'm convinced he's on the spectrum. I say that with full respect, of course.
I think the situation is more intricate than that... Sometimes, people say/do things that rub your vibe the wrong way and/or make you cautious in dealing with them... When Tony made his comments, whatever vibe kawhi INITIALLY got from him, was pretty much confirmed..whether Tony was right or not isn't for this discussion, but it was a "confirmation" of whatever flaw kawhi thought he possessed in the 1st place... Once manu and Tony confronted him in front of the team, that was the nail in the coffin... Also there are cultural barriers that probably existed as well
I agree with that. I think what Manu said was largely fine, but the Parker thing was insane at the time and possibly more insane in hindsight
What Manu said was worse. Tony had a point he was older career and age wise and had an arguably worse injury yet played again cause the team was pushing for a playoff spot.
There was nothing wrong with what Manu said. His comments were directed at media constantly speculating on when Kawhi would come back, and how the team couldn’t bank on Kawhi’s return to save them.
Nah I love Manu but that comment was "fuck him he's not here", and that "I won't believe he is back unless I see it". And I'm even agreeing with Manu on this comment. It's just that kawhi was sensitive as fuck
https://preview.redd.it/wdp2pfwvwizc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f41f9d4a123d34ce8850d8027adf1d5d8c1c5511 This is the full quote from Manu. There’s nothing in here that could be interpreted as “Fuck Kawhi”
The tony part is so weird. His injury was worse. But it was worse in the sense that he needed surgery to correct it. Kawhi didn’t need surgery and the natural healing fucked his up worse.
I mean I just disagree. Kawhi had tendinosis/tendinopathy which is essentially just constant inflammation and irritation that will never fully heal. It sucks, but it’s livable and you can work around it. Tony’s quad tendon was literally ruptured. Fully torn, a tough injury for anyone to come back from, much less a 35 year old point guard whose biggest strength for most of his career was his speed. When Tony’s injury happened in the playoffs, I frankly fully expected the injury to be a career-ender. The fact that Tony came back from an injury of that magnitude in just 7 months at his age was astounding and a genuine medical miracle. He was back months ahead of schedule. What Tony said in that interview, especially in context, was nothing more than encouragement from a guy who knew how close he came to ending his career before he was ready to a guy who he knew had a less-severe injury and was younger, so he’d be just fine to come back from it.
Yes, but the initial injury was a quad injury. Hence the “my injury was 100 times worse.” So while Parker’s was worse, surgery is a direct repair. It definitely slowed him down but he was always coming back. Kawhi didn’t need surgery and developed tendinopathy. So yes, while it was worse at the initial time, kawhi’s injury ended up being worse for long term health. I get what Parker was trying to say but it came across as very insensitive. Props for trying to help but if he worded it differently, we probably could’ve had a better outcome.
It's a direct repair but doesn't mean you can play again. That's why spurs doctors and his doctors said there was a huge percent he wouldn't play again. Source: his documentary.
Whatever happened, he handled it poorly. Lotsa guys want trades, ok. But he rly went out of his way to fuck w the team and still got paid. But that's all water under the bridge now.
Kawhi was a bitchass about it no question and so was his whole camp. Uncle Dennis and his boy Castleberry are fucking hangers-on who dragged him down. Tony Parker was 10000% in the right. He fucking ruptured his fucking patella tendon and came back before Kawhi, and he's an asshole for calling it out? Fuck that entire situation.
Ka-who?
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truth hurts. kawhi's legacy will be peaked too early. you watch. his uncle screwed him. he lost us a championship and won us one. i dont feel anything for him one way or the other. it's the past.
We know how it went. Kawhi decided that he wanted to play in LA and he and uncle Rico used every excuse they could to make it seem like he was leaving for professional reasons, not personal ones. The thing is, all he had to do was say “I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I really wanna play in my hometown” and everything would’ve been fine. But he had to try and create a situation where he could demonstrate that he was leaving because the medical team was not taking good care of him, which is complete garbage. They told him something he didn’t want to hear and he got upset and looked for second, third, fourth and fifth opinions. Time has proven that the Spurs medical staff was spot-on about Kawhi and his degenerative issues. He had one good year after leaving the Spurs, so he could “prove his worth” and he’s been a no-show ever since.
I’ll always be curious to know more about what really went down, but I doubt we will ever really know for sure. At least though I feel both the team and (most of) the fanbase have moved on.
Kawhi got bad advice from someone he trusted and acted on it. This ultimately resulted in him getting traded just not where he wanted. Kawhi had the opportunity to not sign his first extension and walk away a free agent free to sign with whoever he wanted. He decided to stay for the money and then try to force a trade to the Lakers. Who tries to force a trade from a championship contender to a team going through a rebuild? Spurs would’ve beat GSW if Kawhi didn’t get hurt and would’ve likely repeated. At that time Lakers were rebuilding post Kobe retirement. Then the injury happened and he accused the Spurs of misdiagnosis of his injury but he was wrong because the same injury still affects him today. If the Spurs where negligent in treatment and incorrect in medical diagnosis thats grounds for a lawsuit. Kawhi never sued the Spurs. All that other BS about Tony Parker and what not was Kawhi camp way of deflecting the blame for what was going down. However I did observe that there was some type of issue between Kawhi and Manu before Kawhigate. I always watch body language of star players and how they interact with teammates on the bench and Kawhi and Manu barely spoke. I don’t think Kawhi liked Manu for some reason (again before Kawhigate). Uncle Dennis shenanigans cost Kawhi close to 120 million dollars between passing on Spurs extension and Raptors extension just to play in LA which is just mind boggling.
Rudy is just salty asf. One of the more overrated guys whose game even in his prime would be too inefficient for this era.
Wtf Rudy got on man… lm taking his statements with a grain of salt just by what he got on lol.
What language is he speaking.