What the heck?
There seems to be no end in sight to Leonard injury
What an odd story.
What else can you say about the still unfolding Kawhi Leonard/San Antonio Spurs saga?
Earlier in the year, reports surfaced that the former Finals MVP and defensive player of the year was unhappy with various things and it could cause a split down the line.
Then Gregg Popovich said he didn’t think Leonard would be able to get back in time this year.
Then Leonard met with the media and said all was good and he was working on getting back on the court as soon as possible.
Then reports surfaced saying that return was rapidly approaching with a target date of Thursday even mentioned.
On Tuesday, ESPN reported that Leonard would not in fact return on Thursday against New Orleans. The Spurs had apparently watched him workout but determined that he wasn’t ready yet.
Leonard, a two-time all-NBA first team member, has played in only nine games this season and San Antonio has lost 11-of14, dropping to 10th in the ultratight Western Conference. The franchise has not lost the playoffs since 1996-97, when a fortuitous David Robinson injury ended up giving the Spurs the lottery spot required to land Tim Duncan.
In other injury news, Boston’s Marcus Smart has a tendon injury in his thumb which could impact him the rest of the season even if he doesn’t miss any time. Starting point guard Kyrie Irving is already battling knee soreness and backup centre Daniel Theis has been lost for the season.
— Ryan Wolstat