HE’S MOVED ON
Time has healed sore feelings Leonard had with the Spurs over trade
LOS ANGELES — Standing near the Spurs' bench during an out of bounds play Saturday, Kawhi Leonard heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.
Whatever Gregg Popovich said in that moment made the famously stoic L.A. Clippers forward smile.
The details of the interaction between Leonard and his former coach will remain a secret, of course.
“You know I don't tell what goes on on the court,” Leonard said after the Clippers trounced the Spurs 119-97 at Crypto.com Arena. “I'll keep it between us.”
It has been more than four years since Leonard uprooted from San Antonio, setting a fuse on the slow-release rebuilding project the Spurs are enduring today.
At the time, his departure was acrimonious. He wound up dealt to Toronto for Demar Derozan — now a Chicago Bull — along with Jakob Poeltl and the draft pick that eventually became Keldon Johnson.
Post-haste, it transformed the Spurs from perennial Western Conference title contenders into playoff hangers
on into a team that, at 6-11 heading into Sunday’s game against the Lakers, is angling for the best draft slot it can muster.
The Spurs made the playoffs in their first season post-leonard, losing to Denver in seven games in the first round. Leonard won his second NBA championship with the Raptors, then moved on to L.A.
The Spurs have not been back to the postseason since.
To hear Leonard tell it, four years is long enough to soothe hurt feelings. Asked Saturday about Popovich’s role in his career, Leonard left no doubt.
“He’s the reason I’m the player I am today,” the five-time All-star said. “We’ve been in too many battles to, you know, have a scar on our relationship.”
Still inching his way back from an ACL injury that cost him all of last season, Leonard appeared in just his fourth game of the 2022-23 campaign Saturday.
He logged 22 minutes and contributed 11 points and four assists to the Clippers’ rout.
It was his first appearance against the Spurs since March 24, 2021.
Popovich said he has been glad to see Leonard’s game progress, both during and after his time with the Spurs.
“He’s probably going to be a Hall of Fame player,” Popovich said. “He wasn’t a Hall of Famer when he first got drafted. He’s worked his ass off.”
Four years he absconded with the Spurs’ championship hopes, Leonard made sure to give his former coach his due.
After the game, the pair spent some time on the floor at Crypto.com Arena catching up.
“He build that foundation, showing me winning basketball,” Leonard said. “Still one of the best coaches I had.”
Vassell day-to-day
The Spurs faced the Clippers without secondleading scorer Devin Vassell, who was listed as out with a sore left ankle.
Vassell went through all of the Spurs’ light shootaround before Saturday’s game before being scratched. He is considered day-to-day.
There is a chance the Spurs get guard Romeo Langford back soon as well.
Langford missed his fifth consecutive game Sunday while in health and safety protocols. He has since cleared them, and is in the process of reconditioning to return to the court.
“I think he will be back with us next week,” Popovich said.
The Spurs’ next game is at home against New Orleans on Wednesday.
Clippers fall short
The Clippers entered Saturday’s game as the lowest-scoring team in the NBA at 104 points per game.
They ranked 22nd in 3-pointers made per game at 11.1 per game.
The Spurs’ lackluster defense made them look like a cross between the Harlem Globetrotters and the James Harden-era Houston Rockets.
The Clippers spun the Crypto.com Arena scoreboard in part due to a season-best 21 3-pointers.
“We were really poor defensively,” Popovich said. “Not much grunt, not much physicality. We need to do that on a more consistent basis.”
Paul George and Norman Powell had five 3pointers apiece for L.A.
For George, it was part of a 21-point night accumulated in 15 minutes of the first half. He did not play in the second.
For Powell, it was part of a team-leading 26 points off the bench.
The Clippers came within one 3-pointer of matching the record for a Spurs’ opponent. The mark of 22 was set — not surprisingly — by Harden’s Rockets in 2018.
“They came out firing,” Spurs point guard Tre Jones said. “I think a lot of the threes they did get, we gave to them. Miscommunications on defensive rotations, whatever it was. A lot of it could be corrected.”