Kawhi Leonard will not attend the USA Basketball minicamp this week, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Instead, Kawhi feels his time is better spent being used to “prepare for a transition to his new team.”
Leonard was recently traded to the Toronto Raptors, but the deal didn’t become official until Kawhi passed his physical. Now that he is a Raptor, Kawhi wants to take his time and make sure the adjustment period is as smooth as possible.
This trade came about because of the strained relationship between the Spurs and Kawhi. Leonard had been dealing with a quad injury that has kept him sidelined for most of the season, having last played on January 13th. He wanted to take his time with the recovery but felt pressured by several people within the organization to play through it. He thought he wasn’t getting the respect he deserved and decided to cut ties with the Spurs altogether.
This could offer another reason why Kawhi won’t be at the camp. If he were to participate, there would be a very familiar face in attendance, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Pop is the coach of Team USA and will be running the camp, and it is certainly possible that Kawhi skipped merely because of his presence.
Report: Kawhi Leonard will not attend USA Basketball minicamp coached by Gregg Popovich. https://t.co/QyP2QA9xvD pic.twitter.com/1NE0mP9yat
— theScore (@theScore) July 25, 2018
It wouldn’t be the first time Kawhi hid from the Spurs organization. He reportedly hid from San Antonio’s executives who came to visit him in New York while he was still on the team. Why would he act any different around his former head coach?
Although NBA fans won’t get to see a Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich reunion, the camp will provide Pop the opportunity to get a closer look at his newest player, DeMar DeRozan, who is expected to be in attendance.
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