@@stump4522 for one year... you can find one-year long periods of time with no health problem for kawhi on both the spurs and the clippers... could just be random luck, but who knows
They push their players who make 50 MILLION dollars per year to actually play some basketball?! Who woulda thought! Why are people acting like this was a normal job? Their salaries aren’t normal, are they?! He could’ve retired but chose not to. I don’t feel sorry for this man.
@@iainthadbreakfast f uck them both but remember it ultimately it isn't the owners who pay the players its the fans. a decade ago I wouldn't have questioned a player's injury but they have gone to the point that they have lost all good will.
Spurs were a bitch for no reason and you know it. Kawhi is just really injury prone and that's pretty much it. What reason does he have for not playing for the clippers before? The squad was stacked and they could have definitely won a ring if everyone was healthy. Stop spouting crap.
dude has a max contract and didnt want to play for 720+ days. Ya... fuck that shit. he wasnt like Klay. Klay got them 3 rings THEN went down with injury and the dubs gave him the benefit of the doubt. Kawhi came into clippers with a history of injuries. Got a max and then looks like he tried to finesse them by playing as little as possible.
NBA is guaranteed contracts, so if it's you and your body your gonna risk it? Or you are of the mindset your making a lot if money your our property so get out their and play? Just saying most people feel players aren't as badly hurt as they claim and just need to suck it up and play. But if you were part of a team that won titles then you earned extended time? Which makes no sense to me since its been known he is injury prone so it's logic to think he might need more time off or how about don't sign him for so much since you know his injury past and what comes along with that. But they did anyways.
As a Raptors fan, I think he should have stayed with us even if it means we suck up his injuries. He explicitly said our medical staff was elite, took care of him and carefully planned his loads, it would have been in the best of his interest to stay if medical was a concern. Besides that, like you said, he would at least have the benefit of the doubt from a franchaise that he has gotten a ring for. Now, it's just terrible for Clippers and for his own reputation....whether or not he is really trying to skip work or not.
@@MeatieBanana I disagree about the raptor would have been more understanding. It always sounds good to reward a player who won for them. But we have seen time and time again it's about right now and the near future. Besides that what player has Toronto ever showed loyalty too? Look at how fast they traded Derozan. Yes that trade got them a championship but that showed 1 year of Kawhi meant more than 9 of Derozan. Lastly I think the Clippers have given Kawhi patience and have been good to him. I doubt any other team would have matched what they have done. Most would have packaged him in a trade to get some value for him in my opinion. But I do agree him signing with the raptors would have made a good storyline. A city that struggles to sign or keep stars traded the one who did want to be there. There's professional sports loyalty 🤣🤣🤣
Klay went down with two injuries: tore his ACL in Game 5 of the 19 Finals, then a year later tore his achilles right before he was going to come back from the ACL tear.
What's wrong with Kawhi Leonard is that he's majorly injury prone and that he doesn't do anything to assure his teammates or organization that he really cares about coming back as quickly and fully as possible.
@@yungmirskiSS to be honest, at this point. Its the clippers fault they paying him so much if he's routinely injured. Like they already know that. Its not kawhi's fault a team is willing to give him XY money. He plays when he can as far as were aware. Kawhi could be a perfectly fine low cost contract since u know ur only getting him for half the year but when he does play he wins you games. But clippers pay him like he's gonna be playing 70 games and the whole post season.
Remember how he was somehow ready to play for the Olympics? Or how he had no real issue playing for the Raptors? Yeah he picks and chooses when to play
Cause his injuries worsened after that Raptor season. He tore fkin everything possible and injured pretty much all the time. He was ready to play at the Olympics but didn't get the green light probably from the clippers to go there cause they must have been worried he will get injured.
He hadn’t played 60 games since his Toronto season, and suddenly last year, because the rules changed that you had to play 65 games for post season awards, he pkayed:68. Yeah,he plays when he feels like it. OTOH, Ballmer is a fucking idiot for giving him another contract.
@@davidpayumo23 he was healthy in the bubble and couldn't win a chip with the Clippers up 3-1 rofl but nobody wants to talk about that. They couldn't even win the bubble chip.
So many people are upset with Anthony Richards NFL qb for the Colts asking to get subbed due to being tired. They want him released and say even if he's injured he needs to stay and play. But Isaiah Thomas is the perfect example of you need to protect yourself and do what's best for you today but also future. It's always easy for others to say you should suck it up and just play aren't you a man? But would they do it when it's their body on the line? Probably not.
@@MrJohnnyAOA for the most part I think most people recognize that he wasn't forced to play injured or anything like that. Well at least the people ive talked with and my personal belief but of course I don't know that for a fact.
I mean I do remember when Kawhi got hurt during the 2021 playoffs. The clippers called it a knee sprain just to later say it was a ACL tear. Then comes back 2023 and tears his meniscus…
The Spurs took great care of their players, health wise. When the whole debacle with Kawhi went down, it never made sense, because Spurs docs are really good at getting guys healthy. Now it’s clear his team (and Kawhi himself) were just being divas. Good riddance.
That was clear from the beginning. Everyone else who ever played for the Spurs and everyone who was playing at that time was good. He was the only one having issues. It never made sense for anyone to assume he was right in that situation without clear proof. It was an issue that came out of left field and an issue that magically disappeared when he went to Toronto.
As a Spurs fan, i'm so glad the truth is starting to show. I knew every update of the Spurs-Kawhi saga so i know and probably every Spurs fan knows there wasn't any mistreatment from the team and the problem is all on Kawhi's team especially that damn uncle
@@wonderfulperspectives2674 If you knew anything about Spurs basketball, you would know that the Spurs actually tried to help Leonard. He ignored them. No sympathy for him at all...
Dude is gonna be the reason teams stop taking chances on injury prone players, especially with the new salary cap rules. Clippers are so screwed because of his contract lol
It’s our own fault shouldn’t have gave him that dumbass contract time to trade him and at least get something back for all the crap we traded for that scrub Paul George
In the end I'm glad he was such a prick about things in San Antonio. Even though the Spurs haven't done a whole lot with what they got for him, which if you trace what those assets have been flipped into is Keldon Johnson, this years Bulls pick (top 10 protected), a 2030 top 1 protected Minnesota swap, and an unprotected 2031 Minnesota first. But would hate to be paying this guy a supermax while he made the team too good to get the pick to draft Vassell much less Wemby and Castle but not good enough to be any kind of force in the playoffs.
No they fkin don't. Spurs were a bitch about it and you pretty much know it. Ad also didn't play for the Pelicans so he just sat down and didn't but I guess its allowed in his case? And only Kawhi needs to be the loyal cocksking guy for his team? Spurs fans are so pathetic, first you disrespect the guy and cry when he leaves y'all.
@@homerthompson416 ever since the zaza pachulia injury, his health went down the drain. The Spurs dynasty could have been so much longer had he not been done dirty but that's life.
@@rabeechowdhury I think Kawhi was gone to LA no matter what. Otherwise he would have stayed in Toronto where he was the hero of the city and had an amazing and versatile supporting cast around him but he was still the clear alpha.
Sounds like Kawhi’s personal trainer is so incompetent he couldn’t get him back into shape in a reasonable time and make him strong enough to prevent injury. The trainer is trying to avoid any blame.
Finally, a TH-camr who gets it. It's like you ACTUALLY read the lawsuit, as opposed to the Dan LeBatards of the world who jumped straight to Kawhi's defense, clickbait. Shadiness and poor communication has been around Kawhi for a long time. His M.O. With the Spurs, his Uncle created headaches galore. In FA from Toronto, Kawhi and his Uncle making those exorbitant, under-the-table demands from the Lakers. The lawsuit from Kawhi's ex-agent, Brian Elfus suing for fees. The Johnny Wilkes lawsuit suing the Clippers and Jerry West for acting as Kawhi's "go-between" before he was even a FA, another obvious case of tampering, which Shelton's lawsuit also alleges. And now this Shelton lawsuit. Kawhi's uniform changes and yet the narrative remains the same. It's bad enough the guy's body is brittle and broke and Kawhi and his camp think it's everybody else's fault and then all this diva-ish behavior behind the scenes that fans don't see because Kawhi doesn't talk in the media about the hornets nests he stirs up. You better believe his Uncle does plenty of talking... You wanna hear something else? This shadiness extends to even matters outside basketball. I happen to know through an old classmate and family friend that Kawhi even got shady about the bill for criminal defense attorney, Virginia Blumenthal they hired to defend his sister, Kimesha Williams, who beat that old lady to death in that Pechanga Casino bathroom in Temecula, CA, for like 80 bucks or whatever. Late retainers, balking at court fees. Kawhi and his people were told his sister'd likely get a stiff sentence and when she got life, they wanted to stiff her, if you can believe it. She (Blumenthal) thought she might have to sue just to recoup her fees! This is just how they operate and they don't necessarily deserve all the sympathy they're given.
Spurs fan here. I was shattered when Kawhi left. The guy was turning into one of the biggest powerhouse players in the NBA. Looking back, I'm glad it happened because it allowed us to rebuild. We put everything into Kawhi and once it failed it put us back years... now we can rebuild around Wemby.
Pop saw it; he used to talk about Kawhi as the future of the franchise long before he started putting up allstar numbers. I remember thinking Pop was nuts at the time but a couple years later Kawhi's a top 5 player in the league. Also how are you leaving out the part in the lawsuit where it was alleged the Clippers were tampering when Kawhi was on the Spurs? I wouldn't buy Uncle Dennis' explanation either. The Spurs told Kawhi he had a degenerative condition in his knee and would have to be load managed the rest of his career. And when they tried to officially shut him down for the season right before a big ESPN game against either Golden State or OKC his camp went to ESPN and told them Kawhi was about to return and would be playing that game, which ESPN reported.
-- 2 years a LOT of time. He should get 12-16 months of rest. Anything else? He forgoes his salary. Plus, he keeps getting injured even WITH rest in SAS, TOR, LAC so as great as he is, he's injury prone.
And i dont feel bad for isiah thomas either. Youre expected to play if you can. He still made millions in his career. He had to have understood that the track record is not good for very small/slashing guards as they approach their 30s in the nba. If it wasnt that injury it could have been something else. If he sat out that whole year be could have easily gotten hurt the next year. He was getting knocked to the ground all the time. Iverson was the same way. Basically done after age 31-32
I don't think there is any real beef between Kawhi and the Clippers. Kawhi played 68 games at a really high level last year and works as hard as anyone on the team. Clippers have always given him leeway to try to preserve his health, and gave him a 3 year deal last season. It seems like the (ex) trainer is unhappy about being pushed out, but we'll see. The main problem is simply that Kawhi's body can't hold up to a full season any more, which is a shame for everyone.
The way spurs fans are still butt hurt over kawhi shows he wasn't a hot mess, because if he was you would have moved on Instead of harboring such hate. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. Spurs fans still love kawhi
No team should have given him a contract until he was healthy to play. Accepting millions for sitting on the bench doesn't hurt Kawhi, only the team and the fans.
@@dolby8334convenient that he played nearly 70 games this past season. Almost like he’s trying to reassure management to offer an extension or something
or maybe teams shouldn't sign him expensive contracts rofl Clippers is a team made for cope, ownership and fans included. Even Paul George has had enough and bailed on this failed project. Clippers is a retirement home.
Can’t lie this needs to talked about more because it happens a lot because there’s guys are not getting healthy, Gilbert arenas said this on his podcast “you get then all of a sudden on the news there expected timetable way shorter than the time it takes for my injury to actually heal” it’s crazy people can say these players are lazy but teams constantly do this meaning players are never fully recovered from injuries are compensating on the court leading to more injuries
I dont even understand why they'd have a short time table if its just the regular season. Like if you had a young kawhi on ur roster why would you ever rush him back when you know you're rolling dice with a guy who could be your best player for the next 5-10 years.
@@MindAndMythbecause Clippers depth stink. It only gotten better recently. I don't trust Ty Lue he is not a defensive mind oriented. Most young players just want to score and not defend.
And knowing all this, the Clippers were willing to pay him $50 million a year. He should retire, but if someone's willing to pay him that much, I can't blame him for accepting that paycheck.
I'm from San Antonio and I have friends that work within the organization. I can tell you unequivocally 100% the truth on what happened with Leonard and the Spurs! All I have to say is don't put this on the Spurs organization!!!!
The Spurs organization has done an excellent job of protecting its players. As the Big 3 aged, they no longer played back to backs and were able to win a championship in 2014 with Kawhi as Finals MVP. The Spurs would probably have given Kawhi the same treatment. I remember in the famous documentary about Bird and Magic, Larry Bird said that he learned a valuable lesson from his late father who taught Bird that if you’re paid to do a job, you show up for work. Players today clearly haven’t received the same lesson.
I believe most players get mismanaged in sports, period. It's a business. And what made knee injuries worse is players like Adrian Peterson coming back so fast and strong. Adrian Peterson is one of a kind; most people don't recover that fast for an extended career after an injury.
As a Raptors fan, the best utilization of Kawhi is to have him join a team that can make the playoffs without him and have him play enough regular season to develop chemistry. Then let him cook in the playoffs. Dude coasted in the regular season and dominated the playoffs. He was obviously super hurt during the playoffs but he seemed super motivated to win, unlike now.
4:00 Lol i know you did that thing you do where you show one perspective then flip it and show the other, but as soon as i heard 730 days i paused the video and was like "HELL NO! Im on the clippers side now!" 😂
I will say this. As a Blazer fan I have seen my team do shady things for decades medically. Would it shock me to see a team like the Clippers do things that may not be in a players best interest? Not at all.
What works for one, doesn’t always work for another. Kawhi had his own guy cause he seemed to understand Kawhi’s body and Kawhi trusted that guy because he’s been right on the money in the past. Clippers thought they knew better and tried to do it their way. Kawhi’s injury history has proven that maybe teams should try listening to his trainer for a change
I remember Kawhi doing an interview at some point in his 20s where he was scared that he wasn't going to be able to walk again. Because he plays basketball. Dude thinks he's a Purple Heart recipient. This may sound crazy, but maybe Kawhi is a hypocondriac.
730 days is ridiculous recovery timeline from an ACL. The "trainer" who said this has an interest in prolonging a player's career by not playing the individual....should just say "IDEAL TIMELINE IS 4380 DAYS SO KEEP PAYING HIM TILL THEN!" It's a deliberate scam. Why do you think LeBron sits as much? These guys are just trying to stay on very expensive workman's comp.
@@ItsMeStriderAwwww now we have to babysit our opposing team so they can get full health before the match begin. Man you guys are softer than charming.
He was diagnosed by the Spurs almost a decade ago with chronic degenerative joint disease. Kawhi didn't believe them and went to New York to seek for a other opinion, it was confirmed. The Spurs were not going to pay him max money and were planning on managing the condition.
I’ll accept the notion that the team prioritized availability over health, though Kawhi’s contract and apparent team patience seems to undermine that argument. I won’t accept the argument that the team was wrong for listening to the advice of their doctors over the advice of ~ checks notes ~ Kawhi’s trainer. 🤨 Man, Kawhi been stealing money for years!
@@MarkLaw13 chip deserve all the credit. why he doesn't have any other kwahi? it's because of character no other players are like kawhi. you can have a good teacher if the student is not of good quality it doesn't matter. chip had mano,tim duncan, parker and more.
You ignored the circumstances. This is a fired/salty employee suing, NOT Kawhi. Kawhi still showing up to games, sitting on the bench. That doesnt look like a beef.
As a Spurs fan, the truth about Kawhi is that he only cares about Kawhi and doesn’t care at all about the team that pays him. Spurs realized that early and pivoted away and it might be the smartest move they ever made to not submit to the Kawhi circus
Why should players care about Billion dollar franchises that don't care about them ? Who wouldn't want to get paid 50+ mill to be in Los Angeles without having to actually work/ hoop? Why be mad at the brother?
@@Coolranchfrito Because people miss the days where players actually cared. Look at Kobe Bryant, the man was obsessed with winning and he dedicated himself to LA and ushered himself onto Laker Mount Rushmore. Say what you will about Lebron. One thing you can't say is that he doesn't love basketball.
Nobody would ever sign that contract. Or they would just not play hard. You can't predict when you're getting injured or how severe it is. Why would you risk your entire career just so you can not get paid?
First ballot Hall of Famer and one of the top players of his era. An incredible defensive player who was a stud on both ends of the floor. Big time effort guy, too. He just has some injuries especially as he’s entered middle age.
Nothing wrong with him, he’s just like any other player who has to deal with injuries. It’s the owners who are aware of his injuries and yet still sign him to humongous contracts.
Love and respect IT, but he got TONS of chances to prove himself. His hip injury killed his explosiveness, his finishing, what little defense he did have, and his long-term health. He’s done.
I remember when he was a laker, he seemed to be all heart. I remember him getting switched on Dirk on defense, he harassed Dirk out of his shot. Smallest guy there.
you're acting like after he got traded to Cleveland he was out of the league. Bro has suited up for a bunch of teams, he just isn't the same player and contribute at the highest level anymore. It sucks and I hope Boston gets punished for what they did to I.T., but he's washed sadly
Says a lot about the Raptors organization... put his health first and didn't rush or force him to play games/minutes he didnt want to. Result? a Championship. It always seemed like the Clippers pushed it as far as they could with Kawhi to win vs. being more conservative so they could TRULY make a title run.
No the raptors just knew that Kawhi is soft and handled him with mittens. The Clippers and Spurs thought they had a player who has heart and toughness but they found out that he is the original Joel Embiid. Charmin toilet paper tissue soft
he was limping starting in Sixers series. He pushed hard because it was contract year. He needed to show up to collect big bag from the team of his choice. that's probably why he was never the same since 2019 chip.
You dudes in the comments need to listen to what Dr Brian was saying. A lot of Kawhi's decisions are influenced by his uncle. The dude looks and moves a little shifty if you ask me. Research what he requested from Jeannie Buss when they were trying to get Kawhi over there. This man is ruining Kawhi.
That initial quad injury isn't the type of thing that heals, and that causes a chain reaction of other injuries. His knees are degenerating over time, the less he plays the more seasons he'll be able to get through. Its clear what his camp's priorities and why
This guy is getting paid millions of dollars to play on the court, sit on the bench, or relax at home. The only people I feel sorry for are Steve Balmer and Clippers fans. I'm tired of this saga, just retire or play injured, and stop taking people's money who came to watch you PLAY!
If you’ve been injury prone your whole career and also had one strength coach your whole career… it’s time to change things up, even on the off chance that things might improve
@ its not how good IT was. It more about how the celtics handled his injury. it is relatively recent and it was not due to medical science, they were being misleading or withholding information. And the celtics knew that Isiah would have handled it differently, thats why they did not tell him. I agree i never though IT was amazing, i am more of an AI guy than Nash. And mostly because AI had a 98-102 defensive rating. I think you need to play both sides or at least pay at an average level on defense. But it was not my intent to talk play style or caliber of player.
I usually like your content. Disappointed with this conclusion. Not everyone heals at the same pace and not every injury is exactly the same. Not to mention you mention Markelle Fultz, who you just mentioned in another video as injuries contributed to his exit out of the league. This piece didn't meet the level of your usual content which is well thought out and insightful
I simply don’t believe that 2 separate NBA franchises mishandled the same star player’s injuries
Apparently Toronto Raptors did it correct 🤷
Well the Raptors didn’t, and they won
it was a fluke@@stump4522
@@stump4522 for one year... you can find one-year long periods of time with no health problem for kawhi on both the spurs and the clippers... could just be random luck, but who knows
Yes. Raptors did it right. Some of our fans didn’t understand but many did. It’s not about the regular season. It’s about the playoffs.
They push their players who make 50 MILLION dollars per year to actually play some basketball?! Who woulda thought! Why are people acting like this was a normal job? Their salaries aren’t normal, are they?! He could’ve retired but chose not to. I don’t feel sorry for this man.
nah but f ck the billionaires. clean them for eveything they got. i still wish ill on brad steven or danny ainge or whoever for the IT situation
I 100% agree with you.
@@iainthadbreakfast f uck them both but remember it ultimately it isn't the owners who pay the players its the fans. a decade ago I wouldn't have questioned a player's injury but they have gone to the point that they have lost all good will.
@@iainthadbreakfastlmao hating a billionaire because they treated a multi millionaire poorly.
You wouldnt retire if they gave you $50m x 3 years though 😅
Im sure Kawhi isn't looking for sympathy either - He doesnt even really speak out much.
It's pretty obvious by now that Kawhi and his team were in the wrong, and the Spurs (and other teams) have been right.
Toronto disagrees
Raptors still thank you for the trade.
Yep. I have said this when it all started.
@@swasho2939disagrees with what? Any other year in the Finals, and the raps get folded just the same like the cavs and the heat in that timespan.
Spurs were a bitch for no reason and you know it. Kawhi is just really injury prone and that's pretty much it. What reason does he have for not playing for the clippers before? The squad was stacked and they could have definitely won a ring if everyone was healthy. Stop spouting crap.
dude has a max contract and didnt want to play for 720+ days. Ya... fuck that shit.
he wasnt like Klay. Klay got them 3 rings THEN went down with injury and the dubs gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Kawhi came into clippers with a history of injuries. Got a max and then looks like he tried to finesse them by playing as little as possible.
NBA is guaranteed contracts, so if it's you and your body your gonna risk it? Or you are of the mindset your making a lot if money your our property so get out their and play? Just saying most people feel players aren't as badly hurt as they claim and just need to suck it up and play. But if you were part of a team that won titles then you earned extended time? Which makes no sense to me since its been known he is injury prone so it's logic to think he might need more time off or how about don't sign him for so much since you know his injury past and what comes along with that. But they did anyways.
As a Raptors fan, I think he should have stayed with us even if it means we suck up his injuries. He explicitly said our medical staff was elite, took care of him and carefully planned his loads, it would have been in the best of his interest to stay if medical was a concern. Besides that, like you said, he would at least have the benefit of the doubt from a franchaise that he has gotten a ring for.
Now, it's just terrible for Clippers and for his own reputation....whether or not he is really trying to skip work or not.
@@MeatieBanana I disagree about the raptor would have been more understanding. It always sounds good to reward a player who won for them. But we have seen time and time again it's about right now and the near future. Besides that what player has Toronto ever showed loyalty too? Look at how fast they traded Derozan. Yes that trade got them a championship but that showed 1 year of Kawhi meant more than 9 of Derozan. Lastly I think the Clippers have given Kawhi patience and have been good to him. I doubt any other team would have matched what they have done. Most would have packaged him in a trade to get some value for him in my opinion. But I do agree him signing with the raptors would have made a good storyline. A city that struggles to sign or keep stars traded the one who did want to be there. There's professional sports loyalty 🤣🤣🤣
Klay went down with two injuries: tore his ACL in Game 5 of the 19 Finals, then a year later tore his achilles right before he was going to come back from the ACL tear.
@@jasonnelson6624 very true lol, it's a business after all!
What's wrong with Kawhi Leonard is that he's majorly injury prone and that he doesn't do anything to assure his teammates or organization that he really cares about coming back as quickly and fully as possible.
It's hard for him to play without any heart.
He has a degenerative knee…he can’t help that he can’t play too much. But I think he should retire at this point to be honest.
🧢
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@@yungmirskiSS to be honest, at this point. Its the clippers fault they paying him so much if he's routinely injured. Like they already know that.
Its not kawhi's fault a team is willing to give him XY money. He plays when he can as far as were aware.
Kawhi could be a perfectly fine low cost contract since u know ur only getting him for half the year but when he does play he wins you games. But clippers pay him like he's gonna be playing 70 games and the whole post season.
Remember how he was somehow ready to play for the Olympics? Or how he had no real issue playing for the Raptors? Yeah he picks and chooses when to play
Cause his injuries worsened after that Raptor season. He tore fkin everything possible and injured pretty much all the time. He was ready to play at the Olympics but didn't get the green light probably from the clippers to go there cause they must have been worried he will get injured.
Naw he was banged up when he was with us in Toronto too
He hadn’t played 60 games since his Toronto season, and suddenly last year, because the rules changed that you had to play 65 games for post season awards, he pkayed:68. Yeah,he plays when he feels like it. OTOH, Ballmer is a fucking idiot for giving him another contract.
@@SnowmanSess-ds9zx The Raptors team doctors were good enough to win a championship.
@@davidpayumo23 he was healthy in the bubble and couldn't win a chip with the Clippers up 3-1 rofl but nobody wants to talk about that. They couldn't even win the bubble chip.
Feel sorry for Isaiah Thomas😢
So many people are upset with Anthony Richards NFL qb for the Colts asking to get subbed due to being tired. They want him released and say even if he's injured he needs to stay and play. But Isaiah Thomas is the perfect example of you need to protect yourself and do what's best for you today but also future. It's always easy for others to say you should suck it up and just play aren't you a man? But would they do it when it's their body on the line? Probably not.
@@jasonnelson6624ppl are so soft these days lmao
He knows his body more than anyone. Seems like a cop out to blame the medical staff for what happened to him.
@@MrJohnnyAOA for the most part I think most people recognize that he wasn't forced to play injured or anything like that. Well at least the people ive talked with and my personal belief but of course I don't know that for a fact.
I feel sorry for him. But now Kawhi
Uncle Dennis has been doing this crap since 2016, burning bridges everywhere Kawhi goes
I mean I do remember when Kawhi got hurt during the 2021 playoffs. The clippers called it a knee sprain just to later say it was a ACL tear. Then comes back 2023 and tears his meniscus…
The Spurs took great care of their players, health wise. When the whole debacle with Kawhi went down, it never made sense, because Spurs docs are really good at getting guys healthy. Now it’s clear his team (and Kawhi himself) were just being divas. Good riddance.
That was clear from the beginning. Everyone else who ever played for the Spurs and everyone who was playing at that time was good. He was the only one having issues. It never made sense for anyone to assume he was right in that situation without clear proof. It was an issue that came out of left field and an issue that magically disappeared when he went to Toronto.
Years later, the truth finally comes out. NBA media owe the Spurs an apology for spinning those lies to help push Kawhi’s agenda.
Still
Mad
That
He
Won
In
Canada
😂
@@wonderfulperspectives2674 What an idiotic statement and not relevant to the initial post.
So he refuses to see team doctors and then blames them..make it make sense..dude doesn’t wanna play but expects to get paid.
As a Spurs fan, i'm so glad the truth is starting to show. I knew every update of the Spurs-Kawhi saga so i know and probably every Spurs fan knows there wasn't any mistreatment from the team and the problem is all on Kawhi's team especially that damn uncle
Keep crying it’s hilarious
Kawhi injury curse blessed spurs with Wembanyama
@@wonderfulperspectives2674 If you knew anything about Spurs basketball, you would know that the Spurs actually tried to help Leonard. He ignored them. No sympathy for him at all...
Dude is gonna be the reason teams stop taking chances on injury prone players, especially with the new salary cap rules. Clippers are so screwed because of his contract lol
the Clippers Owner has money to burn anyway 😂
It’s our own fault shouldn’t have gave him that dumbass contract time to trade him and at least get something back for all the crap we traded for that scrub Paul George
The “ex player” media owe the spurs an apology
In the end I'm glad he was such a prick about things in San Antonio. Even though the Spurs haven't done a whole lot with what they got for him, which if you trace what those assets have been flipped into is Keldon Johnson, this years Bulls pick (top 10 protected), a 2030 top 1 protected Minnesota swap, and an unprotected 2031 Minnesota first. But would hate to be paying this guy a supermax while he made the team too good to get the pick to draft Vassell much less Wemby and Castle but not good enough to be any kind of force in the playoffs.
No they fkin don't. Spurs were a bitch about it and you pretty much know it. Ad also didn't play for the Pelicans so he just sat down and didn't but I guess its allowed in his case? And only Kawhi needs to be the loyal cocksking guy for his team? Spurs fans are so pathetic, first you disrespect the guy and cry when he leaves y'all.
@@homerthompson416 ever since the zaza pachulia injury, his health went down the drain. The Spurs dynasty could have been so much longer had he not been done dirty but that's life.
@@rabeechowdhury I think Kawhi was gone to LA no matter what. Otherwise he would have stayed in Toronto where he was the hero of the city and had an amazing and versatile supporting cast around him but he was still the clear alpha.
Sounds like Kawhi’s personal trainer is so incompetent he couldn’t get him back into shape in a reasonable time and make him strong enough to prevent injury. The trainer is trying to avoid any blame.
Yep that trainer been with Kawhi for the longest time. Always two sides to the story.
The trainer is trying to milk has much money from Kawhi he's only telling him what he wants to hear
Most personal trainers are trash.
Finally, a TH-camr who gets it. It's like you ACTUALLY read the lawsuit, as opposed to the Dan LeBatards of the world who jumped straight to Kawhi's defense, clickbait. Shadiness and poor communication has been around Kawhi for a long time. His M.O. With the Spurs, his Uncle created headaches galore. In FA from Toronto, Kawhi and his Uncle making those exorbitant, under-the-table demands from the Lakers. The lawsuit from Kawhi's ex-agent, Brian Elfus suing for fees. The Johnny Wilkes lawsuit suing the Clippers and Jerry West for acting as Kawhi's "go-between" before he was even a FA, another obvious case of tampering, which Shelton's lawsuit also alleges. And now this Shelton lawsuit. Kawhi's uniform changes and yet the narrative remains the same. It's bad enough the guy's body is brittle and broke and Kawhi and his camp think it's everybody else's fault and then all this diva-ish behavior behind the scenes that fans don't see because Kawhi doesn't talk in the media about the hornets nests he stirs up. You better believe his Uncle does plenty of talking...
You wanna hear something else? This shadiness extends to even matters outside basketball. I happen to know through an old classmate and family friend that Kawhi even got shady about the bill for criminal defense attorney, Virginia Blumenthal they hired to defend his sister, Kimesha Williams, who beat that old lady to death in that Pechanga Casino bathroom in Temecula, CA, for like 80 bucks or whatever. Late retainers, balking at court fees. Kawhi and his people were told his sister'd likely get a stiff sentence and when she got life, they wanted to stiff her, if you can believe it. She (Blumenthal) thought she might have to sue just to recoup her fees! This is just how they operate and they don't necessarily deserve all the sympathy they're given.
Dan lebatard will always defend the player no matter what unless pat riley tells him not too.
Spurs fan here. I was shattered when Kawhi left. The guy was turning into one of the biggest powerhouse players in the NBA. Looking back, I'm glad it happened because it allowed us to rebuild. We put everything into Kawhi and once it failed it put us back years... now we can rebuild around Wemby.
After how many years are your team still rebuilding? Lol
@@timw8646 I hear ya :(
@@ThalantyrBF3 sorry to say the truth.
If it was anyone other then Kawhi, I might pay attention. He has been out for eight years.
Pop saw it; he used to talk about Kawhi as the future of the franchise long before he started putting up allstar numbers. I remember thinking Pop was nuts at the time but a couple years later Kawhi's a top 5 player in the league. Also how are you leaving out the part in the lawsuit where it was alleged the Clippers were tampering when Kawhi was on the Spurs? I wouldn't buy Uncle Dennis' explanation either. The Spurs told Kawhi he had a degenerative condition in his knee and would have to be load managed the rest of his career. And when they tried to officially shut him down for the season right before a big ESPN game against either Golden State or OKC his camp went to ESPN and told them Kawhi was about to return and would be playing that game, which ESPN reported.
It doesn’t sound Isiah Thomas like at all. 730 days? That’s like 2 years. That’s ridiculous
-- 2 years a LOT of time. He should get 12-16 months of rest. Anything else? He forgoes his salary.
Plus, he keeps getting injured even WITH rest in SAS, TOR, LAC so as great as he is, he's injury prone.
And i dont feel bad for isiah thomas either. Youre expected to play if you can. He still made millions in his career. He had to have understood that the track record is not good for very small/slashing guards as they approach their 30s in the nba. If it wasnt that injury it could have been something else. If he sat out that whole year be could have easily gotten hurt the next year. He was getting knocked to the ground all the time. Iverson was the same way. Basically done after age 31-32
Exactly. Why not take 5 years off for an ACL injury? People pretending the clippers were harsh on Kawhi is hysterical
I don't think there is any real beef between Kawhi and the Clippers. Kawhi played 68 games at a really high level last year and works as hard as anyone on the team. Clippers have always given him leeway to try to preserve his health, and gave him a 3 year deal last season. It seems like the (ex) trainer is unhappy about being pushed out, but we'll see. The main problem is simply that Kawhi's body can't hold up to a full season any more, which is a shame for everyone.
Spurs tried telling everybody that, that Primadonna was fragile, injury prone and a hot mess
This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
100% the Spurs KNEW. why the basketball gods gifted us wemby 🔥💯
He still got the Raptors a ring and beat a prime GSW team in the process...
The way spurs fans are still butt hurt over kawhi shows he wasn't a hot mess, because if he was you would have moved on Instead of harboring such hate.
The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. Spurs fans still love kawhi
Is that why Pop felt the need to grab the mic to try to get Spurs fans to stop booing him in 2023? lol. Not love.
Kawhi shouldn’t sign any contract until he’s healthy to play
No team should have given him a contract until he was healthy to play. Accepting millions for sitting on the bench doesn't hurt Kawhi, only the team and the fans.
@@dolby8334convenient that he played nearly 70 games this past season. Almost like he’s trying to reassure management to offer an extension or something
You're worth whatever someone will pay you.
or maybe teams shouldn't sign him expensive contracts rofl Clippers is a team made for cope, ownership and fans included. Even Paul George has had enough and bailed on this failed project. Clippers is a retirement home.
This vid should talk about how well the raptors managed his injuries in the regular season and playoffs.
Should never had left my raps.
The raps would have probably gotten 2 more rings and Kawhi would have a way better legacy
He would've sat on the bench with an injury
@@rene9066exactly lol then this guy would just complain about him not playing just like clippers fans 😂
Honestly if Kawhi was still like this (very probable) im glad he didnt stay on the raps.
@@dylanstaley6089 at least the bubble chip using his player option, then he could have gone to the Clippers and made even more money.
Can’t lie this needs to talked about more because it happens a lot because there’s guys are not getting healthy, Gilbert arenas said this on his podcast “you get then all of a sudden on the news there expected timetable way shorter than the time it takes for my injury to actually heal” it’s crazy people can say these players are lazy but teams constantly do this meaning players are never fully recovered from injuries are compensating on the court leading to more injuries
I dont even understand why they'd have a short time table if its just the regular season. Like if you had a young kawhi on ur roster why would you ever rush him back when you know you're rolling dice with a guy who could be your best player for the next 5-10 years.
He should retire
@@MindAndMythbecause Clippers depth stink. It only gotten better recently.
I don't trust Ty Lue he is not a defensive mind oriented. Most young players just want to score and not defend.
@ you know why money, IT not playing in eastern conference finals doesn’t sale tickets and it get views
And knowing all this, the Clippers were willing to pay him $50 million a year. He should retire, but if someone's willing to pay him that much, I can't blame him for accepting that paycheck.
If there’s one thing I heard in San Antonio all those years is that Kawhi is 100% against playing through any pain at all. It’s just continuing here.
Playing through pain and injury has no tactical benefits other than bragging rights.
Can't blame him tbh. To us, this is just entertainment, to athletes that's their entire life. Why should they risk it at all?
He played through the pain with the Raptors and won. Js
@@elijahbruno2814he did?? plz elaborate
@@stump4522 that's fine, but too then lie and act like the injury was misdiagnosed means your a pos.
no ad? wild
I never got that, Davis is Cal Ripken compared to Kawhi
dang 43 minutes and already 14k views. Nice job Casey!
You briefly reminding me of Zaza stepping on his ankle just filled me with so much old rage I buried towards that man. What could’ve been
I'm from San Antonio and I have friends that work within the organization. I can tell you unequivocally 100% the truth on what happened with Leonard and the Spurs! All I have to say is don't put this on the Spurs organization!!!!
And I'm sure your friends are not biased at all.
Mavs fan and have nothing but respect for y'alls organization and how you run it. I definitely believe the Spurs.
The spurs doctor would be biased
tell us!
I have been saying that from the beginning.
The Spurs organization has done an excellent job of protecting its players.
As the Big 3 aged, they no longer played back to backs and were able to win a championship in 2014 with Kawhi as Finals MVP. The Spurs would probably have given Kawhi the same treatment.
I remember in the famous documentary about Bird and Magic, Larry Bird said that he learned a valuable lesson from his late father who taught Bird that if you’re paid to do a job, you show up for work.
Players today clearly haven’t received the same lesson.
We Watched your video for our P.E. class 🔥
Lucky mf
Which one?
@@jakovspajic8533This one
W teacher yo gotta respect those
What was the subject on?
I believe most players get mismanaged in sports, period. It's a business. And what made knee injuries worse is players like Adrian Peterson coming back so fast and strong. Adrian Peterson is one of a kind; most people don't recover that fast for an extended career after an injury.
We need an unauthorized doc on this guy, Uncle Dennis, the Spurs and Laurence Frank.
As a Raptors fan, the best utilization of Kawhi is to have him join a team that can make the playoffs without him and have him play enough regular season to develop chemistry. Then let him cook in the playoffs.
Dude coasted in the regular season and dominated the playoffs. He was obviously super hurt during the playoffs but he seemed super motivated to win, unlike now.
Yeah he's dominated but somehow blew 3-1 lead against nuggets in 2020, got injured in 2021, got injured again in playoffs in 2022 and 2023 I think
He was motivated because it was a contract year. Makes perfect sense. Left Toronto for LA and a Huge Bag.
4:00 Lol i know you did that thing you do where you show one perspective then flip it and show the other, but as soon as i heard 730 days i paused the video and was like "HELL NO! Im on the clippers side now!" 😂
This video is award-worthy!
Heres an ESPN type stat, Kawhi is the greatest injury prone player of all-time
Greatest load managing legend
He is lmao
What about ben simmons?
It just teleported to my hand when I saw A.M. Hoops post😩
This wasn’t funny lil bro
😦
I will say this. As a Blazer fan I have seen my team do shady things for decades medically. Would it shock me to see a team like the Clippers do things that may not be in a players best interest? Not at all.
What works for one, doesn’t always work for another. Kawhi had his own guy cause he seemed to understand Kawhi’s body and Kawhi trusted that guy because he’s been right on the money in the past. Clippers thought they knew better and tried to do it their way. Kawhi’s injury history has proven that maybe teams should try listening to his trainer for a change
The trainer who has been overseeing him while he's gotten those injuries? I think you have it completely backwards.
What was Klay's injury and total time out was how much?
You got to be kidding 700+ days for rehab?! His "trainer"/rehab coach is full of bs.
I remember Kawhi doing an interview at some point in his 20s where he was scared that he wasn't going to be able to walk again. Because he plays basketball. Dude thinks he's a Purple Heart recipient.
This may sound crazy, but maybe Kawhi is a hypocondriac.
they say he also works out when he's injured and supposed to be recovering
Great content, never knew about IT situation in Boston until now
Basketball gods gifted the Spurs Wemby for having to go through dudes mess. He just didn't want to be there. He quit on the team imo
😂 you mad?
6:50 that's A CLAW
730 days is ridiculous recovery timeline from an ACL. The "trainer" who said this has an interest in prolonging a player's career by not playing the individual....should just say "IDEAL TIMELINE IS 4380 DAYS SO KEEP PAYING HIM TILL THEN!" It's a deliberate scam. Why do you think LeBron sits as much? These guys are just trying to stay on very expensive workman's comp.
Prime Kawhi Leonard CHOKED a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets.
That wasn't prime Kawhi, and he didn't choke. Paul George choked like he always does. .
@@RinslerRR when every starter on the opposing team got hurt, he is massively overrated.
@@nikhilapte4782 yes it was and Kawhi choked it too.
@@Goatlikeitornotnah he only played choke game 7. He did okay. But PG was the one playing horrible the entire Denver series season.
@@ItsMeStriderAwwww now we have to babysit our opposing team so they can get full health before the match begin. Man you guys are softer than charming.
Down in the tone people were already talking about him having a degenerate knee condition when he wouldn't play and it looks like that is true.
He was diagnosed by the Spurs almost a decade ago with chronic degenerative joint disease. Kawhi didn't believe them and went to New York to seek for a other opinion, it was confirmed. The Spurs were not going to pay him max money and were planning on managing the condition.
@@amandswright2040 Exactly. And Kawhi's camp wanted to hush it up so that he could force his way to hometown LA and get a big bag. And he did.
I’ll accept the notion that the team prioritized availability over health, though Kawhi’s contract and apparent team patience seems to undermine that argument. I won’t accept the argument that the team was wrong for listening to the advice of their doctors over the advice of ~ checks notes ~ Kawhi’s trainer. 🤨 Man, Kawhi been stealing money for years!
The claw owes everything to Chip Engelland. If it was not for him, he would be just a good defender. on 1 leg 😅
Why didn't chip do it for anyone else.
You think Kawhi didn't put up the work?
You have no idea what you're talking about. If only it was that simple lmao
@@MarkLaw13 chip do it for all spurs players. but it's to the player to put up the work.
@@alfonstabz9741 so why is Chip getting all the credit? If Chip was so good he will have many Kawhi's under his belt. Spurs will stay afloat
@@MarkLaw13 chip deserve all the credit. why he doesn't have any other kwahi? it's because of character no other players are like kawhi. you can have a good teacher if the student is not of good quality it doesn't matter. chip had mano,tim duncan, parker and more.
5:48 I was like "Wow, WTF is that woman's job???" for a sec
😂
You ignored the circumstances. This is a fired/salty employee suing, NOT Kawhi. Kawhi still showing up to games, sitting on the bench. That doesnt look like a beef.
As a Spurs fan, the truth about Kawhi is that he only cares about Kawhi and doesn’t care at all about the team that pays him. Spurs realized that early and pivoted away and it might be the smartest move they ever made to not submit to the Kawhi circus
Why should players care about Billion dollar franchises that don't care about them ? Who wouldn't want to get paid 50+ mill to be in Los Angeles without having to actually work/ hoop? Why be mad at the brother?
@@Coolranchfrito Because people miss the days where players actually cared. Look at Kobe Bryant, the man was obsessed with winning and he dedicated himself to LA and ushered himself onto Laker Mount Rushmore. Say what you will about Lebron. One thing you can't say is that he doesn't love basketball.
Looking forward to a new video about this if more details are leaked. 👍
Always appreciate your content A.M. Hoops
God bless
It's very simple, put injury clause in the contracts
Nobody would ever sign that contract. Or they would just not play hard. You can't predict when you're getting injured or how severe it is. Why would you risk your entire career just so you can not get paid?
@kc12394 well home depot is always hiring when you're no longer bouncing a ball for money
Love the vids
Why does it sound like Kawhi and his trainer meet at a convention to promote insurance fraud?
I was crushed when he left the spurs, but after his constant injuries and failures to return, I’m glad. We ended up with Wemby eventually.
First ballot Hall of Famer and one of the top players of his era. An incredible defensive player who was a stud on both ends of the floor. Big time effort guy, too.
He just has some injuries especially as he’s entered middle age.
as a life long spurs fan... thank you for finally saying what we all felt down here
6:42 Clang clang clank
"I know that sounds crazy but the Clippers actually asked him to... play basketball" - That was a great line XD
2 words. Uncle Dennis.
Bone collector
Nothing wrong with him, he’s just like any other player who has to deal with injuries. It’s the owners who are aware of his injuries and yet still sign him to humongous contracts.
I think Zion William is head that direction..
KaWheelChair Leonard even gets injured in his dreams ♿️
Hopefully Kawahi can play 70 games soon...
love from south africa 🇿🇦
Me too 🇿🇦
🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦
I saw an article from 2011 saying he had a degenerative condition that it was something the spurs were going to keep an eye on
Isaiah Thomas should’ve gotten other chance
Love and respect IT, but he got TONS of chances to prove himself. His hip injury killed his explosiveness, his finishing, what little defense he did have, and his long-term health. He’s done.
I remember when he was a laker, he seemed to be all heart. I remember him getting switched on Dirk on defense, he harassed Dirk out of his shot. Smallest guy there.
you're acting like after he got traded to Cleveland he was out of the league. Bro has suited up for a bunch of teams, he just isn't the same player and contribute at the highest level anymore. It sucks and I hope Boston gets punished for what they did to I.T., but he's washed sadly
He got probably too many.
I’m a big fan of Kawhi but man, he makes almost 50mil a year and needed 720 days for rehab? Come on now. But who are we? We just ordinary people.
Kawhi was managed masterfully in Toronto.Clips tampered so they could get a walking injury! Kawhi and the Clips deserve each other. Enjoy!
Thomas got screwed by Boston, that was terrible. He should've sue them.
Says a lot about the Raptors organization... put his health first and didn't rush or force him to play games/minutes he didnt want to. Result? a Championship. It always seemed like the Clippers pushed it as far as they could with Kawhi to win vs. being more conservative so they could TRULY make a title run.
... and then he left
No the raptors just knew that Kawhi is soft and handled him with mittens. The Clippers and Spurs thought they had a player who has heart and toughness but they found out that he is the original Joel Embiid. Charmin toilet paper tissue soft
@@Christo_Trismegistusthat's nasty work. Embiid doesn't have 2x Championship.
Only soft countries know how to handle softies the correct way
he was limping starting in Sixers series. He pushed hard because it was contract year. He needed to show up to collect big bag from the team of his choice.
that's probably why he was never the same since 2019 chip.
kawhi is a progressive individualist - me first, my body first - world second. And he's right and that's why we love kawhi
Kawhi can do no wrong watch your mouth.
I don’t put it past the Clippers but Kawhi been having issues since San Antonio.
love, first
You dudes in the comments need to listen to what Dr Brian was saying. A lot of Kawhi's decisions are influenced by his uncle. The dude looks and moves a little shifty if you ask me. Research what he requested from Jeannie Buss when they were trying to get Kawhi over there. This man is ruining Kawhi.
1st
he was first
The 65 games rule was about embeid not kahwai
Applies to both
Kawhi is the goat
The goat of lazy superstars
@@Mkultra_isRealhe’s not lazy
😂
SGA the goat
@@michaelpaullang4401he might be.
Noti Gang
That initial quad injury isn't the type of thing that heals, and that causes a chain reaction of other injuries. His knees are degenerating over time, the less he plays the more seasons he'll be able to get through. Its clear what his camp's priorities and why
Coach Pop didn't just trade Kawhi, he deported him out of the country 😂
Hell yeah! THIS IS A.M HOOPS that WE ALL KNOW. Appreciate the research on this matter. You are COOKING on this one! 🔥
This guy is getting paid millions of dollars to play on the court, sit on the bench, or relax at home. The only people I feel sorry for are Steve Balmer and Clippers fans. I'm tired of this saga, just retire or play injured, and stop taking people's money who came to watch you PLAY!
Kahwis camp is sueing for him to still get them BAGS.....
"at some point you gotta cut it off" WTF 🤣🤣🤣
If you’ve been injury prone your whole career and also had one strength coach your whole career… it’s time to change things up, even on the off chance that things might improve
We’ve seen stars he injury prone before, we just haven’t seen players cause this much drama due to lack of communication along with being injury prone
730 days for an ACL??? Straight out the Ben Simmons playbook. That man was trying to get paid without having to play 😂😂😂
Im sooooo glad this is bringing to light the Isaiah Thomas(celtics) situation. That is messed up and most people dont know it ever happened.
I don’t agree IT was an okay player out west for years then went to the JV East and was a poor man’s Tre Young. It was a fluke season.
@ its not how good IT was. It more about how the celtics handled his injury. it is relatively recent and it was not due to medical science, they were being misleading or withholding information. And the celtics knew that Isiah would have handled it differently, thats why they did not tell him.
I agree i never though IT was amazing, i am more of an AI guy than Nash. And mostly because AI had a 98-102 defensive rating. I think you need to play both sides or at least pay at an average level on defense. But it was not my intent to talk play style or caliber of player.
I usually like your content. Disappointed with this conclusion. Not everyone heals at the same pace and not every injury is exactly the same. Not to mention you mention Markelle Fultz, who you just mentioned in another video as injuries contributed to his exit out of the league. This piece didn't meet the level of your usual content which is well thought out and insightful
That clip of LeBron saying "F*ck" at 1:40 min mark hit. Kobe would never
As a Clipper fan, thank you for shining light on this 🙏