Strong possibility Spurs' Kawhi Leonard attends USA Basketball camp in Vegas with coach Gregg Popovich
Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played basketball in a public setting since mid-January as a lingering quadriceps injury derailed his season and likely his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, the only franchise he’s ever known.
But there’s a strong possibility Leonard, who made it clear more than a month ago that he wants to be traded out of San Antonio preferably to the Los Angeles Lakers, will attend a USA Basketball camp in Las Vegas from July 25-27th, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told Paste BN Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the fluid nature of the situation.
The embattled Spurs forward has gone largely quiet since the injury – and the course of treatment – caused friction between he and the franchise. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is the national team coach who will oversee that mini-camp.
The Spurs were officially able to offer Leonard a five-year, $221 million supermax deal earlier this week that would’ve signaled the continuation of the Spurs’ decades-long run. But Leonard, a two-time All-NBA first teamer, appears to want no part of remaining with the Spurs.
Leonard can be a free agent next summer and can severely soften the market for himself without a long-term commitment to a new team. Potential suitors like Boston and Philadelphia are reticent to include more assets without any assurance that Leonard would even consider a future there after next season. The 76ers are unwilling to include Markelle Fultz, Joel Embiid or Ben Simmons in trade discussions, a person with knowledge of the situation told Paste BN Sports.
The person requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.
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Aside from that, teams aren’t sure what type of physical form Leonard is in and whether he’d be able to recover from the right quadriceps tendinopathy that limited him to just nine games this season.
USA Basketball values commitment to its program, and equity established with Jerry Colangelo and Popovich goes a long way in deciding who plays in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
It's unclear whether Leonard would work out if he does attend the camp, but it would behoove him to show up in order to stay in good standing with USA Basketball.
ESPN first reported the latest development.