Enough stars – Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Gordon Hayward – have changed teams in the last couple years to know how this goes. People say they don’t care so much whether a player leaves. They claim to care more how a player leaves. (Even though nobody ever finds a player’s exit tact good enough.)
How is Kawhi Leonard – who reportedly wants to leave the Spurs – doing on that front?
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Sources: So far, Leonard has expressed nothing directly to Spurs about future. Lakers and Clippers interest Leonard -- and both teams would move quickly to assemble packages to acquire Leonard. Spurs won't rush. Leonard and his camp had shown interest in $219M super max deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 15, 2018
Chris Haynes of ESPN:
Kawhi Leonard isn't concerned about missing out on the supermax, sources tell ESPN. There's a feeling of betrayal that at this juncture, appears irreparable.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 15, 2018
There are two possibilities here:
1. Leonard leaked his desire to leave the Spurs before informing them and is throwing around words like “betrayal” to make them look bad.
2. Leonard already told the organization, and San Antonio is denying it to make him look bad.
Either would show the high level of acrimony here.