What should fantasy basketball owners do with Kawhi Leonard?

Fantasy basketball owners should brace themselves to be without Kawhi Leonard for the rest of the season.

While speaking with reporters Wednesday, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich dropped a bombshell: He doesn’t expect star forward Kawhi Leonard to return this season.

Considering fantasy basketball owners likely spent a late first- or early second-round pick on Leonard during drafts this past fall, Popovich’s comments Wednesday are both a blessing and a curse.

Leonard has played only nine games this season due to a lingering quadriceps injury that dates back to the 2016-17 campaign. He missed San Antonio’s first 27 regular-season games before making his season debut on Dec. 12, but a shoulder injury in early January sent him back to the sidelines for three games. Leonard returned from that to hang 19 points on the Denver Nuggets in mid-January, but he hasn’t played since.

Prior to the All-Star break, the Spurs gave no indication as to when they expected Leonard to return. They labeled him as out “indefinitely,” but Pop told reporters in mid-January that the team expected him to come back at some point this season. For fantasy owners with IR spots on their roster, stashing Leonard likely wasn’t a huge inconvenience, but those without IR spots had Leonard burning a roster spot on their bench.

If you don’t have an IR spot in your league, it’s now time to drop Leonard.

While the Spurs have yet to officially rule Leonard out for the season, Popovich likely wouldn’t have been so straightforward with reporters Wednesday if the two-time Defensive Player of the Year was on the precipice of a return. It appears as though everyone within the San Antonio organization — from Popovich and the front office to Leonard and the team’s doctors — are frustrated with his glacial pace of recovery, especially with Tony Parker having already returned from a similar injury.

“What’s really strange is that [point guard] Tony [Parker] has the same injury, but even worse,” Pop told reporters in November. “They had to go operate on his quad tendon and put it back together or whatever they did to it. So to have two guys, that’s pretty incredible. I had never seen it before those guys.”

Rather than continue to have the elephant of Leonard’s return hanging over the organization, Popovich’s comments Wednesday reduce expectations moving forward. The Spurs are now proceeding as though their franchise player is done for the season, and fantasy owners would be wise to do the same. Owners in dynasty or keeper leagues have no choice but to hang on to Leonard (unless your trade deadline hasn’t passed), but owners in redraft formats should drop him, especially if you don’t have an IR spot.

In Leonard’s absence, both Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gay figure to be the primary beneficiaries. Gay is set to return from a 23-game absence Friday, according to ESPN.com’s Michael C. Wright, while Anderson has been holding down the fort at the forward spot with both Leonard and Gay sidelined. With per-game averages of 11.5 points on 47.6 percent shooting, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.7 triples and 0.8 blocks in 22.7 minutes, Gay was a fringe top-150 option before he went down, while Anderson has churned out top-85 value on the year.

With Anderson (15.8 percent owned) and Gay (20.2 percent) both widely available in ESPN.com leagues, both should be high among owners’ waiver-wire wishlists heading out of the All-Star break. Anderson’s value may take a small hit upon Gay’s return, but he should remain roster-worthy in 10- and 12-team leagues. Gay, meanwhile, should be owned in all 12-team formats and deeper 10-team leagues as well.

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LaMarcus Aldridge’s rest-of-season fantasy stock also looks far brighter in the wake of Pop’s comments Wednesday, as it appears as though he’ll remain the Spurs’ No. 1 option indefinitely. The big man is churning out top-20 value on the year while averaging 22.4 points on 50.1 percent shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 33.9 minutes, and Popovich may have no choice but to ride him into the ground as San Antonio jostles for playoff positioning in the cutthroat Western Conference. It’ll likely cost an arm and a leg to pry him away from a fellow owner, but it’s worth exploring his trade market just in case.

All ownership percentages via ESPN.com. All average draft position info via FantasyPros. All rankings via Basketball Monster are based on nine-category leagues and are current heading into Wednesday, Feb. 21.