Kawhi Leonard and the testing of the Spurs culture

In the midst of Kawhi Leonard’s injury, the speculation surrounding why he is out again despite being medically cleared, his absence from the team, the drama surrounding said absence, his return to the team, and reports that he could be back in the lineup as early as March, I haven’t been able to kick this interaction.

The Spurs were in Toronto in late January, and prior to the game, I asked Greg Popovich if there was something about the Spurs culture that inspired a continuing love for the game beyond the commercial enterprise it turns into for a lot of players, on account of how many heretofore well-paid stars have been willing to spend a few extra years in the NBA to play for the Spurs, on lower salaries and with diminishing acclaim. This is what he said:

“I just think we’ve been really fortunate, the guys we’ve had. You look at Timmy and Manu and Tony. If you’re the owner, the GM, the coach, and you’ve been able to have those three guys for that long, that’s pretty fortunate. It’s nothing we did. We didn’t make them who we are. They were already like that when they came. Their character and the way they approach the world, so we’ve been unbelievably fortunate just to have them as a core. That made it pretty easy to create a culture around them, for sure. You can’t forget the fact that before them was David.”

A reporter followed up, asking how the Spurs as an organization influence players and Pop, “We don’t have time to change people. We look for people who we felt would enjoy their teammates, feel responsible to their teammates, people who had senses of humor, who could be criticized and laugh at each other. All those elements make for pretty good teammates, and a pretty good culture.”

There is no doubt that the Spurs have long been run by excellent, highly competent people, but the question of what most drives the Spurs culture has wracked the minds of reporters and fans for years. Is it nurture or nature? Time and time again, the Spurs will tell you it’s the latter, claiming they look to add people who are over themselves.

Towards the end of the scrum, though, here’s what he had to say about how long it took him to not stress about every loss: “I was a crazy person in the beginning. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of. At the beginning, you’re full of yourself. Your ego, you wanna strive and you get a little paranoid. You think it’s about you. You figure out you’re supposed to be a teacher. You’re supposed to be someone who helps people grow, not just teach them about how to front the post, that sort of thing. It’s a maturation process. I was a bozo in the beginning, for sure.”

The moment, above all, was indicative of how Popovich himself wasn’t ‘over himself’ when he first became a head coach, allowing some ambiguity about the Spurs official stance on the nature vs. nurture question. The truth is, there is no way the Spurs don’t have a better answer for that question. They merely aren’t in the business of adding sound-bites to their own mythology. They don’t care to explain themselves, or sell their vision to anyone outside the locker room. The prime difference between the Warriors and the Spurs, at this point, is the latter’s lack of willingness to advertise what makes their culture work.

To take matters further, the Spurs’ insularity might actually be a driving factor of their success. For perennial contenders, they operate in relative quietude. Prior to Leonard’s return, it was almost as though there was a forcefield keeping drama from infiltrating the Spurs, and there’s a good chance things wouldn’t run as smoothly if a national spotlight constantly shone in their faces.

Consider the difference between how much attention reports of LaMarcus Aldridge requesting a trade garnered compared to Kyrie Irving’s trade request. The spotlight follows LeBron everywhere, and nobody can do anything to change that. Plus, the Spurs have far more open lines of communications than the Cavs did. LeBron reportedly didn’t reach out to Irving, and after GM David Griffin left the organization, Irving was left with few people that could level with him. Popovich, on the other hand, contacted Aldridge, asked what he could do to fix things, took responsibility and painstakingly came up with ways to acclimate his game. The fact that Popovich was willing to do that is more important than anything else, but it’s certainly easier to cut away all the nonsense and deal with a situation for what it is — a manageable workplace issue — when there is, in fact, less nonsense to cut away. The Spurs have always allowed put themselves in a position where searching for internal solutions is a priority over maintaining external appearances. It all happens in-house.

Which is why it was so alarming to find out that, after Leonard shut himself down, he reportedly left San Antonio and wasn’t traveling with the team, but chose to go New York and get a second opinion on his injury.

Even more alarming was the fact that Popovich, on Feb. 21, seemingly had to communicate with his All Star forward through reporters.  “I’ll be surprised if he returns this season,” he said. “Well, we only have X number of games left in the season, and he’s still not ready to go. If by some chance he is, it’s gonna be pretty late into the season; and it’s going to be a pretty tough decision — how late to bring somebody back. So that’s why I’m just trying to be honest and logical. I’ll be surprised if he gets back this year.”

It was interpreted by many as a public ultimatum to Leonard. As far as airing public grievances goes, I’m not sure if this even qualifies. By NBA standards, it’s tame. By the Spurs’ standards, though, it’s borderline shocking. With the Spurs, it’s hard not to try to read between the lines, because they’re fascinating and they betray so little. Every little incident allows us to peer into how they do things. Ironically, the entire Leonard spectacle has been an example of what they usually don’t do.

Next: Paul George has never been better

Leonard has returned to the Spurs since, and he’s reportedly aiming to play in March, so maybe Pop’s decree worked. Maybe they had a conversation that was similar to the ones Pop had with Aldridge in the offseason. With Leonard up for a super-max extension this summer, a fond reunion could quickly shut down the trade scenarios that have been coming out of the woodwork in recent weeks.

I can’t tell you what the future is going to look like. I can tell you I have more faith in the Spurs to figure out it than I would in anyone else. I can also tell you that faith is about to be tested. The Spurs have always piqued curiosity. Over the next few months, they’re going to provide some revealing answers.