Spurs fans looking for good news about Kawhi Leonard only need to ask Danny Green. He insists Kawhi has told him he wants to stay in San Antonio.
If Danny Green is to be believed, there isn’t nearly as much tension between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs as most people think. The San Antonio wing insists that his talented teammate as told him he wants to stay in San Antonio.
Green told ESPN via The Jump that he keeps up with Leonard on a reasonably regular basis. There have been lots of questions about Kawhi’s relationships with his teammates after failing to return from his mysterious injury this season. It seems that he and Green at least remain on friendly terms.
More importantly, Green told the show’s reporters that Leonard’s preference is to remain with his current team. If that’s true, it would be a huge boost for San Antonio. Many media members are operating under the assumption that Leonard would be playing somewhere else next season.
San Antonio have always had one massive advantage in their quest to re-sign Leonard. The Spurs can offer him significantly more money than any other team. They have the capacity to offer a “Super Max Extension” that would see him earn approximately $219 million over the next five years. Other teams can make him sizable offers in free agency, but San Antonio’s offer would represent the most lucrative contract available to Leonard.
Of course, the team’s ability to offer Leonard such a contract also puts pressure on the team’s front office. They need to be absolutely certain that Leonard can be the player he once was before they offer him such a massive deal. Any hesitation at all on behalf of San Antonio could easily cause irreparable damage between the team and their star player.
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In the end, Spurs fans should meet Green’s words with tepid optimism. It does seem that the relationship between Leonard and the team isn’t quite as bad as it’s been portrayed. There’s still a lot of ground to cover before he signs a long-term extension with the team though. This contract saga is far from over.