Spurs' Gregg Popovich met with Kawhi Leonard ahead of Thursday's NBA Draft, reports say

Author Photo
#Kawhi Leonard

In an attempt to get back on the same page with his franchise player Spurs' head coach Gregg Popovich flew to San Diego to meet with Kawhi Leonard according to Yahoo Sports' Shama Charania.

The two sides reportedly sat down for a meeting on Tuesday with the Spurs intending to rehabilitate the relationship between them and their All-NBA forward.

The meeting comes less than a week after Leonard had reportedly requested a trade, preferably to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers. 

Leonard, 26, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2019 putting the Spurs in a tough position as they may lose him next offseason without a return.

San Antonio can offer him a super max contract of five-years $219 million dollars this summer, but ESPN's Chris Haynes reported that Leonard isn't concerned with the max deal.

Leonard only appeared to nine games in 2017-18 but had his best season the year prior averaging a career-high 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game.

 

Author(s)
Carlan Gay Photo

Carlan Gay is a deputy editor at The Sporting News.