The San Antonio Spurs held a players-only meeting on Saturday to implore Kawhi Leonard to return to action and help the team secure a playoff spot, reports ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Spurs guard Tony Parker, a four-time NBA champion, quarterbacked the meeting with his teammates and Leonard after Saturday night’s victory over Minnesota, league sources said.
The conversation was described as tense and emotional at times, league sources said.
Several teammates spoke up, expressing frustration and confusion over a growing divide with Leonard that has created significant tension between the franchise star and the Spurs, league sources said.
San Antonio currently holds the No. 6 seed in the West with a 42-30 record.
Leonard, who has sat out all but nine games this season with a right quad injury, insisted that his absence has been for a good reason, according to Wojnarowski:
Leonard has targeted games in the recent week, only to decide that he wasn’t feeling confident in the injury to return, league sources said.
In the aftermath of the meeting, Manu Ginobili told reporters he is not expecting Kawhi to come back.
Guard Danny Green, however, took to Twitter to deny that the meeting ever took place:
Couldn’t be anymore incorrect lol https://t.co/xo4yVyOvn2
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) March 22, 2018
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