The Definitive Kawhi Leonard Story, from Chris Mannix
Most Spurs fans have been waiting on the Kawhi Leonard story for a while — it’s been pretty damn elusive — and I think Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated just nailed it. I figured I’d go ahead and share it with those who may have missed it. Great read. Here’s an excerpt:
San Antonio’s film room is tucked into the back of the practice facility, with four elevated rows of seats facing a 70-inch flat screen flanked by dry-erase boards. On draft nights the space is converted into a war room. Tensions are high on those evenings — especially for a team that frequently scours the globe for hidden gems late in the draft — but never more so than in 2011. The Spurs had a list of players they liked and an asset, backup guard George Hill, several teams coveted. But, says general manager R.C. Buford, there was only one player they would surrender Hill for: Leonard. He was still on the board when the Pacers, picking 15th, came up, and they wanted Hill. San Antonio had five minutes to decide. “We were scared to death,” Popovich says. “For a while we were just staring at each other. It was an unbelievably tough call.”
Catch read the rest of it here. I highly recommend it.
