Stephen A. Smith blasts NBA's 2-time Defensive Player of the Year for wanting trade
The Golden State Warriors didn’t even get a whole week to bask in the glow of their NBA championship before one of their rivals stole the spotlight with a trade request.
Last year it was Kyrie Irving asking to leave the Cavs. This year it’s Kawhi Leonard wanting out of San Antonio.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard wants to play in his hometown of Los Angeles and would prefer to wear the purple and gold of the Lakers.
Understandably, that is not sitting well with many in San Antonio as the Spurs have transformed Leonard into one of the top five players in the league and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
This news is also not sitting well with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who unloaded on Leonard during his Friday radio show.
.@stephenasmith didn't hold back on Kawhi's reported desire to leave San Antonio. 😳 pic.twitter.com/TayqtN8fYl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 16, 2018
“Just no heart. No heart,” Smith said. “What are you scared about? What are you scared about? Kawhi Leonard doesn’t want to be in San Antonio anymore … He doesn’t care that there’s no state income taxes in Texas. He wants out because he wants to be in LA. You don’t have to sit up there and come up with excuses. ‘Oh, they were upset at me because I went and got a second opinion.’
“They’re paying you $20 million and you played nine games. You should be upset at you, so why couldn’t they be? Stop it!”
Even though Leonard reportedly wants out of San Antonio, Wojnarowski said Leonard is not the one who has told the Spurs he wants out.
Leonard hasn’t directly told the Spurs anything regarding his future and his uncle is reportedly the one who relayed the information about Leonard wanting to leave.
Since Leonard was on the All-NBA team in 2016-17, he is eligible for the “super-max” contract extension with the Spurs. He is under contract with San Antonio for one more season, but this summer he can sign that super-max extension which would kick in for the 2019-20 season.
If Leonard were to leave San Antonio, either by trade or by signing with another team, then he would not be eligible for the super-max and would miss out on at least $31 million over the length of his next contract.
If Kawhi is traded he would no longer be eligible for a super max deal. That means his new 2019 max would be $31M lower with a team he's traded to than it would be if he signed the super max with San Antonio this offseason. pic.twitter.com/wioqvdnfSw
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 15, 2018
In addition to the extra money that San Antonio can throw Leonard’s way, there’s also the fact they’ve dealt with this kind of situation before and came out stronger because of it.
Last summer, LaMarcus Aldridge wanted out of San Antonio and former teammate Damian Lillard to put in word to the Blazers’ front office in order to bring him back to Portland.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was shocked at Aldridge wanting out as it was something he admitted had never happened during his two decades as head coach.
“It’s as simple as that,” Popovich said. “I said, ‘Whoa, nobody’s ever said that to me before.’ It’s my 20-whatever year, and nobody’s ever said that, like, ‘I’m not enjoying this. I’m not confident. I’m not sure you want me here. I want to be traded.'”
Popovich and Aldridge were able to hash out a resolution over the summer and Aldridge responded with his best season in a Spurs uniform, earning second team All-NBA honors.
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