Last week Gregg Popovich said he would be surprised if Kawhi Leonard returns to San Antonio Spurs this season. But ESPN has other information: According to a report, the superstar will be back with the team this week.
His hope is that he will be able to return to the court by the end of March. However, it is not expected that Leonard will be able to participate in the training immediately. However, he should be brought back to the team fairly quickly.
Leonard is already back in San Antonio after spending the last three weeks in New York and getting a second opinion of his quadriceps injury, which has kept him out of the game for most of the season. In New York, Leonard trained privately in the National Basketball Players Association’s hall, the report says.
Leonard had played 9 games in the middle of the season, but then decided that his pain was still too much. Since the 13th. He has not played a game since January 1.
Popovich had emphasized for five days that he was expecting a season out of his superstar’s.”We only have X games this season, and he’s still not ready,”said Popovich,”If he gets to that point, it would be pretty late in the season; and then it’s not an easy decision – how late you bring someone back. That’s why I just want to be honest and think logically. I’d be surprised if he came back this year.”
The Spurs have done very well without Leonard. San Antonio is currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference with 36 wins and 25 defeats.