Gregg Popovich Not Interested In Revisiting The Past Ahead of Kawhi Leonard's Return
Before the Toronto Raptors visit the AT&T Center on Thursday, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that he did not want dwell on the circumstances that led to Kawhi Leonard's departure from the team.
"You move on in life," he said via ESPN. "We're not going to redo what's happened in the past in any way, shape or form. It's of no consequence at this point, and it does no good to go backward and talk about this, that or the other. One of the reasons is you guys will interpret it whatever way you want anyway. So it doesn't matter what we say. You're gonna say whatever you want. It's a waste of our time."
Thursday's game will be Leonard's first time back since he was traded to Toronto in a deal that included Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first-round pick.
The coach was asked if he expected fans to boo Leonard on his retrun.
"I don't speak for other people, but I hope that they treat everybody with kindness and respect," Popovich said. "We always have in the past, so we'll see."
Before Leonard was traded, reports surfaced that Leonard wanted out of San Antonio. Leonard expressed concerns about how the franchise dealt with his nagging right quad injury, which caused the 27–year–old to miss all but nine games last season.
“Everybody is anticipating the game and things like that can only get me better for the long run, so it’s going to be a good game,” Leonard said when asked about his return.
During the 2018-19 season, Leonard is averaging 27.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
