Not even The Admiral could get Kawhi Leonard back on board.
Spurs legend David Robinson reached out to Leonard “several times” recently and never got a response, he said in an interview with ESPN on Monday.
The former center and two-time NBA champion seemed to be just as confused about Leonard’s relationship with the Spurs as everyone else. He called Leonard’s trade to the Raptors “one of the oddest situations I’ve seen since I’ve been in pro basketball.
“I talked to his uncle, does that count?” he joked. “He’s a hard guy, he’s just quiet. I’ve reached out to him several times and I just never heard anything back from him.
“I think the whole time he’s been here I’ve talked to him maybe a handful of times and I can count on one hand how many words he’s really said to me. He’s just a quiet guy and I think that’s made it difficult for all sides to understand each other in this process.”
Robinson, who is a minority owner of the Spurs, said in another ESPN interview last month that Leonard should speak up more about what he wants. Leonard demanded a trade from the Spurs because he felt the team had mistreated him while he was injured.
Leonard spoke to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in San Diego last month in a failed attempt to repair the relationship. He was traded to the Raptors along with Danny Green last week in exchange for a package centered on DeMar DeRozan.
“If a guy’s not happy, he has to go somewhere where he can play,” Robinson said. “I think our team did a pretty good job of meeting our needs for the future. I think we’ll move on from here, we’re pretty happy with the deal and we’ll continue to grow and get better.”