From 2018 to 2019 the Spurs had to undergo the most disgraceful period in franchise history, as their star and his uncle decided to smear the franchise as part of their attempt to force Kawhi's way out of town. The following ridiculous claims were made during that time, pretty much all of which have now been refuted:

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Myth: The Spurs mismanaged Kawhi's injury,

Truth: The Spurs diagnosed Kawhi with a degenerative condition, meaning that it would progressively deteriorate and he'd just need to be load managed and play through some pain. Seven doctors Kawhi went to for a second opinion backed up the Spurs, until Kawhi finally found one to say he just needed time off and would recover. However, the Spurs were right, and Kawhi never fully recovered, and needed to be load managed for the rest of his career.

The Spurs actually offered to sit Kawhi for the rest of the season, but Kawhi and his uncle refused. Why? Because he was trying to milk his injury to force a trade out of San Antonio. Sure, Kawhi was hurt in 2018... but no more than he was hurt in 2019 or 2020. He could have played, but he just chose not to, as part of his attempt to force a trade to LA (and only LA). As part of this campaign Kawhi spent the offseason dodging Spurs officials and doctors, at one point hiding in a closet so they couldn't check on him, while his uncle leaked to the media that he wanted a trade to LA. In practices Kawhi was killing it (playing by himself in another gym, because he refused to work out with the team. When the team finally called him on it in a team meeting, Kawhi told them "I'll do anything for you guys, but not this team", then proceeded to get on a plane and fly to LA, never returning to San Antonio during the season.

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Myth: The Spurs didn't put enough talent around Kawhi. If they had just treated him better, he'd have stayed.

Truth: The Spurs won 48 games without Kawhi in 2018, and had some dynamic young guys like Dejounte and White on the team to grow around him. The Spurs also had a proven record of building winners, and the last time Kawhi was healthy they won 61 games and looked like they might beat the Warriors in the WCFs (until Kawhi got hurt). Toronto then gave him a stellar team, and won a title with him. None of it mattered. He was always hell bent on going to LA, no matter what. The Spurs were too polite to say so, but his team mates in Toronto were more honest. A number of them, most famously Fred Van Vleet, flat out told the media that he never wanted to be there and was never staying, because he wanted to be on LA.

Kawhi refused to even meet with the Spurs after he flew out of town in the middle of the 2018 season, and it was only after the Spurs flat out told his agent/uncle that they would not even consider trading him unless he sat down with them and talked. Begrudgingly, Kawhi sulked into a meeting with Pop and RC that went less than 30 minutes, and told them he was demanding a trade to LA. Kawhi hated the Spurs for the way this went down. Uncle's plan was to blame it all on the Spurs, and his leaks to the media kept providing different reasons it was their fault. By refusing to trade him unless he told them he didn't want to be there, they forced him to be the bad guy/accept responsibility. By trading him to Toronto, where he won a title, only for him to still leave, they robbed him of the ability to claim that it was "all about winning". The Spurs made him look as disloyal and mercenary as he was.

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Myth: The Spurs traded him to Toronto out of spite!

Truth: The Spurs were getting no good offers because everyone knew Kawhi would only re-sign with LA (and it seemed like only the Lakers). Here were the offers on the table at the time:

- Robert Covington & Dario Saric (the 76ers wouldn't even discuss Simmons or even Fultz being in the deal).

- Marcus Smart & some bad picks (the Spurs would also have needed to pay Smart the max to make the money work due to base year compensation issues).

- Tobias Harris & the #13 pick. Tobias would have been gone in free agency, because he got a max contract which the Spurs would (rightly) have never paid him.

- Even the Lakers offer didn't look very good, with the rumour being they didn't even want to include Ingram, because Magic Johnson was a terrible negotiator who thought he could lowball the Spurs because it was 'a lock' the Kawhi would join for free in the offseason. Even Kawhi was baffled by the Lakers approach, and his first question in the 2019 free agency meeting with them was "why didn't you trade for me?" Even if the Spurs could have gotten Ingram, it would have changed nothing, he isn't a needle mover for a good team.

The Spurs tried to get Jaylen Brown, or the Kings pick (rumour was they wanted to draft Luka), but those teams wouldn't do it, because they knew Kawhi wouldn't re-sign. In the end, the Demar deal was probably as strong as the others, and I say that not even liking Demar.

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Now the final vindication is here, proof that Kawhi was not only in touch with the Clippers (and likely the Lakers) back in 2017, but that they were promising to pay him under the table with illegal inducements. This was never about anything the Spurs did. They were never going to be able to keep Kawhi, because Kawhi only cared about living in LA and getting paid under the table. The Spurs were not mean to him, they didn't misdiagnose him, and they didn't fail to build a winner around him. It was all on Kawhi. Now, let's all enjoy rooting against Toronto this season.

Seriously... thank god we got rid of that and didn't try to appease a star to stay. Realistically, this is clearly what the "real" issue was with Kawhi and the Spurs.

It's crystal clear now that Kawhi prioritized money over championships, and only ill-begotten gains over the salary cap could satisfy him. I wouldnt be surprised if the Spurs won 2-3 chips with Kawhi and he still dipped for the Clips.

Not only did the Spurs do absolutely nothing wrong to "lose" Kawhi, they recognized an asset that wasn't in their long term interest and they did what they could with it. Kudos to the Raptors and Lakers as well who laughed at Team Kawhi's demands, and let us once again enjoy some normalcy in the league with the clippers being bottom feeders for the next decade

So far the Spurs have 10 retired numbers; 4 from the last title era (Duncan, Manu, Tony, Bowen), 3 from the 90s era (D.Rob, Elliot, Avery), 2 from the ABA Spurs (Silas & Gervin), and 1 random one back when the franchise was trying to celebrate their history (Moore). Kawhi is never getting his number retired here, and for a range of reasons neither are LMA and Green.

I think the Spurs current crop could easily have 5 guys who end up getting their numbers retired however. Things can change quickly, but for now I'll say Wemby, Harper, and Castle look like near locks. Then Vassell, Julian, and Carter Bryant all have the potential to get there. Keldon is a good locker room guy, but I don't feel he was a good enough player. What do others think?

Disappointment in what was a rising and almost emerging star… remember after 2013’s brutal loss? That next season we saw him emerge as a two-way force. He showed in 2014 finals that he was without a doubt, a LeBron stopper. The next two seasons showed him emerge as a true, new face of the franchise - a quiet force that goes about his business, goes to work and does his job well: the epitome of Spurs culture. We saw him snatch up those DPOY awards easily and become of the one of, if not the, best player in the league - hell, if Wemby called out the idea that defense is half of an MVP consideration, then Kawai was definitely MVP worthy those years.

Then it all fell apart… it started with that subtle shift in influence. He changed agents in 2016 and the Uncle came to the forefront. Slowly, there was surely conversations (perhaps just innocent ones) a ways to maximize things for Kawhi. But obviously, it would be hard to push for such a large change - unless a window opens. And sure enough it did.

Zaza, the injury, the rehab, the stories - all the while Kawhi succumbing to the Uncles influence and letting him be the voice of reason. A trade and a chip only solidifying the idea that “this man knows best” and he follow his lead. And so he lets him push and ask for more beyond what you’re allowed too. Approving of a lucrative deal (on and off the court).

Now here we are. A player once at an MVP level and admired in the league, whose reputation is now tarnished, if not at the very least spotty. Even if he’s getting off with just a $700k fine, fans and insiders will never look at him the same. Happy that things were finally brought to light and the Uncle has finally been called out…but also sad for player who could’ve had a clean, drama-free career instead of this.

As the title stated

I clicked the image link and it was a comment from a year ago lmao

Just wanted to share this one because the numbering is pretty cool.
Dylan Harper Black Wave /10, numbered 2/10 — giving it the jersey number match AND the 210 San Antonio area code match.
Two really cool connections on a super low-numbered card.
What do you guys think — does the 210 area code match add much to the card’s collectibility?

…until November 1, 2046, when the name HARPER is on it.

!RemindMe 20 Years

Banned for life! Dont let the door hit you on the way out!

Fuck Uncle Dennis

So Amen, amazing defender and very bad shooter (20% from 3) is signing a 5 year $208M extension with Rockets

How do yall think that will compare to Castle’s extension? I assume more expensive. ROY, finals in year 2. 3 point shooting improved from 25% to 33% YOY. Good lead playmaker. All NBA level defense.

Do you think Steph will take a similar deal for more?

Love Pop, love how he came out in the arena that time against booing Nephew... but at this point shouldn't that be his greeting at every arena except Toronto now?

We know this wasn't just a Ballmer deal, we now know thanks to Pablo's Pulitzer Prize winning journalism that Nephew and his uncle were shopping around for similar under-the-table deals with other teams, likely even the Spurs before he left.

If I'm ever in the vicinity of this shitbag again I will yell things that will get be banned from the arena.

Don't care.

Fuckawhi

I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE NEXT MVP, DPOY AND FMVP PLAY! WE LOVE YOU ALIEN!

This sucks.

(Source: @Spurs on IG)

As the regional sports broadcast model unravels, the Spurs turn to a global streaming company as their new game-night home.