Everything Kawhi Leonard

[Other Scott]

I think you are dramatically underestimating the desire to have something to complain about. If they did as you suggested, the "side-eye" you mention would be just as big as it currently is.

They were completely up-front with the minor injury he suffered earlier in the year, why would they suddenly not be now?

Sure people would complain, maybe almost as much as they are now.

But at least it would look like the organization is in control and they are making the decisions in advance using data. These decisions don't seem in advance, they seem like day-of decisions. Which if it's just about science showing that it's beneficial to take a week or two off in the middle of the season to recharge, it seems like that would be something the team would know and could tell us ahead of time.

Right now what it looks like is that Kawhi has carte blanche to determine when he wants and doesn't want to play, and is making decisions day of on whether he feels like playing or not. Unless that's what's actually happening and this is the best job the team can do of hiding it, I feel like that's not the message the team wants to send from a PR perspective.

[Demographic Shift]

I think you are dramatically underestimating the desire to have something to complain about. If they did as you suggested, the "side-eye" you mention would be just as big as it currently is.

They were completely up-front with the minor injury he suffered earlier in the year, why would they suddenly not be now?

Sure people would complain, maybe almost as much as they are now.

But at least it would look like the organization is in control and they are making the decisions in advance using data. These decisions don't seem in advance, they seem like day-of decisions. Which if it's just about science showing that it's beneficial to take a week or two off in the middle of the season to recharge, it seems like that would be something the team would know and could tell us ahead of time.

Right now what it looks like is that Kawhi has carte blanche to determine when he wants and doesn't want to play, and is making decisions day of on whether he feels like playing or not. Unless that's what's actually happening and this is the best job the team can do of hiding it, I feel like that's not the message the team wants to send from a PR perspective.

There is a piece in The Athletic today which is an interesting slant on this train of thought. That by being overtly cautious on any injury can be justified after seeing first hand Victor Olidipo going down for what may be the season on a bad knee that maybe he came back to early on.

You can debate the too early forever..but you can’t debate that the prior injury to the knee could have played a role in an unfortunate injury. The Raps are as secretive an organization as they come..but no harm in keeping your best assets in the best condition they can be in.

[DanH]

Sure people would complain, maybe almost as much as they are now.

But at least it would look like the organization is in control and they are making the decisions in advance using data. These decisions don't seem in advance, they seem like day-of decisions. Which if it's just about science showing that it's beneficial to take a week or two off in the middle of the season to recharge, it seems like that would be something the team would know and could tell us ahead of time.

Right now what it looks like is that Kawhi has carte blanche to determine when he wants and doesn't want to play, and is making decisions day of on whether he feels like playing or not. Unless that's what's actually happening and this is the best job the team can do of hiding it, I feel like that's not the message the team wants to send from a PR perspective.

I feel like the team could not give two craps about the message it sends from a PR perspective. They've never been a franchise that was willing to show too much to the public. Webster seemed like he directed his comment in defence of Kawhi, not wanting him to take the fictional heat everyone seems to want to run with re: assuming he's deciding on a whim whether to play or not. But in terms of the team trying to control a narrative? That one obscure interview is the only real storytelling they've done besides Nurse's usual stonewalling.

[Yuri Gagarin]

Some are falling into the same trap SA fell into - doubting Kawhi. He wants to win. Missing games decreases his value. But he doeant care he cares about the big picture which is all that counts dont lose focus of that. We’ll never know exactly how his knee feels or what the medical staff know. Trust in Masai and the org

[inthepaint]

I believe this was the first time this year where Kawhi sat out both games of a back to back and not just one. That's where the angst is coming from I bet.

I love that our organization is treating him with kid gloves. I couldn't care less about the bad PR it's creating. What I want is Kawhi to come back. And one of the biggest reasons why he fell out of favour with the Spurs was because of his health and how poorly it was handled.

He may leave anyway.. but at least we've tried to keep him. And you can never get mad at the organization for trying as hard as they are to keep him.

Bingo. Other than this post above, I bet this thread is starting to look like the Spurs forum threads early in his injury last year. A lot of speculation sprinkled with some finger pointing that can actually turn off the athlete. The way I see it is they're taking care of him. That's a good thing. We don't wanna do the same thing the Spurs did. Great piece from Koreen at the Athletic today, just an excerpt:

We have no idea what metrics the team is monitoring or exactly what goes into the decision to rest Leonard on any given night. Without that information, and given the exceptionality of it all, the Raptors’ plan will remain impossible to fully comprehend and, therefore, judge. Leonard sat out his fourth straight game, and 10th of the year, on Wednesday in Indiana because of load management.

If there were ever any doubt that the Raptors have been incorrect to be overly cautious with Leonard, Wednesday’s game provided an unfortunate rebuttal: Maybe you cannot be too cautious with a superstar.

Oladipo was wearing the sleeve because he missed 11 games earlier in the season because of a sore knee. It seemed like a long time at the time, as no specific diagnosis — a strain, sprain or tear — was given. The Pacers decided it was impossible to be too careful with Oladipo, who missed four weeks. Since returning from the injury, Oladipo played in 20 consecutive games. He has only played 32 minutes per game this year, less than many players of his stature, but studies show that days off lead to a lot more recuperation that simply cutting minutes down. In fact, that could very well be the logic behind giving Leonard eight consecutive off days in between games.

The Pacers announced Oladipo will have an MRI on Thursday, but the injury is thought to be serious. Would Oladipo have suffered the injury on Wednesday if the Pacers had given him a few nights off in the past month? That is unknowable. The Raptors are monitoring these things with Leonard and constantly reassessing them — the decisions are not just being made at random.

Leonard played just nine games last year because of a quadriceps injury. The specific nature of his injury remains a mystery, but the team and player know a lot more than we do. The Raptors have already said that Leonard will return to the lineup on Friday. Meanwhile, Oladipo will probably be sitting for a long while. Get well soon.

[golden]

Some are falling into the same trap SA fell into - doubting Kawhi. He wants to win. Missing games decreases his value. But he doeant care he cares about the big picture which is all that counts dont lose focus of that. We’ll never know exactly how his knee feels or what the medical staff know. Trust in Masai and the org

Yep. Masai knows exactly what happened in San Antonio. They're protecting Kawhi - physically, and from criticism.

Masai says without this medical drama there would be no chance Kawhi is in Toronto. He's still in San Antonio. It's why the Raptors had a chance to get what Ujiri calls a top-5 player.

— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) July 20, 2018

[Puffer]

There is a piece in The Athletic today which is an interesting slant on this train of thought. That by being overtly cautious on any injury can be justified after seeing first hand Victor Olidipo going down for what may be the season on a bad knee that maybe he came back to early on.

You can debate the too early forever..but you can’t debate that the prior injury to the knee could have played a role in an unfortunate injury. The Raps are as secretive an organization as they come..but no harm in keeping your best assets in the best condition they can be in.

I was just going to bring this article up. It validates my recollections in another thread about the Raptors using sensors applied to players bodies to check stress, exertion, workload etc. Under game conditions and workouts so the players could be individual monitored and have their workouts and workload customized to maximize performance, promote recovery and minimize the chance of injury

[The Claw Reborn]

Yep. Masai knows exactly what happened in San Antonio. They're protecting Kawhi - physically, and from criticism.

Masai says without this medical drama there would be no chance Kawhi is in Toronto. He's still in San Antonio. It's why the Raptors had a chance to get what Ujiri calls a top-5 player.

— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) July 20, 2018

I am sure as well that if Ujiri is after the ultimate goal in trading for Kawhi is to convince him to stay then it would all be for naught if they cannot get past the 2nd road and fail to represent the East in the Finals.

So he has to assess if his existing “young” assets that he covets and fully kept close to his vets can take this team to where he wanted them to be.

Or everything will just go in vain and his back to a Siakam/ OG/ Van Vleet core and the hope that Giannis will go north.

Hate to be in his shoes.

[planetmars]

NBA star Kawhi Leonard slams down $13.3 million for Southern California home https://t.co/qAdFIfbn3E

— LA Times Real Estate (@LATrealestate) January 24, 2019

[MixxAOR]

Ya’ll ready for rebuild?

[DanH]

It's right outside San Diego, where Kawhi already currently owns a home. I hope no one here was pinning their hopes on Kawhi living in Toronto in the off-season...

[Hotshot]

It's right outside San Diego, where Kawhi already currently owns a home. I hope no one here was pinning their hopes on Kawhi living in Toronto in the off-season...

Positive spin is important...but it don't look good. In the coldest weekend in T.O where Kawhi hasn't played 3 games due to "rest" , he drops $13.3 million on the house in SD. Lets enjoy Kawhi this season as much as possible fam.

[DanH]

Positive spin is important...but it don't look good. In the coldest weekend in T.O where Kawhi hasn't played 3 games due to "rest" , he drops $13.3 million on the house in SD. Lets enjoy Kawhi this season as much as possible fam.

It's more sky-is-falling nonsense. No matter where he plays, he'd be buying that house. That's an off-season house.

[G__Deane]

It's more sky-is-falling nonsense. No matter where he plays, he'd be buying that house. That's an off-season house.

How far is it from where the Clips play?

[A.I]

I already know people are gonna make a big deal out of this lol.

San Diego is a couple of hours from LA, he isn’t gonna drive a couple of hours every home game to get to the Staples Center. This house has no indication he is leaving.