Everything Kawhi Leonard

[inthepaint]

Is this real? Cause there's a lot of fake accounts every where and I feel I would have seen this all over my twitter more. Is this truly his trainer?

Sounds like fake news. Kawhi's inner circle (much like Kawhi himself) is pretty quiet, this looks blatantly unprofessional and unlikely to come from someone as important to Kawhi as his trainer. It would have made a bigger splash if it was real. Trace the IP and it's probably someone in Philly...

[Apollo]

Sounds like fake news. Kawhi's inner circle (much like Kawhi himself) is pretty quiet, this looks blatantly unprofessional and unlikely to come from someone as important to Kawhi as his trainer. It would have made a bigger splash if it was real. Trace the IP and it's probably someone in Philly...

Depending on who you believe they may actually not. "They" leaked that the Spurs doctors got it wrong. "They" leaked that he wanted out from the Spurs. "They" leaked that he wants to play in LA. "They" leaked that he won't sign with Toronto because he wants to play in LA. "They" maybe leaked here the clear obvious fact that Kyle is making far too much money for what he can contribute towards the ultimate goal. It's hard to distinguish what's real (if any) but there's been a lot of "Kawhi's camp" leaks over the last 365. How many "Kyle's camp" leaks have you heard about?

[inthepaint]

Depending on who you believe they may actually not. "They" leaked that the Spurs doctors got it wrong. "They" leaked that he wanted out from the Spurs. "They" leaked that he wants to play in LA. "They" leaked that he won't sign with Toronto because he wants to play in LA. "They" maybe leaked here the clear obvious fact that Kyle is making far too much money for what he can contribute towards the ultimate goal. It's hard to distinguish what's real (if any) but there's been a lot of "Kawhi's camp" leaks over the last 365. How many "Kyle's camp" leaks have you heard about?

Maybe, but the examples you gave were a bit different. That the Spurs doctors got it wrong, and that he wanted out of the Spurs wasn't so much of a "leak", they flat out came up to say it and stood behind it, which is why he got traded. This is a nameless retracted tweet while Kawhi himself has gone out of his way recently to support Lowry and speak of his importance to the team, so it doesn't feel the same to me. But hey, that's the thing with social media in general, you never know if it's really true or not.

At the end of the day though, regardless of who put it out, and regardless if the statement itself actually makes sense or not, this is not the time to have that distraction out there. They have a crucial game to play, and they should focus on basketball and how they can support each other on the floor. Kawhi would probably be the first one say that. That kind of social media distraction only helps Philly right now.

[Apollo]

Maybe, but the examples you gave were a bit different. That the Spurs doctors got it wrong, and that he wanted out of the Spurs wasn't so much of a "leak", they flat out came up to say it and stood behind it, which is why he got traded. This is a nameless retracted tweet while Kawhi himself has gone out of his way recently to support Lowry and speak of his importance to the team, so it doesn't feel the same to me. But hey, that's the thing with social media in general, you never know if it's really true or not.

At the end of the day though, regardless of who put it out, and regardless if the statement itself actually makes sense or not, this is not the time to have that distraction out there. They have a crucial game to play, and they should focus on basketball and how they can support each other on the floor. Kawhi would probably be the first one say that. That kind of social media distraction only helps Philly right now.

The thing with "leaks" is it always comes out before it's news and there has been a bunch of things which came out about Kawhi before it was news. Some true, some untrue.

These guys are pros who operate in the golden era of social media. There are always distractions. Kyle deserves to be called out and if he folds because of it then that's too bad but it proves the point even more.

[inthepaint]

The thing with "leaks" is it always comes out before it's news and there has been a bunch of things which came out about Kawhi before it was news. Some true, some untrue.

These guys are pros who operate in the golden era of social media. There are always distractions. Kyle deserves to be called out and if he folds because of it then that's too bad but it proves the point even more.

Playoffs are a mental game. Yes, they're pros, but at the end of the day they're young adults that can have their psyche and confidence affected by what's being spun around in social media, whether it's true or false. And that can screw up their floor game. And right now they need confidence to win. Margin of error is slim. It's about the actual game right now.

I actually agree that Lowry deserves to be called out, but right now I couldn't care less. There's a time and place for everything. It's about the game at hand. What he needs to hear is whatever will make him play at his best on the eve of what's one of the biggest games in franchise history. If saying Butler will make him his bitch tonight will make him play harder, then he should hear that. If hearing words of motivation that doesn't involve how much $ he's making is what will make him play better, he should hear that. It should be about game 4 and nothing else.

Fans can say whatever the heck they want, whenever they want. But if someone from the organization or teammate circle is "leaking" this out the eve of crucial game like this, they're actually physically hurting their chances (regardless if the comment it's true, deserved, or not). There's nobody else on this team that wants to win more than Kawhi, so if anyone on his circle did that (regardless if it's deserving or not) is amateurish, and is indirectly helping him lose (which is why I think it's more likely to be fake). There will be a time to take stock of everything. Right now it ain't that time, it's about game 4.

Of course there's also the possibility of these kind of comments being known to actually make Kyle play better, so who knows, that might be Masai's burner account pushing the right buttons to get Kyle going.

[Apollo]

Playoffs are a mental game. Yes, they're pros, but at the end of the day they're young adults that can have their psyche and confidence affected by what's being spun around in social media, whether it's true or false. And that can screw up their floor game. And right now they need confidence to win. Margin of error is slim. It's about the actual game right now.

I actually agree that Lowry deserves to be called out, but right now I couldn't care less. There's a time and place for everything. It's about the game at hand. What he needs to hear is whatever will make him play at his best on the eve of what's one of the biggest games in franchise history. If saying Butler will make him his bitch tonight will make him play harder, then he should hear that. If hearing words of motivation that doesn't involve how much $ he's making is what will make him play better, he should hear that. It should be about game 4 and nothing else.

Fans can say whatever the heck they want, whenever they want. But if someone from the organization or teammate circle is "leaking" this out the eve of crucial game like this, they're actually physically hurting their chances (regardless if the comment it's true, deserved, or not). There's nobody else on this team that wants to win more than Kawhi, so if anyone on his circle did that (regardless if it's deserving or not) is amateurish, and is indirectly helping him lose (which is why I think it's more likely to be fake). There will be a time to take stock of everything. Right now it ain't that time, it's about game 4.

Of course there's also the possibility of these kind of comments being known to actually make Kyle play better, so who knows, that might be Masai's burner account pushing the right buttons to get Kyle going.

Some thoughts on what you said:

1. The other team is being led by two guys younger than most guys on the Raptors. The other team got their asses whooped in game one and came back hard for two straight games whooping the Raptors. So no excuses for the Raptors.

2. Kyle should be pissed about the tweet, what the fans are saying, what the media is saying and how he must have some faith lost in the locker room... All because of his own weak play on offense. That should all be motivation. If a Tweet is the last straw in him losing all confidence or blocking the road back to being confident then the team has already lost.

3. I hope he is listening to everyone and answers by hitting back HARD to shut us all up. I'd love to be eating mountains of crow from here on out.

[KHD]

best player in the nba

[inthepaint]

Some thoughts on what you said:

1. The other team is being led by two guys younger than most guys on the Raptors. The other team got their asses whooped in game one and came back hard for two straight games whooping the Raptors. So no excuses for the Raptors.

2. Kyle should be pissed about the tweet, what the fans are saying, what the media is saying and how he must have some faith lost in the locker room... All because of his own weak play on offense. That should all be motivation. If a Tweet is the last straw in him losing all confidence or blocking the road back to being confident then the team has already lost.

3. I hope he is listening to everyone and answers by hitting back HARD to shut us all up. I'd love to be eating mountains of crow from here on out.

Disagree. The fact the the two leading guys in Philly are younger is irrelevant. Different players are motivated in different ways regardless of age. Maybe Kyle is motivated but fans/media dissing him out, but maybe it works differently if it comes from inside the org/locker room. We don't know. And that's point, unless the person putting the retracted tweet out knew precisely this would would work as motivation for Kyle, this was a disservice to the team. Locker room strife never helped anyone win. On the contrary, it's actually the downfall of many great teams. You and I are free to hurdle non-constructive criticism to any player we choose at any time, we're fans. But the minute it comes from inside the org/locker room it's a flag, especially if the laundry is made in public. There's a difference.

If they want to win, they gotta stay together and respect each other. Count on each other like they did today on this great win. No one can do it alone. Unlike a couple of other teams that showed internal squabbles this year, we've had a pretty healthy locker room. Guys are mature and are aware of their strengths and their weakness, and aware that no one (even Kawhi) can do it alone. So I hope they continue to stay together, respecting each other and providing heathy criticism and encouragement to each other. Let us fans do the shit-talking on tweeter.

[Apollo]

We're talking about a Twitter account which might be owned by a guy who trained Kawhi. That's not inside the locker room but it is life. I don't need to know what motivates Kyle, all I care about is how he performs. Overall it looks like he chokes on offense when the pressure is raised. The world doesn't tailor itself to anyone's needs or feelings and so Kyle needs to man up. Similar to how he played tonight, only making a couple more of those wide open shots. He's not the only one to blame but he's been a leader for a long time now and guys look to him. Kawhi is amazing but he needs more help than he's getting. The Raptors won tonight but it shouldn't have been a close game like it was.

[Hotshot]

He's a bloody monster that puts the fright in giants.

[bertarapsfan]

so let's just get right to it. was that fade away 3 the biggest shot in franchise history? maybe only rivaled by alvin williams game winner? I think it very well could be. and I think kawhi might hit some even bigger shots as the playoffs go on..

[Tmac2darak]

so let's just get right to it. was that fade away 3 the biggest shot in franchise history? maybe only rivaled by alvin williams game winner? I think it very well could be. and I think kawhi might hit some even bigger shots as the playoffs go on..

Agree.
man I just want Kawhi to stay. Is that asking to much?

[inthepaint]

We're talking about a Twitter account which might be owned by a guy who trained Kawhi. That's not inside the locker room but it is life. I don't need to know what motivates Kyle, all I care about is how he performs. Overall it looks like he chokes on offense when the pressure is raised. The world doesn't tailor itself to anyone's needs or feelings and so Kyle needs to man up. Similar to how he played tonight, only making a couple more of those wide open shots. He's not the only one to blame but he's been a leader for a long time now and guys look to him. Kawhi is amazing but he needs more help than he's getting. The Raptors won tonight but it shouldn't have been a close game like it was.

I think we're talking about two different things here. Kyle needs to step up and maintain his offence when the going gets tough, and should be criticized if he doesn't do so, by fans, media etc..You and I agree on that. That's thing 1.

Thing 2 is: Someone (which we don't know if it's real or not) but possibly on a player training inner circle, who's present in practice and closer to other teammates, therefore being a stone's throw away from the locker room itself , comes out publicly on twitter to do a two-liner intrigue on the eve of the most important game in team history. If you think that's the same as you or I going on reddit and calling out Lowry, we're gonna have to agree to disagree on that one.

Now, yeah we all wanna believe these guys are some superhuman pros that should stoically face whatever comes their way no matter what's said, but in the real world players will respond differently to different combinations of encouragement & criticism. It's not ideal but that's how it works. Most won't put too much stock on what fans & media say, but they will put weight on what teammates and family say. So yeah, I hope whoever is close enough to him (teammates, family etc..) is saying the right things (whether positive or critical) to push the right motivation buttons so he shows up and get us the W.

[golden]

[Zainab]