No one talks about this. But I'm gonna tell you the main reason why Kawhi left.
The theories are:
1) Problems with the organization about his health. Lack of trust.
2) Problems with the players. Starting with Tony Parker.
3) Wanting a bigger payday and the opportunity to perhaps play in his hometown state of LA.
Kawhi left for one simple reason. Statistics, playing time, and shot attempts. Kawhi chucked up 39 shots in the game 7 against Philly. Think about that for a second. He would never be allowed to do such a thing on the Spurs. Never. Kawhi said f my teammates, f my coach, I'm taking every single shot. Kobe style.
He was fed up with the "team first" concept. Kawhi isn't gonna let these bums take all the shots in a game 7. No way.
Second thing, stats. Kawhi is approaching the back end of his career. He's still in his prime obviously, but he has what, like 6 years left of dominance? And that's it. Kawhi's statistics are not on the level of some of the greats. The Jordans, Bird, Kobe, Wade, Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem, etc. Even guys like Karl Malone, Barkley. Kawhi is better than both those guys, yet they have much better statistics. It's because they always played more minutes, took more shots, etc. Kawhi has been babied his whole career in SA. And it was time for him to go and start dropping 30 points a night. Without those statistics, your legacy is tarnished. Believe that.
The theories are:
1) Problems with the organization about his health. Lack of trust.
2) Problems with the players. Starting with Tony Parker.
3) Wanting a bigger payday and the opportunity to perhaps play in his hometown state of LA.
Kawhi left for one simple reason. Statistics, playing time, and shot attempts. Kawhi chucked up 39 shots in the game 7 against Philly. Think about that for a second. He would never be allowed to do such a thing on the Spurs. Never. Kawhi said f my teammates, f my coach, I'm taking every single shot. Kobe style.
He was fed up with the "team first" concept. Kawhi isn't gonna let these bums take all the shots in a game 7. No way.
Second thing, stats. Kawhi is approaching the back end of his career. He's still in his prime obviously, but he has what, like 6 years left of dominance? And that's it. Kawhi's statistics are not on the level of some of the greats. The Jordans, Bird, Kobe, Wade, Shaq, Hakeem, Kareem, etc. Even guys like Karl Malone, Barkley. Kawhi is better than both those guys, yet they have much better statistics. It's because they always played more minutes, took more shots, etc. Kawhi has been babied his whole career in SA. And it was time for him to go and start dropping 30 points a night. Without those statistics, your legacy is tarnished. Believe that.