Kawhi Leonard's Choice
That is the question, to tweak what my English teacher attributed to Shakespeare. The 2019 NBA Finals MVP has already decided whether he will stay with Toronto Raptors or move back to the U.S. to play with another team and that decision is purely personal.
It was not based on some change, a few million dollars here and there and other dollar-full perks. It is the outcome of what he is comfortable with on and off the court, his family’s future plans and his need to play basketball.
Another motivating factor was what went down with the San Antonio Spurs, before Masai Ujiri burnt the midnight oil, and decided that Kawhi Leonard is part of the mathematics to win. We don’t know what went down. San Antonio Spurs know. Kawhi Leonard knows. Whatever it was, that experience was a factor in his decision to stay or not stay with Toronto Raptors.
Kawhi Leonard has been accused of being quiet. How can that be a crime? In fact, it is a breath of fresh air, in a sport where some individuals feel so large, they think basketball is them, and them alone. It is an unfair accusation.
The Stock Exchange has rules. Wimbledon has rules. Medical associations have rules, so does the NBA. Players have contracts to pay for their moves on the court, zigzagging the ball on its way to the basket, the designated departure lounge.
Ordinary people don’t care about NBA policy and regulations because their eyes are not on the ball, but on the millions, players make. That is why they expect players to cough out at least 10% of the truth about the pros and cons of earning those millions.
Kawhi Leonard might be quiet but he is also restricted in what he can say. Yes, players sign obese contracts, but they also sign away the right to feel and tell, especially telling. Some of them are free agents but are not free to say truthfully, why they left previous teams for new ones.
This drives the media up the wall because of well-scripted answers about ‘incredible teammates and the support from the organisation’. Don’t rock the boat. You may be all that on the basketball court but, you don’t want to be labelled a problem by the NBA and manufacturers that pay you to advertise sneakers or toothpaste.
Kawhi Leonard has made his decision, a personal decision he will share with the world shortly, but I don’t envy him if he stays with Toronto Raptors because at every press conference, he will be asked how he will up his play so that the team wins again, the same way the Golden State Warriors kept the trophy two years in a row.
He will try to remind the media that it was a team effort, not a one-man band and the proof of that is Stephen Curry’s resilience in the two games Raptors won in the Warriors’ backyard. One commentator said Curry was playing without all stars while surrounded by all stars.
If Kawhi Leonard stays in Toronto, he will have to pretend that all is well with benched players, who might wait longer to shine, and that is not his fault. How he came to Toronto Raptors and how he will leave was designed by the NBA.
As for the media, they are dreading the press conference because Kawhi Leonard won’t say much. He will deliver carefully crafted safe answers all million-dollar players are ‘encouraged’ to give.
“I must first thank ……….”
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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