Report: Kawhi remains angry with Pop, Parker over injury comments
The cracks in the San Antonio Spurs dynasty appear to be worsening.
Kawhi Leonard told confidants that he was purposely making it hard for Spurs officials to reach him recently, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne - who added that Leonard remains "irate" with coach Gregg Popovich and teammate Tony Parker over comments they made about his quad injury last season.
Related: Kawhi reportedly plans to tell teams he's signing in L.A. in 2019
Multiple reports Tuesday indicated that Popovich and Leonard had met in California in the last few days.
Leonard's severe quad injury limited him to just nine games last season. A disconnect between the Spurs organization and the two-time Defensive Player of the Year's own medical team appears to be the impetus for the split.
While Popovich never publicly criticized Leonard during his extended rehabilitation, he didn't support him, either. Parker, meanwhile, opined to reporters in March that his own quad injury "was a hundred times worse" than Leonard's.
The drama is rare for the vaunted Spurs organization, and may force the team to trade its franchise player. Leonard, who turns 27 next week, can opt out of his $21.3-million player option for 2019-20 and hit free agency next summer.