Popovich on Kawhi: 'A great player, but he wasn't a leader or anything'
A handful of familiar faces left the San Antonio Spurs this offseason, arguably none bigger than Kawhi Leonard, who was dealt to the Toronto Raptors in a blockbuster deal this past summer.
When asked about the importance of Patty Mills, head coach Gregg Popovich gave an honest response, considering all the departures.
"Well, Kawhi was a great player, but he wasn't a leader or anything," said Popovich, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. "Manu (Ginobili) and Patty (Mills) were the leaders. Kawhi's talent will always be missed, but that leadership wasn't his deal at that time. That may come as he progresses, but Patty and Manu filled that role for us last year, and LaMarcus (Aldridge) came a long way in that regard also."
The 2014 Finals MVP played in just nine games last season due to a mysterious quad injury and reportedly requested a trade last June.
The Spurs wound up dealing Leonard and Danny Green for Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected 2019 first-round pick.
In his first season with the Raptors, Leonard has shown signs of the two-way player that's made him one of the best in the game.
The 27-year-old is averaging 24.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.8 steals through 14 games played.