Kawhi Leonard Latest Update: Bruce Bowen Fired by Clippers After Criticizing Ex-Spurs Superstar in Interview

Bruce Bowen has been fired by the Los Angeles Clippers from his job as a game analyst following his critical comments of ex-Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard, SportsNet reported. Bowen made the comment when he appeared on Sirius XM Radio in June, a month before the Leonard-DeRozan trade occurred.

During the interview, Bowen didn’t hold back his criticism towards the two-time Defensive Player of the Year, saying that Kawhi Leonard was deluged with bad advice, most of which was detrimental. And so he offered his two cents regarding the matter during the talk.

“I think he’s [Kawhi Leonard] getting bad advice,” Bowen said. “I think what you’re starting to see now is an individual given a certain amount of advice, and it’s not the right advice. Here it is: You were protected in San Antonio. You were able to come up during a time where you still could lean on Tim [Duncan], Tony [Parker] and Manu [Ginobili].”

The comment apparently had a negative impact on the deal that was then being made between the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard’s team, which then resulted in the shocking trade the following month. Now, Bruce Bowen has been fired and it’s unclear if the Clippers will give him any position in the organization.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that the firing of Bruce Bowen is an indication that the Clippers want to protect their star players moving forward. The Clippers have been one of the many teams that were highly interested in landing Kawhi Leonard since they have a lot of cap space to work around.

What’s more, their chances of signing Kawhi Leonard were also quite high as the forward grew up in Los Angeles. Kawhi has already expressed his desire to play in Los Angeles but didn’t clarify which team he was going to join since the city has the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Comically enough, following the firing of Bruce Bowen, San Antonio Zoo CEO Tim Morrow offered him a position in the establishment, saying he can have any job he wants. “I gladly accept,” Bowen replied via Twitter. As for Kawhi Leonard, he still has to finish this season with the Raptors before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.