Kawhi Leonard Latest Update: Is the Ex-Spurs Superstar’s Injury Fully Healed?

During Kawhi Leonard’s last season with the San Antonio Spurs, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year only managed to play on the court nine times. The obstacle that hindered the superstar was the quadriceps injury that kept recurring to the frustration of the forward and his team.

However, now that Kawhi Leonard was given the rest that he had asked for, the ex-Spurs superstar is looking to be in great shape, Amico Hoops reported. The publication claims that an inside source told them that Kawhi “looks remarkable” during the summer league workout and has been performing at the level he is expected to by his current team, the Toronto Raptors.

This is good news for both Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors. Critics have speculated that if Kawhi doesn’t perform well during this summer league, then teams – including the Raptors – will hesitate to give him a max contract.

As for the Raptors, the team took a huge gamble by signing a trade deal which involved the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard and giving away DeMar DeRozan, the player considered to be the face of the franchise. The gamble comes in two ways.

The first is the fact that Kawhi Leonard’s health was still in question when the deal was conducted. This was now put to rest given how the forward is performing in the summer league. The second is that the forward will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

This means that if Kawhi Leonard chooses, he can transfer to other teams, a desire that he has already made known but not confirmed entirely. This puts the Raptors in a tight spot of convincing Kawhi to commit to the team and sign a long-term contract.

The Raptors have already made several efforts on this front, including the hiring of Kawhi Leonard’s childhood friend, Jeremy Castleberry. Castleberry has been given the position of player development coach in the Raptors, with the team hoping that Kawhi’s friend will influence his decision to stay with Toronto.

But everything is still murky at the moment as details about Kawhi Leonard’s decision is still privy to the player himself and a few select individuals he trusts. And given that Kawhi is such a reserved person overall, it’s difficult to predict what the forward is thinking and what his next move will be going forward.