One of the biggest stories throughout this summer was the ongoing dispute between Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs. Both sides reached an impasse that ultimately led to the Spurs trading Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.
Some have criticized Leonard for his handling of the situation, but one person who is firmly on his side is former Los Angeles Lakers reserve, and current Denver Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas recently appeared on the “Tiki and Tierney Show” and supported Leonard, while bringing up his own issues with team loyalty:
“Kawhi Leonard, what he did, was the right thing to do. He learned from my story. Everybody can hate or do whatever they say about Kawhi Leonard. But at the end of the day, he’s looking out for himself. Because these teams, all they’re going to do is look out for themselves. When a player does it, everybody is tripping out. It is what it is.”
Thomas’ issues have been well-publicized at this point. He delayed surgery on his bothersome hip in order to continue playing for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs, also suiting up the day after the tragic death of his sister.
That following offseason, Boston traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Kyrie Irving deal. Unfortunately for Thomas, his hip issues continued after bypassing surgery and he struggled last season with the Cavs and Lakers.
Once viewed as a potential max-level player, Thomas signed a one-year deal for just $2 million.
The issue between Leonard and the Spurs centered around an injury and whether or not he was healthy enough to play so it makes sense that Thomas would side with the player in this situation.
Thomas lost a lot of money doing what was best for the team instead of himself and he doesn’t want others to do the same.
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