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And him being medically cleared. The uncertainity is making me not watch games.

No.

I think the Spurs have done a very poor job of getting in front of this (PR-wise). It's not like the sequence of events is all that confusing, it's literally just spin that's confusing the crap out of the fans.

Kawhi's not playing because he's not healthy. It's really that simple. Kawhi believes that, Pop believes that, and the Spurs believe that. What's not jiving with reality is the original prognosis and fan expectation.

inDe_eD wrote:I think the Spurs have done a very poor job of getting in front of this (PR-wise). It's not like the sequence of events is all that confusing, it's literally just spin that's confusing the crap out of the fans.

Kawhi's not playing because he's not healthy. It's really that simple. Kawhi believes that, Pop believes that, and the Spurs believe that. What's not jiving with reality is the original prognosis and fan expectation.

Agreed. We would of been better off just saying nothing at all.

No.

Kawhi hasn't been healthy to play even close to what is expected of him, it seems - him sitting out is the right thing in the short-term. Media, pundits, and fans will have to continue to deal with these facts at the end of each week.

Nolan wrote:

inDe_eD wrote:I think the Spurs have done a very poor job of getting in front of this (PR-wise). It's not like the sequence of events is all that confusing, it's literally just spin that's confusing the crap out of the fans.

Kawhi's not playing because he's not healthy. It's really that simple. Kawhi believes that, Pop believes that, and the Spurs believe that. What's not jiving with reality is the original prognosis and fan expectation.

Agreed. We would of been better off just saying nothing at all.

Sorry, gents, but have to disagree with you here. Keep in mind that nobody on the Spurs said anything for months until the ESPN articles started coming out in January. All subsequent statements have been responses to direct questions. Silence or giving a variation of "No comment" to questions like Is there a rift between Kawhi and the Spurs? or Has he been medically cleared? would only serve to fuel further rumours.

It's weird that what some consider bad PR and spin I see as clarifying a situation that has frankly been presented as too one-sided. If Kawhi had spoken for himself, there would be no need to get input from everyone else about him. Both sides have to shoulder media responsibility.

And it's not just fan expectation, but team expectation, too, as shown by that players' only meeting.

Anyway, I hope that whatever issues may linger get settled in some face to face time over the summer. It's in the best interest of both sides to be on the same page going forward.

GREY 1769 wrote:

Nolan wrote:

inDe_eD wrote:I think the Spurs have done a very poor job of getting in front of this (PR-wise). It's not like the sequence of events is all that confusing, it's literally just spin that's confusing the crap out of the fans.

Kawhi's not playing because he's not healthy. It's really that simple. Kawhi believes that, Pop believes that, and the Spurs believe that. What's not jiving with reality is the original prognosis and fan expectation.

Agreed. We would of been better off just saying nothing at all.

Sorry, gents, but have to disagree with you here. Keep in mind that nobody on the Spurs said anything for months until the ESPN articles started coming out in January. All subsequent statements have been responses to direct questions. Silence or giving a variation of "No comment" to questions like Is there a rift between Kawhi and the Spurs? or Has he been medically cleared? would only serve to fuel further rumours.

It's weird that what some consider bad PR and spin I see as clarifying a situation that has frankly been presented as too one-sided. If Kawhi had spoken for himself, there would be no need to get input from everyone else about him. Both sides have to shoulder media responsibility.

And it's not just fan expectation, but team expectation, too, as shown by that players' only meeting.

Anyway, I hope that whatever issues may linger get settled in some face to face time over the summer. It's in the best interest of both sides to be on the same page going forward.

Well, that's exactly why I used the phrase "getting in front of this". The fact that we've only said stuff about Kawhi in answering questions just plays into the media spin frenzy. As soon as PATFO realized that this wasn't going to be just the first few games of the season, RC or Pop should have scheduled regular updates. I.e. "Kawhi is still out for the time being, he's in New York with additional specialists, yata yata, we will have another media update in two weeks". I'm kind of shocked, because that's the kind of stuff the Spurs never miss on.

Mind you, i'm not excusing Kawhi here for saying nothing either. He certainly could have done more to assuage concerns that he's sitting out while healthy.