Lowry says Kawhi’s actions on the court didn’t endear him to teammates

[HumbleRen]

This is old news lol. It was the young guys like FVV, Dwight, Siakam and the likes. They had it out for Kawhi because Demar was their OG.

All that nonsense stopped when they realized how good Kawhi was lol.

[Basketball_Jones]

Ah, here it is years ago https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-kyle-lowry-gets-brutally-honest-about-kawhi-leonard-notorious-reputation-in-toronto

[SharoneWright]

I'm glad Lowry understood the assignment, unlike some other players (Fred).

It was necessary in order to win the championship.

Just run the picket fence and give the ball to Jimmy.

[Brinbe]

lol just needed to watch some of those games, especially early on, to realise it. especially when they would run an entirely different (and still effective) offense when kawhi wasn't in the game. but it worked well enough and they all found enough common footing/chemistry to get a championship out of it.

and the other guys played well enough to win it all themselves the next year. just a shame that covid halted/killed their momentum.

[Mattatron]

Sounds like Fred tbh

[Los_29]

Kawhi did go to a perfect team that would tolerate his antics and put it behind them while playing. There was always great chemistry on the court. His antics have pretty much ruined that Clippers team in the present and near future. You almost feel bad for that Clippers franchise. Can’t let players run the franchise.

[Tripod]

Ah, here it is years ago https://clutchpoints.com/nba/toronto-raptors/raptors-news-kyle-lowry-gets-brutally-honest-about-kawhi-leonard-notorious-reputation-in-toronto

This is the real quote that matters....and it's exactly how Barnes thinks.

“As long as we win games, we all good. … My role just changed from the year before. … My scoring went down, but my assists went up. … Whatever happens to me, I don’t care. As long as we win.”

[TimeForChange]

Sounds like Fred tbh

It was 100% Fred.

[TimeForChange]

This is old news lol. It was the young guys like FVV, Dwight, Siakam and the likes. They had it out for Kawhi because Demar was their OG.

All that nonsense stopped when they realized how good Kawhi was lol.

The Fred hate for Kawhi carried over to when Kawhi got his ring the following season. He didn't even shake his hand

[wegotthabeet]

Sounds like Fred tbh

In Fred’s mind he was the reason we won a championship.

[Los_29]

I remember how upset Kyle was when they traded for Kawhi. There was probably a bit of resentment towards Masai and Kawhi for how everything went down. There were rumours of Kyle even being dealt at the deadline. I thought Kyle was in the wrong then given the trade made us such a better team.

[Tha Cynic]

He always felt like he played like a mercenary hire. Didn't seem to gel well with teammates on the court. They just fit because the rest of the team had so much chemistry and was already elite as a supporting cast. IMO you could have plugged any star on that team and they would have fit in just as well.

If you watch him on the Clippers afterwards he played a bit more team friendly with his style.

[djsunyc]

I'm glad Lowry understood the assignment, unlike some other players (Fred).

It was necessary in order to win the championship.

if i remember right, lowry pouted after the deal and masai had to sit him down and say play nice or i'm trading you. i think there were rumors that kyle would've been part of the gasol trade to bring conley back as well.

[HumbleRen]

He always felt like he played like a mercenary hire. Didn't seem to gel well with teammates on the court. They just fit because the rest of the team had so much chemistry and was already elite as a supporting cast. IMO you could have plugged any star on that team and they would have fit in just as well.

If you watch him on the Clippers afterwards he played a bit more team friendly with his style.

I mean is that surprising? He played a total of like 70ish games if you include the roster. It’s a miracle it worked that well in the first place.

You need way more games than that to build chemistry. Scottie, OG, Siakam and FVV played for 3 years straight and still had no chemistry on the court.

[Airmiess]

I can recognize when everybody in the workplace is business as usual instead of a "fun" environment. It can be interpreted as hyper focus, and also as the main cog being a sap, and by default setting the tone for everyone else whenever he's around because you want his approval.
Siakam's playful demeanor was never the same after experiencing Kawhi.

[Tofubeque]

We knew Kawhi wasn’t a pass-first player, he didn’t approach the game like a Lowry or Haliburton but had a more old-school approach. Hell, even better passers today who play a ball-dominant style get murmurs around them about teammates not liking it, like Doncic and Harden. A lot of egos in the NBA, but deliver results and it’s all good.

I didn’t see much wrong with how Kawhi operated ON the court. But I’ll always think he deserves more flack for leaving a contending roster, then forcing his new team to trade a future MVP for his buddy. Just a colossal failure of playing GM, worse than any LeBron move. And screw “going home”, you can do that every offseason and in retirement. When the great ones win a title they try to repeat.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Kawhi earned a number of Raptors a **** of money and recognition that they didn't deserve. They can yap all they want about being rubbed the wrong way, none of them would have come close to posting a 61.9 TS% on high volume in the playoffs. Literally shut the **** up, know your role, shut your mouth and enjoy the fat paychecks you are now receiving.

Thank you Kawhi for blessing this team and some of your former primadonna teammates.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

The idea that the roster was elite at the time and that any star player could have stepped in and carried it to a championship is absurd.

Kawhi is one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history.

Of course the clowns at the Dickman100 basketball forum will discredit him, absolutely pathetic as usual.

Personal attacks are not allowed.

[Basketball_Jones]

The idea that the roster was elite at the time and that any star player could have stepped in and carried it to a championship is absurd.

Kawhi is one of the greatest playoff performers in NBA history.

Of course the clowns at the Dickman100 basketball forum will discredit him, absolutely pathetic as usual.

And if you wanna talk leadership and chemistry, they adopted his serious workman like demeanor in the playoffs. No big early celebrations after going up 3-1 in the finals. No panic after going down 2-0 against the Bucks.

[Duffman100]

Yes. My long documented history of discrediting of Kawhi...