The comments by Gregg Popovich to the media that Kawhi Leonard could miss the remainder of the season despite being medically cleared to play signalled a shift in how the Spurs are handling the situation.
"When Pop came out sort of that first media availability on Wednesday after All-Star break, and it was described to me as people who know Pop very well, that they felt he was speaking to an audience of one in that availability. That he was talking directly to Kawhi," said Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod.
"Essentially he said, 'well at this point I don't expect him to play and if he's going to play, this needs to happen soon because we'll be faced with a very tough decision: at what point is it too late to try to bring him back into the team?'
"For the first time you could see the public exacerbation of Pop on this issue. It has been a private frustration there. I thought it was the first day you could see it. This continues on and I think his future in San Antonio if he doesn't come back and play this year, or if he comes back in a very limited way. He'll be a year away from free agency, I think his future is going to have to be addressed there."
Wojnarowski reported that it has been surprising considering the previous relationship Leonard has had with the Spurs before this injury.
