Kawhi Leonard says he was “never upset” that the Spurs passed on a rookie-scale extension for him before last month’s deadline, as he tells USA Today’s Sam Amick.
“I don’t think I’m going anywhere,” Leonard said. “I mean they love me here. I like the organization, and if it was up to me, I want to finish out with one team like a lot of great players have done, to stay with one organization their whole career and just be loyal to that. You never know. We’ll see what happens next summer, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be in a Spurs jersey for my whole life.”
The Spurs reportedly passed on Leonard’s request for a max extension because they prefer maintain maximum cap flexibility for next summer, even though they’ve indicated that they’ll match any offer another team might make for the player Gregg Popovich calls a “coach’s dream.” Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Paul Millsap acknowledged Monday that he’ll look around when he hits free agency in the summer, but he made it clear that the Hawks are the front-runners to re-sign him, as Marc Berman of the New York Post chronicles. “Anywhere could be an option,” Millsap said. “But my loyalty right now is in Atlanta. Free agency is free agency. When it happens, I’ll weigh my options and see where I’m at. But I’m happy in Atlanta right now.’’
- A report late last month indicated that the Thunder had interest in Gal Mekel before they were beset by injuries, but with Ish Smith having joined the team as a 16th player and some of the wounded recovering, Mekel and OKC aren’t in active talks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Details are scarce about the contract that Drew Gordon signed Monday with the Sixers, but it is a multiyear arrangement, according to the RealGM transactions log.
- The Timberwolves lost a star when Kevin Love forced a trade this summer, and Flip Saunders recognizes the importance of creating an environment that will help prevent a repeat in the future with Andrew Wiggins, as Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick examines.