Before Saturday's game at Milwaukee, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about the importance of point guard Patty Mills' leadership in the wake of Manu Ginobili's retirement and Kawhi Leonard's trade to Toronto, and he provided a blunt assessment of Leonard.
"Kawhi was a great player, but he wasn't a leader or anything," Popovich told reporters of Leonard, the 2014 NBA Finals MVP and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. "Manu and Patty were the leaders. Kawhi's talent will always be missed, but that leadership wasn't his deal at that time.