It’s likely that Kawhi Leonard had already bid farewell to San Antonio long before his trade on July 18th, and certainly before Thursday when he released a formal statement thanking his teammates, the city and its fans.
Kawhi Leonard releases first statements since trade to Toronto, saying goodbye to San Antonio and the Spurs: pic.twitter.com/XxSUEwbrQ6
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 9, 2018
To no one’s surprise, the letter doesn’t allude to what transpired in a lost 2017-18 season; it doesn’t shed light on the player’s state of mind or rehabilitation, nor does it confirm or deny his reported desires to switch teams; it doesn’t deign to justify the apparent 180-degree turn in his relationship with the organization, and it certainly isn’t apologetic for any of those things.