Latest On Kawhi Leonard

Despite some rumblings that Kawhi Leonard would return to action last week, the Spurs star remains sidelined due to the quadriceps injury that has plagued him all season. While Leonard hasn’t been ruled out for the season, his Spurs teammates say they’re operating as if he won’t be back, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com.

“He is not coming back,” Manu Ginobili said of Leonard. “For me, he’s not coming back because it’s not helping [to think Leonard is returning]. We fell for it a week ago again. I guess you guys made us fall for it. But we have to think that he’s not coming back; that we are who we are, and that we got to fight without him. That shouldn’t be changing, at least until he is ready for the jungle.”

Ginobili isn’t breaking any news here — he’s simply expressing the sort of mindset that the Spurs need for their last 11 games as they push for a spot in the playoffs. Patty Mills expressed a similar sentiment, suggesting that while the Spurs “obviously hope to get [Leonard] back” but have “got to move on” from thinking about it.

As Wright notes, Gregg Popovich and sources within the Spurs organization have maintained that the team will err on the side of the caution with Leonard, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we won’t see the veteran forward again this season. San Antonio is expected to offer Leonard a lucrative extension this offseason, so his long-term health is the club’s top priority. Still, a source tells Wright that Leonard is feeling “much better” and there’s still optimism that he’ll return to the court down the stretch.

Given how tight-lipped the Spurs have been on Leonard’s situation, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Leonard played within the next game or two, but it also wouldn’t be a shock if he doesn’t return until 2018/19. For now, as Ginobili and Mills explained, the Spurs will prepare for each game as if Leonard won’t be available.