Count former NBA standout Bruce Bowen among the more vocal figures during Kawhi Leonard‘s drawn-out departure from the San Antonio Spurs.
Bowen, who retired in 2009 after spending the last eight seasons of his career playing for the Spurs, and last season was an analyst for the Los Angeles Clippers‘ television broadcasts, didn’t hold back his criticism of Leonard while appearing on Sirius XM Radio in June prior to the DeMar DeRozan trade that sent the former Finals MVP to Toronto.
“I think there’s nothing but excuses going on,” Bowen said. “First, it was, ‘Well I was misdiagnosed.’ Look here: You got $18 million this year, and you think that they’re trying to rush you? You didn’t play for the most part a full season this year. And you’re the go-to guy, you’re the franchise, and you want to say that they didn’t have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?”
“I think he’s getting bad advice,” he continued. “I think what you’re starting to see now is an individual given a certain amount of advice, and it’s not the right advice. Here it is: You were protected in San Antonio. You were able to come up during a time where you still could lean on Tim [Duncan], Tony [Parker] and Manu [Ginobili].”
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, those comments have now left Bowen without a job at Fox Sports West:
“The sides were expected to move forward on a new deal before Bowen’s public comments on Leonard, sources said. Bowen declined comment when reached on Monday,” Wojnarowski elaborates.
“The decision to part ways with Bowen — a three-time NBA champion with the Spurs who had his No. 12 jersey retired — speaks to the high-stakes repercussions surrounding the NBA’s star-studded 2019 free agency class. For the Clippers, eliminating Bowen becomes a clear message about how it plans to protect star players within the organization.”
The Clippers, who will have ample cap space in the summer of 2019, are considered outside contenders for Leonard’s services, should the two-time Defensive Player of the Year pursue free agency next summer.
Leonard has been believed to be interested in playing in Los Angeles, in his native California.
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