Rudy Gay says Kawhi Leonard situation with Spurs was ‘refreshing’

The San Antonio Spurs were one of the best teams in the NBA throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Tim Duncan led the way through the 2000s, and it looked as though Kawhi Leonard was ready to fully take over the 2010s. He won a Finals MVP with San Antonio, but his time with the Spurs came to an infamously disastrous end .

The end result was San Antonio trading Leonard to the Toronto Raptors, where he won a championship but left for the LA Clippers after one year. Leonard wanted to leave San Antonio and decided to sit out until he got his way.

NBA veteran Rudy Gay was on the team when the Leonard situation was playing out, and during a recent appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony, he called the ordeal “refreshing.” (H/t Farbod Esnaashari of All Clippers )

“No, it was refreshing though because that was the first time in a long time I ever seen somebody just stand on it,” Gay said. “You know what I mean? …And I think that was the beginning of the era. But besides ‘Bron, obviously but a player would be like, no this is what I want. I’m going to stand on it until I get it.”

Leonard wanting out of San Antonio and not budging until he got his way paved the way for a whole era of other players doing the same.

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