Chris B. Haynes: “One thing that caught me was when Kawhi went up there, and I thought he would thank the Raptors fans, thank the organization and probably mention the front office like Paul George did. He didn’t do that, he thanked the Raptors fans, and then thanked all the local restaurants for giving him free meals. I don’t think Raptors fans got the closure they would looking for and he didn’t really address them much in a sincere way. He told me in our interview that everybody knew he wanted to get back home to Los Angeles, even before the trade to Toronto happened. Remember, he wasn’t happy about getting shipped to Toronto. He said his time being away from his family did something to him. He said when he would come back home, one moment his nieces and nephews were babies and the next moments they’re like 7-8 years old. He said he missed them grow up and didn’t have a chance to see that and that bothered him. This decision wasn’t about basketball, it was purely family.”
Listen to NBA insider and Yahoo Sports columnist Chris B. Haynes join The Herd to discuss his recent interview with Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard, moments after the two-time Finals MVP was introduced to his new team.
Haynes told Colin Cowherd that Leonard’s decision to come home to his native Los Angeles had nothing to do with basketball, and talked about how Leonard told him that he was missing out on his family ‘growing up’ while he was 2,500 miles away playing for the Toronto Raptors.
Check out the audio below as Haynes explains why Leonard leaving Toronto should have never been a surprise to anyone, and says Jalen Rose's reports last month that he was ‘99%’ staying in Toronto hurt Kawhi emotionally.
Click here for the FULL interview with Leonard.
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