The falling out between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs centered around the handling of a quad injury, and the player and his camp wanting to take a different course of action than the team medical staff. After playing only nine games over the course of the 2017-18 regular season amid constant confusion about his health status and relationship with the members of the organization, Leonard was traded to the Raptors early Wednesday morning.
Apparently, Leonard wasn't the only Spur-turned-Raptor who had an injury the diagnosis of which was contested.
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Danny Green, the other piece in the Leonard trade that went to Toronto, revealed on his podcast, "Inside the Green Room with Danny Green," he played much of the past season with a torn groin.
The injury, Green said, was suffered in December, during a Spurs victory against the Celtics. Green said it happened when trying to chase down a dunk attempt during the first half. He did not dress for the second game of a back-to-back against the Suns, but he did play in the Spurs' next two games, four and seven nights later. In all, Green played in seven of San Antonio's next 17 games following the win at Boston.
"We got an MRI the next day, and it was a slight strain," Green said on his podcast.
A decision was made to take a few weeks off, though Green appeared in three of the Spurs' next six games, and seven of the following 10.
"We do the rehab and everything we're supposed to do," Green said. "With a groin strain, it's hard to tell between a groin and a sports hernia sometimes.
"After some time it healed, and I tried to play again, and... some days would be bad days, some days would be good, and I would feel it."
At that point, Green said, his agent recommended getting it checked and seeking a second opinion.
"I didn't want to, because I had full faith and believe in the Spurs staff," said Green, who spent the past seven years with San Antonio prior to being traded. "They've always been great to me, they've always been right by me; they've always done a hell of a job.
"Throughout the season we monitored it, but we never went back to check on it again... I could have got a second opinion, so I see where Kawhi is coming from when he's got his second opinion, because a lot of times you'll get information from outside sources. And I'm not saying that the Spurs staff is not up to par, it's just, not everyone is a specialist in every area."
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When Green returned from a six-game inactive stretch Jan. 13, he went on to play in 38 of the Spurs' final 39 games. He also appeared in all five playoff games of San Antonio's first-round loss against the Warriors.
"At the end of the season, I come to find out, it could have happened that day, or that playoff series against Golden State but, we don't know," he said. "But at the end of the season, I had to get another MRI... and there was a tear.
"We don't know how long I've been playing with this strain, or how long ago the tear happened because we hadn't really circled back or focused on it that much because of so many other injuries that were happening during the season."
Over those final 38 games of the regular season, Green averaged over 24 minutes per game, while chipping in with a little over eight points and shooting just over 34 percent from 3-point range.
He averaged nearly four more minutes per game prior to suffering the injury against the Celtics, but his scoring numbers and shooting percentages were similar over both stretches.
"A second opinion could have helped," Green said. "[The Spurs medical staff] did a great job, they did everything they could, but I think it would have been nice to see a specialist just to see if there was another angle, another view.
"Just because Kawhi went and got a second opinion, you can't knock him for that. Everybody should get a second opinion just to get another perspective."
Green said all of his medical records have been turned over to the Raptors, and he continues to rehab from the injury. He also discussed the move to Toronto, one that brings him closer to his home; Green grew up in North Babylon, N.Y.
"I wasn't mad at [the trade]," he said. "Everybody from New York was texting me, too. Toronto, it's closer to home, it's an hour flight. There's a flight every hour on the hour. Everybody can make it at any point now. My family is excited about it."