By: Opinionated Reezy (Ronald Stovall)

When I joined the opinionated family a couple of years ago I agreed to one principle rule and that was no one and I do mean no one gets a pass. We will call out odd behavior when we see it and when we do we will go all the way in.

With that being said, imagine my surprise that for an ENTIRE season the league has given Kawhi Leonard the biggest pass in NBA history while scrutinizing other players for how they PLAY the game. I get it, Kawhi was diagnosed with Tendinopathy and there are sin can manifest itself with inflammation and at worse degeneration, but here is the thing, and I am going to break it down real in the simplest terms.

HE HAS BEEN MEDICALLY CLEARED TO PLAY ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS!!!!!

At this point he is simply choosing not to play and no one wants to talk about that. If it were Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, or heaven forbid LeBron James, the Analyst and Internet would have a field day going to work on the reports and tv shows. There would be an entirely new show created just to talk about the injury, but not only are they not talking about, they have the audacity to instead talk about which teams should pick him up next season, REALLY!!!!

Look, I don’t, know about you, but I grew up in the time when:

• Isaiah Thomas twisted his ankle, went into a trance and dropped a 25 in a quarter on the Showtime Lakers.

• Michael Jordan had the Flu or was hung over; however, you want to see, and still had a career game

• Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles, shot his free throw shots, and walked off the court

• Countless players ice their knees, due to inflammation during and after the game to keep going

And Kawhi Leonard won’t even try!!!
But I’m supposed to be excited and play along about what team will pick him up next season? Ok, here are some potential options:

• South Bay Lakers
• Aqua Caliente Clippers
• Austin Spurs
• Grand Rapids Drive

What? Don’t recognize those teams? That is because they are part of the G-League. That is where I would send him. That’s right! He is showing zero effort to try and help his team in the PLAYOFFS against the team that took him out in the first place, which must mean he is afraid of them, so why should another team invest anything on the chance of him doing the same thing to them. See with the injury he has:

• If it is merely inflammation, then he will be on ice and anti-inflammatories indefinitely, which he doesn’t seem to want to do.

• If it is degenerative then he is retiring in a year or two.

The point is, this should be the story folks are talk about. How the so-called best “two-way player in the game” made the conscious decision to let his team hang out there to dry despite being cleared to play and allowing his team to potentially fold once again the reigning NBA champs. My how we far we go to protect the legacies of those we want to….