Kawhi Leonard has a complicated legacy. Clearly, he is one of the greatest players of his generation, but his rapid ascension was followed by a steep decline in his career due to injury. However, most people can agree that his one-year run with the Toronto Raptors, which led to a championship, remains one of the most incredible runs in NBA history, sparking debate about whether he should receive honors from the Raptors. One voice recently contributed to this debate with his take.

Mark Cuban, former owner of the Dallas Mavericks and an outspoken personality, recently appeared on the Run Your Race podcast and, as is tradition for its guests, was asked about whether Kawhi should get a statue from the Raptors. Cuban bluntly replied, “No. You don’t get a statue if you leave. If you leave on your own accord, you do not get a statue.”

For Cuban, the timeline mattered. When the host, former NBA player Theo Pinson, argued that he will be remembered by a whole generation of new Canadian fans, the billionaire replied, “But first they’re going to look at Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] and they’re going to go down. There’s a lot of great Canadian players.” The league currently features some of the greatest Canadian basketball talent ever, including SGA, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett and Andrew Wiggins amongst others.

Cuban then returned to the core issue. “No, can’t do it,” he continued. “Particularly because he was only there a year. Six months… and he would even tell you that, right?” He also added his final verdict: “If you’re going to give one to him, you got to put Kyle Lowry in front.” Lowry was the longest tenured Raptor on the team, and was a core member of the team’s identity and heart, especially after the Kawhi trade led to DeMar DeRozan’s exit.

And now, recent discoveries have complicated that discovery even further. After an investigation exposed his alleged under-the-table dealings with Aspiration, reports surfaced, claiming that during the 2019 free agency, Kawhi’s camp, led by his uncle Dennis Robertson, made multiple off-the-court demands of the Raptors.

The Toronto Star revealed, “Robertson’s list was long, and absurd. It included a trade for [Paul] George, which featured an exorbitant price tag. It included a slice of ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which Robertson was told was impossible… Robertson asked for ownership stakes in outside companies…with whom MLSE had a relationship… the Raptors were told they needed to match at least $10 million per year in extra sponsorship income… As one source put it, when told about all the corporate sponsors in Toronto who would be happy to have Leonard as a pitchman, his camp said, ‘We don’t want to do anything.’”

Kawhi Leonard’s Injury Situation Makes LA Clippers Situations Even Worse

The LA Clippers have struggled to start the season, falling to a 4-10 record, and Bradley Beal has already been lost for this season with a hip injury. Forward Derrick Jones Jr. is also out, and now, James Harden is being overtaxed at 36 as he tries to carry the offense alone. To make things even worse, Kawhi is already sitting games with injury, and team president Lawrence Frank confirmed the severity a week ago, calling the foot sprain “significant“.

“He’s making progress,” Frank said, explaining that “when he sprained his ankle, it kind of triggered a mechanism in his foot.” According to him, all parties agreed on his diagnosis, but his timeline still depends on inflammation reducing before on-court work resumes. “He is doing two- to three-a-day treatments,” Frank noted, adding that the Clippers will have a “better feel for it next week.”

Coach Tyronn Lue has also spoken on this, confirming that Leonard is set to miss “the next few games” as he recovers from injury. The vague phrasing highlights the reality: there’s no firm date, and as the Clippers grind through this rough stretch without their star, Lue’s forced to redistribute the offense, and wait.