NBA Rumors: Bruce Bowen Slams L.A. Clippers For Firing Him Over Kawhi Leonard Criticisms
Bruce Bowen has been critical of Kawhi Leonard since his dispute with the San Antonio Spurs started. Bowen, who was a member of the Spurs from 2001 to 2009, didn’t like how Leonard acted towards his teammates, Coach Gregg Popovich, and the entire organization when he suffered an injury last season. The retired NBA player believes the All-Star forward was getting bad advice and said that he will soon regret leaving the team who gave him the opportunity to prove himself in the league.
Spending the last nine years of his NBA career in San Antonio, it’s easy to understand why Bruce Bowen is frustrated with Kawhi Leonard. However, his comments on Leonard made the Los Angeles Clippers decide to fire him as their color analyst. With their goal to pursue Leonard in 2019 NBA free agency, the Clippers may have thought that it’s not best for them to have someone in their organization who’s not fond of the All-Star forward.
In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show (h/t Yahoo Sports), Bowen continued his criticism of Leonard and left a strong message for the Clippers.
“Kawhi never said he wanted to play for the Clippers,” Bowen told Patrick on Thursday. “He said he wanted to play for the Lakers, and unfortunately … you’re going to run your organization based on hopes, maybe, and getting rid of others. Now, if I tore him down and I was disrespectful to him, that’s one thing, but that’s not the case. As an analyst, I’m supposed to talk about what I see and what I feel for this game that I love, and if you can’t do that, then what does that say about your organization?”
Bruce Bowen confirms he was fired by Clippers for comments on Kawhi Leonard https://t.co/giN873kAth pic.twitter.com/ZThZF7CQM3
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) August 16, 2018
Kawhi Leonard may have expressed his desire to play for his hometown, but Bruce Bowen believes the All-Star forward is only interested in playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and not the Clippers. Dan Patrick asked Bowen if he thought Leonard’s camp has something to do with his recent firing. Bowen believes he’s not that powerful to prevent incoming free agents like Leonard from joining the Clippers. Instead, Bowen said that the Clippers are only using him as a scapegoat with their inability to attract superstar free agents.
In the recent free agency, the Clippers just lost the last member of their “Big Three” (DeAndre Jordan), who helped them become a legitimate playoff contender in the deep Western Conference in the past years. If they fail to acquire Kawhi Leonard and other big names in the 2019 NBA free agency, there is a high possibility that the Clippers will be forced to undergo a full-scale rebuild.
