AFTER a tense week following the surprise trade, excitement is brewing at the Toronto Raptors camp with new coach Nick Nurse reportedly having a fruitful meeting with All-Star Kawhi Leonard.
Nurse said he enjoyed his first conversation with Leonard, and he would have wanted it to go on if not for Raptors executives ending the meet.
“We could have gone forever. [Raptors management] kept knocking on the door, and I was like, 'A couple more minutes.' Because we were really into it. It was fun to listen to his take,” Nurse told Dave Feschuk of thestar.com.
Leonard was acquired by the Raptors over a week ago in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, and it was only now that the All Star forward met with the coach that was tapped after the departure of Dwane Casey, now the Detroit Pistons coach.
Nurse said he was surprised with Leonard’s inputs, especially since he has never spoken personally with the enigmatic star.
“I’ll be honest with you. I kind of went in there thinking, ‘What if he doesn’t say anything? What am I going to do?’”
Leonard’s relationship with the Spurs had been described as “fractured” after he suffered a leg injury last season, and there was tension at the Raptors camp as DeMar DeRozan was sent to the Spurs.