Spurs veterans refute ESPN report of tense meeting regarding Kawhi Leonard's injury

San Antonio Spurs veterans are refuting an ESPN report which said they held a tense, players-only meeting pleading with injured star Kawhi Leonard to return for the team's playoff push.

Guard Danny Green tweeted Thursday that the report, which described the meeting as “emotional at times,” couldn't be "anymore incorrect." 

Green’s tweet didn't directly say which part was incorrect. 

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Spurs players did hold a meeting after Saturday's game vs. Minnesota, led by veteran Tony Parker, but it wasn’t tense. Leonard, who’s played in just nine games this season, was caught off guard by the meeting, according to the outlet.

Leonard reaffirmed that making a return from his right quadriceps tendinopathy is still the goal but offered no resolute timeline, according to the Express-News. The report also stated that Leonard received support from some of his teammates, who encouraged him not to return before he felt healthy.

Spurs forward Rudy Gay also refuted the report that the meeting was tense, saying, "Heated? I don't think so. It was just a conversation. Nothing more than that. Nothing different than I've seen before. Actually, it was a lot lighter than I've seen before. So nothing for you guys to be worried about."

On Wednesday, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said that he doesn't expect Leonard to be back on the court this season.

"For me, he's not coming back, because it's not helping (to think that he is)" Ginobili told reporters in San Antonio when asked about his mindset regarding Leonard's potential return. "We fell for it a week ago, again. I guess you guys made us fall for it. But as I said maybe a month ago, I don't know when it was, we've got to think that he's not coming back, that we are who we are and that we've got to fight without him. That shouldn't be changing, at least until he's ready for the jump ball."

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The Spurs (42-30) have 10 games left and currently hold the sixth seed in the jam-packed Western Conference. 

The injury has confounded the Spurs and left coach Gregg Popovich in a difficult position. Earlier this month he told reporters that Leonard needed to be cleared by his own medical staff before he could return. 

“Like anybody else, he’s frustrated,” Popovich said. “He wants to be playing, he’s competitive. It’s been a tough year in that regard for him. But the first step is he’s got to be cleared by his medical staff that he’s seeing.

“Until he gets cleared, we can’t make a decision on when he’s coming back.”

Leonard met with the media in early March and denied "friction" between he and Spurs management in regards to his treatment plan. 

On March 7 he said he didn't have a set date but that he would return "soon." 

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