San Antonio Spurs RUMORS: Kawhi Leonard Not Leaving In Free Agency, Tony Parker Already Passing Torch

If there were ever any doubt about soon-to-be free agent Kawhi Leonard's future with the San Antonio Spurs, then veteran Tony Parker just answered it: Leonard is the future of the team. Parker acknowledged the torch is already being passed to Leonard, much like how it was passed from Tim Duncan to Manu Ginobili to him.

Few if any thought San Antonio and Leonard would part this summer in restricted free agency, but Parker made it abundantly clear that would not happen with what he said after Wednesday's 110-98 win against the Houston Rockets.

"It's like me and Manu back in the day. You have to share and wait your turn. Sometimes I don't see the ball for a long time but Kawhi is playing unbelievable. And it's going to be Kawhi's team anyway," Parker said, via the San Antonio Express News. "Like Timmy transitioned to Manu, Manu transitioned to me, now it's going to be transitioned to Kawhi. I'll try to do my best to stay aggressive and be involved, but Kawhi is going to be the man.

"He's playing great and sometimes I'll have nights like this (27 points on 11-of-18 shooting) where I have the ball. But most of the time it's going to be Kawhi. We have to transition to that. He's young, he's playing great, and he's going to demand double teams. So I'll play off him, like all those years I did with Timmy. I'll just stand in the corner and just wait for Timmy to do his thing. We always did a great job sharing and wait our turn. It will be no different with me."

Leonard and San Antonio failed to agree on an extension earlier in the season, setting up the NBA finals MVP to become a restricted free agent in July. There's no question, though, Leonard and the Spurs want to remain together. The thought is Leonard is more concerned with winning basketball games than with landing a huge new contract, and San Antonio's decision not to extend him this season gave the team more financial flexibility in terms of cap space.

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San antonio spurs rumors, Nba free agent rumors, Nba free agency rumors, San antonio spurs news, Tony parker, Kawhi leonard contract
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