Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard is among the laundry list of premier players who have been linked to the Miami Heat before.
However, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports, there was an off-the-court factor that gave the Heat pause when they looked into Leonard over the years. They were worried about his uncle, Dennis Robertson.
“Uncle Dennis worried the Heat when they looked into Kawhi over the years,” Skolnick wrote via Discord.
Some people think Robertson is partly to blame for why Leonard’s time with the San Antonio Spurs ended in dramatic and ugly fashion late last decade. Danny Green, Leonard’s former Spurs teammate, implied during a podcast appearance that Robertson was unhappy that Leonard was not getting superstar treatment in San Antonio.
In Leonard’s swan song in San Antonio, he suited up in only nine contests as he navigated injury woes, but the Spurs’ medical staff seemed to be at odds with his camp about his status.
Amir rumors that Leonard wanted out, the Spurs finally moved on from him and traded him to the Toronto Raptors ahead of the 2018-19 season. Leonard spent just one season in Toronto, but it was a magical one, as he helped the Raptors win their first championship in franchise history in 2019.
Reports have detailed that Robertson then made a series of requests of several teams in 2019 that were competing for Leonard’s services in free agency. Some of the alleged requests fell outside the lines of the CBA.
Robertson has also been named alongside Leonard and the Clippers in the ongoing drama surrounding Leonard’s suspicious endorsement deal with Aspiration.
Given the history here, it’s easy to understand why the Heat reportedly were wary of Robertson when they considered adding the two-time champion to the fold.
It’s also not clear that it would have been worthwhile for the Heat to acquire him, as Leonard hasn’t been able to stay on the court consistently during his Clippers tenure. He’s played in 60-plus games in just one season since he joined the team ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, and he suited up in less than half of Los Angeles’ 82 contests last season.