Harper jersey reveal sparks silly Kawhi controversy Spurs fans are already over

Let's put this ridiculous story to bed. If you haven't been tapped in, there's been speculation that Dylan Harper will wear the number 2 on his Spurs jersey, though that's yet to be confirmed by the team. But the mere insinuation led NBA fans who don't claim San Antonio fandom to suggest the organization was being petty and disrespectful to Kawhi Leonard for giving his old number away.

This is so off-base it physically pains me to read it. Not only would this move be cool, it would be cool as hell. It would be immensely and severely cool because Kawhi doesn't deserve any more love than he received when he wore the uniform. He got what he needed at that time because he gave the fans the middle finger on the way out the door, shutting off any possibility of long-term adoration.

Kawhi still has never apologized to Spurs Nation

Spurs fans are some of the kindest and most understanding fans in the NBA, but there's a limit to what they're willing to accept. Trashing the organization that drafted you and helped build you into the superstar you became is on the short list of things a player can do to ruin the relationship, and Leonard did it.

We've heard several explanations about the reasons why the Klaw opted to leave the way he did. Tony Parker took some unreasonable blame. Then there were accusations that San Antonio's medical staff misdiagnosed him, but that was false. They were spot on, but they let him go out and seek a second opinion anyway. It's not like they restricted his ability to seek additional help.

Now, for one brief moment, I'll say this: Being on the trajectory that Leonard was on and finding out that you have a degenerative knee injury that will never go away must be jarring. By the time he heard the news, he had already won a championship with a Finals MVP and two Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was probably shocked and shaken up, so he searched for any reprieve he could find.

The problem is how he conducted himself after they let him go out to look for answers. He stopped communicating, and even hid from San Antonio executives when they went to see him. It was completely unacceptable behavior that, at the end of the day, all really meant one thing: he wanted to go back to his home state of California.

His actions had people questioning the organization's integrity, disrespecting TP, and accusing him of putting his foot in his mouth. After all the drama he caused, he never apologized to San Antonio. So, Finals MVP or not, he ruined the relationship. He still gets booed every single time he touches the ball when the Clippers come to town. It would be a slap in the face to those fans to retire that guy's jersey.

The fact that this has risen to this level of dialogue is absurd for one reason: the only people suggesting the organization should retire Klaw's jersey number are overwhelmingly not Spurs fans. So, get out of Spurs fans' business and take the advice of Dylan Harper's father, former NBA champion Ron Harper... shut up.