Spurs are finally free from the stinging pain of the Kawhi Leonard betrayal

If the season were to end today, the San Antonio Spurs could very well face the L.A. Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs thanks to the Play-in Tournament. That would be a full-circle moment for the franchise, with former Spurs star and current Clippers star Kawhi Leonard being on San Antonio's last 60-win team.

Kawhi infamously demanded San Antonio trade him, which led to an eventual rebuild that the Spurs are just now completing.

Facing Kawhi and the Clippers in the first round would give Spurs fans a chance to let all of their anger out. This would also provide San Antonio with an effective way to close the door on the Kawhi saga as well as the rebuild.

Spurs fans should be thanking Kawhi Leonard (seriously)

If the Clippers ultimately face the Spurs in the playoffs, fans will inevitably boo Kawhi, and rightfully so, but they should also be thanking him too.

Instead of letting the Spurs offer him a max contract, he forced his way out. While he shouldn't be rewarded for his unprofessionalism during his departure, that trade ultimately laid the foundation for the current team.

The pick received from that trade with the Toronto Raptors became Keldon Johnson. The Spurs later flipped Jakob Poeltl back to the Raptors for what became the eighth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

San Antonio then traded it to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2030 pick swap and an unprotected 2031 first. That 2031 first then became the centerpiece of the Silver and Black's trade for De'Aaron Fox.

In a sense, the Kawhi trade netted this team Johnson and Fox. Go figure.

The Spurs can finally settle the score with Kawhi in the playoffs

It took a long time for the Spurs to dig themselves out of the hole that Kawhi dug for them, but they are much better for it. If you are still skeptical about why a thank you to Kawhi might be in order, take a look at the Clippers' record.

They were 6-2` on December 18th but are now 38-36. To be clear, they aren't world-beaters. Still, Kawhi carrying the Clippers to the play-in tournament will keep the Oklahoma City Thunder, who own L.A.'s pick, from potentially getting a star in this year's draft.

All of that doesn't mean that all is forgiven, but the Spurs have a much brighter future now than they did back in 2019 with Kawhi.