Kawhi Leonard cracks joke in first public comments since trade

New Toronto forward Kawhi Leonard, who wanted out of San Antonio, cracked a joke in his first media availability with the Raptors.

“I’m a fun guy,” said Leonard who is rarely seen with a smile and says little.

He added: “Obviously, I love the game of basketball.”

Those were essentially Leonard’s first words since the Spurs traded Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan in the offseason.

Leonard missed 73 games last season and did not play in the playoffs because of quadriceps tendinopathy. The friction between Leonard and the organization grew until it became impossible for the Spurs to salvage the relationship.

When healthy, Leonard is one of the best players in the NBA – a savvy offensive player and one of the best defenders in the league. He finished third in the 2016-17 MVP voting, was defensive player of the year in 2014-15 and 2015-16, was named Finals MVP in 2014 and made first-team All-NBA in 2015-16 and 2016-17.