San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said that star Kawhi Leonard might return from a right quadriceps tendinopathy in early November. Tom Osborn of MySanAntonio.com said Popovich replied “sure, anything is possible” when asked if Leonard will be able to play early next month. Popovich clarified that he doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about when somebody is going to come back, but he assured that he will play Leonard if he's fully healthy.

Popovich’s pronouncement somewhat allayed fears that Leonard will be out for an extended period of time.

Earlier, a video footage of Leonard was posted by KSAT 12 sports anchor Larry Ramirez on his Twitter account, where the star forward was seen limping and in discomfort while boarding the team’s chartered flight to Chicago to play the Bulls.

Leonard missed the preseason due to his quad issues, which started bothering him since 2012. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Leonard injured his right quad in March 2016 and February 2017. He injured his left quad in 2012. Last season, Leonard was a finalist for the MVP trophy after averaging 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. After leading the Spurs to the Western Conference Finals, he suffered an ankle injury in Game 1, causing him to miss the next three games of the series, allowing the Golden State Warriors to sweep San Antonio.

Spurs doing fine with Aldridge

Despite his absence, the Spurs are doing just fine, winning their first three assignments behind LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged 24.3 points, 9.3 boards and 1.7 blocks per game during that span. Aldridge’s game has been revitalized following his heart-to-heart talk with Popovich recently. During that meeting, Popovich promised Aldridge that he will find ways to make the power forward more productive.

After that, the Spurs signed Aldridge to a three-year contract extension worth $72.3 million.

Parker to rehab with Spurs’ G-League team

Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reported that the Spurs have assigned veteran point guard Tony Parker to the Austin Spurs where he will continue his rehabilitation this week. Spears said the Austin Spurs are holding camp in San Antonio so it will be convenient for Parker.

While this might look like a significant step for Parker, the Spurs are sticking to their timetable of a November or early December return for Parker. Parker suffered a torn quadriceps tendon in last year’s playoff series against the Houston Rockets in May.
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