ultiple league sources also told ESPN that the Spurs have grown worried that Leonard's group has an ulterior motive to fray the relationship and get Leonard traded to a larger market such as Los Angeles (Leonard's hometown) or New York or Philadelphia (Robertson lives in New Jersey).
One source close to Buford said the longtime executive admitted to him that he's constantly losing sleep over how and why the relationship with Leonard has disintegrated.
For years, the Spurs saw him as the heir apparent to Duncan, both in his ability on the court and his low-maintenance personality off it.
"Kawhi just wants to get better and better and better," his mother, Kim Robertson, told ESPN after he was named Finals MVP in 2014. "He does not want to be a superstar. He does not want to be in the limelight. He just wants to be good at what he loves to do."
Those who talk regularly to Leonard still believe that's the case. Popovich stayed in close contact with Leonard, exchanging text messages throughout the season. So have teammates, including Danny Green and
Dejounte Murray.
What the Spurs are trying to determine are the motives of the people speaking for him.
SO JUST WHO is Uncle Dennis, as he's known to folks in San Antonio? And what is his agenda for Leonard?
There are plenty of people willing to speak about Robertson and Frankel, but very few who will go on the record. Several current and former associates and colleagues describe Robertson as "difficult" and portray an ambitious family member trying to parlay his nephew's success into his own marketing company.
According to multiple agents at other firms who met with Robertson in the past few years, he was interested in starting a business similar to LeBron James' marketing company, LRMR, and enlisting their services because he was not a certified player agent. That didn't interest the agents who spoke to ESPN, because their firms had their own in-house marketing and business services.