David Robinson's message for Kawhi Leonard

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich met with Kawhi Leonard in San Diego earlier this week, after it was reported that Leonard has requested a trade to Los Angeles. ESPN reports that Leonard was not in favor of having the meeting with Popovich, but the Spurs are still hopeful they can retain the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, even after a frustrating lost season.

Spurs legend David Robinson joined ESPN's Get Up! on Thursday, and The Admiral said that Leonard needs to speak up for himself instead of letting his group decide his future for him.

"I still think Kawhi has a tremendous amount of respect for Pop, and Pop has a tremendous amount of respect for him - and, really, that's what it boils down to at the end of the day. Can two guys get together and talk about things? Now, there's a lot of other voices in the mix, and so who knows? But last year LaMarcus Aldridge was kind of disgruntled and they sat down, they figured that out like men.

I think for Kawhi, it's about growing up, right? You step into that responsibility, man, you're the face of the franchise. You can't *not* talk, right? You've got to let people hear your voice, not somebody else's."

According to Robinson, Kawhi has to take responsibility and step up as a leader of the franchise if he wants to be viewed on the same level as LeBron James.

"If you want to be a top two or three player in the league, you've got to be a leader. LeBron doesn't sit around waiting for people to talk for him. LeBron gets out there and says 'hey, this is my team, this is what's happening.' And I think that's where Kawhi is. He's meant so much for our franchise. We love him, we all want him to be there next year. But we want him to be there and take control."

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