Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green empathized with Kawhi Leonard's desire for a second opinion on his injured quadriceps, after learning recently during an exit physical in San Antonio that he had been playing with a torn groin that went undetected by the Spurs.
Traded from San Antonio to Toronto along with Leonard for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick, Green discussed his injury on Tuesday's premiere of his podcast, Inside the Green Room with Danny Green, saying the Spurs "did a great job" and "did everything they could."
Green suffered the injury Dec. 8 against the Boston Celtics.
"I get an MRI the next day," Green said. "[It says] slight strain, take a couple weeks off. So we do the rehab, do everything we're supposed to do. After some time, it healed. I tried to play again. Certain days, I'd have bad days. Some days would be good. I'd feel it. My agent [Joe Branch said], 'Maybe we should get a second opinion.' I didn't want to because I have full faith and believe in the Spurs' staff. They've always been great to me. They've always done right by me. They've always done a hell of a job."
Still, Green said he wishes he would have obtained a second opinion on his injury after learning during an exit physical at the end of the season that he had been playing with a torn groin. Green also defended Leonard's decision to receive a second opinion on the injured quadriceps that kept the star forward out of all but nine of San Antonio's games.
"Throughout the season, we monitored it. But we never went back to check on it again because so many other injuries had happened," Green said. "I should've, could've gotten a second opinion. So I see where Kawhi is coming from when he got his second opinion. Because a lot of times, you'll get information from outside sources, and not saying the Spurs' staff is not up to par. It's just that not everybody is a specialist in every area. So it's not like they're a specialist in the groin area or a sports hernia. To go to a guy who may be in Philly to get a second opinion shouldn't hurt. That being said, at the end of the season, come to find out -- it could've happened that day or that playoff series against Golden State -- but we don't know. So end of the season, I had to get a MRI when you get your exit physicals. A strain was still there, a little tear. Since then, I've been rehabbing it basically. Now they're passing that information on to Toronto. But we don't know how long I've been playing with this strain because we hadn't really circled back or focused on it because of so many other injuries that were happening throughout the season. A second opinion could've helped. But they did a great job, they did everything they could. But I think it would've been nice to see a specialist just to see if there was another angle, another view. Just because Kawhi went and got a second opinion, you can't knock him for that."
San Antonio's medical staff has received plenty of criticism in recent months regarding its handling of Leonard's injury situation, which eventually led to a fractured relationship between the player and team that ultimately resulted in the July 18 trade to Toronto. According to sources, Leonard and his representatives believed the Spurs misdiagnosed the forward's quadriceps injury as tendinopathy.
Green, meanwhile, played 70 games for the Spurs in 2017-18 after missing five games in December due to the groin injury.
"Everybody should get a second opinion just to see another perspective," he said.