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Kawhi Leonard talks about the new “Zaza Rule”

At Media Day, Leonard gave his take on the new rule that was designed with him in mind.

San Antonio Spurs v Golden State Warriors - Game One Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

In his opening press conference for the San Antonio Spurs Media Day, Kawhi Leonard was asked for his opinion on the new “Zaza Rule”, which was designed to prevent injuries like the one he suffered in Game 1 of last season’s Western Conference Finals when Zaza Pachulia slid into his landing space.

As Leonard said, he’s happy to see it enforced for safety reasons, but the interesting part is that after plainly saying that the play was not dirty back when it happened (contrary to his coach’s reaction and what many fans thought), he brushed off the question this time around:

I mean it’s over with now, just ready to talk about the new season. If it was dirty, if it wasn’t, it’s not going to help anything right now.

It’s a mature reaction, and like he said, it is a new season and now that the league has taken action, there’s nothing to do but move forward from here.

UPDATE: Here’s his media availibility in its entirety.

Media Day 2017 - Kawhi Leonard

Media Day 2017 | Kawhi Leonard

Posted by San Antonio Spurs on Monday, September 25, 2017