On Thursday afternoon, a new layer was added to the frustrating saga of Kawhi Leonard's injury. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the San Antonio Spurs held a players-only meeting after their win over Minnesota on Saturday. The goal of this meeting was to "implore" Kawhi Leonard to return to the lineup and help the team make a playoff run. 

Apparently, the meeting was "tense" and "emotional" at times. This is to be expected, considering the gravity of the situation and the frustrating nature of this season for everyone involved. Leonard stood firm in the face of his teammates' beseeching and explained that he had a good reason for sitting out games.

 In addition, Wojnarowski stated that veteran guard Tony Parker led the meeting. The voices of Spurs' players were loud enough to be heard outside the door of the locker room.

San Antonio Express-News, however, described a very different meeting. In their version of the story, team veterans asked Leonard if he expected to return, and if so, when. Just like in Wojnarowski's report, Leonard was resolute in the face of his teammates' questions, expressing hope for a return but unwilling to make any guarantees. 

Some of Leonard's teammates expressed their support, telling him not to return until he was completely comfortable. Reportedly, the meeting only lasted five to 10 minutes. 

Danny Green seemed to agree with this take on the meeting. In response to Wojnarowski's report, the Spurs' shooting guard tweeted, "couldn't be [any more] incorrect lol."

Later Thursday night, Rudy Gay reaffirmed Danny Green's point. Gay was at a Spurs' community service event when he was asked about Wojnarowski's report. 

“I’ve been on a lot of teams and obviously things get discussed,” Gay replied. “I wouldn’t say it was a legit team meeting, it was just one of those things where we all got together and we talked about things that were going on.”

“Heated? I don’t think so," he continued. "It was just a conversation. Nothing more than that, nothing different than I have seen before. Actually, it was a lot lighter than I have seen before. It was nothing for you guys to be worried about.”

It was announced earlier this week that Kawhi Leonard was aiming to return for Thursday's home game against the Pelicans. Obviously, this was not the case. Later, Tom Osborne of the San Antonio Express-News reported that Kawhi will need to be cleared by his own people before he can return to gameplay. 

"For me, he's not coming back, because it's not helping (to think that he is)," veteran Manu Ginobili told reporters on Wednesday. "We fell for it a week ago, again. I guess you guys made us fall for it. But as I said maybe a month ago, I don't know when it was, we've got to think that he's not coming back, that we are who we are and that we've got to fight without him. That shouldn't be changing, at least until he's ready for the jump ball."

Ginobili has a point. There is no reason to believe that Leonard's return is a sure thing, and the team needs to prepare for the eventuality of a Kawhi-less postseason. 

The Spurs have been on a tear recently, winning their last five games in a row. They have regained their defensive prowess, and are finally finding some production on offense. This has been due mainly to LaMarcus Aldridge's ability to overpower and outmaneuver defenders. 

This winning streak has moved the Spurs up to fifth seed in the West, where they are currently tied with the Pelicans. Even if Leonard doesn't return this season, odds are San Antonio will make the playoffs for the 21st year in a row. However, there is no doubt that the team will fare far better in the postseason with Kawhi Leonard back in action.