OAKLAND, Calif. — One of the Knicks’ hopes for their participation in Kawhi Leonard’s free agency sweepstakes is “Uncle Dennis.’’
Dennis Robertson, who hails from South Orange, N.J., is Leonard’s chief business strategist. His presence in the life of Leonard, whose father was shot and killed in Compton, Calif., 11 years ago, at least gives the Knicks a puncher’s chance. The Post reported the Knicks fully expect to land a free-agent meeting with Leonard.
Robertson worked for 20 years in Manhattan in banking, so he knows about working in the Big Apple. Last season, Leonard spent most of the time he spent rehabbing from his quadriceps strain with Robertson in South Orange.
After Leonard led the Raptors to the NBA title, “Uncle Dennis’’ was not ready to talk free agency, but was about the happy present.
Robertson stood yards away from his nephew late Thursday on the Oracle Arena court as Leonard conducted a guest spot on NBA TV’s post-championship show.
It was a long journey from last June 15, when Leonard demanded a trade out of San Antonio. He played just nine games for the Spurs in the 2017-18 season and was criticized for what some perceived as not wanting to play. “Uncle Dennis’’ admitted Leonard’s reputation took a hit after he requested the trade.
“For Kawhi individually, after all we he went through last year and in the summer, this year was all about having fun playing basketball again,’’ Robertson told The Post. “He came to a team that embraced him and a country that embraced him. It was a team that worked hard and, at the end of the day, he won a championship. You got to feel good about that.’’
But not so good that he will re-sign with the Raptors just to defend a crown. Leonard is expected to explore his options, and the pull of returning home to Los Angeles and playing for Clippers coach Doc Rivers is very real.
The Knicks hope coach David Fizdale’s charm and his familiarity with New York from last season will be in their favor, too. Fizdale is also from the Compton area and he and Leonard both went to college in San Diego (Leonard at San Diego State, Fizdale at University of San Diego).
“Uncle Dennis’’ admitted this title run came as even a surprise to him.
“I had no idea,’’ Robertson said. “I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and say I knew it was going to happen. I knew they had a good team, knew if everything went well and stayed healthy, once the season got on, you always think have a chance.’’
After winning the title, Leonard, 27, declined to answer a free-agency question during the championship ceremony, saying he needed to enjoy this first. So whether winning the title has him leaning toward staying is unclear.
On Rachel Nichols’ ESPN show Friday, Leonard took the set with Kyle Lowry and joked: “After today they don’t want me here no more. They got what they got.”
Leonard said it while laughing. But Lowry sounded like he would understand if Leonard didn’t stay around to defend Toronto’s first-ever title. One-and-done?
“He’ll make the decision himself and I’ll be happy any decision he makes,’’ Lowry said. “Of course I want him as my teammate, but he’s got to do what’s best for him and family. I’ll support him. At the end of the day, he helped me get what I wanted to get.”