The failure of the super-max
New Orleans lost Anthony Davis, San Antonio lost Kawhi Leonard. These players left remarkably different situations for the same reason, they weren’t happy – one decided to leave a heralded franchise where he had won a championship, and finals MVP, the other decided to leave one of the NBA’s youngest franchises after 7 years of personal disappointment. Whatever their reasons were, they wanted out. Even though both the Pelicans and Spurs could offer Davis and Leonard one thing no other team could – The designated player exception (the supermax).