SAN ANTONIO — Former San Antonio Spurs player Jonathon Simmons played with the franchise from 2013-17, splitting time between Austin and San Antonio.
And in those four seasons with the Spurs organization, he became quite familiar with the established culture, especially within the team locker room.
Recently, former Spur and current Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson and his teammate, Rudy Gobert, got into a heated exchange that ultimately ended with Gobert throwing a punch at Anderson.
Gobert exited the game and Anderson cooled fast after charging at him during the tense moment.
Tensions were still high, and following the game, audio was leaked from the Minnesota locker room allegedly of Anderson calling out Gobert.
This spurred Simmons to tweet out his thoughts on this audio leak, comparing it to his time with the Spurs.
I can Guarantee that any of this leaking players locker room ish to the media in SA would be immediately fired! Protect the players! Everything not for the media!!
The NBA locker room and other areas, such as closed practices, are considered sacred territory.
A case in point: When a video of Warriors' Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole this season leaked, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr took exception.
"As soon as things are leaked, now all hell breaks loose, and that affects every single player, coach, but especially the players. Because of that, because everything is out there, the players are now having to deal with all the stuff," Kerr said. "We’re having to answer all these questions and it puts us in a very difficult spot.”
Overall, San Antonio does a great job of protecting the locker room and keeping things within the "family."
Rarely do any negative issues arise in public, and are likely handled swiftly and behind closed doors.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursZone