Kawhi Leonard just can’t seem to stay away from injuries. At the end of last season, he only managed two playoff games before right knee inflammation took him out. To avoid further injury, he even pulled out of the Olympics last minute, hoping to focus on the next season. But despite all the caution, Leonard’s knee issues persisted. Now he’s ruled out indefinitely due to the same inflammation, raising eyebrows across the league. Among those joining the conversation is Gilbert Arenas, who brought up Derrick Rose in a compelling comparison.

After the news broke, Agent Zero took to his podcast, Gil’s Arena, to vent his frustration. “You know, somebody who, we got knee injuries, it just don’t make no sense on, it’s being irritated,” he expressed. For Arenas, Leonard’s knee troubles don’t quite add up, especially considering his playing style. To explain his point clearer, Arenas drew a parallel between Leonard and D-Rose, who also suffered knee problems throughout his career.

“It’s not like he’s, uh, Derrick Rose, where any cut he does and plant, you know, you have to worry about the stability of it,” Agent Zero pointed out. According to him, Leonard plays a slower-paced game, which should, in theory, reduce the risk of such issues. He even joked that Leonard’s playing style is so low-impact that he might as well be compared to Mike Dunleavy. When Leonard does dunk, it’s “just usually arms,” making his knee problems seem all the more puzzling.

Agent Zero didn’t hold back in offering advice, either. While he sympathizes with Leonard’s struggles, he doesn’t see a bright future ahead. “Just finish these last two years and retire,” he bluntly suggested on the podcast, noting that Leonard’s massive $153 million contract signed earlier this year leaves him little choice but to see it through.

However, Arenas doesn’t dislike Leonard. In fact, in an older episode of Gil’s Arena, he admitted that while he initially wasn’t a fan of Leonard’s game, he now respects how effective The Claw has become. But when it comes to admiration, Arenas reserves his praises for Derrick Rose, whose battles with injuries have earned him immense respect.

Gilbert Arenas’ Derrick Rose admiration

With the first noticeable injury – an ACL tear — suffered during the 2012 playoffs, the 3x All-Star couldn’t escape the 3 tears in knee’s meniscus that followed through to 2017. Ankle injuries were some more he faced in the later years. But he always ensured to bounce back. Something Arenas admires him for.

Last year, when the conversation on whether Derrick Rose is a Hall of Famer or not continued, Arenas asserted that Rose would always have his vote, 100%. He would then go on to make a comparison between his own career and Rose’s, describing the struggle of trying to maintain a high level of play despite his body failing him. “I was still trying to be that Ferrari even though I had fu**in Honda knees. The wheels were Honda, and I got a fu**in Bugatti engine,” Arenas said.

The Washington Wizards’ star tore his ACL and meniscus, forcing him into surgery and then an eventual rehab. Though he tried to keep up, he had admitted that his body wasn’t just responding. Injuries would thus become a major reason in his retirement decision. So Rose’s resilience has its impact on Agent Zero.

“He really had to swallow a reality pill to adjust to who he was versus what he is now. I didn’t do that. I was still trying to be Derrick Rose,” he admitted.

Rose won the MVP award in 2011, becoming the youngest to ever do so. Even in the later years of his career, the 2009 ROTY managed to land a 50-point performance (2018), helped New York Knicks to playoffs (2021), and made it to the top 3 in Sixth Man of the Year voting. So you get Arenas’ unhappiness with Leonard’s situation.