After 17 seasons with the franchise, Tony Parker's time with the San Antonio Spurs came to an end this week after he signed a two-year, $10-million contract with the Charlotte Hornets.

Parker leaves the Spurs a four-time NBA champion, the 2007 Finals MVP, a four-time All-NBA selection, and a six-time All-Star.

The point guard was a true cornerstone of the San Antonio franchise as he is only the third player in NBA history to play at least 17 seasons with one team before leaving alongside Karl Malone (18 seasons) and Hakeem Olajuwon (17 seasons).

Relationship with Kawhi

Spurs fans have known for a few years now that the 36-year-old was coming near to the end of his playing career with the team, and many thought leadership control of the team would transfer over to Kawhi Leonard.

However, with injury problems over the past year, plus now his reported desire to be traded, Kawhi's future with the Spurs looks bleak. Parker was reportedly frustrated with how long Leonard was taking to return from injury after saying his quadriceps injury was "100 times worse."

Following his move to the Hornets, the point guard has revealed his true feelings about the Spurs forward, saying he had no problem with him and that his comments were misconstrued by the media and fans.

Parker told The Undefeated, via ESPN: "I have no problem with Kawhi Leonard. We never had an argument.

"When the journalist asked me if my injury was worse than Kawhi's, I said yes because it was true. But that didn't lessen the significance of his injury.

"He took over the franchise, and I gave up the torch of the franchise willingly. It's very sad that the media took one quote and made it sound like I didn't want to play with him. He was the face of the franchise."

Difficult to leave Spurs

The 36-year-old stated it was a very difficult decision for him to move on from the Spurs this summer.

He said: "Tough decision. Tough three days. Tough communicating it all to Pop. But I had to move on.

"It was a very emotional conversation with Pop and [Spurs general manager] R.C. Buford. I will always love San Antonio. I will always be a Spur. My family and house are in San Antonio.

"But I'm excited to play for my idol in M.J. [Hornets owner Michael Jordan], coach J.B. [James Borrego], who I played for in San Antonio, and with my little brother Nicolas Batum."

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