Bruce Bowen continues to criticize Kawhi, rips Clippers for firing him

Former San Antonio Spurs defensive ace Bruce Bowen was recently fired from his role as the L.A. Clippers color commentator after criticizing Kawhi Leonard.

Related: Bruce Bowen rips Kawhi: 'There's nothing but excuses going on'

Losing his job didn't stop Bowen from continuing his critique of the 2014 NBA Finals MVP, giving a blunt response when asked if he would build a team around Leonard.

"No, I would not," Bowen said on "The Dan Patrick Show" Thursday. "And I say that from what has transpired now. Now, if you asked me that two years ago, I'd say 'absolutely.' He had it very good as far as having Tim (Duncan), Tony (Parker), and Manu (Ginobili) to kind of learn from. But only because of the actions I've seen here of late would it create doubt for me to build around Kawhi."

Leonard told the Spurs he was interested in playing in Los Angeles before being shipped north of the border. His reported preference was to join the Lakers over the Clippers, but Bowen's criticism apparently made the franchise feel like he would ruin their chances of landing the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

"Kawhi never said he wanted to play for the Clippers. Kawhi said he wanted to play for the Lakers," Bowen told Patrick. "And unfortunately, if you're going to run your organization based on hopes, maybe, and getting rid of others - now, if I tore him down and I was disrespectful to him, that's one thing. But that's not the case. As an analyst, I'm supposed to talk about what I see and what I feel for this game that I love. If you can’t do that, what does that say about your organization?"

Bowen ended the conversation with one last swipe at the Clippers.

"I think if you can't get free agents in California, in Los Angeles that is, that has nothing to do with Bruce Bowen," The three-time NBA champion insisted. "That has more to do with the organization."