Parsons or Leonard

[onreego]

Kind of stemmed from the Morris thread(at least what's left of it) Many people still baffled by the 14th pick when Leonard was still available. My theory is that at 14th the Rockets swung for the fences and at 38th picked what they thought could be a potential role player, which I think Leonard's ceiling is just that.

Parsons's stats for the season:
Ppg/rpg/apg
9.5/4.8/2 fg 45% and 3p 33%

Leonard's reg season:
7.9/5.1/1.1 fg 49% and 3p 37%

With Parsons on the team, a player like Leonard would be redundant. In which one would likely not get pt. With Leonard a 1st rder, parsons likely may not have even made the team at all (as many projected on CF).

We can debate all we want about who the rockets picked at 14th but if you were DM the GM would you skip over Leonard again knowing you can pick a similar player at 38th? Also, of the 2 who has the potential to have a better career?

[cod]

Select both, play Leonard at SG. C.Lee's size was a disadvantage on too many occasions this season.

[rocketblaze]

Parsons.

Both are excellent defenders. But Parsons has more room to grow offensively w/t his ability to create plays off the dribble.

[OlajuwonFan81]

Originally Posted by rocketblaze Parsons. Both are excellent defenders. But Parsons has more room to grow offensively w/t his ability to create plays off the dribble.

I'd agree that Parson has room to grow offensively, but you could say the same for Leanard. I think both are solid players and both could play a critical role on a championship caliber team. Hopefully Parsons will be our new "battier"

[Rocketfan713]

Leonard over Parsons. Leonard was the better prospect of the two, and Leonard's potential is better than Parsons. Rockets fans overrate Parsons like crazy.

[CCorn]

Leonard has big hands. Parsons parties with Paul.


Parsons.

[dtowninyourtown]

Originally Posted by Rocketfan713 Leonard over Parsons. Leonard was the better prospect of the two, and Leonard's potential is better than Parsons. Rockets fans overrate Parsons like crazy.

How is saying Parsons is better than Leonard "overrating Parsons like crazy?" I don't think Parsons is overrated by Rockets fans at all. I actually think he is properly rated most the time. Personally, I can't say for sure which one will end up being better but I think if you put Parsons on the Spurs in place of Leonard there would be no drop off at all in the production. However, I think if you put Leonard on the Rockets this last season and I am not so sure Leonard would look as good as he did with the Spurs.

Playing on a good team like the Spurs surrounded by great coaching and great players like Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker makes a huge difference in how a player performs. The system these guys played in plays a big role in how they perform and Leonard was playing in the clearly superior system and I think thats partially why he looks as good as he does right now. I am not saying he can't do this on another team but its hard to tell when the spurs consistently make mediocre players look better than they really are.

I would take Parsons at this point because of his size and what he was able to show despite being surrounded by a bunch of mediocre players. I think he will improve his shooting and that will make a huge difference in the end. Both players have great defense but I think Parsons' size makes him more versatile on that end. It is a close call in the end and probably just a matter of opinion but I would give Parsons the edge and I don't think thats overrating him at all.

[jayhow92]

Both?

[MorningZippo]

Originally Posted by Rocketfan713 Leonard over Parsons. Leonard was the better prospect of the two, and Leonard's potential is better than Parsons. Rockets fans overrate Parsons like crazy.

Being a better athlete does no automatically mean you have greater potential. I would argue Parsons' offensive potential is far superior to Leonard's. Parsons can create off the dribble, he can shoot on the move, and he has great court vision, all 3 of which leonard lacks.

[clos4life]

Parsons. Without a doubt I would pick Parsons.

[BEAT LA]

Parsons. Kawhi is making Morris look like a terrible pick. I'm sure Morris would look much better on san antonio or other any other team.

ok here is my list for 14 and 24th picks:

Pekovic
Fareid

Vucevic
Fareid

Leonard
Brooks

All better than what we took because they are proven and what have is two question marks.

[rocketblaze]

Originally Posted by MorningZippo Being a better athlete does no automatically mean you have greater potential. I would argue Parsons' offensive potential is far superior to Leonard's. Parsons can create off the dribble, he can shoot on the move, and he has great court vision, all 3 of which leonard lacks.

Actually if you look at their combine athletic test's, they actually tested very similarly across the board.

Parsons (6'10)
No step vert: 25.5 | Max step vert: 31.5 | Lane Agility: 11.05 | 3/4 Court Sprint: 3.29

Leonard (6'7)
No step vert: 25.5 | Max step vert: 32 | Lane Agility: 11.45 | 3/4 Court Sprint: 3.15

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-...=0&pos=0&sort=

[Rocketfan713]

Originally Posted by MorningZippo Being a better athlete does no automatically mean you have greater potential. I would argue Parsons' offensive potential is far superior to Leonard's. Parsons can create off the dribble, he can shoot on the move, and he has great court vision, all 3 of which leonard lacks.

Whose to say Leonard can't improve on offense too?
Parsons started all the games for us and he only averaged 9.5 PPG. Leonard started half the games from the spurs and averaged 8.6.
Leonard is better than parsons on defense and averaged more rebounds than parsons in less minutes. parsons got him on assists, but leonard got him in blocks and steals. leonard and better shooting numbers too

[meh]

I think the better question is, "Is Parsons similarly good enough to Leonard that there was no reason to pick Leonard at 14?" I see good careers from both. So far, neither players really has the offense run around them. Both have incredible defensive ability. Both can shoot fairly well. I don't think putting Parsons on the Spurs will cause them to miss a beat. And I don't think putting Leonard on the Rockets woudl've taken us to the playoffs this yera.

In hindsight, it seems that Parsons allowed the Rockets to swing for the fences with the 14th pick. That swing ended up being Marcus Morris. Whether or not it's a hit or a miss is still debatable at this point.

[daywalker02]

I go with the teen girls.... they vote Parsons

[conquistador#11]

what nobody has mentioned is Parsons vision on the court. He can make passes only elite point guards and chuck hayes make.

[amaru]

we could have had both.

[iconoclastic]

Originally Posted by amaru we could have had both.

Why would you want both?

[redhotrox]

Leonard is probably going to be better. He’s a bit better right now and is going to develop under the advantage of better coaching.

I love the idea of Leonard at the 2 and Parsons at the 3...Freaking Busty Morris.

[cod]

Originally Posted by iconoclastic Why would you want both?

KL has the greater potential to be an elite scorer, while Parsons has the potential to be an over-sized playmaking wing all-rounder like Odom.