Hear this one out. Obvious flaws: Beta mentality at times, Too Emo for his own good 1. KD took the team from Steph in the last 2 years offensively. Where was Steph? Nursing various injuries and fluctuations of form. Up and down. Fans and media still love Steph more than KD but that is on them. Kawhi never took a team from an MVP in prime, Toronto was giftwrapped for him, Duncan giftwrapped the Spurs for him as his immediate successor but that did not turn out well long term. 2. Injuries Kawhi is too darn injury prone. He rests half a season and all of a sudden he is the best player? What? 3. Alpha in the Finals KD proved himself that he can be the Super Star of an already Allstar studded team. He showed up in 2 Finals resulting in Finals MVPs. Worriers should keep Durant before Klay and Draymond. KD over Leonard until Leonard wins another Finals MVP and dominates everyone.
You can't evaluate KD honestly because he is playing with a stacked deck. How do you know how good he is when he hasnt seen a double team defense in 3 years? Rox are the only team that has gone 5-6 against GSW, rest of the league has gone 5-35 or some other BS line like that. My point is GSW is packing so much heat KD is probably the least guarded superstar in NBA history. Teams can't afford to double or focus their attention on him because guess what, Steph and Klay are two of the best shooters in history. So when KD looks unstoppable, a lot of it is due to how strong his team is. Put Klay and Steph alongside Harden or Giannis and you will see how great those two are too. If Kawhi is 100% healthy I take him no questions asked. If KD is on your team and you don't have all stars there's a high chance he will leave and sign at a massive discount somewhere else.
How about now? Kawhi has seriously showed why he was once considered the best. Raptors have a great team, but definitely a lot can be attributed to that guy. Just an amazing 2-way player who is not even fully healthy who is showing up in the big moment again and again. If he stays in Toronto, I think I might become a fan of that team for real. I like watching him play, but on the Spurs was odd since that was a rival team and you know if he bolts it will be out west. Did you guys see that Otis Thorpe like move where he faked the pass with that massive hand, so awesome!
Still undecided. Kawhi is a different specimen. He does not talk. Only he decides when he is going to show up. I see 80% percent of franchises having problems with him long term. He is that difficult. KD on the other hand is also not that easy but at least he will stay during his contract.
I have to give Kawhi some respect. I used to diss him a little because he never had to create his own shot on the Spurs. He's proven that he can initiate an offense.
I'd rather have Kawhi if you assure me of health. Durant is a better scorer, but he's ball dominant. Kawhi can fit into any system, play off the ball, etc. Would love to have him.
kawhi. some peeps on here thought hes done after that injury. but hes back on top shape. better defense and a more versatile scorer and tougher than kd. but maybe its recency bias on my part.
KD has the better resume, but Kawhi is pretty clearly the better two-way player. That said, I’d kill to get either of them in a Rockets jersey.
I’d take KD because of his height. They are so close in everything else it just comes down to the fact that KD is harder to shoot over and he can shoot over almost anyone.
Can you explain why you insinuate Leonard to be drama prone - because things didn't workout with one team amid a health scare? Sh*t happens. Give the guy a break. He seems to have a good control of his emotions and steady demeanor. He is finals MVP and has stepped up and been a stellar closer so far these playoffs. There was no talk of locker room drama this season. His previous coach seems to respect him and they appear very friendly to each other on court.. There is much less media hoopla about his upcoming free agency, unlike with KD. He seems like a dude that spurns drama (no pun intended).
Last year, Leonard was cleared to play by the Spurs medical staff. Nevertheless, Leonard refused to play. He ended up playing in only 9 games but collected $18.8m. By not showing up to work despite being medically cleared in order to sit out the season because he was done being a Spur, he essentially stole millions of dollars from the Spurs.
What the fellow poster below posted. I dun know if you got the silent treatment ever from the S/o, wife or GF over a lengthier period, it is not really something comfortable. I sure dun hope he can decide himself to rest up with minor injuries, and miss half of the season. Because his 'Camp' knows so much about handling injuries.
