Marcus Morris will have the better career. Kawhi is a garbage man. He'll never have the skillset Marcus has. Marcus' career will eclipse his in short order. Won't even be close.
11 games into a short season with no training camp, i can 110% irrefutably and absolutely conclude that _____ rookie is better. right.
I don't think anyone could have said it better than this. I was actually really pissed when the Rockets didn't draft Kawhi Leonard. He is a true NBA small forward who has the potential to become another Shawn Marion (his ceiling). I was not convinced that Marcus Morris was capable of playing small forward at the NBA level. But after watching Morris play more, and after hearing the opinions of experts like David Thorpe, I have softened my stance on this. The Rockets viewed Morris as a better player. Period. With a roster that is no better than a bubble playoff team, Morey could not afford to go simply for positional need. He had to get the best possible players available. Again, I've always liked Leonard, and he is only proving my faith in him with his strong play for the Spurs. But those saying that the overall debate on "Morris vs. Leonard" is over need to realize that we won't be able to competently weigh in on this debate for at least a couple of years. That said, Cxbby's specific tip jar bet (on Morris getting more ROY votes) is looking like a bad decision for him. Frankly, I could give a crap about that. I just hope that Morris EVENTUALLY develops into the superior NBA player. I have my doubts. But I at least understand WHY the Rockets made their decision to draft Morris over Leonard.
^^ agree with the above. Also want to add that several recent picks of the Rockets have been questioned when the player didn't get minutes early in the rookie year (Landry, Brooks, Patterson- remember the Larry Sanders argument?).
By playing the 2 guard spot well, I think Leonard is really increasing his value. I'm trying not to judge this years draft until these guys have had an off-season with the team, but when Morris is in D-league and Leonard is producing as well as he is it's hard not to look at the early returns and shake your head. Further more with the way Parsons is playing, I'm not sure Morris can overtake him for the starting spot next year as well.
Morris has always been the "GO TO" guy as have most college players drafted some can not make the transition to role player and are out of the league - see Terrence Williams career path - Morris will have to adapt his style to not having the ball all the time, and to contributing other ways like Parsons does. Can he? Sure....Will he? That is the real question. DD
Yes, he's playing the 2 spot and he's very athletic and he's a hustler. He's a good garbage man. You can get all that in the second round. Case in point: Chandler Parsons Leonard is not an elite basketball player. He will never be a superstar or a star. He's being compared to Bruce Bowen by his coach. He'll have a good NBA career. As will many second round players with the same skillsets and hustle.
And with a 43.1 FG%. Morris scored 17 on a better team with a 57% (and playing 28 minutes; Williams played 34 that season). Also as a PF, not SF. There are arguments to consider that he would have increased those numbers playing as SF, but we'll never know. Also I think that Leonard can become a better offensive player than some people think.
"Go to" to role player is not the question about Morris, for me at least. When I've seen him, he puts himself in great position to receive the ball and act on it immediately once he receives it. He is very well suited for a PG driven offense. I am completely confident he can play well at SF on offense. To beat a dead horse, I am concerned with whether he can defend SFs or PFs if that doesn't work out.
If the ROY vote were held today, neither guy would get a single vote, unless some idiot sportswriter in SA or Houston picked their player just for .... and grins. Rubio, Irving, Brooks, Walker, etc. Neither guy would get a legit vote.
Pretty unfair to grade Morris considering the fact that he came into this team with 2 SFs already, one of which is also a lottery pick. Not to mention, the Spurs do not have strong depth in their SF position. Jefferson and Daniel Green are their only other SF, and Daniel Green is terrible.
You are asking me whether I am scared after Marcus Morris has played 3 games and a total of 17 minutes in the NBA? Honestly I can't say that I am. Kawhi is looking like a solid pick, but not someone that will be getting more than a couple ROY votes, if any at all. Meanwhile the Rockets have a history of bringing along rookies at their own pace. Brooks and Patterson both spent time in the Dleague, for actual development, not because they were bad players. And Patterson was someone the Rockets were extremely high on during the draft. Landry also took over half a season to start contributing. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't expect Morris to be a bit further along. I think the lack of training camp and practices has slowed his integration to his new position and team. Meanwhile his style of play naturally requires the team to fit around him more than the other way around. No team trying their best to win now will accommodate an unproven rookie that way. He needs to prove himself first, which there has been little opportunity for given the shortened season. Parsons on the other hand is a utility player that you can plug into a lineup much easier. Overall I am much more concerned about his recent injury than anything else. Once we clear up a few spots on the team close to the trade deadline - Budinger, Williams - I think we will have better opportunities to judge him compared to now. And for me to be scared.
I still have to see Marcus play some significant minutes at the NBA level before I say who's been the better pick. With that said, I would say our other rookie, Chandler Parsons, has been better than Leonard. I also believe if Parsons can improve his jump shot, he could be the better offensive player between him and Leonard.
I love Parsons. Definite steal of the draft. But really you think right now he is better than Leonard. That's a little bit too much homerism. Their numbers are the same but Leonard can drive to the basket with flair, is a better rebounder, is more athletic and at least as a good a defender. He is going to be a leader in steals at some point in his career and is a better shooter not even counting Parsons pathetic free throw shooting which makes him a liability late in games. And the fact that he is doing it on a better team with less minutes and is getting better puts him ahead of parsons. He just had a 24 point 10 rebound 5 steal game against a decent defensive sf in Batum.
