So far Leonard has been the MVP of the Finals. The job he is doing on LeBron is amazing. Of course, the Spurs are playing great team defense, but without Kawhi playing the spear of that effort, all the clogged lanes in the world would not be doing to LeBron what Kawhi in the Spurs are doing.
it's so unnecessary for him to post that might as well be "Does anyone like Harden on our team more than Lebron, well I don't, discuss"
You do realize their salary difference is less than $1MM/year, right? Spurs don't give a flip about paying Leonard chump change. He was just the 15th pick; not even top 5. Salary cap considerations for both guys won't be an issue until their 2nd contracts kick in, which will be the 2015/16 season. That is when the tire meets the road. Rockets and Spurs have it made for 2 more years.
Incredibly athletic + hard worker + eager learner + great organization + big game experience The guy is going to continue to improve. He may never be able to take his man off the dribble consistently, but he doesn't really need to. After this season, he may be the best defender of 2's and 3's in the league. If he continues to refine his 3pt and mid range J's, he will be good. Given the little I've read about his excellent work ethic and attitude, as well as his improvements so far, the guy will improve. Great pick up by the Spurs, they very obviously saw something very specific in him to pick him up on draft night. There's always an uber athletic swingman with defensive potential to pick up in the draft, but I find that it's rare for those players to have the work ethic to maximize their athletic abilities.
Do you guys see a Sean Elliott type of career for him, meaning staying with the Spurs their whole career - Elliott only left in 93-94 - becoming an All-Star with more defense but less offense than Sean?
I remember reading Draft Express and knew he was going to be a great NBA role player. When he fell and was on the board for the Rockets pick I was so excited. Really wish we had taken him over Marcus Morris
Last night I thought of Kawhi as our stretch 4. Damn. What could have been. Oh well. At least we united Marcus with his brother. So that's something.
What's getting lost in the Parsons comparison is how good Parsons can be defensively. If he was playing in Chicago there is no doubt in my mind he would be significantly better on defense. He doesn't just have the tools to do it, he's shown flashes of being a great defender in the past, all with little emphasis on defense from the coaching staff (relatively). I'd still take Kawhi because of his age and promise but Parsons is destined for a breakout season next year.
Wish we'd've snagged him instead of MM, but what's done is done. Similar player, available this draft: Oladipo.
$1mil this year $2 mil next year. Those things matter. Rockets are trying to figure out how to shave around 3.5 mil right now.
People thought before the series Kawhi couldn't keep up with LeBron because he was too short and weighed 20 lbs less. Lol
Yeah, and he may be a better defender than Parsons but Parsons is way better than Leonard on the offensive end. Do you ever see the Spurs handing him the ball to bring it up the court? Having Parsons on the floor is like having another 6'9 guard who can create for the other players. The only offensive statistical category he beats Parsons in is free throw shooting.
I see Leonard as another player that's a really good fit for Spurs system, but would be pretty average anywhere else. I don't think he'd be anywhere this good had he been playing the 3 for us.
You can't underestimate the impact the coaching staff and teammates have had on him. Fans often marvel at how good the spurs are at drafting/picking up players, but they basically pick good candidates for their system and then shape them up. Look at Green. There was something about him they really liked, probably that he could become a legitimate two way player, since he had good form on his shot, and they kept trying until he finally got it. A lot of teams would not have given him a second look. The spurs gave him three. Leonard is clearly maximizing his play on this team, but likely wouldn't have on most of the other teams.
This... Infact I was thinking that if a top tier team ie like the Thunder picked up a coach like George Karl, is the results gonna be different for OKC??? Great Coaches maximize the talent of their players...Im still scratching my head in regards to the axing of the COY in Karl...
