He was the only bright spot for the Sixers team assembled to lose. I tuned in to catch him in games based on the guys over at Grantland geeking out over him during the season. He was about the only tough guy out there in Philly and fans loved him for it. He can't shoot(but shot is not completely broken), but he is already a good defender, plays above the rim as a rebounder/dunker, finishes well, has elite athleticism, has a killer work ethic, and the numbers suggest he could be an elite shot blocker for his size/position. In short the guy has all the defensive instincts to be elite and could probably turn his jump shot around with more work. I would say he could very well turn into at least a more athletic version of Corey Brewer - maybe even better if he finds some consistent shooting.
If Kwaki Leonard was playing with the celtics or philly, he would be just some scrub that could score 19 ppg. So i dont buy into it, i think he just gets open shots because of Tony Parker, whos to me is still the best pg in the league.
Thats a good debate, but he is a great 3 and D player that has improved on creating his own shot, Dribble pull ups, etc. He's had some good coaching though, so who knows?
Ya, I think your right about KJ's playing time being completely dependent on a trade but I think that trade is probably eminent before the trade deadline - with 3 or 4 guys who can play the SF, it seems likely at least one of them will be thrown in a deal to get an upgrade at PF or well - pretty much anything at PG.
I think Paul George and Jimmy Butler have something to say about that as well. I think Leonard is the best wing defender in the game, but his offensive game leaves a lot to be desired at the moment although maybe it was the eye injury or something else causing him to shoot so poorly this year.
you obviously haven't watched KL play as of late. he doesn't rely on anyone to get his shots anymore.
Morey completely failed when he picked Marcus Morris over Leonard. To this day it was his biggest mistake, no doubt about it.
No way, Corey Brewer isn't even half the talent Leonard is. Leonard is more versatile, shoots better, better mid range, etc. Half of Corey Brewer game is effort and transition. Look at the game he scored 51. Most of those points was because we did not put in same effort he put in.
Sorry don't know how to embed tweets (or pretty much anything for that matter). Latest cap space from Bobby Marks early this morning: Rough estimates with cap space: DET (3.8), IND (10.1), MIL (3.7), ORL (8), PHI (15.2), PHX (6.9), POR (24.3) , UTH (8). https://mobile.twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/618748895837978624
Offensively he shot a career low across the board. It may not fit your preconceived notion of Kawai, but his efficiency regressed last year on the offensive end. Again, that may be because of the eye injury, but there were moments last year where he seemed to lack the confidence to take the shot.
