I'm sick and tired of hearing that Kawhi is a "system" product and not a real star. He is top 5 player right now and an MVP candidate. (well not that the MVP race matters that much this year so far...).
I honestly think it's people who are just conditioned to hate the spurs and don't watch spurs games. He's by far the best wing defender in the NBA, a guy who can almost shut down Durant and LeBron. That in itself makes him extremely valuable. The uber efficient offense is really just gravy.
They may have missed out on Kawhi, and I think many of us wanted him then (not because we were draft savants, but because Kawhi was projected by many to be top 7 and he slid), but Morey had a very good draft that year. He landed Donatas Motiejunas at 20 and Chandler Parsons at 38. Marcus Morris is not Kawhi, but he's decent. Had he taken Kawhi and landed D-Mo and Parsons also, that would have been an out-of-this-world draft. We don't know everything at the draft ... it's a crapshoot in a lot of ways. You have to project out into the future. Here were 7 guys I was really interested in for that draft and two of them did not pan out at all. http://rockets.clutchfans.net/1747/houston-rockets-nba-draft-targets/ ^^ Take a look at what we knew then -- Kawhi could not shoot and D-Mo couldn't defend and reportedly had little passion for the game.
Aside from Kawhi, 29 teams missed on Jimmy Butler too. Like you said it's part crap shoot part science.
10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain And a 100% reason to remember the name.
Not drafting Kawhi is the only player related issue I've ever had with Morey, and I'm not being results oriented (drafting Royce White turned out to be way wrong, but I have zero issue with him doing it). I'm assuming the lack of shooting/playmaking was why he may not have valued him as highly, but his athleticism, enormous hands, and defensive ability should have stood out. Also I feel like they should have been able to glean from his interviews and talking to his coaches along with chatter around college basketball about his work ethic and love for the game, as Spurs personnel now won't stop raving about. What else are those interviews even for besides determining stuff like that along with getting a feel for bbiq, which he clearly has a lot of. Morris was an excellent, well balanced scorer in college, but his 3 point shooting had actually gotten worse each year at Kansas. Add that to the fact that the Rockets had depth at the 4, the only justification for drafting a guy like him was they deemed he had legitimate star equity, or at least more than Kawhi. Its well documented that the Spurs valued Leonard highly enough to trade a player they loved in George Hill in order to draft him. Its pretty incredible to think how drastically different the nba landscape would be had Morey picked him, preventing the Spurs from doing so. That doesn't even guarantee the Rockets becoming a juggernaut however, as future draft picks may change leading to the Harden trade never materializing, but its still interesting to think about. Have there been reports about the Spurs contacting DM about the 14th pick that year? Or did their front office think that would give Morey, a rival, too much information about how much they valued Leonard, leading him to draft Kawhi thinking "well the Spurs clearly value him highly, so maybe I'm missing something." They probably wouldn't give away which player they were interested in taking, but Leonard would've made the most sense since it was the only position were they lacked an above average player.
It is incredible that KL is close to 50-40-90 and at the SAME TIME looked at as the best perimeter defender in the league. KL is the ULTIMATE "3&D" player.
I confess I felt like KL was a system player 2 years ago. But then when he evolved his offensive game (similar to Jimmy Butler), I changed my tune.
For all the Rockets knew at the time, KL could have turned into Roderick Rhodes. But credit to KL and the Spurs coaching staff for improving his game. LOL at that DMO photo, man he sure has filled out his frame.
well it was very arguable that it was true 2 years ago. he took a huge leap into becoming his own player last year and has carried over now. His evolution has now made him into one of the best players in the league. +20 pt scorer, versatile player, elite defensively. No longer some 3 and D player. Props to his hard work. If anyone still thinks this guy is still a system player those should have been laid to rest a long time ago.
I don't think Leonard's a system player but definitely benefited from having Parker, Manu, Duncan, Pop to show him the ropes. Leonard on this team would have made him into a rich man's Bruce Bowen...at best.
Kawhi would have been lost and distracted by Harden's strippers and swag life and Dwight's playfulness and lack of focus for the game. He should be thankful hes under Duncan's leadership and guidance.
I thought Curry was a system player before, not going to make the same mistake and underrate Kawhi like that.
Kawhi is a perfect personality for the spurs culture. Doesn't talk, doesn't care about fame, only concerned with basketball.
K Leonard is the best 3&D player. He is literally the best defender and %wise best three point shooter right now. Finals MVP, DPOY Prob be a first team all nba this year
I don't think Leonard would have turned out this good had Houston drafted him. But if you don't think he's top 5 right now you're crazy
