I happen to like both players, and wish some quirk of the draft had allowed us to nab both, but you can't be serious. Neither one has played a game in the league. They haven't played Summer League. They haven't been through a training camp. They haven't been through pre-season. Both were selected within a hair of each other, and Leonard could have easily gone before Morris. The Spurs were so enamored with Leonard that they traded an excellent player and a significant part of their rotation, a rotation that won a hell of a lot of games, for the kid. So no, it isn't obvious. Time will tell us who is the better player, and I certainly hope it ends up being Morris, but time must be given a chance, you know, to tick and to tock.
If both guys reach their potential, both guys will be impact players in this L. And I think they both will play big roles in the future on their respective teams. Let's hope for our sake Morris pans out, and he'll be a starting SF for us for years to come.
I wholeheartedly concur, I know some of us seem cynical on this board, but with good reason. The Rockets are masters of spin. Teams have built and rebuilt several times while the Rockets remain on the treadmill to nowhere (as one poster put it). Until they show serious progress (playoffs, contending, etc.) I don't buy the hype.
+1. Unless you are the Lakers where superstars are dimes in a dozen, teams can't rebuild on the fly. If we stay this course, we'll be a playoff contender for years and years, without making any serious jump to championship contender. I don't forsee us being a player for any of the impending superstar free agents (Howard/Paul/Dwill) as those guys will want to team up with other stars (pending the CBA) or go to bigger markets where other free agents are more likely to sign. The only option for us to be a championship contender is build it from the ground up again, like we did in 84. It took us a decade later to win a ring, but at least we had a franchise player as a foundation to build around--a player that allows us to make move with a purpose of getting better every year and winning it all. All of the recent teams that have made the jump to serious contenders have had to weather some really down years before they reach the state they are today (Bulls with Rose, OKC w/ Durant/Westbrook, Magic w/ Howard). And now even teams like the Wiz have a direction with John Wal. It is so huge to have a franchise player because you know that guy is there for the long haul, and all you need to do is add pieces around that player For us, we're stuck with just adding a bajillion pieces together, and trying to make it all work. It's like a puzzle we're trying to put together.
I'll take this bet. Not because I really think Leonard will have more votes. Just because no one here is actually willing to wager against CXbby. Just to clarify the bet: If Marcus Morris has more Rookie of the Year points than Kawhi Leonard, I (rpr52121) will not post on Clutchfans for 1 year starting with the date of the Rookie of the Year results. If Kawhi Leonard has more Rookie of the Year points than Marcus Morris, CXbby will not post on Clutchfans for 1 year starting with the date of the Rookie of the Year results. If by some craziness, they both tie with the number of Rookie of the Year points: 1st tiebreaker: Most No. 1 votes 2nd tiebreaker: Most No. 2 votes 3rd tiebreaker: Most No. 3 votes If by further craziness, they both tie with Rookie of the Year points and votes in all three voting rankings, nobody wins. (Unless you can think of a 4th tiebreaker?? PER?? Win-shares??? +/-??? Poll results tabulated from combination of a poll on Clutchfans & Spurs forum??) If there is no 2011-12 NBA season, this bet will be on hold until both rpr52121 & CXbby decide to re-instate it for the 2012-13 season. I think that covers all possible issues, unless of course we want to include the possibility that one of them has a season-ending injury prior to the season postponing their rookie year a-la Blake Griffin & Greg Oden.
You take the allround player before the specialist. Simple as that. Take the best case Pierce before best case Tayshaun.
Because you continuingly imply in your posts that his bet is stupid because his justification behind it is stupid. Why not just take the bet and leave it be instead of arguing back and forth? Put your money where you mouth is.
I wouldn't say this is set in stone, as obviously there are more factors to consider, but leonard's lack of offense in conjunction with his big hands(detriment to shooting) scare me. To me, the minimum for a perimeter player's offense should be a 3 point shot. Failing that, an 18 foot jumper. The inability for a perimeter player to spread the floor is something that keeps him on the bench unless his other skills are otherworldly. The inability of Morris to develop his skills on par to that of Melo or Pierce still makes him a valuable player. So Morris has both higher ceiling AND lower floor, assuming Thorpe/Rockets scouts have made certain of his ability to play the 3.
You already owe me lunch rpr, you sure you want to dig an even deeper hole? To be honest, the bet that you are specifically talking about was tailored for DD only, since his posts/year on here has already gone way past his minutes plan, I was just trying to save him the overage charges. With you, it would kind of be a lose/lose proposition for me, since it wouldn't really bring me any pleasure keeping away a good poster for a year. With that in mind, let's amend the duration to 1 month instead of 1 year for you and I, just so there is still something at stake. All the other conditions we go by what you outlined. If either player is out for more than half the season due to a legitimate injury(not plantar fasciitis), the bet is called off. Sound good?
Why would he do that when it is so much easier just spouting his mouth off with no consequences like he always does. Dumping thousands of posts on us regarding whatever new fad that he just made up in his mind, treating the BBS like his personal landfill. And when he finally gets called out for all his comically wrong assertions and is proven without a doubt, he can simply skip to my lou to the next thing he comes up with as if nothing ever happened. I tried to bet him on the whole Lowry vs. Brooks debate last year. A 6 month posting freeze if Lowry took the starting spot. Of course he turned it down, even though he was so sure he was right he spent 2 years and probably 20,000 posts defending himself. Could have saved the board a few months of peace and quiet. Why would it be any different now? I never actually expected him to take up on my offer, because that would mean he would actually have to accept some accountability to what he says. Good luck with that.
You sure are an entertaining guy, cx. Although you may come off as arrogant, your posts have good content, sometimes informative too. Keep it up.
Pretty much. Leonard could be an athletic undersized pf with great motor skills playing defense and grabbing boards. At best, he could develop a reliable spot up jump shot at midrange. I see a Udonis Haslem potential and nothing more. M Mo to me is still a huge question mark. I've seen the college tapes and still question if he would be quick enough to play the 3 in the nba night in night out. His speed is the huge question mark but thats the only thing really. I do not think he would be effective as PF in the nba because with his skill set, It may not work out too well going against the bigger and taller PF's in this league like Al Horford, Lamarucs Aldridge, Lamar Odom ect. Unless he develop some amazing seperation skills or have quick first step, it would be extremely difficult to shoot over these kind of guys. Morris right now looks like a hybrid sf/pf guy. I hope Mchale utilize him at his strength. If he can defend the quicker guys at SF, he should have no problem scoring on them with his wide array of offensive moves. He has above average handles that would allow him to dribble drive and He's big enough to post up and be a bruiser near midrange. Right off the bat, I expect Kawhi to be more successful with his role for the spurs. However, Morris's ceiling is much higher and I expect him to eventually exceed at a higher level. Lets keep the premature ejaculation thread going lol
It only took 5 minutes of watching Morris play in college before you realize he has SF skills. I don't understand what everyone is confused about. He didn't have to showcase them as much but ball handling, mid range, long range shot, play making are all there and were still there in college even when he played PF and/or C. He just played in the post more than ever but other than that he was still out on the perimeter quite a bit and was able to showcase his perimeter skills at times. I'm sure some scouts aren't sure how it will translate in the league but I am pretty confident he can progress into more of a 3 than most "tweeners" of the past decade based on his skill set and work ethic. Morris is not a Patrick Patterson type where you might be trying to force him to play the 3. PPat is a 4 without question. Morris has the ability to play the 3. Will it translate to the best league in the world, that is the question. I am confident it will.
