RealGM article compares Kawhi to other rising stars

[Stump]

RealGM put up an article on the future of the players in the rising stars game. They ranked Kawhi Leonard 4th (behind Davis, Irving, and Drummond) out of 18. I was a little surprised, as I sometimes think we Spurs fans can overrate what he's going to be. Thoughts?


#4: Kawhi Leonard- In many ways, I think of Kawhi as the model of what MKG could be if he develops a jumper. While there could certainly be arguments for others, I see Leonard as the best defensive perimeter player in this game and he couples that with shooting 40.2% from three thus far in 2012-13. Kawhi has the ability to guard other team’s best swingman while also providing value on the offensive end and taking very little off the table on either side. On top of it all, Leonard is 21 years old and still has plenty of room to grow as a player. Scary stuff.

http://basketball.realgm.com/article/226028/Ranking-The-Futures-Of-The-Rising-Stars

[TrueSpursFan]

#4: Kawhi Leonard- In many ways, I think of Kawhi as the model of what MKG could be if he develops a jumper. While there could certainly be arguments for others, I see Leonard as the best defensive perimeter player in this game and he couples that with shooting 40.2% from three thus far in 2012-13. Kawhi has the ability to guard other team’s best swingman while also providing value on the offensive end and taking very little off the table on either side. On top of it all, Leonard is 21 years old and still has plenty of room to grow as a player. Scary stuff.



Is that a comparison to the other 18 players or is that out of the whole league? Pretty strong statement to make. But none the less I love Leonard's game.

[DesignatedT]

That is a comparison to the other 18 guys.

[TrueSpursFan]

That is a comparison to the other 18 guys.

Ah, got it thanks

[wtgspurs]

Leonard can easily go to another team and become the face of the franchise just as Rudy Gay did, Leonard is a great defensive player he's good on offense as well. In my opinion he is even better than Gay, his 3% is better and his defense as well...FG%. Only thing Rudy has over him is experience... I think that's something to look at, Leonard has great potential that will only be unlocked within time.

[KL2]

I think it's justified, he's a very good defensive player, out of the entire NBA how many SF's can guard positions 1-4? Not only that but he can rebound as well, he's very efficient too. All those guys are on bad teams as well, you put Kawhi in their place and he's averaging around 16 and 8 imo.

When one of the big 3 retires and he gets more involved in the offense (he'll have to) he'll make a solid 2nd or 3rd option. I don't think he'll be a star offensively, although it is possible at the rate he's developing. His efficient offense and defense makes him a very good player.

[DapDaGenius]

Leonard can easily go to another team and become the face of the franchise just as Rudy Gay did, Leonard is a great defensive player he's good on offense as well. In my opinion he is even better than Gay, his 3% is better and his defense as well...FG%. Only thing Rudy has over him is experience... I think that's something to look at, Leonard has great potential that will only be unlocked within time.

I'd be pissed if we lost Kawhi.

[wtgspurs]

I'd be pissed if we lost Kawhi.
Oh yeah...was just saying. If we got rid of him any time soon we can say goodbye to winning more championships since our Elite's are getting up there in age, he's like half of the bones in your spine to this team at this moment

[hater]

the only hope for spurs to ring this year is if Kawhi raises his game to near allstar level. He needs to replace Manu in the big 3 and then, and only then Spurs have a shot

[spurraider21]

Kawhi needs more offensive variety to make the next step

[cd98]

Kawhi isn't a number one and with a lot of development could be a number two, but I see him as a number 3 best player on a team. He's limited offensively. He needs to have a better low post game and better ball handling on the drive.

Obviously his defense is first rate. He's a good shooter on the pull up and as a stand still shooter. I'd like to see him develop a turnaround jumper in the post. With his reach, it would be tough to block.

[ace3g]

Graydon Gordian ‏@therealgraydon (https://twitter.com/therealgraydon) Pop on Kawhi: "He didn't know what a 3-point shot was when he first got here... Chad [Forcier] has worked on a runner and a rocker step."

[ThaBigFundamental21]

I wish Leonard was better Offensively. I hate the 3 ball shit. The Spurs need more scoring inside. The perimeter game is nice, but it won't win it all for us, we all know that. Leonard has such damn good hops and athletic ability. I have a feeling next year we will really start to see what Leonard is capable of, but we need more this year.....

[phxspurfan]

Tristan Thompson is too low on that list at #9. He has been like All Jefferson since Varejao has been hurt. Barnes and Klay Thompson could go down a few spots for being more one dimensional (and smaller). Lillard and Tristan should move up to 5/6...possibly even above Kawhi since they are more important to their teams.


Also, Davis has underwhelmed (he has been a less reliable, less imposing Javale Mcgee basically) and Drummond could be scary as hell good. Like a Dwight Howard with an attitude.

[KL2]

I wish Leonard was better Offensively. I hate the 3 ball shit. The Spurs need more scoring inside. The perimeter game is nice, but it won't win it all for us, we all know that. Leonard has such damn good hops and athletic ability. I have a feeling next year we will really start to see what Leonard is capable of, but we need more this year.....


Actually I think Leomard must work on his vert, from what I've seen he can't jump very high. Seems like there have been too many times where he can't finish at the rim because he can't out jump the defender. I've seen him dunk plenty of times over guys like Ibaka, Kaman, last night etc. however it looks like he's able to dunk just because of his insane length, during the draft his vert was just 33 inches.

[Captivus]

I think Kyrie should be number 1.

Per 36


Rk
Player
Age

G
GS
MP
FG
FGA
FG%
3P
3PA
3P%
FT
FTA
FT%
TRB

AST
STL
BLK
PTS



1
Harrison Barnes (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/barneha02.html)
20
50
50
1290
4.9
10.9
.448
1.0
2.8
.370
2.3
3.2
.726
5.9
2.1
0.9
0.3
13.1


2
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kiddgmi01.html)
19
47
46
1235
5.0
10.9
.461
0.1
0.2
.250
2.7
3.6
.754
8.1
2.2
1.1
1.3
12.8


3
Kawhi Leonard (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/leonaka01.html)
21
33
32
948
4.6
9.5
.490
1.6
4.1
.402
1.5
1.7
.870
6.8
1.5
2.4
0.5
12.4


4
Damian Lillard (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html)
22
51
51
1963
6.1
14.5
.419
2.1
5.9
.352
2.8
3.3
.850
3.1
6.1
1.0
0.3
17.0


5
Klay Thompson (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thompkl01.html)
22
51
51
1784
6.1
14.8
.416
2.7
7.0
.391
1.8
2.0
.888
4.0
2.4
1.0
0.5
16.7



Between these players, its very close...very.
The good think about Kiwi is that he seems to be the one player in this list that can actually get a bigger role in his team.
Like someone posted, I think next year we will see what Kiwi really is. I think his assist will go up quicker that his points or rebounds. And FG% can get down, so shoot baby!