Kawhi Leonard: Centerpiece or Cornerstone?

[Lerojo]

http://hoopshabit.com/2015/06/08/kawhi-leonard-centerpiece-or-cornerstone/

[K...]

CORNER STONE

I see kawhi as our best chance to bring a FA alpha to the spurs. The "let me be your pippen" argument i think will be effective.

The thing is, that centerpiece doesn't even need to be better than kawhi, they just have to be the badass kawhi isn't. There are alot of those players in the NBA. If kawhi can cover for Kobe 2.0 then i think we can get a pretty damn good teams going forward. That'll be far easier than hoping Kawhi turns alpha.

[tholdren]

Corner Stone right now. Cant control pace even with his size/athleticism, and that's a problem. Mills and Belli bailed him out.

[Maj_G]

Makes some good points.

Interesting stat; KL shoots better closer to the basket (rim to 10ft) and 3pt with TP on the floor, but his % from 10ft to 3pt goes up when TP is on the bench! Also he is assisted on more baskets with TP on the floor, which means the midrange game he developed this year is pretty good weapon only with TP on the bench.

so DID HE REALLY MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS OFFENSIVELY THEN? that midrange shot is what he added in his offensive arsenal this year. He is definitely a cornerstone, but I see him being a centerpiece when his shot starts to fall consistently. That would be huge, because he can't afford attacking the basket. Not with all the energy he spends playing D. Its not that he is not alpha so to speak, as other users say. The way I see it, not even Lebron can attack the basket every single time. With pop on the bench KL does the smart thing and picks his battles.

[ducks]

Centerpiece first round folder see Spurs this year

[Mikeanaro]

Cornerpiece.

[TheGreatYacht]

Centerpiece first round folder see Spurs this year

[DMC]

Just stoned on the corner.

[cutewizard]

Beta dog

Alpha, pls arrive now..................

[cutewizard]

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/6/3/8721301/marc-gasol-spurs-pipe-dream-kevin-lipe

[cutewizard]

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/6/5/8726049/kyle-anderson-steal-of-the-2014-draft-spurs

[cutewizard]

............................................

Patience is a virtueThe good news is he's 21 years old and will be cheap for a couple more years. Even if he doesn't look ready to contribute right away in a significant role, the talent he has is rare for someone selected with the last pick of the first round. Another training camp, another year in the weight room and another season in the D-League and he could emerge as a walking mismatch who can legitimately play two positions. Or he could be in on his way out of the league after the Spurs decline to pick his option. Neither scenario would be too surprising.
There are no players similar to Anderson around so it's hard to predict how his career will go. What's certain is the Spurs' front office did a good job selecting him. Even if he fizzles out as a prospect, passing on someone with such an intriguing skill set would have been unwise. Low draft picks are a place to take chances and Anderson is a gamble that could still pay off hugely. All that's left to do now is wait and hope he can improve on his weaknesses enough to become the latest Spurs' steal.

[cutewizard]

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/6/8/8744015/deshaun-thomas-davis-bertans-adam-hanga-spurs

[dabom]

Tony is d league material.

[spurraider21]

which one was keith bogans and which one was eric gordon?

[Raven]

90s basketball mentality

[RD2191]

Tony is d league material.

[Uriel]

which one was keith bogans and which one was eric gordon?
:lol

[313]

Centerpiece first round folder see Spurs this year

[313]

"For the sake of this piece, I’m considering a centerpiece to be someone like LeBron James, who can thrive in multiple systems, with many different types of players surrounding him."

Strange, I've only seen lebron in one system

[Malik Hairston]

Offensively, SF is a tough position to build around, unless you're a point-SF like Lebron or Bird, tbh..even Durant, a generational talent, has had his team's strategy constantly questioned because they don't get him the ball enough..

The Spurs' post-2011 system is entirely built around penetrating guards/pick&roll guards(Parker and Ginobili) and finishing bigs surrounded by spot-up shooters, tbh..even this year, with Kawhi breaking out, he was still largely ignored by his teammates and put in poor situations during the latter part of the Clippers' series..it's still a work in progress, as they didn't have time to implement it with all his injuries earlier in the year..

Kawhi improved his passing, still a work in progress, but that's something he will have to continue doing..

The current team is built pretty poorly, though, especially if Leonard is going to be a focal point..the PG can't shoot, Duncan can't shoot and Splitter can't shot, awful spacing..

I don't think he's a #1 guy, but the Spurs have already shown they can win without a conventional superstar, and while it is very difficult, it's probably just as difficult to find a legit #1 guy to build your team around, too..we've been fortunate to have Tim, but they don't come around too often..the Spurs won't win another title with Parker on the roster, anyways, so they just have to ride out the end of his contract..

Fortunately, Leonard is one of the 3-5 best defensive players in the league, always a nice fallback when the offense is struggling, as long as you keep him involved(as is the case with virtually all players, even defense-first guys)..

[pgardn]

Offensively, SF is a tough position to build around, unless you're a point-SF like Lebron or Bird, tbh..even Durant, a generational talent, has had his team's strategy constantly questioned because they don't get him the ball enough..

The Spurs' post-2011 system is entirely built around penetrating guards/pick&roll guards(Parker and Ginobili) and finishing bigs surrounded by spot-up shooters, tbh..even this year, with Kawhi breaking out, he was still largely ignored by his teammates and put in poor situations during the latter part of the Clippers' series..it's still a work in progress, as they didn't have time to implement it with all his injuries earlier in the year..

Kawhi improved his passing, still a work in progress, but that's something he will have to continue doing..

The current team is built pretty poorly, though, especially if Leonard is going to be a focal point..the PG can't shoot, Duncan can't shoot and Splitter can't shot, awful spacing..

I don't think he's a #1 guy, but the Spurs have already shown they can win without a conventional superstar, and while it is very difficult, it's probably just as difficult to find a legit #1 guy to build your team around, too..we've been fortunate to have Tim, but they don't come around too often..the Spurs won't win another title with Parker on the roster, anyways, so they just have to ride out the end of his contract..

Fortunately, Leonard is one of the 3-5 best defensive players in the league, always a nice fallback when the offense is struggling, as long as you keep him involved(as is the case with virtually all players, even defense-first guys)..

Actually I think this is all pretty damn good.^

As far as KL being ignored that is partially on him.
When he got the ball on a post up and continued this foolish pump faking instead of quickly utilizing the immediate positional advantage, your teammates know your confidence is just not there. And it wasn't, he had a bad series. Barnes bothered him. Parker hurt us the most. but KL did not step to the plate with the obvious problems others were having.


And so KL learns that it is easier to shine without high expectations compared to taking charge in a dire situation with expectations.
Tim stamped his name again, he should not have to.

[TD 21]

If we're talking about contending, then he's more cornerstone than centerpiece, since there's only, at most, a handful of players in the league at once who are good enough to be that on a championship team. He can be the best all around player on a contender, but not a true go-to scorer/play maker for one.

That being said, he's one of the best assets in the league both now and going forward and the ones that are better they obviously have no chance at getting, so he'll have to be that for this team, particularly if they don't land Aldridge.

[DJR210]

Kawhi Leonard is going to continue to improve, but at this point he's a solid number two option who will be the first option on some nights. The main problem I see with this team is not having a clear cut 1st option night in and night out.

Maybe Kawhi becomes that guy, but it's not really his fault as he's overachieving based on what the Spurs expected when they drafted him. I think the Spurs will find a convenient loophole or issue to justify paying him less than max, it doesn't make sense for a guy who isn't gonna put up 22 or more PPG on a team that needs a primary option.