Gregg Popovich says the trade that landed Kawhi Leonard 6 years ago was the 'toughest

[ducks]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/gregg-popovich-says-trade-landed-201801762.html

[TheDoctor]

Thanks for sharing :toast

[phxspurfan]

Popovich once recalled the trade in more colorful terms to Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins.

"We were all looking at each other like, Are we really going to do this?. We were scared s---less. We don't know this kid. He's not a shooter. He's not a scorer. He's not a perimeter player. He's a big guy who can rebound."


Damn. To trade your Kobe stopper (lol) for that took guts. Big the Long 3 need was thick at the time, since we had been looking for someone since Bowen left and the position had become the LeBroniest position in the NBA at the time. That was this Spurs generation's Duncan draft moment.


http://lakersblog.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c506253ef0147e11d2534970b-pi

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Kobe+Bryant+George+Hill+Los+Angeles+Lakers+omeOtOJ jTlkl.jpg

[FkLA]

I hate whenever he's described as "one of the best two way players" or in this case "one of the brightest ". He's undisputedly the best. Noone even comes close.

Good read otherwise, tbh.

[sananspursfan21]

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c506253ef0147e11d2534970b-pi



My favorite George Hill moment!

[hater]

Holy shit Kawhi broke Conley :lol

[james evans]

I remember the game in which Hill made kobe quit. We were blowing the Lakers out by 20 and kobe all of sudden developed a back problem. I think HIll picked his pocket for a dunk that game. I don't know why, but Kobe always had problems with Hill defending him.

[SpursforSix]

Popovich once recalled the trade in more colorful terms to Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins.

"We were all looking at each other like, Are we really going to do this?. We were scared s---less. We don't know this kid. He's not a shooter. He's not a scorer. He's not a perimeter player. He's a big guy who can rebound."



So...I wonder how other conversations have gone.


He's getting slower every year. He's not a very good shooter...doesn't pass well...consistently gets burnt on defense. He eats up most of the shot clock with dribble dribble.
What do you think? $15,000,000 per year sound right?

The fucking braintrust.

[cd98]

I couldn't find the article, but when Spurs drafted Kawhi, a sportswriter from San Diego wrote about how horrible it was for Kawhi to go to an aging team like the Spurs. Wish I could find it but I bet the author has long since buried it.

[SnakeBoy]

I couldn't find the article, but when Spurs drafted Kawhi, a sportswriter from San Diego wrote about how horrible it was for Kawhi to go to an aging team like the Spurs. Wish I could find it but I bet the author has long since buried it.

Article about the article


Hamilton wrote that he was happy that Leonard finally was picked by the Indiana Pacers.

“Leonard finally went with the 15th pick, and I felt it was a good team to go to. He, like the Indiana Pacers who chose him, were all about teamwork, grinding defense, and playing the game the right way.”

But when Leonard was swapped to the Spurs in the George Hill trade, Hamilton was even more steamed about him ending up with the Spurs than about him leaving college basketball.

“Indiana dealt him to the San Antonio Spurs, a once proud, now fading franchise who will be best known for a team that won championship trophies years ago.

“Kawhi won’t be playing for a bright young Indiana team building towards better days with lots of players that match his persona. Instead he winds up with an aging Spurs team, bounced out of the playoffs in the first round, surrounded by 30-plus-year-olds like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, whose best years and games are in the rear-view mirror.”

It’s a sobering assessment from outside South Texas.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/06/30/did-kawhi-make-a-mistake-by-declaring-for-the-draft/