Casual Fans Criminally underrate Kawhi Leonard. Thus...

At 21 years of age, Leonard displays the mental toughness of a veteran.Leonard has the composure and competitive fire that separate the good from the great players, and makes winning plays. He is already one of the best defenders in the league and, plays a large role in making the Spurs' defense elite. Without Leonard, it's doubtful the Spurs would be in the finals right now.Throughout the his career, he has shown flashes of all-star potential on the offensive end of the ball. Kawhi currently has the 28th highest P.E.R in the playoffs, ahead of players like Wade, Bosh, Paul George, and Parsons who ranks at 81st. Parson's is 3 years older than Kawhi. Parsons outscored Leonard by 1.7 points per 36 minutes, with 1.8 more shots per game than Leonard. I like Parsons, but Kawhi leads him in almost every advanced stat and is the way better defender.Ask yourself this question: If you have only those options available to start a franchise with, who are you taking?

:lol clay thompson :lol

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Originally Posted by TheyCallMePro

I'd take Parsons, Thompson and Shumpert over Leonard right now too.

Leonard isn't nearly as polished offensively as any of those guys. Remember that most of Leonard's points come from wide open corner 3's. Leonard has the benefit of playing in a system where he's afforded very little responsibility and is less prone to making mistakes.

I like Leonard, and I think he'll be a solid role player for years to come but never a star. He's simply too shy, doesn't have enough confidence with the ball in his hands, and at the end of the day, just isn't a very good shooter.

I think this teams success elevates all of our role players stock substantially. Maybe too much. Danny Green is another player who's got to be wide open to make a basket. Seriously, do you ever see Leonard or Green driving in the lane and assisting someone? Or setting a play up? Hell no. I'm sorry but you cant even evaluate Leonard with those other guys. They have so much more responsibility on their teams that it's not even a fair comparison. Until Leonard plays a more impactful role on offense as they do, comparing them is just silly.

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You lost me after the first sentence.

Tbh, would the national media love Leonard more if:

1. he got more shots (a la Klay Thompson, dude has license to chuck)
2. he played heavy minutes in the fastest-paced team in the league (a la Chandler Parsons, who averages ~36 mpg and plays on the 1st in pace Rockets)
3. he played in a big market (a la Iman Shumpert or Jimmy Butler)?

And the guy makes Tim Duncan look like William Shatner demeanor-wise.

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Originally Posted by TheyCallMePro

I'd take Parsons, Thompson and Shumpert over Leonard right now too.

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:lmao

When kawhi learns how to handle the ball he'll get more respect. No matter how good at defense he is, he gets his points from steals and dunks, catch and shoot jumpers and an occasional post up move. Until he can faceup, take someone off the dribble and create his shot with any consistency, he'll never be considered anything more than a young Bruce Bowen replacement.

Which is fine but his game will always be limited

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Originally Posted by Allan Rowe vs Wade

When kawhi learns how to handle the ball he'll get more respect. No matter how good at defense he is, he gets his points from steals and dunks, catch and shoot jumpers and an occasional post up move. Until he can faceup, take someone off the dribble and create his shot with any consistency, he'll never be considered anything more than a young Bruce Bowen replacement.

Which is fine but his game will always be limited

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I think the problem isn't whether he can do those - had PATFO not deliberately called it a day for him after two games in summer league I think he'd showcase more - but whether he'll be allowed to do those.

Remember that Chicago game where the Big 3 all sat out and he scored 26? I recall him pulling up for midrange shots against Chicago.

As long as Tony and Tim are on the team he'll be third option at best.

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Originally Posted by Halberto

Klay Thompson is understandable.

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What did the stats look like when Thompson and Leonard went head-to-head with each other? Not good for Thompson. For that matter, Deng looked like Luke Walton going up against Kawhi.

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Originally Posted by Allan Rowe vs Wade

When kawhi learns how to handle the ball he'll get more respect. No matter how good at defense he is, he gets his points from steals and dunks, catch and shoot jumpers and an occasional post up move. Until he can faceup, take someone off the dribble and create his shot with any consistency, he'll never be considered anything more than a young Bruce Bowen replacement.

Which is fine but his game will always be limited

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The problem is that players normally learn to handle the ball starting from childhood, not when they get to the NBA. By now, his handles are what they will probably always be, for the rest of his career. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't think of a player that wasn't a threat off the dribble entering the league that later turned himself into a threat off the dribble. Unlike shooting which can be improved at this stage, ball handling has to be instilled early in life.

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Originally Posted by TheyCallMePro

I'd take Parsons, Thompson and Shumpert over Leonard right now too.

Leonard isn't nearly as polished offensively as any of those guys. Remember that most of Leonard's points come from wide open corner 3's. Leonard has the benefit of playing in a system where he's afforded very little responsibility and is less prone to making mistakes.

I like Leonard, and I think he'll be a solid role player for years to come but never a star. He's simply too shy, doesn't have enough confidence with the ball in his hands, and at the end of the day, just isn't a very good shooter.

I think this teams success elevates all of our role players stock substantially. Maybe too much. Danny Green is another player who's got to be wide open to make a basket. Seriously, do you ever see Leonard or Green driving in the lane and assisting someone? Or setting a play up? Hell no. I'm sorry but you cant even evaluate Leonard with those other guys. They have so much more responsibility on their teams that it's not even a fair comparison. Until Leonard plays a more impactful role on offense as they do, comparing them is just silly.

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Um no.

This just shows how defense is underrated in this league. Parsons and Thompson definitely have better shooting form than Leonard, but they are not as close to being a perimeter defender like Kawhi. Besides Kawhi produces as much as Parsons and Thompson offensively while being at times the fourth option.

Although I do think that saying he will be star is too soon to say, but he will be more than a role player.