Reply With Quote
Nice writeup Ed.
I've seen Kawhi Leonard play a lot of games in his two seasons at San Diego State. I have a subscription to The Mountain West channel; have watched SDSU play in person or on television probably twenty times the past two years. I may have a little better basis than most when it comes to making an assessment of his potential. Here are my general observations of his game and my opinion of how he'll impact the Spurs:
I was actually a little surprised initially to see how highly Kawhi was being rated by Chad Ford and some other draft analysts. I thought 5 to 7 was too high. The only reason I say that is that Kawhi was pretty limited offensively in college. His college scoring was due in large part to his genetics and his hustle. Kawhi's form on his shot was something I doubted could be translated consistently to an NBA game. Watching him during the college season, though, I still figured he'd be a late first round pick because he’s definitely one of those guys with NBA level talent. But when I saw how limited this year’s draft talent was, I realized a guy with Leonard’s potential was certainly lottery level compared to the compe ion. There’s no doubt he’ll contribute. He’s not a project-type player that the Spurs will have to stash away. He’ll come in and produce at a high level his rookie year.
When I saw Kawhi fall to the Pacers I had flashbacks to their drafting Danny Granger a few years ago. I know the Pacers scout the west a little better than some NBA teams, and I figured they recognized Leonard’s potential, similar to how they understood that Granger would be an impact player in this league. He and Danny have completely different skill sets, so you can’t compare the two, but I thought what the Pacers had done was pull off another draft day steal. When I saw that they actually had traded that pick to San Antonio I was pretty excited for my Spurs.
Kawhi Leonard could be the best rebounding 3 in the league if given the minutes. And he’s definitely quick enough and long enough to guard any 3, and a lot of the 4s in the NBA. His body is too slight, I think, to man the post against the beefier 4s out there, but no one will out-length him which is a nice change for this team. What Kawhi brings to the table is tremendous hustle. He’s amazingly athletic, and so I was shocked at his poor combine stats – a fluke is all I can surmise. He’s going to bring back a defensive intensity to this team not seen since the days of Bowen. I’m not sure he’ll ever have Bowen’s ability to guard 4 different positions, but if he can guard all of the small forwards that have been murdering the Spurs the last few years that may be enough. I think we’ll see him guard most of the better 2s, 3s and some of the better scoring 4s, that this team faces.
As for the shooting weaknesses, I know he’s been working hard on his shot mechanics. He’s completely changed his release point, his shooting motion, and the way he holds the basketball. Give him some time with Chip and I think we’ll see a guy capable of doing a reasonable job shooting the rock. I wouldn’t expect him to be a double figure scorer this season, but if Pop will trust the rookie, I could see him seriously displacing many of RJ's minutes next season. At this point he doesn’t have the ability to create his own shot, but that may come with time.
Kawhi’s greatest asset is his work ethic. He’s going to inject a certain energy level onto the defense that I think will be contagious. What he’ll have to work on is his shooting, his ball-handling, and his lateral movement on defense. But he’s not going to be satisfied with being average. He’s one of those guys that’s a winner, plain and simple. Some people have that gift and bring it to the table. Guys like Bowen, Mario Elie, Gary Neal. Guys who make their team better. I think that’s what the Spurs saw. Some players have that knack and desire, and you can just see it in how they play…losing is personal to them. I’d expect Kawhi Leonard to live in the workout facility, he’ll work to eliminate his weaknesses, and he’ll be a much better-rounded player in the NBA than he ever was in college. People will need to remember that he’s not even 21, and so he’ll need a little time, but fans will also be pleasantly surprised by his learning curve I think. He’ll probably average 4 and 3 his first couple of months in the league, the doubters and George Hill lovers will be screaming about him being a wasted pick, but then you’ll see him start to click. I don’t think I’d expect him to be a double-figure scorer as a rookie, but he’ll definitely contribute, and I think we’ll see him getting starter minutes by the playoffs. He’ll be our team’s primary defensive specialist by season’s end.
The Spurs have finally found their long 3.
Nice writeup Ed.
Thanks for the insight, Chopper! Leonard may have decent burst enough to get to the rim off one dribble to get his own shot.
I share in your last sentiment.
For a kid that is only 19 years old, he sure does have a lot of pressure on him to perform but from everything I have seen on the guy so far, it sounds like he can take the pressure.
It's nice to read something on ST about Leonard that isn't completely insane.
Obviously, an RJ trade is a best case scenario (highly unlikely as it is), but maybe having a hungry, aggressive, talented rookie who wants his job will inspire RJ to give the Spurs what he did at the beginning of last season on a more consistent level. Butler is going to provide some more insurance as well. At the very least the Spurs will have options @ the 3 this season.
Could you compare the 20 games you saw vs the 5 big ones vs BYU Xs3/Temple/UConn? (combined 1-4 record with the one win vs BYU coming only after their frontline player was suspended.)
NCAA tourney they beat Temple in spite of him (fellow frontliners Malcolm Thomas and Billy White were vastly superior) and vs UConn he was meh.
Both games he and D.J. Gay were ball hogs.
What i am seeing is consistent rebounding.
It's a chopper baby!
Thanks for the writeup
BYU had SDSU's number. One of those odd things about college basketball...matchups. New Mexico, for example, was 4-1 verses BYU the last two seasons but it's hard to say they were that the Lobos were better than the Cougars. UNM just had a better executed game plan and had the ability to shut down everyone on BYU not named Jimmer.
Leonard's offensive game left something to be desired, even in games other than those you mentioned. He gets his points by being faster than his opponents and from putback opportunities. Offense has been his weakness. My hope is that he's developing that shooting touch. Against UConn he tried to do too much...he's not a creator offensively at this point.
But SDSU had a lot of talent...IMO, Billy White was always the guy you worried about beating you from a scoring standpoint, and so, yeah, you'd see other guys step up depending on the game you were watching. It wasn't a one man show for them.
At this point Butler is a completely unknown quan y at the NBA level; we probably have a better idea of what Green can give us than Butler. Given all he's been through it's hard to say what he can provide at all.
Change the verb "is" with "could" and I would agree with you.
Actually, he's a full year away from 21. He turns 20 tomorrow.
Thanks for the insightful write-up ... looking forward to see him compete
good write up....u told things which some of us didnt know about kawhi....
Shouldn't that say 2-3? They won the MWC Tourney against BYU and beat Temple in Round 1 71-64 in double OT.
I'm just curious to know if you have an opinion of his overall BBIQ, after watching him so much.
yes
To me the Temple game was a loss for Kawhi -not the team.
Ed it appears I saw his worst games. Temple we watched and were wondering if he was in cement shoes and/or on reefer. I hope you're right about him guarding SFs cause in the games i saw he'd get blown by.
To me...it seems as if you can't organize. If that was a Kawhi loss, then wouldn't you reference 2 separate win-loss records?
And as someone who's seen as many games as Chopper...I concur. The long arms that we raved about for GHill will be an even bigger asset for Kawhi, especially since h has monstrous hands.
Nice write up. I would like to know, since I too have seen him play, what you though about his halfcourt game, and the Spurs offense?
Lighten up Francis.
Great read
Thanks EHJ
Thanks for this write-up. I too, am encouraged by the options we now have at the 3.
It's an assumption, sure, but Leonard is an unknown at the NBA level. All rookies are.
No doubt Butler suffered a pretty bad injury. He has the luxury of youth on his side and according to everything I've heard or read, from his surgery to his recovery and rehab have gone amazingly well. The Spurs' medical staff is really good as well. If we are to assume that he can return to be the player he was in college, then the Spurs have essentially two lottery level rookies going into the season.
Butler was never projected as a lottery level talent:
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...draft-history/
Butler is much worse off than Leonard going into a new season. All Leonard has to adjust to is the NBA game. Butler has to do that, plus adjust to playing off a severe injury, plus overcome the setback of not playing compe ive basketball in over a year.
That's a lot more to overcome. He might be more suited to playing a year in the d-league than playing a year in the NBA.
By the way, Ed Helicopter Jones, Leonard says he likes to model his game after James Worthy's
Do you see any similarities?
Thanks
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
