I haven't been around much the past season or so, as it took me a while to get over the Kawhi fiasco (I watched most of the games the first season after he left, but sort of had a hangover last season and didn't want to watch many of the games), however, I made a concerted effort to try and watch every single Spurs game this season because I really did like the potential of some of the young guys. I guess it started with Derrick White and Dejounte in the first season Kawhi left/was traded, and I've liked the draft picks since then too, so I wanted to start watching every single game again. It was also the first time in my life since I became a Spurs fan in '93/'94 where I didn't follow every single game (I couldn't start watching games until 2004 in my country, but before then I followed every game online in some form or another - 90% of the time live). Maybe I also needed a break from Basketball as I was so into it during the D-Rob/TD era and what I thought was going to be the Kawhi era (I also think it's a good thing that I've been able to step back and realize there is other more important stuff. I still love basketball, though, especially when it's played the right way like the Spurs try to).
Anyway, I digress, so back to the topic at hand. I just haven't been around much the past season/season and a half prior to this one to follow Duncan2K5s posts, so I'll take your word on it for the reasons everyone keeps crapping on him. I just thought his points in that post were really accurate and that is what I've thought the past year or two about DeMar now that I've had a good enough look/handle on his game and mental makeup/temperament in tight/big games.
I didn't think this before, but seeing how some of these young players are playing now, I looked back at the Raptors and where they were when he left. I really do think DeMar had a pretty big hand in helping some of these young guys get better and become better players, but I think that is the endpoint with him as a leader/player to build your team around. If you want to go any further, he's not the guy to take you there as a number one option. I'm not even sure if he's best suited as a 2nd or 3rd option on a Championship level team. I am leaning towards 3rd option. His lack of three point shot is a killer and really holds him back. These past few years in SA, he really should have made a huge effort to add one to his game. It's all on him for not doing so.