Reply With Quote
Was just about to post that.
JMcDonald_SAEN Jeff McDonald
Duncan spent a lot of time playing 1-on-1 with Splitter during lockout: "I’m excited to see him out on the floor and seeing him help us.”
3 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Jeff McDonald
JMcDonald_SAEN Jeff McDonald
Don't know how Splitter will fare this season, but he's clearly more comfortable on the court and in the locker room.
4 minutes ago
Jeff McDonald
JMcDonald_SAEN Jeff McDonald
Tiago Splitter, on Tim Duncan's monster jam during Monday's scrimmage: "I wanted to make him look younger. That’s why I let him dunk on me.”
Was just about to post that.
Hill was a fine player for the Spurs, but he didn't exactly address a clear positional need. He wasn't a good enough of either a passer or a ball-handler to be considered a true backup PG. And he was too short to be an undisputed SG. The fact is, as fine of a player as he was, Hill was a luxury player for the Spurs.
On the flip side, this team has been longing for a young, prototypical SF with length, ever since they missed out on Nic Batum in the 2008 draft (the same draft in which Hill was taken). With Leonard, he's got the size and physical tools that could enable him to eventually become a defensive demon. Though, it's way to early to pass judgement on him.
Like or not, this is a move the Spurs had to make. This was made especially clear after RJ's two seasons of continued suckiness. The fact that Pop was hamstrung and forced into having to stick Hill in at SF versus the Grizzlies in that ill-fated April playoff series, only justifies why Leonard is here.
I agree with that and have said that many times. My statements about Kawhi aren't really as much to do with the trade aspect as they are about what I've see from him as a player.
While I agree with some points that DPG has made, we cannot forget that we drafted a 19 year-old boy.
When we drafted Hill, he was already 22 and he was raw as . Do you guys remember Hill's first game in the summer league? He was awful.
Everyone thought the boy was going to be a big time bust. We just have to give Kawhi some time. Not everyone is Lebron James at 19/20 years-old. It was just his first game and he will be fine IMO.
Not sure why we should be comparing how Leonard plays to how Hill plays.
They play two different positions (though granted, Pop would play Hill at SF sometimes out of desperation or idiocy, depending on the moment).
It's a team game so I think we should see what gap we are left at the SG and PG position with Hill's absence. Anderson and Neal should more than make up for Hill's contribution at SG, though it remains to be seen. Will the team suffer under the hands of TJ and Joseph -that's a better question.
But if Leonard shows promise and can outplay RJ in his rookie year, then I think that is the true test of the trade. I think this was a solid trade in every way. Hill was a poor PG, undersized SG, and often disappeared for long stretches. He's a great team player and can contribute to the cause, but our need at SF was too great to keep Hill.
The steal, dribble down the court and basket Leonard had against the Rockets was better than anything Hill did in his first two months as a Spur, and Leonard had two really impressive blocks in that game and rebounds like a demon. Not worried at this point.
if he rebounds with authority, i'm ok with Leonard. He will be a big help on the boards for us.
If Spurs fans are honest with ourselves, I think Leonard is everything we hoped Hill would be, only moreso and at the correct position.
Going to tomorrow's game...first in a couple years. Looking forward to seeing the young guns play. Who knows what happens to them once the games start to mean something.
Who's comparing how Hill plays and Leonard?
Btw, to an earlier point...there's no way you, or anyone not lying to themselves, thought Hill looked like he belonged after those early struggles. He was God awful...and that's being kind.
IMO, Hill looked awful, but you saw at least saw a flash of *it*, at least I remember writing about it. I'm not complaining about the trade. I think it was a good one for the reasons we all mentioned. I'm not saying Kawhi has no talent and will be a bust. I'm simply saying that my expectations, realistic or not, were not met in the first two times I saw him play. It doesn't mean he played worse than Hill when he started. It just means that all I look for in these scenarios from young players amongst all the mistakes and chaos is the one flash of the *it* factor and I simply didn't see a single moment that made me say "this guy has the potential to be something really special". It could very well come and I trust the FO when it comes to drafting. This was just my little observation from the very limited time I have had to see him based on what I personally was watching for. I saw that flash from just about every player drafted before him that I have watched this pre-season.
You mean you haven't seen it yet right? Obviousl you're goin to give this kid more than one exhibition and one scrimmage right?
I personally haven't seen Leonard in either setting, so I'll be happy to see him up close tomorrow.
george hill was horrible last year, especially the playoffs the guy was lost in a sea of confusion. getting rid of him was the key offseason move actually. Gary is gon be up above it this year
What "early struggles" are we speaking about regarding Hill? Yeah he sucked in summer league but he was really good early on in his rookie season. It was November of his rookie year when he filled in for Parker and had that stretch of four 20 point games in a row or whatever it was.
And actually, I would call trading Hill a "big" trade. Outside of trading one of the Big Three, trading Hill was about as big of a splash the Spurs could make in the offseason. He was easily the fourth best player on the team, the team's best perimeter defender and the only young player on the team that was a sure thing to succeed long term.
I don't think Hill is a championship quality starter in this league but as a third guard who can seamlessly fill just about any crack, there aren't too many better than him.
If the Hill trade ends up just giving TJ Ford more minutes while sprinkling in leftover minutes for JA and Leonard, that would be a colossal downgrade.
Revisionist history, though you could certainly suggest that Hill had reached his plateau. With Leonard you're not exactly sure where the ceiling is, but his floor for me is Mbah a Moute...and he plays a more critical role with the team as currently constructed.
Yes, I mean I haven't seen it yet. My point was that it surprised me that I didn't even get a flash of it (others may have, I didn't) when I got it from almost all other rookies in their first game that I was able to watch that were drafted in Kawhi's range. They all were in the same boat as Kawhi. Even in the worst of games, you normally get one moment (at least), w/ Kawhi I got none and also learned he needed a lot more polish than I thought (which might have been my own fault).
Not a judgement, just an observation.
I was talking Summer League, since DPG has given Leonard all of two exhibitions.
Understand. Again, I'm looking forward to observing him and the team myself tomorrow.
They are referring to the SL with regards to Hill because of the fact Leonard has only had pre-season games. I agree 100% it was a big trade and I'm not sure you can really argue that. But my point was not to compare Hill to Leonard or evaluate the trade, but just make an observation about the only real time I've had to see Leonard play. Even though it was just one pre-season game I learned that he needs a lot of polish and his downside is greater than I initially thought possible. I didn't see a single second or moment of star potential and maybe I shouldn't have expected to, but I did based on the fact it was a big trade and where he was drafted and some of the hype. It didn't cause me great alarm as much as it did give me a bit more reality. I expect him to struggle but I also expect talent to shine through at least a few moments in a game like you saw with Jimmer, Kemba, Irving, Williams and all the other rookies you have seen play in their first game.
Fair enough.
I think I somewhat agree with DPG if I'm understanding him correctly. So far, Kawai doesn't stand out as being an obvious NBA prospect. With players like Nic Batum and even George Hill, you could watch him for two minutes and see how they physically stand out from the pack. Kawhi had a rep for being quick, long and explosive. Those type of traits usually are obvious quickly.
I haven't seen it yet for Kawai. But, yes, it's eaaaaaaaaaarly. He very well could be holding back or he could just not be comfortable enough yet. I'm not ready to write him off but it'd be dishonest to say that Kawhi thus far has looked like anything more than a generic first round pick like DeMarre Carroll or Renaldo Balkman. So if that's what DPG is saying, I understand where he's coming from.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
