What's comical is the crew that question Leonard's ability, mentality, drive, etc... as if he was a Duncan level pick but hasn't lived up to the hype promised.
Many questioned the Spurs for trading a talent in Hill for a guy whose best case scenario was a 3 and D guy. And plenty questioned whether he could even be that much.
Instead we got a guy who not only revitalized this organization, helped extend the careers of the big 3, helped lead it to another championship, win finals MVP, a DPOY award, improved his percentages to near 50-50-90 territory, placed his name in MVP talks, and so on.
It's his first year carrying the offensive load while helping lead this team to a franchise best record. Is he perfect? Is he above criticism? No. Will he still make mistakes while he figures everything out? Most likely. But what he's accomplished in his 5 years is remarkable all things considered.
And the crew accuses of Leonard fans of deflecting.
He has all the tools to be one of the all time greats. Dude just cant put it together for some reason. Like many have said he's still young, but young guys like Damian lillard are doing way more on the offensive end with less support than kawhi. The problem is his inability to handle the rock well enough to create lanes for himself and his overall lack of fire. Yeah we get it, he's the quite no bs guy which is cool, but at some point you just gotta go KG or Jordan or Kobe and nut up.
Kawhi is the LEAST of our worries, tbh
I'll never again put a limit on what Kawhi can do. But right now, he's not a foundation. Cornerstone? Sure. With LMA next to him, hopefully they can make a foundation. But I'd like to see one more player near their tier added to really solidify the team for the next two year. Ideally, it would be a guard who can take the ball out of Kawhi's hands and let Leonard play in his spots while also keeping LMA efficient. It's just not clear that that type of player exists. As far as on-roster players, Anderson is the closest if he develops correctly. But being shift and quick with a good shot is pretty important to the job, and obviously Kyle has none of that.
Solidify them? Right now this is a top 2 team in the league with a pretty significant gap between 2 and 3. There isn't much room to solidify them further... at least regarding the star talent. The role players have disappointed more than anything... if Green was shooting like he had been for the previous 4 years, the team would be significantly better.
Last time I checked, Duncan and Manu are retiring soon. So yeah, they'll need solidifying in the Kawhi era.
neither of those guys are in the aldridge/leonard category right now... those are role players
Agreed. Not only are those two close to retiring, Parker is a step closer in that direction too. Green may bounce back shooting wise but he's not going to improve elsewhere. Mills isn't the same after surgery. No backup pg to speak of. West, Miller, and Martin are short term.
Spurs have some work to do this off season.
Yeah, but both provide leadership and skill that the other guys on the roster aren't likely to match. You don't just lose your best play-maker and your best per-minute defender and keeping on chugging along.
i didnt suggest we don't need to replace players we lose. but as far as the "foundation" of the team, i think having 1a and 1b is fine
I don't think so, and I don't think this year is proving that.
the warriors are a historically great team. just because we aren't better than them doesn't mean we don't have a strong foundation going forward.
As far as I'm ing aware, Kawhi has shown up for every ing game except 1. I don't even count last night a bad game. Ya some ing pansy mother ers. Spurraider is right. The role players have disappeared in some big games and people blame Kawhi. 65 wins too. Kawhi is a Super star and MVP candidate.
Fournier is the only guy available in FA that could be signed to play the PRIME Manu 6th man role. I don't see why the Magic would highly prioritize re-sign him when they have Dipo/Hezonja/Payton under contract. They offered him a 4yr/32 mill contract which he rejected but PATFO could offer him the same deal as Danny as he's seeking a 10+ mill contract: http://orlandomagicdaily.com/2015/12...-in-extension/
Diaw was supposedly his idol & Porker is his national team captain so that might come in handy.
When Tim/Manu retire this summer I'm hoping that the PATFO split the 20 mill cap space on Noah/Fournier (French Invasion), draft GPII & use the MLE on someone like Teletovic.
Noah/West/Hibbert?
LMA/Diaw/Teletovic
Kawhi/Kyle/Bertans
Danny/Fournier/Simmons
Porker/Patty/GP II
It's not about the Warriors. The Spurs' foundation is shaky because they are losing good players and HoF leaders. Kawhi and LMA are individually talented enough to be a good foundation, but they need someone to bring their skills together. That's going to be even more true as LMA ages. Since Parker isn't looking like he'll be the glue for the offense, they need someone else to do it.
Leadership such as Tim and Manu have provided is every bit as rare - possibly even rarer - as what they contribute on the court. That is the principal reason that I hope we bring back DWest. Flawed as he is, he is the only guy who can provide anything remotely resembling that kind of leadership on our current roster.
well yeah, its a 15 man roster. OKC's issue isn't that durant/westbrook aren't good enough as 1a and 1b, and i dont think the spurs issues moving forward will be with the 1a and 1b... doesn't mean i'm calling the squad complete or perfect
You're the one defining "foundation" as 1a and 1b. I said to be solidified, they need a third player that can help them play to their potential. I never said that person needed to be 1a or even any 1. They don't need a Kyle Lowery to be solidified. Someone like Rubio would do very well if Chip could help his shot.
We get two choices.
Is Kahwi green or pink...?
Kawhi is already a star, our best player and just 24. I have a lot of belief on what he can do. He's just so self restrained that his fire and how bad he wants to win doesn't show.
I do think we need someone else, a guard. It's just a need in the NBA to have a legit quality athletic guard. Bc of Manu's impending retirement and Tony's decline + Danny not being a creator off the dribble, that puts a lot of pressure on Tony too, which he can't carry now and will be worse next season (without Manu to sometimes alleviate it). Pop and the league have taken a liking to the 2 PG lineups and Tony/Patty are too undersized together + deficient defensively to be a good pairing as well. It's quite impossible to dominate in the NBA when both guys in your backcourt are easily nullified. We need 1 quality guard. How said guard may be acquired is a topic for the off- season.
Kyle is a mystery in long term plans. I think he has a future with the Spurs for at least the length of his rookie contract, maybe more depending on his development but he has a lot to work on with his own shot. He wasn't ready to do more than he's done this season (which might have been a kind of rook season in terms of being integrated into the team) but he will have to do more next season. Simple things like entering the ball into the post give problems to our guards. Kyle OTOH is a natural as a point. We may become a very unorthodox team with a point forward that really runs the point, meaning calling sets, getting guys in spots, etc. I think Pop can squeeze more out of him, but he's letting him develop first b4 he starts putting that burden on his shoulders. But we will have to have somebody. At times it is PG by committee out there and it's not pretty.
They have very important roles in the team. Without them, the team has a lower ceiling. I think I get Chinooks point. Not a slight to Kawhi at all. He means to really contend for a le once our vets retire and Tony continues to age, he'd like to have a third guy.
I like this team!Fournier is the only guy available in FA that could be signed to play the PRIME Manu 6th man role. I don't see why the Magic would highly prioritize re-sign him when they have Dipo/Hezonja/Payton under contract. They offered him a 4yr/32 mill contract which he rejected but PATFO could offer him the same deal as Danny as he's seeking a 10+ mill contract: http://orlandomagicdaily.com/2015/12...-in-extension/
Diaw was supposedly his idol & Porker is his national team captain so that might come in handy.
When Tim/Manu retire this summer I'm hoping that the PATFO split the 20 mill cap space on Noah/Fournier (French Invasion
Noah/West/Hibbert?
LMA/Diaw/Teletovic
Kawhi/Kyle/Bertans
Danny/Fournier/Simmons
Porker/Patty/GP II
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