Boo? Meh. I'm over it. This version of the Spurs isn't your dad's Spurs but they're a fun team to watch and easy to root for...they are, and for the first time I can remember, truly and underdog/under the radar team.
idk the specifics, but one way could be that he doesn't play for an all-time defensive coach that forces D on everyone and is a master of defensive schemes. Look at this defensive roster, not amazing, but got them playing some decent to even really good D at points. I'm sure he's lost a bit of a step, but the "system" (i know don't kill me) might have something to do with it.
His lateral quickness isn't the same, but his defensive decline is mostly just a product of where he's at in his career IMO..how many perimeter players in NBA history were still elite defenders while carrying an offense at his age? There aren't even many in history to begin with..
Especially today where it's more difficult to play individual defense than ever..
His defense is still elite in key situations when they need a stop..he's never going to be the defender he was when he was younger, but that shouldn't be expected anyways..
Same. None of it changes that Kawhi is a straight anyway.
Just a word
Giannis >>>>>> kawhi
I still don't know who to blame. Kawhi's uncle? Kawhi? PATFO? Old teammates? The spurs culture? The media? What a mess it was. I think the whole falling out is mostly Kawhi's fault, but I think Pop and RC just rubbed him wrong, and perhaps the lockerroom too. Kawhi sitting and ducking out was so unprofessional. I didn't want to believe it and still a bitter pill. Gotta admire what the team is doing right now with new faces, limited talent, and a fast changing league. Kawhi is as charming and loveable as when he was a Spur. He is just a robot. And fk his sister and uncle, they can rot. And Kawhi.
Hard not to blame a player for faking his injury, sitting out and pretty much straight quitting on your team
Just watched an interview with Chris Haynes and Jabari Young and damn that guy (Jabari) is still slobbering all over Kawhi. It’s annoying as . I bet that idiot wishes he covered the Raptors for the Athletic.
Exactly, and who is to say he won't pull the same stunt again if he ever becomes "unhappy" even with the huge contract?
I'm sure a good portion of the blame falls on the Spurs' shoulders (who is the mystery person that "disrespected" Leonard two summers ago & why weren't they fired/punished), but Leonard and his "group" handled the situation extremely unprofessionally, IMO.
They were unable to outright say he didn't want to play last year, so they used every excuse in the book (Parker, "misdiagnosis," etc) to keep him off the court. If he had played through the season and then demanded a trade then so be it.
He didn't. He tried to on everyone, everything and all the goodwill built up by Pop/the organization on the way out. him, forever....
Last edited by J_Paco; 01-03-2019 at 07:54 PM.
I think he's lot some athleticism with that injury, plus like many stars (not named Scottie Pippen or early - 90's Jordan)/elite perimeter players give less effort on defense as they age.
Especially, in a case like Kawhi's in Toronto where he's surrounded by quality or even elite defenders. He doesn't have to be Deion Sanders on the Atlanta Falcons when he can play like Sanders on the '95 Cowboys instead....
Awesome post. This is the type of in depth writing that you'd find on the early days of internet - Onhoops.com, the Simmons blog on espn, and others.
I think the only time I remember a player being booed mercilessly in San Antonio was when Jason Terry punched Mike Finley in the groin during the 2006 WCSF. There were tons of fans wearing Fin's #4 jerseys on top of that. I fully hope and expect tonight's to be miles more heavier.
Also timvp, since it's a 50/50 game, would you be willing to deactivate the account of our resident Leonard troll user account (along with its many alts) if San Antonio prevails? I think the combination of these two occurrences would be on par with a playoff series win for us devoted ST readers.
If anyone is around timvp in person, please push him so that the lean becomes a decision to reveal.
Related, a while back you had said you were considering making a run at a media position which included of course Spurs coverage. I think it was McDonalds position or similar. Any updates on that?
How do we know Duncan tried to meet with Leonard?
He was with Pop when they tried to hit Leonard up in NYC.
timvp doesn't have any super secret knowledge
Is this SpursTalk speculation or is it known?
The dude is only 27
Thank you.
The rumors of all three in the New York area at nearly the same time could all be coincidental as nothing official has been announced or released.
If you really want to release the details I'm sure most of us would love to hear them but you don't owe us and I'd probably just bury that rather than burn a good source.
I'm going to ctrl + f supermax in this thread and expect zero hits. But if I'm wrong and OP goes into the supermax topic with some heretofore unmentioned detail then I'll think his depth of access is somewhat legit.
This was the turning point. The amount of ad hominem flak Jabari got on here and social media after that report increased thricefold and made it more interesting.
So you’re saying the real reason Kawhi left is because the Spurs refused to give him the supermax?
As real as any reasons we are privy to, it seems like the obvious seed of contention. PATFO wanted to structure his contract like Duncan's, by backloading his salary while Leonard wanted it upfront. Aldridge's extension impacted on Leonard's desire. When neither side relented, PATFO started using Leonard's then-recent slew of injuries to lowball him and then Unc responded by leaking their request for a trade. Remember that clip of Leonard gingerly mounting the airplane stairs? Was that staged as well?
There's also this factor to the equation:
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...227-story.htmlThe X-factor in all this, though, might not be the parka but the girl wearing it. The compass tug of the magnetic North vs. the tug of a 2-year-old on his pinky.
“She’s young, she doesn’t have too much say so,” Leonard says of Kaliyah, who turns 3 in July. “But I’m not just living for myself any more. I try to make the right decisions for her and for her future, thinking about when she’s 13 and I’m not playing any more: Did I make the right decision for myself and for her, or did I just make it for myself being selfish? That’s something different, thinking about her and what she needs in the long run.”
His girlfriend was pregnant with his daughter the season he went for second DPoY, all-star and all-nba in a 67-win squad. Then, the season he became a first-time father, he went for mvp, finishing second in voting. He was checking all the requisite boxes for a supermax contract. This was also the season when Aldridge's request for a trade was made public. The season after that was the season leading into Leonard's supermax eligibility. So yeah, his goal seemed obvious to me and not getting it was a dealbreaker. And I think San Antone media knows it too but since Leonard never raised a public stink about the supermax, they followed suit and pursued other narratives, consequently saving the franchise some face.
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