On what? On being injured? I've said before I truly believe he's injured.
If people are willing to believe a guy with super strong work ethic who loves to play basketball more than anything "suddenly" doesn't want to play...Well, I won't trust them. I'll trust what I saw in that player the whole six years he was in SA.
If he has this issue, how Parker/Manu questioning him in public can help??His aloofness and inability to make the situation clear to his team and coaches ought to be concerning to you.
Nah, my "fandom" has nothing to do with this. Unlike you, I realize that players talking in public about a teammate never is a good thing. Never. It doesn't matter if they're Tony Parker or Paul George, it never led to good things.
No one player should wash dirty laundry in public.
Last edited by YGWHI; 03-31-2018 at 02:00 PM.
Yeah tbh if I'm Kiwi and I know i'm falling apart I'm just gonna stay out cause I know that some team is going to offer me a Supermax based on "potential."
Then he can just sit back and laugh as he collects his Derrick Rose checks.
you don’t want to acknowledge it bc you don’t like him but Lamarcus has really been the team’s leader this season and the player around whom everyone has rallied. DJ made progress too but he’s too young and specially, he is still learning too much himself to lead others. He’s coming along though and he’s always exerting effort. There’s no game one could say DJ was slacking... he’s just still learning and coming along with his own game at this point.
In terms of being vocal and the spirit animal Manu is, just bc of how he plays, how he always competes and the way he’s helped close games out. When he retires there will be a vac .
Patty is just a good teammate, but hopefully someone better comes along.
I agree with you Pop pressured him to be a leader and perhaps it’s even made Kiwi uncomfortable. He might welcome DJ or someone else becoming more vocal. I have trouble continuing to see Kiwi with the Spurs though.
You use your troll-account only for this...While your main accounts knows that no one team but Spurs can offer him the super-max.... Good job!
I’m not sure how you’re getting “Jeff is speaking for Pop” out of a direct quote from Pop. When asked directly, Pop says all of the right things, but he, and the senior players, are definitely throwing shade Kawhi’s way when they laud LMA for playing through pain. That’s not Jeff speaking for Pop, in any way shape or form.
My friend, the last game was literally the first game that LMA didn't disappear or even hurt the team in crunch time. LMA is somewhat less reticent than Kawhi, but he lacks the personality and the crunch time presence to truly be the leader. As I posted some time back, the "LMA is a great leader" chorus smacks of the same illusory drumbeat about "this is Kawhi's team now" that the team pounded in the past. You introduced the term "spirit animal" to our chats awhile back, and as I intuitively grasp the term, there is nobody who really fills that role on this team - not even Manu, as hard as he plays. I believe that he and Tony are closing in on irrelevancy in a locker room with a bunch of guys young enough to be their sons. The lack of any bridge between those old guys and the young guys is what is hurting this team the most. Age-wise, Kawhi was the obvious bridge, but he has declined in a most emphatic way. As evidenced by its play since the early, soft schedule, this team is essentially rudderless, and there is no spirit animal in sight.
He would be alienated from every team in the league pulling this crap. And if he was in LA right now, the media there would be camped out on his door 24/7 demanding he explain himself..
Won't address all your points but only a few since we disagree on just about everything
1. I don't need you to illustrate what a cancer is.I saw it first hand with Dennis Rodman back in '95 when you were in diapers but you wouldn't know about that since you are a Kawhi fanboy. You trying to illustrate what a cancer is to me is like some young kid trying to illustrate what suffering is to a World War 2 holocaust survivor. Pretty stupid and laughable.
2. Props to you for figuring out why these black media sports analysts are allowed to get away with being biased because like you said their white bosses are making money off of this. Still doesn't take away from the fact they are biased and have their own agenda which just happens to coincide with the media's agenda of wanting Kawhi out of San Antonio and in a big market like LA. ESPN and these other big media outlets has a history of hiring these guys to spread their propaganda when it's profitable and then firing them when their racial bias becomes offensive and costs them money. They have even fired Stephen A Smith in the past because they found him too offensive when he wasn't generating money for them. If you work a little bit harder you might actually become a three dimensional thinker one day.
3. I think we all knew Kevin hated playing with Russell Westbrook and everyone suspected that by his reactions on TV when Russ didn't pass him the ball. The problem however is KD on many occasions kept on saying in interviews that he liked Russ taking all the shots and he wanted him to continue to do it. It's one of the many reasons why I think KD is a dumbass. I have heard his teammates thought he was fine with Russ hogging ball mainly because he kept on stating he had no problem with Russ taking all the shots. Also there was no fights in the locker room among teammates or coaches. So there really was no chemistry problem since KD didn't voice out his frustrations to his teammates or the media about Russ being a ball hog.
4 You posting that tweet about Pop saying the medical staff is in agreement with Kawhi's doctors is very vague. It could mean so many different things. It doesn't confirm or deny anything about this mysterious injury.
5. The difference between the max and the super max goes away once you factor in the endorsements Kawhi would receive in a big market in LA that he wouldn't receive in SA. I think it's unfortunate for a small market teams in the future that the super max might not be good enough to protect them from losing a star player to a market like NYC,LA due to the endorsement money those markets can provide.
Think all the young guys look up to Manu and Lamarcus. It’s just they don’t have anyone right now that fits your definitions. It’s obvious Pop wanted Kawhi to be that guy. It’s I think why Robinson said what he said about leadership and he did mention the team having younger members right now that weren’t around in championship seasons that don’t know what it takes. If we are talking about championships you could say LMA also doesn’t know what it takes since he’s never won any, and they aren’t going to win one this season. They do need Kawhi back and committed to the team...
I think it is your definition, also. I think the young guys probably do look up to LMA and Manu (why no Tony?), even Pau because of his past accomplishments. But I think that's a far cry from their being a "spirit animal." Literally nobody on this team fills that role. (You even point out that LMA doesn't know what it takes to earn a championship and wear that mantle.) The team does, indeed, need a contented and committed Kawhi to be anything other than an also-ran. But they need a "spirit animal" perhaps even more - not only for the team's direction, but to relieve Kawhi of any responsibility beyond being a great player (assuming he will be physically able to deliver.)
Tim was always going to command respect in the locker room like you said simply because he was the GOAT spur and he had the personality to lead along with physically being imposing just by being 7 feet. Tim was also a very smart guy he had a degree psychology and knew how to read people. All those things factored in made him a great leader. I'm not sure if you follow wrestling but I have always compared Duncan to the Undertaker. They have the same type of aura and presence . Ironically I have heard the Undertaker is Duncan's favorite wrestler of all time.
The spurs situation when it comes to leadership similar to what the Lakers and Celtics dealt with when they lost Magic and Bird to retirement. Just like in the Spur case both organization still had some key veteran guys left over from the le runs in Mchale,Parish,Worthy. McHale,Parish,Worthy all had the same types of problem in leading that Manu and Tony have in their current situation.
I didn’t include Tony due to his own injury struggles this season. Missed many games and has been in a transitional stage, going through a period of adjustment in the bench. I do think Tony is declining in relevancy. Manu too but him still being relied on to close games and teammates talking so much about the grandpa Juice and other things make me think of all the old guys Manu is the most influential. He can’t carry a team anymore though. None of the old guys can.
I would much rather this be over with a happy ending where Kiwi comes back and ends up being who everyone wants him to be. They are what they are this season. We shall see what happens next.
Haha! No, I don't follow wrestling. Probably the last wrestler I watched was Rapid Ricky Romero. You describe well some of the attributes that made Tim the GOAT, although I cannot speak to the Undertaker comparison. But your analogies with the Celtics and Lakers are pretty apt. (I am compelled to add that the Celt's predicament was exacerbated immeasurably by the death of Len Bias before he even joined the team.)
I wish I knew what you meant here.^ Inevitable decline?
Manu giveth, and Manu taketh away, but I still respect his champion's heart, and I am occasionally still awed by his play. Clearly among the old guys he commands the most respect from the young guys, but that is not the same as commanding what the "spirit animal" commands.
I would amend your comment about Kawhi, though. Many fans want(ed) him to be the new Tim, the new "spirit animal." He won't. What we need is some other guy to fill that role. We need Kawhi to be the basketball machine he was before he was Zaza'ed.
Go to 2:25 to see the Undertaker
They were on the decline just like Manu,Parker and couldn't command the respect of the younger players like Bird and Magic could. They were also viewed as Bird and Magic's sidekicks much like Manu and Parker are viewed as Duncan's sidekicks by younger players.
Got you. Thanks for clarifying.
You and I are clearly from different generations. I don't see an iota of Tim in that clip. I thought Tim was genuine, and therefore a stark contrast to that staged theatricality. But if they seem comparable to you, you just see things differently than I. We both just know that nobody like that currently wears a Spurs uniform.
kawhi not coming to some games has more to do with him rehabbing (pop said so himself) than anything else...additionally, if he WAS being reclusive, it would be because of how his teammates and management has been treating him...if i was injured and trying hard to come back...actually tried to by playing, and ended up in pain afterward (kawhi had a VERY clear limp), then these old farts wanted to jeopardize my career so they had a better chance of winning before they retire (very selfish), i wouldnt wanna be around them either...everyone on the spurs' side is handling this wrong...kawhi has literally nothing to gain from sitting out in a contract year...are u guys stupid?
Then you know Kawhi's not a cancer.
I was the first guy here saying there are other NBA PRs behind Woj's this year creating false rumors about Kawhi, and the Spurs too...Woj is white.Props to you for figuring out why these black media sports analysts are allowed to get away with being biased because like you said their white bosses are making money off of this. Still doesn't take away from the fact they are biased and have their own agenda which just happens to coincide with the media's agenda of wanting Kawhi out of San Antonio and in a big market like LA. ESPN and these other big media outlets has a history of hiring these guys to spread their propaganda when it's profitable and then firing them when their racial bias becomes offensive and costs them money. They have even fired Stephen A Smith in the past because they found him too offensive when he wasn't generating money for them.
A player would need like $25M deal per year from a endorsement to get the same supermax contract money. It's gonna happen.The difference between the max and the super max goes away once you factor in the endorsements Kawhi would receive in a big market in LA that he wouldn't receive in SA. I think it's unfortunate for a small market teams in the future that the super max might not be good enough to protect them from losing a star player to a market like NYC,LA due to the endorsement money those markets can provide.
Could you imagine if this was all some master plan to show that LMA still has it and they trade him away next year? That would be amazing
keep dreaming...
LMAO the way his teammates are treating him
Kawhi is handling this wrong. SA has been amazingly gracious shielding Kawhi from having to answer for his actions/absence along with being patient.
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