Kawhi Leonard Discussion: “I’m A Snake Clipper Guy.”

He could have played with three all time greats in Bron, AD and CarusGOAT.

 

check my posts from the day he jilted us and throughout the season. when you go into a season planning to sit back to backs, and then you just think you'll turn it on for a 20-25 game playoff season and win it all? he was breaking down when the raptors won it the year before. i was worried the pandemic break would let him recharge, but he may be a chris paul situation where he simply can't play at a high level on a regular schedule for two full months.

i said he and lebron's time as superstars would end around the same time, despite their age gap. we'll see.

 

yes, i too was worried that the pandemic break would give him and PG ample time to recover, but that simply wasn't the case (damaged goods). when Lebron talked about "being there" for his teammates, he meant both on and off the floor, and while not directed at kawhi specifically (maybe it was?), it can be applied to his situation, especially as we find out more about the chemistry (or lack thereof) issues stemming from special treatment for some on that roster.

 

he made sure to mention he never missed a playoff game



I thought it was funny he wanted some "damn respect". Some athletes are so sensitive hahahahaa.

 

Covid 19 gave him load management, but it also gave Bron load management without Bron having to deal with the PR of asking for it.

Kawhi underestimated what he was walking into going to the Flippers: Paul George is a one way player in the Playoffs. Lou Williams and Harrell can only score. Beverley can only defend. So much more was expected of him in the Playoffs, and for all the talk of how great he was in the Mavericks series, I personally thought he was outplayed by Luka Doncic.

 

He also wanted to be the headliner, the superstar of his own team. Or one of two. Well he’s not a leader and neither is the other chump he hooked up with. They both got the big heads and believed all of Ballmer’s media influenced press clippings. Whole damn team did. While knowing his physical condition is not getting better. Yet asked for the moon from teams including illegal stuff like the alleged home from Lakers if I recall correctly. Again **** them both.

 

There were too many reasons of the Clips failure to count, but IMO Kawhi was certainly one of them. He underachieved and again was playing worse and worse as the playoffs progressed. He's clearly not the superstar/best player in the league he was portrayed to be after last year, or at the very least he's not anymore. He can be devastating in singular games or over a short stretch of games, but not the entire playoffs.

The question is, can the Clips build a team around him that will allow him to miss some of the games in the playoffs? Doesn't seem realistic to me considering they have basically no assets. And his issues (whatever they are) will probably only get worse.

I NEVER wish an injury on any player, but in this specific case I have to admit to feel a certain, not so small amount of Schadenfreude. I hope he doesn't achieve anything more for the remainder of his NBA career.

 

I think Kawhi better suits a system. A system where he has his spots to shoot from, and where he is not outside of his comfort zone. He can still be the best player in that system, but it has to be built to maximise what he can do in it.

The Warriors might be 3-0 in the KD era if it weren't for injuries, but I think Kawhi might have suited the Warriors even more than KD did because he would have been able to fit into that system, get the looks he wanted, and then played his role on defence. KD was great in that system, but clearly he has gifts that he wasn't able to showcase in a Warriors system because he loves his iso stuff (and needs to have friends in the locker room who get him etc).

 

Agreed. From pure basketball perspective Kawhi has basically only one issue. Howevee, it is a kind of huge one - he's damaged knees. I seriously doubt if you can still build a contender around him as the first option and at the max. Guess he'll want to shut everybody up next season, we'll swe how that goes .

 

"We" overrated him like crazy , acting like he was a perennial superstar in the playoffs ...

 

You hate to read it !

From the athletic via sam esfiandiari twitter

 

I hope some day we get to know all the things Kawhi's uncle was able to negotiate from the Clips. I am sure there's a LOT of crazy stuff in there. That makes their current state even more funny btw. They got the supposed best player in the league, gave him everything and more, joepardized their future for many years in the process, and may end up with the same end result as usual in the near future. Couldn't happen to a nicer organization.

 

Oh you haven't heard about how Lue knows Lebron inside and out? How Lue will be able to stop Lebron.

 

But WAIT .... there's more? (shout out to late night commercials everywhere)



On top of his curiously calcifying quad conundrum?

 

Not your style @wcs but that sounded almost like an OX "you people" shot.

 

You go Coach Lue .... get in Snake's face and tell him "No more load managing for you!"

 

Lol

 

LOL is right. Good luck with those. “We got now”? What the H is sitting on his shoulder? Nothing like a monumental choke by your team and you to launch a new shoe. All I got.