K. Leonard was projected to be a top 10 pick in the '11 draft

[SCdac]

even going as high as #6 to the Wizards, or #7 to the Kings. Some mocks had him going to Golden State at 11, others going to Pistons and Bobcats at 8 and 9.

but he ended up going to the Pacers/Spurs at #15 in what turned out to be a huge steal considering Spurs used George Hill as trade bait, a player who was drafted 26th in the first round of the '08 draft.

http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/05/18/consensus.mock.draft/

http://www.realclearsports.com/blognetwork/rcs_sidelines/2011/05/post-lottery-nba-mock-draft-compilation.html

the point is, i think there's been a common misconception the past couple years that Kawhi is merely a "product of the Spurs system" or that he's offensively incapable. That's obviously wrong. He was raw entering the league, but it's worth remembering he was highly thought of and not only had clear potential but came into the league pretty skilled especially defensively and on the boards... Some of the things he's doing with the Spurs he was doing at San Diego St. (going coast-to-coast off steals, posting up occasionally, dunking in traffic, hitting long-range jumpers, etc)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzI9BYuWb1o

No denying the stork dropped him into the best family in the league, and he's benefited from it in a variety of ways simply put, but one could argue he'd be balling production-wise on pretty much any team (irrespective of team record). He's leading the league in SPG right now, but wouldn't have been surprised if he coulda done that last season barring injury and minutes... and especially on a team that's giving him tons of minutes from the get go.

The Spurs are smart though and Pop knew to bring on Kawhi little by little, possibly even hiding him for the sake of retaining him contractually... the moment in this video is exactly what I'm talking about in terms of building Kawhi's confidence, little by little. Basically saying to him in the NBA finals... "step it up... because when you do, we're unstoppable"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlTLh7YZmws

Regardless of team record, do you think Kawhi would still be a top-5 SF today on a different team ?

[scm5]

I think that he landed in the best possible team for him and his skillset.

I don't think he could average many more ppg without a drop in efficiency and I think pop uses his defensive capabilities to its fullest.

I do think he would thrive on the Warriors currently, but he wouldn't have developed in the same way. GSW with Kawhi would be quite scary actually.

[warriorfan]

He looked NBA ready out of SDSU, he just needed to tighten up his jumper. That shouldn't of scared away anyone though since that is one of the easiest areas to improve with some proper work.

[Rob123]

Do yall not remember Kawhi even just in 2013? He was rawwww. I don't think there's any chance he's as good as he is now playing for another team. He's been developed perfectly by pop if Yall don't watch the Spurs this kid has absurdly dominating and he barely plays. He's hardly sniffed minutes in the 4th recently.

[SCdac]

As much as I like Thompson, Curry and Leonard does seem like a pretty dynamic duo. Agreed his development would be different.

Rockets drafted marcus morris and have traded him, but imagine a Harden + Kawhi tandem :eek:

[Alamо]

I still can't believe we got Kawhi for George Hill. Straight Pau Gasol'd the entire league

[CJ Mustard]

Wasn't he top 5 at some point? I remember thinking he was one of the highest ceiling prospects because of his athleticism/wingspan/hands

[JimmyMcAdocious]

All I remember up before the draft was people were really high on Derrick Williams, Biyombo shot up the draft boards so ****ing fast, some thought Jimmer would be the next Steph, and the Jimmy Butler ESPN article.