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Kawhi Leonard

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tedginnjr

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With a wingspan some 9 inches longer than he is tall at 6-6, Leonard has one of the most unique physical profiles in this class. His hands, as expected, are absolutely gigantic, ranking him amongst 7'0 foot centers in terms of hand width and length. His 7-3 wingspan is amongst the largest ever for a player 6-6 or under. Leonard's 227-pound frame actually weights in heavier than many of the power forwards in this class, which only adds to sentiments that he'll be able to guard the power forward position for stretches at the next level.

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BA1GYjD1yHo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One of the most highly touted prospects here training at Joe Abunassar's Impact Basketball, Kawhi Leonard was amongst the most impressive players we had the opportunity to see on a number of levels. Working on his shooting mechanics, ball handling, and overall perimeter skills, Leonard also impressed with his physical tools and stoic demeanor.

Leonard's workouts are geared towards his development as a full-time wing player. He sees himself as a long-term shooting guard/small forward with the ability to defend multiple positions, and seems to have a very good understanding of what he needs to work on. Since the day he arrived in Las Vegas, Leonard has been looking to add polish to his perimeter arsenal, especially his jump shot. We saw some promising strides in his skill level as we watched him go through extensive shoot-arounds, participate in two skill development sessions under the tutelage of Chauncey Billups, and play a few games of three-on-three.

One of the more positive signs we saw from Leonard came in the simple shooting sessions he went through on both days we watched him. Spotting up and knocking down shots from the midrange and beyond the NBA 3-point line, Leonard's shooting mechanics look significantly more consistent than they did during his days at San Diego State. His release point looked the same on almost every shot he attempted, and his footwork appeared to get better as he got more shots up.

In the skill development sessions, we got to see Leonard, along with Alec Burks and Malcolm Lee, work on a number of different spin dribble, step-back, and aggressive scoring moves. With Chauncey Billups taking time to teach each player the nuances of each of the things they were working on, Leonard looked exceptionally crisp putting the ball on the floor. Unlike Lee and Burks, Leonard has quite a bit of power to his game—something that should ease the transition he needs to make from the NCAA to the NBA.

Leonard was able to showcase that more easily than his jump shot in three-on-three competition. The rules of the game limited each team to one shot and out, meaning there were no second chance opportunities from offensive rebounds. Under those restrictions, each team was trying to get high-percentage shots on every possession.

Over the course of the games we watched, Leonard looked comfortable handling the ball in traffic and finding teammates moving without the ball. With his biggest strength, rebounding, removed from the equation here, he still made his presence felt on offense with a few midrange shots and finishes around the bucket, but did most of his damage defensively. As you'll see in our workout video, he was extremely aggressive when defending the perimeter and made some impressive plays rotating back to his man on the pick and roll. Leonard did nothing to dispel sentiments that he's one of the top defenders in this class.

Amongst all the prospects we saw here, Leonard may be the biggest beneficiary of Impact's on-court training. He's a ridiculous physical specimen with no body fat, long arms, and giant hands, but has room to improve skill-wise. He's been able to take advantage of his time here to the fullest since he loves being in the gym. With his defensive ability and workman-like interior game, Leonard's ability to showcase what he's been working on at Impact at the combine and in private workouts is worth keeping an eye on as he looks to climb up draft boards.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kawhi-Leonard-5821/
 
tedginn likes those big hands. :chuckles:

I'm going to say that he becomes a Dahntay Jones. Nothing spectacular, can hit the jumper after a couple years of working on it, hardnosed defender, athletic finisher. He's not going to be the all around player that Gerald Wallace is IMO...
 
He stays on his feet on defense. if he gambles and misses on the steal he finishes the play. He has good footwork. He is already better defensively than anyone we had play at the 3 last year.

[video=youtube;5hnxHnc5hNg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hnxHnc5hNg&feature=related[/video]
 
And I thought that Leon Powe had a freakish wingspan. Looks like the Rockets have interest in drafting this guy:

http://houston.sbnation.com/houston...rockets-rumors-trade-kanter-leonard-nba-draft

Report: Rockets Interested In Trade Up For Enes Kanter Or Kawhi Leonard
May
25
10:40a
by Rivers McCown

READ MORE: Houston Rockets

It didn’t take too long for our first concrete “Rockets are looking to trade up” rumor to start, and it happens to come to us from Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick this year. Take it away, Sam:

As was reported here on Thursday, Houston (14th, 23rd picks) is interested in moving up in the draft. The source with knowledge of the Rockets’ desires said they are hoping to do so to either nab Kanter or perhaps San Diego State small forward, Kawhi Leonard.

Enes Kanter would seem to fill a big need for the Rockets up front. I know some in the Rockets community don’t see him as a center, but plenty of big fours have played out-of-position at center throughout their careers, and Luis Scola isn’t getting any younger.

Leonard has a wide array of skills and could be a Gerald Wallace-type in the pros, depending on if he can develop a consistent shooting touch. If the Rockets were to deal for him, he’d likely have to redshirt most of his first year in the pros behind Courtney Lee and Chase Budinger.
 
14th pick would be a good pick if Cavs have their eyes on Singleton. Perhaps the cavs throw in one of their 2nd rounder in the package and go afetr the 23rd as well.
who would the rockets be willing to include though?
Patterson, Thabeet, Lowry, terrence williams or jordan hill?
 
Leonard has a wide array of skills and could be a Gerald Wallace-type in the pros, depending on if he can develop a consistent shooting touch.

could be a Gerald Wallace-type in the pros, depending on if he can develop a consistent shooting touch.

Gerald Wallace-type if he can develop a consistent shooting touch.

Gerald Wallace

consistent shooting touch.

...
 
I don't really mind him. In Grant I trust.
 
Gerald Wallace comparisons are off because Wallace is a much better athlete than Leonard is... Leonard may have huge hands and long arms but he doesn't have the explosiveness, lateral ability or strength that makes Wallace such a deadly combination..

I'd consider Leonard if we traded down for some reason or somehow got back into the lottery but I don't think he deserves to be in the discussion at #4... He's not an elite defender and he's not someone who can create his own shot consistently.. That combination does not equal the #4 pick...
 
Gerald Wallace comparisons are off because Wallace is a much better athlete than Leonard is... Leonard may have huge hands and long arms but he doesn't have the explosiveness, lateral ability or strength that makes Wallace such a deadly combination..

I'd consider Leonard if we traded down for some reason or somehow got back into the lottery but I don't think he deserves to be in the discussion at #4... He's not an elite defender and he's not someone who can create his own shot consistently.. That combination does not equal the #4 pick...

I was saying this exact thing previously about the wallace/marion comparisons, and feel validated.

Kawhi has a 25.5'' no step and 32'' max vert, can only put up 185 lbs 3 times, and a much slower lane agility time (11.45s) than a guy whose ability to guard SFs is in question, Derrick Williams (11.03s), and a big foreign center whose athleticism is in question, Enes Kanter (11.30s).

These largely artificial tests don't mean a whole hell of a lot, but when the reality is so far from perception, as is the case with Leonard, I take notice.
 
I was saying this exact thing previously about the wallace/marion comparisons, and feel validated.

Kawhi has a 25.5'' no step and 32'' max vert, can only put up 185 lbs 3 times, and a much slower lane agility time (11.45s) than a guy whose ability to guard SFs is in question, Derrick Williams (11.03s), and a big foreign center whose athleticism is in question, Enes Kanter (11.30s).

These largely artificial tests don't mean a whole hell of a lot, but when the reality is so far from perception, as is the case with Leonard, I take notice.

I admit to watching some of the combine on NBA TV. It's fairly embarrassing, but I did it.

Leonard had terrible footwork and running form. It is hard to tell if he just never practiced the drills before and felt out of his element or not, but his running form in a straight line looked terrible as well. He is a much more natural jumper than runner. I'm sure this doesn't mean as much as how well he handles the ball and passes the ball -which he does well. I can say that as a former track and field coach, his wasted motion when running hurt my eyes.
 
From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/twitter.php#ixzz1O82ylPEX

Teams can talk about getting better defensively, but the only way to do that is to get players that are really inclined to play defense.

That's why Toronto is strongly looking at both Bismack Biyombo and Kawhi Leonard with the #5 pick. Both would help a lot in that regard.
 
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this anywhere, but it just struck me that kawhi leonard reminds me a lot of ronnie brewer. both athletic (although ronnie is a better athlete), long, rangy defensive minded wings with a questionable jumper and mediocre handles
 
Honestly, I'm not trying to hate on this guy, but if you remove the fact he has big hands and 'no body fat' from the article, he just seems like another player. There is no way I'd draft him any where near 4 or even 10 for that matter. Once again no hate on this guy but the drills hes doing, while dribbling the ball towards the basket you see him looking down on the floor instead of keeping his eyes on the rim. I know I'm nit picking but come on guy, you're trying to get into the NBA and you're taking little things like that for granted?

The comparison I heard to Gerald Wallace seem fair, his defensive ability will be what keeps him in the NBA, long arms will be his best asset. I see him averaging 2 steals a game and at least one block a game just because of his athletic ability and high basketball IQ. The more I think about it he has a lot of potential, how old is this guy?

I'm just not sure how a talent like him would fit on THIS team, however on a different team in a different system (like the Celtics for example) I can see him flourishing. I see this Cavs team in need of a scorer at the 2 position. Especially a scorer that can shoot.
 
I still believe that Leonard as the third choice behind Kanter and Valanciunas for #4. (Assuming Williams doesn't fall.)

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?name=nba_draft&id=6634270

San Diego State forward Kawhi Leonard started working out for the first time on Sunday. As we reported earlier in the blog, he had an excellent workout in Charlotte against a number of top forwards including Jordan Hamilton, Chris Singleton and Tobias Harris.

His next big test comes on Tuesday in Washington with the Wizards. Leonard is a guy the Wizards are looking at very closely with the sixth pick in the draft. A great workout there could seal the deal.

He also has an intriguing workout next week with the Cavs. While No. 4 seems high for Leonard, don't totally discount it. One Cavs source says he's in the mix. He fits a need, can play right now and still has upside.

Also, keep a close watch on the Kings. If both Knight and Walker are off the board, he could be a real possibility there, too.
 
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