San Antonio Spurs: Will Gregg Popovich Give Kawhi Leonard The Minutes He Craves?

As I mentioned in a previous column about Kawhi Leonard looking to step into the lights as the future of the San Antonio Spurs, the beginning phases to that would have to be earning trust and added responsibility in the eyes of head coach Gregg Popovich. After his performance last season, especially in the playoffs and NBA Finals, it’s unquestionable that Pop can trust his 23-year-old small forward in times of need, but is Popovich ready and willing to place the weight of a championship caliber team on the shoulders of Leonard as he heads into his fourth season?

Per the San Antonio Express-News:

"Gregg Popovich: “I’m probably going to talk to him more about consistency now,” Popovich said. “He’s reached a certain level and if you look at those last three games he played they were pretty special. But to be in that top echelon of players in our league it’s a huge responsibility to have to come and do that every night. The Duncans, the Durants, the James-es and all those kinds of guys do it night after night after night and it’s a huge responsibility.Kawhi Leonard: “In the Finals I’m playing 35 minutes a game, so I’m on the floor more and able to score the ball more and get more rebounds,” Leonard said. “So I’m going to have to get consistent minutes to play at a consistent level like that. I’ve been trying to (be a dominant player) since I’ve been here. […] It’s just in order to get me more involved in the offense, that’s what I go by. Like I said, if I’m going to get seven more minutes on the floor, that’s going to be important. We’ll see what happens. I mean, my role was supposed to expand last year and we played pretty much the same basketball. So we’ll see what Coach Pop has.”"

It’s appears as if the coach and player have different ideas as to their thoughts and expectations for Leonard in 2014-15.

Popovich vocalized his goal for Leonard to become more consistent on both sides of the court, but he also notes that the consistency he wants to see from Leonard is also what separates him from the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James and even Tim Duncan. When it comes to consistency on the levels of these greats, although Leonard’s NBA Finals’ performance was spectacular, his numbers throughout the season pale in comparison to what is typical from a superstar caliber player.

Leonard posted averages of 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists to couple his 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks. But look back on his Finals’ numbers and it shows strides in the right direction of becoming the star Leonard, Popovich and the Spurs’ fan base alike hopes for him to become. Against the Heat en route to a Finals MVP award, Leonard’s numbers jumped to 17.8 points on 60 percent shooting with 6.4 rebounds.

Leonard began to show he could be relied upon as the scorer down the stretch, which is necessary for every star player, but even this number would need to be significantly increased to reach the levels of the aforementioned stars Popovich referred to.

Leonard, on the other hand, wants the extra minutes and feels the productivity will come along with it. Leonard noted he is looking to become a dominant player, just as he expected to become last season after he seemingly threw a breakout party against the Heat. But he also mentioned that gaining seven more minutes on the floor would be important. Last season, Leonard played 29.1 minutes per game and by adding seven more per game; he would be at around 36 minutes and that’s coming close to the same load Durant shoulders, which is makes highly unlikely for a coach of Popovich’s style to hand over that kind of playing time on such a loaded roster to a guy who hasn’t yet become an actual superstar.

Leonard finished his quote by saying, “So we’ll see what coach Pop has.”

As a young player learning under one of the greatest coaches ever, it seems like a pretty realistic expectation that Leonard will now focus on what he does on the court after letting his desire for more minutes be known. This goes for Popovich as well, though. Popovich is an avid supporter of taking the load off his older, more seasoned veterans like such as Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Those guys aren’t getting any younger and their coach understands this.

With Leonard looking to build upon his Finals’ showing and turn that into a consistent performance throughout the season, Popovich will have no better option than rewarding his fourth year and forward with the playing time he wants going forward.