Kawhi Leonard: Is He Worth a Max Extension?
Is Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs worth a max contract extension?
Coming off of a campaign in which he was crowned Finals MVP at age 22, Kawhi Leonard is sitting pretty as the heir apparent to the top of the pecking order for the San Antonio Spurs. His performance in the latter stages of the Finals was dominating, even more so considering his match-up was the great LeBron James, and he provided a glimpse of what he could potentially do every night if given the opportunity to do so.
If you believe in perfect timing, Kawhi Leonard may have mastered it. He is coming into his own as a player just as franchise legends such as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are beginning to ponder how much longer they want to play, and has made his claim to succeed them by performing at an extremely high level on the biggest stage in the sport. His position to take over a team filled with fantastic staff and a tradition of winning big is enviable, as is his upcoming financial situation.
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Kawhi Leonard also picked the perfect time to jump into the national spotlight for good because his rookie contract expires after the 2014-15 season. The man is going to get paid, and there’s little question about it at this point. As a player with huge upside, not even in his prime, and a guy that has proven himself to be a winner, Leonard will be getting multiple max-contract offers when he’s eligible. Of course, when ever a player is in line for something like this, questions follow and he’s picked to pieces.
Let’s take a look at what Kawhi Leonard brings to the table.
Offense
On offense, Leonard has everything you want and more from a wing player; the only problem is that he typically needs to be pushed to take over a game, as evidenced in the NBA Finals. After averaging a meager nine points per contest in the first two games, Leonard exploded with totals of 29, 20, and 22 points in the next three. And, while the final numbers in the points totals weren’t eye-popping, his efficiency doing so certainly was. With field-goal percentages of 76.9, 58.3, and 70 percent, Leonard showcased his efficiency, another reason for the building hype around the young man.
Other than a scoring threat with efficiency, Leonard is solid in many other areas. He can shoot the three at a good clip (37.9 percent season average), is not a bad free-throw shooter (80.2 percent season average), and is a threat to snag offensive rebounds for easy scores.
The problem some might have with Kawhi Leonard on offense is that he doesn’t seem to dominate on that end often enough, at least not yet, to warrant being considered anything other than a complimentary player. However, given the context of his situation, it’s fair to assume that he is more a product of the San Antonio Spurs philosophy than of his own capabilities. He will get paid for his vast potential on his end, which is not a bad gamble given what he’s already done, and his potential dominance in the next section.
Defense
This is where Kawhi Leonard becomes scary good. En route to an All-Defensive 2nd Team selection last season, he averaged 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks as he grabbed 6.2 rebounds per contest. At 6’7”, there is a legitimate possibility that he could evolve into a player that can effectively shut down almost any position on the floor (he already does a pretty good job in this area), while averaging over two steals to go with an average of one block a game.
Even more frightening is that Leonard’s age 22 numbers compare favorably to Scottie Pippen‘s age 23 numbers defensively (age 22 was Pippen’s rookie year).
1988-89 Scottie Pippen: 33.1 MPG, 1.9 ORB, 6.1 TRB, 1.9 STL, 0.8 BLK
2013-14 Kawhi Leonard: 29.1 MPG, 1.2 ORB, 6.2 TRB, 1.7 STL, 0.8 BLK
While comparing Leonard to Pippen is undoubtedly high praise, that is the type of potential I believe Leonard carries defensively. If he hits some of the marks that Scottie Pippen was able to on the defensive side, we will be looking at one of the best two-way players in basketball, and a guy definitely worth maximum contract money.
Everything Else
The one area that concerns me about Kawhi Leonard earning max money is something that really shouldn’t matter, but does; are people going to buy tickets to watch this guy?
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As someone who plays within himself offensively, and being more vaunted for his defense than everything else, he’s the prime example of a player who coaches will rave about, but also an example of someone that the casual fan (the guy forking over money for tickets) will over look the majority of the time. As an owner, I want the player I am paying max-money for to sell tickets for my franchise, and I have doubts Leonard can do this based on his pull as a player alone.
The simple remedy to this is to win; people will put money down to watch good basketball, at least usually. Kawhi Leonard definitely is part of the equation when it comes to this, and would contribute a great deal towards this goal. Avoiding a toxic situation would help, for example heading to the 76ers tankapalooza after this season would be a mistake, but if the team is not winning then I am not sure people are lining up to watch Kawhi Leonard at this point in his career.
This doesn’t define Leonard as a player, and could very well change as soon as this season. The point is that if owners are dishing out big money, they want a guy who is box office, someone who can sell tickets with star power; and as of right now I am not sure that Leonard will be that player.
Other than that, every intangible you want in the face of your franchise is there. The kid is humble, and by all accounts a great teammate. Kawhi Leonard is clearly coach-able, and he continues to improve every season.
Pay The Man (San Antonio)!
In the end, Kawhi Leonard is going to get a max contract extension from some team. He carries great potential on the offensive end, and hall-of-fame potential on the defensive end. While he doesn’t sell tickets at this point in his career, he is definitely a contributor when it comes to wins and that can affect the bottom-line in a positive regard almost as much as star power.
Kawhi Leonard deserves a max-contract. Hopefully, he gets it in San Antonio, as the Spurs are the quintessential fit for what Leonard has become, and looks like he will evolve into.
This isn’t to say a team like, say the Milwaukee Bucks, wouldn’t benefit from dishing out big money to a player who could turn into a dominant one; it’s just not the best fit on the board for both parties.
Kawhi Leonard is going to get paid, and San Antonio Spurs fans should hope it’s their team writing the checks.