Phx-Suns.Net

"Travis Wear is another impressive rookie," Knicks president Phil Jackson said recently. "He's 6-10 with a terrific handle, outstanding athleticism and a nice touch from beyond the arc. He was overshadowed at UCLA but has the skill set to play every position from 1 to 4. We'll eventually place him in the D-League, where his possible NBA future solely depends on his ability to learn how to defend."

Shabazz wrote:I always likes Moultrie. I think he'd fit well here.

The 27th pick in the 2012 draft, Moultrie has been a complete bust to date. He's been out of shape, unable to stay in the rotation and served a five-game suspension last season for repeated violations of the NBA's drug policy. He's only 23, and there was offseason buzz that he was working hard and getting in shape, so keep an eye on him this preseason to see if it's true.

The Spurs are, partly, caught in trends not of their making. The Hornets set the standard for small forward pay in the years to come by giving restricted free agent Gordon Hayward of Utah a four-year max deal for $63 million this past summer (which the Jazz matched). But the Mavericks did Charlotte one better with their three-year, $45 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, a contract that his former team, the Rockets, declined to match. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances in both negotiations. There always are.

The bottom line is that while veteran threes like Trevor Ariza and Luol Deng got $8 million and $10 million per season, respectively, in new deals last summer, it now costs an NBA team at least $15 million per year to sign (or re-sign, or extend) a young, quality small forward.

And there is no argument from anyone credible that Leonard is anything but a young, high-quality small forward, perhaps the premier perimeter defender at his position. He has been the first line of the Spurs' defense against LeBron James in the last two Finals, and he has more than held his own against the game's best player. He rebounds, gets deflections and harasses opposing threes with long arms and incredible instincts.

Few threes can post or finish as efficiently, certainly due in part to those oven mitts masquerading as hands. Leonard shot 80 percent (12 of 15) in the paint during the Finals while hitting 12 of his 19 3-pointers (57.9 percent.)

...

Leonard was also fifth among small forwards last year in PER (19.43), behind the same quartet of threes. And, again: none of them -- none -- was a Finals MVP at age 23. (Forget his regular season averages of 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game last year. No one is going to put up big numbers the way the Spurs rest their regulars during the season.)

INFORMER wrote:The Clippers waived Ingles? That's mildly surprising.

INFORMER wrote:David Aldrige champions giving Kawhi Leonard the max:

The Spurs are, partly, caught in trends not of their making. The Hornets set the standard for small forward pay in the years to come by giving restricted free agent Gordon Hayward of Utah a four-year max deal for $63 million this past summer (which the Jazz matched). But the Mavericks did Charlotte one better with their three-year, $45 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, a contract that his former team, the Rockets, declined to match. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances in both negotiations. There always are.

The bottom line is that while veteran threes like Trevor Ariza and Luol Deng got $8 million and $10 million per season, respectively, in new deals last summer, it now costs an NBA team at least $15 million per year to sign (or re-sign, or extend) a young, quality small forward.

And there is no argument from anyone credible that Leonard is anything but a young, high-quality small forward, perhaps the premier perimeter defender at his position. He has been the first line of the Spurs' defense against LeBron James in the last two Finals, and he has more than held his own against the game's best player. He rebounds, gets deflections and harasses opposing threes with long arms and incredible instincts.

Few threes can post or finish as efficiently, certainly due in part to those oven mitts masquerading as hands. Leonard shot 80 percent (12 of 15) in the paint during the Finals while hitting 12 of his 19 3-pointers (57.9 percent.)

...

Leonard was also fifth among small forwards last year in PER (19.43), behind the same quartet of threes. And, again: none of them -- none -- was a Finals MVP at age 23. (Forget his regular season averages of 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game last year. No one is going to put up big numbers the way the Spurs rest their regulars during the season.)

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/d ... 366#nobody

That last part is absolutely absurd. So you essentially want the Spurs to pay Leonard based on three games and ignore what he did over the course of 82 games? OK.

SDC wrote:if you want to see the spurs destroy itself, you'd be for leonard getting the max from them.

carey wrote:

SDC wrote:if you want to see the spurs destroy itself, you'd be for leonard getting the max from them.

That won't destroy them. That's silly. Their 3 HoFers retiring on the other hand...

INFORMER wrote:David Aldrige champions giving Kawhi Leonard the max:

The Spurs are, partly, caught in trends not of their making. The Hornets set the standard for small forward pay in the years to come by giving restricted free agent Gordon Hayward of Utah a four-year max deal for $63 million this past summer (which the Jazz matched). But the Mavericks did Charlotte one better with their three-year, $45 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, a contract that his former team, the Rockets, declined to match. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances in both negotiations. There always are.

The bottom line is that while veteran threes like Trevor Ariza and Luol Deng got $8 million and $10 million per season, respectively, in new deals last summer, it now costs an NBA team at least $15 million per year to sign (or re-sign, or extend) a young, quality small forward.

And there is no argument from anyone credible that Leonard is anything but a young, high-quality small forward, perhaps the premier perimeter defender at his position. He has been the first line of the Spurs' defense against LeBron James in the last two Finals, and he has more than held his own against the game's best player. He rebounds, gets deflections and harasses opposing threes with long arms and incredible instincts.

Few threes can post or finish as efficiently, certainly due in part to those oven mitts masquerading as hands. Leonard shot 80 percent (12 of 15) in the paint during the Finals while hitting 12 of his 19 3-pointers (57.9 percent.)

...

Leonard was also fifth among small forwards last year in PER (19.43), behind the same quartet of threes. And, again: none of them -- none -- was a Finals MVP at age 23. (Forget his regular season averages of 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game last year. No one is going to put up big numbers the way the Spurs rest their regulars during the season.)

http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/d ... 366#nobody

That last part is absolutely absurd. So you essentially want the Spurs to pay Leonard based on three games and ignore what he did over the course of 82 games? OK.

Hey, Pacers gave Austin Croshere a big-money deal after his performance in the Finals, that worked out . . . oh, right.

Dan H wrote:Looks like just a bit over 7m, but that was big money back then . . . heh.