San Antonio Spurs Would Be Fine Without Kawhi Leonard
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The San Antonio Spurs received some backlash for not signing Kawhi Leonard to a maximum contract earlier in the season. While it may have been a smart business move, it could rub some players the wrong way and generate ideas of looking elsewhere. Leonard may not be this type of player, but could the Spurs handle losing Leonard in a worst case scenario?
Leonard isn’t showing any signs of leaving, even though he plans on exploring his options in the offseason. If he did decide to take less money and go somewhere else, the Spurs have too many resources to struggle in the absence of a player like Leonard.
They would obviously have the money to get more than just a replacement for Leonard and Tim Duncan (if necessary). The 2015 offseason is going to be filled with unseen potential that could be cultivated into another championship in San Antonio. When the Spurs picked up Boris Diaw, he was seen as an overweight player with not much upside. The Spurs turned Diaw into a walking mismatch who many teams have trouble with.
Even if the Spurs couldn’t sign a player of equal or high potential to Leonard, the coaching genius of Gregg Popovich is capable of using a slightly less gifted version of Leonard to get the job done. It’s going to be far more difficult to replace Duncan, whenever that day comes.
The Spurs are a forward thinking organization that has a track record for gold mine decision-making. What may appear off kilter and outside of the box to others, almost translates as common sense to the front office of San Antonio.
The option not to sign Leonard to an extension was rooted in an effort to save money for the possibility of having to find replacements for Duncan, assuming he retires after this season. It was the best possible move to make because they have the leverage either way. They will be great with Leonard, and they’ll be great (richer as well) without him.
Winston Harris is a San Antonio sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @winstonharris34. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.
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