For the past two offseasons, we have been looking at players coming to the NBA after playing at least as season overseas. With the lockout, we are going to have plenty of time on our hands. With that being said, I plan on doing scouting reports for each of the 30 first round picks from this past draft.
Past Editions: Kyrie Irving (#1) | Derrick Williams (#2) | Tristan Thompson (#4) | Jonas Valanciunas (#5) | Jan Vesely (#6)| Bismack Biyombo (#7) | Brandon Knight (#8) | Kemba Walker (#9) | Jimmer Fredette (#10) | Klay Thompson (#11) | Alec Burks (#12) | Markieff Morris (#13) | Marcus Morris (#14)
Out of nowhere, the Spurs made a trade for Kawhi Leonard, a player that they seemed to be very high on. So high, they were willing to trade back-up point guard, and Gregg Popovich favorite, George Hill to Indiana so they could acquire Leonard.
Strengths
Forcing Turnovers
If I were to pick out Leonard’s biggest strength, it would be his on ball defense. Maybe the biggest indicator of how good he is defensively is his ability to force turnovers when defending ball handlers, both in isolation situations and in the pick and roll. When in isolation situations, Leonard forced a turnover 23.8% of the time, holding opponents to 37.5% shootings. In pick and roll situations where he defended the ball handler, Leonard 23.7% of the time, giving up a PPP of just 0.658 (putting him in the top 35% of all college players). The first thing that you notice about Leonard on tape is his length. He has an incredibly long wingspan, 7’3″ according to DraftExpress, and that allows him to do things defensively that some other defenders can’t do:
With that length, he doesn’t have to reach in on dribble penetration, allowing him to stay in front and bother drives by being in the passing lanes (again with his long arms). However, when the offensive player does stick the ball in front of him, his hands are quick enough to go for the steal without drawing contact or committing a foul.
In pick and roll situations where he is defending the ball handler, Leonard’s length is really on display. Leonard’s length allows him to play the pick and roll in a pretty interesting way:
What Leonard does is he forces the ball handler into the screen, goes over it, and reaches in as the ball handler tries to penetrate. I don’t how many defenders can be successful doing this, especially at the NBA level, but Leonard makes it work because of his length. Almost every time that Leonard gets the steal in the pick and roll, the ball handler thinks he is clear but then at the last second Leonard gets his hand on the ball and knocks it away.
Defensive Rebounding
Last season, Kawhi Leonard was one of the best defensive rebounders in college basketball, not just for his position, but as a rebounder in general. When looking at the top players in terms of Defensive Rebounding Percentage, Leonard finished 13th among all college players, grabbing 26.6% of available defensive rebounds according to KenPom. Leonard isn’t the most fundamentally sound rebounder, but he uses his physical attributes well enough to allow him to get his hands on opponents’ misses:
In addition to his length, Leonard has freakishly large hands, and once he gets those hands on the basketball he is going to be the one coming out of a crowd with it. Leonard doesn’t hold his box-out as long as I would like to see someone hold their box-out, but he does do a good job of reading the basketball off the rim and putting himself in a position where he can get his hands on the ball off the rim and secure the rebound. If you are good enough reading the ball off of the rim, boxing out isn’t as important as it would be for someone who isn’t in the right position more times than not.
Weaknesses
Kawhi Leonard
We’ve seen how beneficial Leonard’s length is on the defensive end, but on the offensive end it is a bit of a hindrance, especially when it comes to shooting. According to Synergy Sports, Leonard shot just 31.1% on his jump shots and the biggest problem that I have seen with his shot in college was his length:
When Leonard is rising up and getting into his shooting motion, all that length needs to go somewhere. The result is Leonard’s form naturally taking the basketball way behind his head, and that is where he was releasing the basketball from. You don’t see too many shooters who are comfortable/consistant with a release point that is way behind his head. There is word that Leonard shooting form is revamped and his release point is now in front of him (I was looking for video of this, but unfortunately couldn’t find/acquire it), if this is in fact the case, that is a step in the right direction and it is a way for Leonard to turn this big weakness into a lesser one.
Running Pick And Roll
As of right now, with the lockout going on and with no Summer League or preseason games, it is hard to say how the San Antonio Spurs plan to use Leonard offensively. Will he be in the Bruce Bowen/Richard Jefferson mode, spotting up in the corner and waiting for the basketball to come to him or will he have ball handling responsibilities (sort of like George Hill)? If the Spurs plan on using Leonard as a ball handler, one of the things the he is going to have to work on is his decision making when handling the basketball in pick and roll situations. Leonard isn’t a great in the pick and roll, posting a PPP of 0.723, putting him in the bottom half of all NCAA players. The reason for the low PPP is the amount of turnovers that Leonard commits in these situations, giving the ball away 14.9% of the time:
The biggest reason for all of these turnovers is Leonard’s poor decision making. Almost every time that Leonard gets a ball screen, he is looking to score out of it. He’s not looking for the roll man, he’s not looking for a screener popping out around the elbow, he’s looking for his own offense. This mentality is great when there is a lane to drive through, but Leonard is looking to attack even when there is no lane. The problem here is the defense is able to get in position to take the charge or force the turnover.
Despite the obvious weaknesses, I do think that Kawhi Leonard has the potential to be a very good NBA player, especially considering the team that drafted him has a knack of drafting and developing players. Leonard’s physical tools put him at a great advantage on the defensive end, but it remains to be seen if he can overcome them on the offensive end and have an immediate impact with San Antonio
