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That's a bold statement Pop. I don't entirely agree with him but I do think Kawhi is in the top 3 at the very least and number 2 on my list.

shouldve kept it to himself then saying it out loud

harden made his case in game 1, maybe he heard what pop said and was offended...so he went feasting in game 1

Considering that Pop is the coach of the US Olympic team, I see this as a bolder statement than if Billy Donovan said that same of Westbrook or if Mike D'Antoni said the same of Harden. I'd imagine one of Pop's responsibilities on the Olympic team would be to massage egos and to appear unbiased. It might be hard to accomplish these when you've announced that your pet player is the best player in the NBA.

Unless it's true.

It's often been said that the team with the best player tends to win the title. It's no guarantee though. But if Pop is right, then perhaps what Pop is subtly saying is that the Spurs are legitimate contenders. Perhaps he believes that the gap between the Warriors and the Spurs is smaller than what most think.

Do I believe that Kawhi is the best player? I'm starting to believe. I underestimated the Spurs 2016-2017 regular season record in part because I overestimated Duncan's importance (at age 40) and severely underestimated Kawhi's growth. At the start of the season, Kawhi put on his Kobe cape and raced through the early season until he hit exhaustion. Then Parker refused to pass to him while LMA publicly questioned Pop's early anointing of Kawhi as their best player. But Kawhi kept his focus while LMA lollygagged. Later in the year his endurance improved. Now he regularly owns both ends of the court in the last 4-5 minutes of a close game without a loss of energy or calmness. That's amazing personal development. I'm starting to believe. Why am I afraid to believe what I see regularly?

Purely out of curiosity do you think Kawhi could change position to SG moving forward?

Duncan retired, Ginobili might retire this year and with Parkers injury + age missing most, if not all of next season, would it make sense to move Leonard to the 2 spot and prepare the next generation spur championship teams with him at the 2 instead of the 3/4 ?
With the way Kawhi's skills have developed i think he could make that shift and be even more dominant offensively and defensively.

It should allow more roster construction flexibility moving forward by targeting more wings which, should help counter teams like the warriors/rockets, which seems to be the way the league is moving.

Whats your take ?

humbertomakris wrote:Purely out of curiosity do you think Kawhi could change position to SG moving forward?

Duncan retired, Ginobili might retire this year and with Parkers injury + age missing most, if not all of next season, would it make sense to move Leonard to the 2 spot and prepare the next generation spur championship teams with him at the 2 instead of the 3/4 ?
With the way Kawhi's skills have developed i think he could make that shift and be even more dominant offensively and defensively.

It should allow more roster construction flexibility moving forward by targeting more wings which, should help counter teams like the warriors/rockets, which seems to be the way the league is moving.

Whats your take ?

Honestly, the positions don't matter. We just need to play 3 wings together. Kawhi can be the 2 or 3 or 4 out of those wings.

inDe_eD wrote:

humbertomakris wrote:Purely out of curiosity do you think Kawhi could change position to SG moving forward?

Duncan retired, Ginobili might retire this year and with Parkers injury + age missing most, if not all of next season, would it make sense to move Leonard to the 2 spot and prepare the next generation spur championship teams with him at the 2 instead of the 3/4 ?
With the way Kawhi's skills have developed i think he could make that shift and be even more dominant offensively and defensively.

It should allow more roster construction flexibility moving forward by targeting more wings which, should help counter teams like the warriors/rockets, which seems to be the way the league is moving.

Whats your take ?

Honestly, the positions don't matter. We just need to play 3 wings together. Kawhi can be the 2 or 3 or 4 out of those wings.

yep, fair enough. interchange between wings

After watching Durant for a full season, I'd say he's the best player in the league. He can play and guard any position. His game has no weakness.m I'd put James, Leonard, and Curry very close to him. These players make those around them better too, unlike Hardin and Westbrook

Nolan wrote:

Watch on YouTube

That's a bold statement Pop. I don't entirely agree with him but I do think Kawhi is in the top 3 at the very least and number 2 on my list.

I totally agree with you, but Kawhi is in race for the 1st place, and I think that he Will earn the MVP at 2018.

Kawhi_205 wrote:

Nolan wrote:

Watch on YouTube

That's a bold statement Pop. I don't entirely agree with him but I do think Kawhi is in the top 3 at the very least and number 2 on my list.

I totally agree with you, but Kawhi is in race for the 1st place, and I think that he Will earn the MVP at 2018.

but they hv no chance to winning championship,cause kawhi got no help

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