Kawhi Leonard

[hammystyle]

I agree. It was not racial but some people made it that way.

Either way its not a useful comment. The kid is not a thug. He's by all accounts a very driven young individual. He was an under-the radar prospect who went from very little fan fare as a high school junior, to Mr. Basketball as a high school senior. His improvements from then, to his freshman, and then to his sophomore years have been pretty dramatic.

So character, work ethic, off the court stuff, whatever. Those things are not an issue with Leonard. The issue is that it's still a long way to go for him skill-wise. An athletic wing in the Mountain West Conference who's projected as a lottery pick should shoot better than 44% from the field. That's abysmal. His shooting and offense in general need to get a whole lot better for his defense and rebounding to really make a difference on the court.

If anything, it's his character and work ethic that are boosting him up. The belief that he can get better.

 

[est.1999]

Plus with his father getting murdered he seems very motivated to making his dad proud and his work ethic is great.

 

[bajaden]

I agree. It was not racial but some people made it that way.

Let me be clear, I said bordering on racisim, because believe me, there are those that can take it that way. And we don't need anything that resembles racism in any form on this fourm. But regardless of that, Its an ignorant comment to make about a player that you admit knowing nothing about. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Siranthony]

Either way its not a useful comment. The kid is not a thug. He's by all accounts a very driven young individual. He was an under-the radar prospect who went from very little fan fare as a high school junior, to Mr. Basketball as a high school senior. His improvements from then, to his freshman, and then to his sophomore years have been pretty dramatic.

So character, work ethic, off the court stuff, whatever. Those things are not an issue with Leonard. The issue is that it's still a long way to go for him skill-wise. An athletic wing in the Mountain West Conference who's projected as a lottery pick should shoot better than 44% from the field. That's abysmal. His shooting and offense in general need to get a whole lot better for his defense and rebounding to really make a difference on the court.

If anything, it's his character and work ethic that are boosting him up. The belief that he can get better.

That's good to hear. A good work ethic goes a long way. Jerry Rice is a great example. If he really has that much potential and he good long term prospect then I hope he falls to us.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Let me be clear, I said bordering on racisim, because believe me, there are those that can take it that way. And we don't need anything that resembles racism in any form on this fourm. But regardless of that, Its an ignorant comment to make about a player that you admit knowing nothing about. I'll just leave it at that.

I have to chime in here, I can't resist a controversial topic, lol. Personally, I think folks are way too sensitive when it comes to matters of race. To the point that some seem to be looking for things to get offended over. I think people should be able to freely discuss racial issues, traits, stereotypes, etc. without having to worry about folks getting upset and associating it with racism. Racism, in my view, is bigotry, i.e., hating someone or discriminating against them only because of what their race happens to be. That's completely different from discussing racial issues, traits, stereotypes, etc., or even telling racial jokes or making racial comments. I wish people didn't so easily equate the latter with racism, because I don't believe that it is. I've often been mistaken for a racist myself because of my comparatively lax views on the subject.

 

[est.1999]

I mean, I'm a firm believer in stereotypes because for the most part stereotypes are spot on. And ofcourse stereotypes don't pertain to everyone in that particular race that's getting stereotyped.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I have to chime in here, I can't resist a controversial topic, lol. Personally, I think folks are way too sensitive when it comes to matters of race. To the point that some seem to be looking for things to get offended over. I think people should be able to freely discuss racial issues, traits, stereotypes, etc. without having to worry about folks getting upset and associating it with racism. Racism, in my view, is bigotry, i.e., hating someone or discriminating against them only because of what their race happens to be. That's completely different from discussing racial issues, traits, stereotypes, etc., or even telling racial jokes or making racial comments. I wish people didn't so easily equate the latter with racism, because I don't believe that it is. I've often been mistaken for a racist myself because of my comparatively lax views on the subject.

Making a judgement of someone's character based on a backwards stereotype after freely admitting that he didn't know a genuine thing about Leonard as a person or player doesn't fall under whatever leeway you have for race discussion. Between that comment and his thread proposing the trade of Tyreke to install Beno as the starter and to get an unproven PG, it's apparent he's just one of those with a few parts missing in the engine. Not worth backing up.

 

[Siranthony]

Making a judgement of someone's character based on a backwards stereotype after freely admitting that he didn't know a genuine thing about Leonard as a person or player doesn't fall under whatever leeway you have for race discussion. Between that comment and his thread proposing the trade of Tyreke to install Beno as the starter and to get an unproven PG, it's apparent he's just one of those with a few parts missing in the engine. Not worth backing up.

Your not alking about me are you? I hate to quote myself but this is what I said "There isn't much film on this guy. It's hard for me to get any impression of him other than he looks like a thug in those corn rows". Maybe it was a little loose with the toungue but I never said anything racist. Nor did I make any judgements other than the way he looks to me. What are you talking about with trading Tyreke? I have no idea what your talking about. If your talking about me then you and others on this board have issues. Take a pill.

 

[Siranthony]

I just went and looked at the thread that Anthony1 started. I didn't read everything but I can't imagine what he said that bothered some people so much. He's entitled to his opinion.

I've noticed from day one on this board that there's a group that hang here and jump on anyone that doesn't go with the status quo. Those people need to grow up. You don't own this board. I'm going to change my avatar to "Cornrow Thug" just to get a rise out of you.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Making a judgement of someone's character based on a backwards stereotype after freely admitting that he didn't know a genuine thing about Leonard as a person or player doesn't fall under whatever leeway you have for race discussion. Between that comment and his thread proposing the trade of Tyreke to install Beno as the starter and to get an unproven PG, it's apparent he's just one of those with a few parts missing in the engine. Not worth backing up.

I wasn't trying to back anyone up personally. Just putting my two cents in on a topic that comes up pretty frequently. I often see people take "thug" as a racial comment. It seems to me that the people taking it that way are the ones focused on race. To me, thug just means a certain type of person, you could be black, white, or any other color and be a thug. If there is any connection that people make between the word thug and black folks, it's likely because hip-hop and urban culture has been portraying blacks as thugs, gangsters, etc. for decades.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I wasn't trying to back anyone up personally. Just putting my two cents in on a topic that comes up pretty frequently. I often see people take "thug" as a racial comment. It seems to me that the people taking it that way are the ones focused on race. To me, thug just means a certain type of person, you could be black, white, or any other color and be a thug. If there is any connection that people make between the word thug and black folks, it's likely because hip-hop and urban culture has been portraying blacks as thugs, gangsters, etc. for decades.

I agree with you that getting past racial tension means becoming more comfortable with our skin, taking jokes, etc. But however much he wants to portray what he said as just a throwaway comment, making a character judgement based on something so shallow and superficial is still an incredibly backwards thing to do. Why not just refrain from making the comment at all, especially when you acknowledge that you don't know squat about the guy? Just say, "I don't know much about the guy, hard to find film on him. What does he bring to the table?" Not you, Rookie, but the original guy. You would think that as NBA fans, where we root for a player population as diverse as it is, we would be able to rise above such shallow judgement sooner than other areas of society. Look for merit before you make a character judgement. And if you can't find it, then ask.

Anyway, I don't mean to help push this thread further down the heavy-handed talk. It was just a little hard to stay out when the guy refused to see why people would think he was out of line. I'd rather we just get back to talking about what this guy can do for us on the court.

 

[est.1999]

Am I the only one who thinks Siranthony and Anthony1 are the same person??

 

[Siranthony]

I agree with you that getting past racial tension means becoming more comfortable with our skin, taking jokes, etc. But however much he wants to portray what he said as just a throwaway comment, making a character judgement based on something so shallow and superficial is still an incredibly backwards thing to do. Why not just refrain from making the comment at all, especially when you acknowledge that you don't know squat about the guy? Just say, "I don't know much about the guy, hard to find film on him. What does he bring to the table?" Not you, Rookie, but the original guy. You would think that as NBA fans, where we root for a player population as diverse as it is, we would be able to rise above such shallow judgement sooner than other areas of society. Look for merit before you make a character judgement. And if you can't find it, then ask.

Anyway, I don't mean to help push this thread further down the heavy-handed talk. It was just a little hard to stay out when the guy refused to see why people would think he was out of line. I'd rather we just get back to talking about what this guy can do for us on the court.

I don't like corn rows. Sue me you EMO.

 

[Siranthony]

Am I the only one who thinks most of the people who post here are 15 years old?

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I agree with you that getting past racial tension means becoming more comfortable with our skin, taking jokes, etc. But however much he wants to portray what he said as just a throwaway comment, making a character judgement based on something so shallow and superficial is still an incredibly backwards thing to do. Why not just refrain from making the comment at all, especially when you acknowledge that you don't know squat about the guy? Just say, "I don't know much about the guy, hard to find film on him. What does he bring to the table?" Not you, Rookie, but the original guy. You would think that as NBA fans, where we root for a player population as diverse as it is, we would be able to rise above such shallow judgement sooner than other areas of society. Look for merit before you make a character judgement. And if you can't find it, then ask.

Anyway, I don't mean to help push this thread further down the heavy-handed talk. It was just a little hard to stay out when the guy refused to see why people would think he was out of line. I'd rather we just get back to talking about what this guy can do for us on the court.

I agree that it was a misinformed and kind of dumb comment, i'm just saying that I don't think it's anything that warrants offense. Anyway, back on topic, he could do a lot for this team, thug or not, hahaha. I'm still not sure if I'd take him over Knight or Walker should one of them fall to 7, but it's no guarantee Leonard will be there at 7 either. If it happened that Knight and Leonard were there at 7, that would be a tough call!

 

[est.1999]

I don't like corn rows. Sue me you EMO.

Speaking of 15 year olds...

 

[Siranthony]

Speaking of 15 year olds...

Well thats what it seems like with some of these guys so I can dish back. It's all good though. Nothing personal.

 

[Siranthony]

I agree that it was a misinformed and kind of dumb comment, i'm just saying that I don't think it's anything that warrants offense. Anyway, back on topic, he could do a lot for this team, thug or not, hahaha. I'm still not sure if I'd take him over Knight or Walker should one of them fall to 7, but it's no guarantee Leonard will be there at 7 either. If it happened that Knight and Leonard were there at 7, that would be a tough call!

Thanks for being the sane one here. Not that I want you to be in trouble with the people here heh.

 

[Spike]

Am I the only one who thinks most of the people who post here are 15 years old?

It's like rain, on your wedding day.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

It's like rain, on your wedding day.

It's more like 10000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Thanks for being the sane one here. Not that I want you to be in trouble with the people here heh.

That's no worry. I've been in "trouble" with people here my share of times, hahaha.

 

[Glenn]

I would pick Leonard over any pg as I don't think there is a clear cut consensus about who would be the best and because I think we need a SF far more than a pg whether he be pure, impure, or simply a shooter. I want him to back up a vet as he seems to be a high energy kind of guy that occasionally a team needs to get a jump start after a slow start. It is a choice of a role player on a team that needs little else assuming good fortune in other areas of signings or tradings none of which will be known before the draft.

 

[Jaylee209]

None of those examples are ironic...more like...unfortunate.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

None of those examples are ironic...more like...unfortunate.

Did someone set the wayback machine for 1996?

 

[Siranthony]

It's more like 10000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

It's like a free ride, when you already paid. Who would'a figured?

 

[est.1999]

Isn't ironic, don't you think?

 

[Spike]

None of those examples are ironic...more like...unfortunate.

I think that in itself creates the irony found in the situation. Just sit back and swallow that jagged little pill.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Who would've of thought.. it figures.

 

[est.1999]

Traffic jam, when you're already late. It's like 10,000 spoons when you all you need is a knife. It's like drafting a point, when you already have Reke...

Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I don't like corn rows. Sue me you EMO.

Am I the only one who thinks most of the people who post here are 15 years old?

Hehe, good response, brainiac. Glad to to have someone as cultured and mature as yourself amongst us!

I agree that it was a misinformed and kind of dumb comment, i'm just saying that I don't think it's anything that warrants offense. Anyway, back on topic, he could do a lot for this team, thug or not, hahaha. I'm still not sure if I'd take him over Knight or Walker should one of them fall to 7, but it's no guarantee Leonard will be there at 7 either. If it happened that Knight and Leonard were there at 7, that would be a tough call!

I wouldn't mind Knight as a combo guard option, especially if he's still around and is BPA, but getting another PG isn't a priority in my eyes. That SF spot is looking awfully weak to me, so if we don't do the miracle trade with the Wolves for D. Williams, then Leonard's an intriguing piece. Chris Singleton is another SF prospect that I wouldn't mind trading down for either. They both have that same crucial flaw of suspect jumpers, so whichever of the two puts on a better show for Petrie on that front has to be a favorite. I'm just glad that the front office is being proactive and has interviewed all of the names above already.