San Antonio Spurs trade George Hill; Draft Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph: NBA Update
After crashing out from the first round of the 2011 playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker had a frank and a rather controversial interview with a French magazine in which he said that the veteran Spurs might have
lost chance to win a championship.
Parker had said during the interview, “At the start of the season I said this was our last chance. Tim (Duncan) and Gino (Manu Ginobili) are getting old. It’s going to be tough to regenerate ourselves. We will always have a good
team but we can no longer say that we’re playing for a championship.”
The San Antonio Spurs, especially their coach Gregg Popovich was aghast and his proclamations. However, deep inside, every Spurs fan and their front office knows that Parker was right. In fact he was spot on.
The Spurs have realised that the side needs some young blood if they are to maintain their status as a Western Conference elite. And on Thursday, they took the first step in this direction when they struck a last minute pre-draft
deal, which involved moving their backup point guard George Hill to the Indiana Pacers and in exchange, they got the rights of Indiana’s first-round picks.
The Spurs landed forward Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State with Indiana’s 15th pick and then picked up Canadian basketball player Cory Joseph, who is a Texas native with their No. 29. The Spurs trade was expected, but
the end product has left all a bit astonished. According to many sources, it was Parker not his backup, who was on the trade radar. However, things might have changed at the last minute and it left Hill disappointed: “Very emotional moment right now!!! But
just want to Thank Everyone for all the Support. SA has been great to me and will never forget it!!”
The Spurs have a history of discovering diamonds from deep down the ocean in the drafts. They picked up Parker with 28th overall pick, Manu Ginobili at 57th, both of whom are part of San Antonio’s own version
of Big Three.
They again seem to be pulling off the same trick. Leonard, although at number 15, is one of the most talented forwards in this year’s draft. Before landing into the NBA draft he has won several awards, including the Most Valuable
Player of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
Because of his outstanding performance, Leonard was selected in the first MWC team, where he led the side in rebounds. In the previous season, Leonard scored at an average of 15.5 points and clutched 10.6 rebounds.
Joseph on the other hand tallied 10.4 points and grasped 3.6 rebounds in his previous collegiate basketball season. The freshman will most probably become the back up of the veteran Tony Parker.
With the inclusion of fresh talent, the Spurs are now looking to form a support cast around their Big 3 – perhaps a first step towards rebuilding.
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