2011 NBA Draft: Kawhi Leonard Selected 15th To Pacers, Traded To Spurs

In a night of heavy trading in Thursday night's NBA Draft had San Diego State's Kawhi Leonard originally taken 15th overall to the Pacers and then was traded to the Spurs for George Hill. Leonard also went lower then the mock drafts that were floating around the internet prior to the draft.

The Spurs always have a good draft so it seems that they see something in Leonard enough to trade for him, and if Leonard turns out to be like prior Spurs draft picks he has the possibility to be an All-Star player within a few years.

SB Nation's San Antonio blog Pounding The Rock already has an analysis piece about Leonard:

Though draft sites have remarked that Kawhi will amount to a Shawn Marionor Luc Richard Mmah a Moute in respective best and worse case scenarios, I was more interested in what one scout said when he noted that Leonard is a player who seems to be innately aware of the fact that, despite the effort he puts into developing his offensive game, his greatest opportunity for success in the NBA are the strengths he possess on defense and in rebounding the ball. The player that was named when that observation was brought up: Dennis Rodman.

Dennis Rodman?

That is some high praise for Leonard to receive.

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