Batman
Well-Known Member
Leonard, to me, is a poor man's AK, in that he can't shoot or carry a team offensively, but is special defensively.
Been there, done that. No thanks. Matthews can impact the game defensively just as good, and is a much better shooter and fit for Utah.
That being said, I'm basing all this off Exum becoming an All-Star.
I guess what I'm saying in all my ramblings is that we have defense, elite defense right now: Gobert, Favors, Hayward, Exum. We need shooters/scoring. Leonard doesn't fit that. Matthews does. So, for the money, I'd rather not have Leonard.
Green, it appears you are understating Leonard as a shooter a bit. He's above the league average and his points per possession is well above the league average. And you are forgetting that Leonard is absolutely special on the defensive side of the ball. His defense on Bron and rebounding at the 4 was key to Spurs victory. Matthews is a good defender but Leonard is certainly a tier higher defensively. He's also much longer than Matthews.