Tag: Gregg Popovich

Summer League Game 3: Joseph gets the keys, Spurs get L

LAS VEGAS — For two eye-opening games, second-year small forward Kawhi Leonard was the catalyst of the Spurs’ summer league team. Having seen enough out of him, the Spurs’ decision-makers freed Leonard from the rest of the week in Vegas and turned the keys over to the other member of his draft class.

Cory Joseph didn’t disappoint.

The second-year point guard finished with 22 points and six assists Wednesday, though the Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 86-80 at Cox Pavilion for their first summer league loss since 2009.

It is a pivotal summer for Joseph, who faces an Oct. 31 deadline for the Spurs to pick up his contract option for 2013-14. So far in Vegas he has helped himself, averaging 19.3 points  and five assists, while shooting 50 percent. More than that, Joseph has demonstrated a command of the Spurs’ offense he didn’t have as a 20-year-old rookie.

“We’re trying to put him in differenct situations and see how he deals with them,” summer league coach Jacque Vaughn said. “He’s done a pretty good job this week. It’s all about learning experience, game situations, clock management. It’s a lot going on, especially at the point guard position. This is really good for him.”

Asked what he’s liked most about Joseph’s effort in Vegas, Vaughn said: “Just seeing some maturity. It’s fun to see. We just want him to keep improving, and he’s doen that on both ends of the floor.”

Say this much for Joseph: He’s having a better inaugural summer league than George Hill had in 2008. And Hill turned out to be pretty good for the Spurs, and now the Indiana Pacers.

To be sure, Joseph has a long way to go before he’s ready to help in the NBA, and with Patrick Mills and Nando de Colo already on board for next season, the Spurs can afford to be patient.

One good week in Vegas is not going to cement Joseph into the Spurs’ long-term plans, but he’s not hurting himself with a solid performance so far.

With Leonard back home in San Diego, Joseph will have even greater opportunity to prove himself in the Spurs’ final two games here.

“Those two are definitely our priorities this summer,” Vaughn said. “Kawhi did a good job while he was here. Cory gets a chance to continue to do a good job. We’re looking forward to the games going forward.”

Other thoughts from the Spurs’ loss to the Clippers:

* Vaughn passed the buck when asked to discuss the decision to set Leonard loose. “I’m the head coach of the Spurs’ summer-league team. Someone else is the head coach of the Spurs,” Vaughn said. Of the call to remove Vaughn of his best player, the Spurs assistant coach joked, “Maybe my head was getting big from my 2-0 start.”

The Spurs insist Leonard’s removal from summer league was pre-planned, and not related to the sore left wrist he suffered in the Spurs’ victory Monday.

* Newly resigned shooting guard Danny Green was in attendance, and spent a few minutes laughing and talking with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich in the bleachers. Green, who inked a three-year, $12 million contract earlier this month, said the new deal was “a big stress reliever.” He added he was glad Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford decided to bring back the bulk of last year’s roster. “I think it shows the faith they have in us,” Green said. “And they’re a lot smarter than I am.”

* None of the Spurs’ big man prospects are playing well enough to force the Spurs into using their 15th roster spot on them. Eric Dawson, a Sam Houston High grad, has been the most solid, having posted a pair of double-doubles and has the added advantage of knowing the Spurs system. Ryan Richards, a second-round pick in 2010, has shown little in his limited engagement but a propensity to foul. Alexis Ajinca, who has 77 games of NBA experience on his resume, is tall (7-foot-2) but little else. At this point, the best any of them should probably hope for is a training camp invite in October.

Spurs turn keys over to Leonard this summer

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs is doing his best to expand his game during the Las Vegas summer league. TOM REEL / EXPRESS-NEWS

LAS VEGAS — For Kawhi Leonard, it didn’t take long for the memories to come flooding back Tuesday.

Out the locker-room door, past the framed photos of UNLV greats, hang a right down the tunnel, and suddenly he was back on the floor at Thomas Mack Arena, reliving a moment from his past.

As an All-American at San Diego State, Leonard played in Las Vegas on numerous occasions, most recently in the Mountain West conference tournament his Aztecs won in 2011.

“Walking through the tunnel and looking at those pictures brought some memories back,” said Leonard, now a second-year small forward and the undisputed leader of the Spurs’ summer-league team.

Then, Leonard did something seldom seen during his All-Rookie first season in the NBA.

He smiled.

The goal for Leonard this week has been to channel his inner Aztec. So far, so good.

Handed the reins of the Spurs’ summer squad and instructed to be The Man, the newly turned 21-year-old has responded by averaging 25 points in the first two games.

Leonard had 27 in Tuesday’s 92-81 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, using an array of scoring moves last seen at San Diego State.

“This is the time to test drive a little bit,” summer league coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Get him out there and put him in positions he normally doesn’t get a chance to be in, and see if we can see a little growth.”

That means a steady diet of pick-and-rolls, with Leonard as the trigger man. It means pulling up and shooting off screens. Occasionally over the past two games, Vaughn has called Leonard’s number in the block, with post-ups and pin-downs.

None of that happened in the regular season, when Leonard found his way to 7.9 points per game without the Spurs ever calling a play for him.

“It’s a big difference,” Leonard said. “I was standing up, spotting up (during the season). I’m learning to shoot off the dribble, coming off ball screens. I’m trying to get my ball handling better. Also, I’ve got to learn how to pass. I’ve been working on all that.”

It is obvious that Leonard’s growth has been the Spurs’ pet project in Las Vegas. On more than one occasion, coach Gregg Popovich — usually content to sit back and observe summer league proceedings — could be seen engaged in a lengthy one-on-one with Leonard.

“We want him to rebound it and push it up the floor himself,” Popovich said. “We want to get it thrown ahead to him and have him go attack the rim. We want to put him in pick-and-rolls and let him make decisions, so he expands his game.

“He’s going to be a good one. We don’t want him to just be a spot-up shooter in the corner.”

That’s good to hear, Leonard said.

“I don’t want to be a stand-in-the-corner guy my whole career,” he added. “I’d like to take control of the game, and be a focal point to help my team win.”

During one breathless stretch of the first half Tuesday, Leonard unpacked his entire bag of tricks.

He took his man off the dribble, from midcourt line to rim. He grabbed a rebound at one end and took the ball 90 feet for a finger roll at the other.

When Leonard crossed over a pick late in the first half and rose to drill a contested 3-pointer near the top of the arc, even his summer-league teammates were impressed.

“He kind of showed everybody a little bit of what he can do,” guard James Anderson said.

There’s no telling how many of these new skills Leonard might bring with him back to San Antonio.

Certainly, he’ll see fewer chances to handle the ball once he rejoins a backcourt with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in it.

For now, Leonard is enjoying his time in Vegas, where the good memories run deep and he is once again the go-to guy.

By pulling a page from his past, Leonard is preparing for his future.

No amnesty for Spurs: The Spurs have opted not to exercise their so-called “amnesty” provision for this season.

Per the latest collective bargaining agreement of last December, teams are allowed to waive one player who was on their roster last summer, without his salary counting against the cap.

Teams that did not use it for last season faced a Tuesday deadline to trigger it for 2012-13. Those teams, like the Spurs, who have yet to use the amnesty provision can roll it over throughout the life of the CBA.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

Olympic hoops loaded with Spurs

Even without any Spurs suiting up for Team USA at the Olympics — although Tim “FIBA Sucks” Duncan would certainly look good in red, white and blue, even at his advanced age — there’s still plenty of reasons for San Antonio fans to keep a close eye on the competition.

No fewer than six Spurs will be taking part: Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and newcomer Nando De Colo with France; Manu Ginobili with Argentina; Tiago Splitter with Brazil; and Patty Mills with Australia. Whether or not some of them should be there is a moot point — even with concerns about age and injuries, players like Parker and Ginobili would have had to be forcibly barred from participating.

So Spurs fans have no choice but to enjoy the spectacle and mull the same debate their foreign legion has posed in previous Olympics: Club or country? If it’s the former, here’s a look at each team’s schedule with a brief overview. Must-see viewing is France/Argentina on Tuesday, pitting Parker and Ginobili against one another after so many years together in the NBA.

(For those not familiar with the format, the 12 teams are split into two groups of six, with the top four teams advancing to the tournament stage after playing each other once. The gold medal game is Aug. 12.)

Group A

Argentina (Lithuania, Sunday; France, Tuesday; Tunisia, Thursday; Nigeria, Saturday; USA, Aug. 8): If the USA had the Dream Team, Argentina has the so-called “Golden Generation” of Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino, who helped Argentina win the gold medal in 2004 and become the first team to beat Team USA with a full NBA roster at the 2002 World Championships. It’s an old group — average age, 33 — but it came as no surprise that they managed to give U.S. another challenge in their recent exhibition meeting.

France (USA, Sunday; Argentina, Tuesday; Lithuania, Thursday; Tunisia, Saturday; Nigeria, Aug. 8): With Parker and Diaw having long established themselves, the Olympics will afford most Spurs fans with their first real look at the team’s latest addition — swingman Nando De Colo, a fixture with Les Blues since 2009. Especially interesting will be how he matches up with his future NBA contemporaries in Sunday’s opener against Team USA. You can also guarantee Gregg Popovich, expected to be in attendance, will be keeping a close eye on Parker post eye injury.

Group B

Brazil (Australia, Sunday; Great Britain, Tuesday; Russia, Thursday; China, Saturday; Spain, Aug. 8): Unlike France and Argentina, Brazil’s lone Spurs representative, Splitter, is more role player than workhorse. He still fills a valuable role, teaming with Nene and Anderson Verejao to form a frontcourt rotation that worries even the mighty Americans. Combined with NBA veteran Leandro Barbosa and point guard Marcelinho Huertas, and coached by Argentine legend Ruben Magnano, it’s easy to see why some pick Brazil as a serious medal candidate.

Australia (Brazil, Sunday; Spain, Tuesday; China, Thursday; Great Britain, Saturday; Russia, Aug. 8): The same cannot be said for the Boomers, who could have a tough time getting out of pool play. While he’s never been a star at the NBA level, Mills has been a mainstay of the national team since he became one of its youngest members in 2007. He averaged 14 points to lead the Boomers at the 08 Olympics. Observant Spurs fans will also recognize Australia’s head coach , a long-time assistant and front office member.