Spurs Notebook: Can Kawhi Leonard Fill Tim Duncan's Leadership Void?

SAN ANTONIO—Tim Duncan showed up on the San Antonio Spurs' practice court Wednesday morning wearing official Spurs workout shorts, a gray Spurs T-shirt and his Adidas basketball shoes.

He even took a few shots.

No, he has not come out of retirement, but it seems that the greatest power forward in NBA history and head coach Gregg Popovich have entered into an understanding—Popovich calls it a verbal contract—that Duncan can have any sort of role with the team he would like, from helping Spurs players with individual skill development to participation in team meetings and coach meetings, maybe even some college or pro scouting.

“I haven’t made up a title yet,” Popovich said, “but his position is he is the coach of whatever he feels like. That’s what he does.”

On Wednesday, Duncan felt like showing up for the second day of training camp to observe and pull a few of the new big men aside to give them some pointers.

“He told me I need to talk more, communicate on defense,” said Dewayne Dedmon, the former Orlando Magic center the Spurs signed after he became an unrestricted free agent in July. “I’ll be doing that next time.”

If Duncan feels like spending enough time around the Spurs this season, he can mitigate the leadership void his retirement as an active player created, an important factor as the team moves into uncharted territory in its first season without him since 1996-97.

“I think we need to sit back and get a better understanding of how he wants to fit in and what works for his family, and then we'll figure it out from there,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. “But the gym feels better with him in it.”

Indeed, there was a happy buzz about Wednesday’s practice, but Duncan’s mere presence can’t make up for his leadership before, during and after games. It is up to others to assume the role he held through the bulk of his career.

His teammates of longest standing, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, are natural candidates to do so. Both understand the importance of their taking on more this season; both intend to be more aware of this responsibility.

“Myself and Manu will have an even bigger role leadership-wise to make sure we keep that same mentality in the locker room and to make sure that everybody only cares about winning,” Parker said. “So it's going to be a bigger role this year.”

But just as Duncan became the unquestioned captain of the Spurs when Hall of Fame center David Robinson retired after the 2002-03 season, Kawhi Leonard must now assume the heavy portion of leadership that goes with becoming the face of the franchise.

He has been the team’s best player since winning the 2014 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy and enters the 2016-17 season ranked No. 3 in Bleacher Report's list of the top 200 players in the NBA. The back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year also made the All-NBA First Team for the first time last season.

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You can quibble with including him among the NBA’s true superstars, but if he hasn’t yet met the criteria, it seems only a matter of time before he does. And superstars must be leaders.

Leonard wrapped his head around the responsibility in the weeks that followed Duncan’s retirement announcement. Asked what he worked on during the offseason, he went straight to the point: “Just becoming a leader. Just making sure I know what's going on out on the floor in every position. Just being ready to really get my mentality at leading this group this year, that's pretty much it.

“I learned a lot [from Duncan], just by him making me better. Just really listening to him, some things that Pop told me as well. I knew that he knew the game, and just seeing how he talked to players, or just guys like myself, and just being able to push for a title.”

Popovich has little doubt Leonard is ready for the burden.

“Every year, we’ve seen improvement in Kawhi’s communicative skills and coming to us and telling us what he wants and sometimes what he doesn’t want,” Popovich said. “And I think that as time goes on, his communication with teammates will be very, very valuable, and that will be part of his added responsibility for sure.”

Leonard’s leadership begins with his belief in the Spurs as a championship contender.

“Oh, for sure,” he said, “and it starts with me and LA [LaMarcus Aldridge] first. And if we win a championship, it's going to be up to us to lead the group. Our mindset is focused on winning and getting better every step. So definitely, we're a competitive group.”

The VP/Coach

Darren Abate/Associated Press

Though former New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams joined the Spurs in August as vice president of basketball operations, a front-office position, Popovich said he will also take an amorphous coaching role, though he won’t be on the bench during games.

“Monty won’t be on the bench because we’ve got a million guys there already,” Popovich said. “But he’ll be a full-fledged coach just like everybody else. He’s gone on our coaches' retreat with us, he’s going to be in every coaches meeting. He’s going to travel with us.

“He’s a full-fledged coach; there’s just no place to put him. We’ve got to find a seat for him. But to have his counsel here after all his experience and having played here for us is tremendous. I’m just thrilled to have him here. Class-act guy. Knows his stuff.”

Williams, who served last season as an assistant coach on Billy Donovan’s Oklahoma City Thunder staff, began his coaching career as an intern on Popovich’s staff during the 2004-05 season that produced the team’s third NBA championship.

The Revenge of Danny Green

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Starting guard Danny Green opened training camp on the sidelines after suffering a left quadriceps contusion during an open-gym session a few days before camp began. The injury isn’t serious and was described as one that would not have prevented Green from suiting up for a playoff game.

The 29-year-old did plenty of shooting—and running—after the first training camp session, working on a three-point shot that suffered a dramatic drop in accuracy last year. His long-range percentage dipped to 33.2 percent after four previous seasons where he shot over 40 percent, including 41.8 percent in 2014-15.

Argentina North

The Spurs began training camp with 20 players, completing make-good deals with veteran center Joel Anthony and Argentine point guard Nicolas Laprovittola. The addition of Laprovittola raised the number of Argentines in training camp to three, as he joined veteran Ginobili and fellow NBA rookie Patricio Garino.

Ginobili was happy to have two of his teammates from the 2016 Argentine Olympic team on the training camp roster. “It’s great,” Ginobili said. “Last time was with [Fabricio] Oberto in 2005. It’s been a while since I had the chance to welcome an Argentinean to the team. I appreciate both. We spent two months together. I knew Nico from before. It’s great to show them around to share, also, the Spurs and NBA experience with them. They are thrilled to be here, for sure.”

         

Follow Mike Monroe on Twitter at @MikeMonroe_SA.