No. 3 reason Stephen A. Smith is wrong about the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard: Terance Mann isn’t quite ready
Lastly, Stephen A. Smith completely whiffed on his Kawhi Leonard take because of his false assessment of LA Clippers’ second-year SG Terance Mann.
Mann is undoubtedly a very good player, and there’s so much to like about his game. Stephen A. Smith, however, used him as a primary reason as to why it may not be in the Clippers’ best interest to keep Kawhi.
While Mann is developing very nicely, and has stepped up at many timely spots for the Clips in the playoffs, he’s only started in 21 games in his whole career. He’s never averaged more than seven points per game in a season, and 1.6 assists per game.
That can be a little misleading, as his best basketball has come in the playoffs. However, Stephen A. is still misguided. At the time Stephen A. said this, Mann was averaging 7.9 points per game, 0.7 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game in this year’s postseason.
I like that Stephen A. is giving Terance Mann credit, because stats don’t tell the whole story. We know how good Terance Mann has shown the ability to be, and he’s certainly a quality player. The issue is that when replacing Leonard and wanting to bank on a younger player developing into a replacement for Kawhi’s presence, he has to be more proven that what Mann has proven so far.
It’s nothing against Mann, as he is an impact player for the Clips, but he’s not good enough to justify letting Leonard go elsewhere.
This whole take from Stephen A. was very confusing. I respect him, as very few have accomplished what he has in sports media. He was very incorrect on this one, however, as the Clippers will certainly like Kawhi back for his last year on his contract.