By Michael De Leon, Project Spurs
Next month, former San Antonio Spurs' forward Bruce Bowen will see his jersey lifted to the rafters of the AT&T Center rafters.
It is likely that a current player, also known for his defensive prowess, will be taking special notice.
The Spurs targeted Kawhi Leonard in the NBA Draft, and even made a very unpopular move in trading away fan-favorite George Hill to get their man.
Since Bowen's career came to a close at the end of the 2008-09 season, the Spurs have lacked a perimeter defender, and while they brought in Keith Bogans, Ime Udoka and several other potential replacements, none could hold a candle to Duncan and Spurs fans saw the transition to an offensive-minded team.
But the draft-day trade for Leonard was an aggressive move to try to eventually get back some of what they lost in Bowen.
The comparisons started coming in with solid defensive games against Houston's Kevin Martin and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant.
The Spurs loved Leonard’s freakish length when they traded for him on draft day. They also loved his massive hands, his explosive starts and sudden stops, his willingness to play D. The wide space between those long arms represented a metaphor for his potential.
What no one expected was Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich to put a name and face on that potential two weeks into the season. After Leonard shut down Houston’s Kevin Martin during the final, critical stretch of an overtime victory on Jan. 11, Pop recognized bits of Bruce Bowen, one of the great perimeter defenders in NBA history. “It’s huge for us,” Pop said in his post-game remarks, “to have a guy on the team that can do similar things to what Bruce did in the past.”
Now the comparisons are coming from Bowen himself, according to a recent column by Ken Rodriguez on Spurs.com.
Click HERE for the complete article at Project Spurs.
