Larry Bird felt Kawhi Leonard would be ‘hell of a player’ before Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs draft trade
Leonard was technically drafted by the Pacers
Famously, the Indiana Pacers traded away the draft pick that became Kawhi Leonard to acquire guard George Hill in 2011.
The Pacers held the 15th overall pick in that draft. They had just wrapped up a 37-45 season in 2010-11 — that campaign ended with a five-game series loss in the first round, and to-be star Paul George played his first 61 career games.
Indiana hired Frank Vogel as their head coach during that 2010-11 campaign, and their playoff berth was the first for the franchise since 2006. It was something they wanted to build off of. So then-President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird made a now-renowned move.
He traded the 15th and 42nd overall selections in the 2011 NBA Draft, along with the rights to Erazem Lorbek, to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill. Hill, an Indianapolis native, was well regarded at the time.
He finished second in Most Improved Player voting in 2009-10 and was eighth in Sixth Man of the Year the following season. He averaged 12.4 points and 2.9 assists per game as a 23-year old.
Bird wanted the IUPUI product and got him, and Hill has one of the best seasons by a point guard in Pacers history. But what makes that trade so well known is what Indiana sent away.
That 15th overall pick went on to be Kawhi Leonard, a six-time All-NBA wing who earned a championship ring with both the Spurs and Toronto Raptors. He’s a stud and still playing at a high level to this day — Leonard was named to the All-NBA Second Team this past season.
The second-round pick, number 42 overall, moved in that trade had some value as well.
San Antonio got Davis Bertans with that selection, and while it took a few years for the Latvian forward to come to the NBA, Bertans had eight years of service in the association and had a 15+ points per game season with the Washington Wizards. Lorbek never reached the NBA.
“I’d been after George Hill for three years,” Bird said, per an old Phil Richards piece in the Indianapolis Star. “We needed a guy that was cool, calm, wouldn’t get flustered, and if he’s got something to say, he would say it directly to the guy under his breath and just run the offense and knock down open shots.”
Hill was a great player for the Pacers and fit in well next to George, Roy Hibbert, David West, and Lance Stephenson. But it’s easy for many to wonder what that team could have looked like with Leonard on the roster.
Indiana may have picked Leonard for the Spurs and had different plans themself had they not made that trade. Bird did chime in on Leonard’s ability, per Richards.
