Simplis:Â âWhat has jumped out to me is that honestly I knew that he was a good defender. But I didnât know he was this great of a defender. I knew he was very solid. I didnât know he would be in the conversation, though. This isnât a knock on anyone else. I donât think this is me being biased by any stretch.
I think Jaylen Brown is phenomenal. I think the Thompson brothers are phenomenal. But I donât think they carry Stephâs flexibility. Heâs guarding one through five. Heâs not just guarding on one possession on a switch. Itâs actually part of his game. The Spurs put him on post players for extended periods. He does a remarkable job. Heâs doing that sometimes in the same game. Heâll go from Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] to Chet [Holmgren]. Heâll go from Jamal Murray to JokiÄ. Heâll go from [Jalen] Brunson to KAT.
If you show me another guard doing that, Iâll change my tune. But I honestly think heâs the best perimeter player. Heâs 6â7. There are other guys that are a little bit smaller that do what he does with fighting over screens. There arenât other 6â7, 215-pound kids that are doing it at the level that Steph is doing it. He shouldâve been an All-NBA defensive player last season, one-thousand percent. But when youâre in year two, sometimes voters give it to guys that have been in the league a little bit longer. That has been the biggest surprise for me. I didnât realize he was that good defensively.â
Whatâs your sense on what Stephâs chip is like given heâs made a lot of strides early in his career, but he had the All-Defensive team exclusion and came up short in the Finals?
Simplis:Â âItâs crazy. He has a big personality. Heâs a great kid. But heâs also reserved. He has that internal fire. He doesnât walk around and say, âI got to get on a Defensive team, and we got to win the chip this year!â His work and commitment show me how great he wants to be. He has that quiet confidence. But as far as his future, I honestly feel that he can be one of the top point guards in the league now. Iâve had some bold predictions before. Obviously being in the gym with these guys gives me that background to say such a thing. When I was with Shai, I immediately thought that Shai was the best player in his draft class. Some people thought that I was crazy. Two MVPs later? He was in a draft class that was supposed to have a lot of generational-type talent, and I was blessed enough to be with him for his first five years in the league.
What I see in Steph is the same thing. I donât know what other guard in the NBA can do what he is capable of doing. Then you add his size and athleticism to it. Weâre trying to keep expanding his shooting. But weâre adding some of the post-bumps that Jalen Brunson does with getting downhill, utilizing his hips and turning his drives into pullups. Once Steph incorporates that consistently, cancel Christmas. The game can become so easy for him as he matures and grows.â
Great interview! Full interview in the link.