Note: Second in a three-part series on Kawhi Leonard. See Spurs Nation next week for Part 3.

S purs general manager R.C. Buford did not leave team headquarters on draft night in 2011 thinking he had just facilitated what would go down as arguably the best trade in franchise history.

No, Buford’s prevailing emotion after the Spurs swapped reserve guard George Hill to Indiana for a package centering around San Diego State sophomore Kawhi Leonard was fear.

More specifically, Buford was “scared (expletive)” the Spurs had just damaged their treasured chemistry in the hopes of finding a lasting solution at small forward. Did they overreach, or was Leonard, as their pre-draft intelligence indicated, an ideal fit?

It was a question that would only be answered with time. In the immediate present, Buford had angry players to placate, and a distraught boss to reassure after head coach/team president Gregg Popovich reluctantly signed off on a transaction that cost him a player, and person, he adored.

“At the time, it was not a popular move with Tim (Duncan), Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili), because those guys had gone to battle with George and trusted George,” Buford said. “Pop was very emotional. I don’t think you can ever separate the emotion of those relationships. It was going to have an impact on our group.”

More Information Most important trades in franchise history 1. 1/30/74 — Spurs trade/buy George Gervin from the Virginia Squires for $228,000. 2. 12/23/81 — Spurs trade Ron Brewer, Reggie Johnson and cash to Cavaliers for Mike Mitchell and Roger Phegley. 3. 7/22/82 — Spurs trade Dave Corzine, Mark Olberding and cash to Chicago Bulls for Artis Gilmore. 4. 10/24/85 — Spurs trade George Gervin to Chicago Bulls for Dave Greenwood. 5. 06/22/87 — Spurs trade Artis Gilmore to the Bulls for 1988 second-round draft pick (Shelton Jones). 6. 05/28/89 — Spurs trade Greg Anderson, Alvin Robertson and a 1989 second-round pick (Frank Kornet) to Bucks for Terry Cummings and a 1990 second-round draft pick (Tony Massenburg). 7. 07/1/92 — Spurs trade Tracy Murray to Milwaukee Bucks for Dale Ellis 8. 10/01/93 — Spurs trade Sean Elliott, David Wood and 1996 first-round pick (Jerome Williams) to Detroit Pistons for Dennis Rodman, Isaiah Morris, a 1994 second-round draft pick (Antonio Lang) and a 1996 first-round draft pick (John Wallace). 9. 07/19/94 — Spurs trade Bill Curley and 1997 2nd round pick (Charles O’Bannon) to Pistons for Sean Elliot. 10. 01/21/99 — Spurs trade Chuck Person and 2000 first-round pick (Dalibor bagaric) to Bulls for Steve Kerr. 11. 02/24/05 — Spurs trade Malik Rose, 2005 first-round pick (David Lee) and a 2006 first-round pick (Mardy Collins) to the Knicks for Jamison Brewer and Nazr Mohammed. 12. 6/21/06 — Spurs trade Rasho Nesterovic to Toronto Raptors for Matt Bonner, Eric Williams and a 2009 second-round pick. 13. 07/12/07 — Spurs trade Louis Scola and Jackie Butler to the Houston Rockets for Vassilis Sapnoulis and a 2009 second-round draft pick (Nando De Colo). 14. 06/23/09 — Spurs trade Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen to the Milwaukee Bucks for Richard Jefferson and Kurt Thomas. 15. 6/23/11 — Spurs trade George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for draft rights to Kawhi Leonard, Davis Bertans and Erazem Lorbek. 16. 07/9/15 — Spurs trade Tiago Splitter to the Atlanta Hawks for Giorgos Printezis and a 2017 second-round draft pick. Nick Moyle

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The 2011 draft took place almost two months after the Spurs were stunned by Memphis in the first round, marking only the fourth time in NBA history a No. 1 seed had lost to a No. 8.

Buford described the state of the franchise after that upset in terms not often associated with an outfit known for its methodical bearing.

“The Spurs,” he said, “were desperate. (We) had to do things differently. We had people calling us about George, other players. The vultures were circling around our roster.”

Fueling that anxiety was the poor play of starting small forward Richard Jefferson.

His arrival from Milwaukee in 2009 for Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas was seen as yet another brilliant move by the Spurs to augment their aging core. But Jefferson never came close to fulfilling those hopes, sealing his fate in San Antonio with just 10 points over the final four games against Memphis.

With the Spurs having failed to secure the position before that, the Spurs were back in the market for a dependable “three” — preferably one who could defend and keep opponents honest from outside, a la Bowen — as draft day loomed.

As fortune would have it, an ideal young candidate from California was already on their radar.

George Felton, the Spurs’ director of college scouting, got enough positive input on Leonard from west coast scout Dave Fehte that he flew to San Diego for an evaluation of his own late in the 2010-11 season. Even with so many advances in technology and analytic tools, Felton insists he can’t make a complete assessment until he’s seen a player in person.

“You get a gut feeling about somebody,” he said. “You can’t really explain it. I did that with my wife. There was a gut feeling and we got married three months later.” (George and Brandy Felton are still together after 35 years.)

Felton stressed that his gut has failed him in plenty of other instances. And for all his potential, Leonard was hardly a can’t-miss prospect . There were concerns about his shooting mechanics and a rudimentary skill set.

Still, Felton loved what he saw on that initial visit, particularly Leonard’s practice habits. He was further impressed by a glowing report from San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher, whom he’s known for years from his own coaching days.

Fisher raved about Leonard’s massive hands — “The surest of anybody I coached since Chris Webber” — and tireless work ethic, the fact he did absolutely everything the coaches asked and more. But Fisher stressed one thing above all: “Everywhere Kawhi goes, he wins. And that’s not coincidence.”

As far as discipline went, Fisher told Felton his only issue with Leonard — if you could even call it that — was making sure he got out of the gym to make his classes on time.

“So I’m thinking, this is kind of unique,” Felton said. “A lot of guys (work), but I was convinced from talking to Coach Fisher that this kid really loves the game and he was going to do everything he can to be a good player.”

In other words, Leonard sounded like a prototypical Spur.

Draft prospects rise, fall

But they were hardly the only ones aboard the Leonard bandwagon. While Felton pegged Leonard as a top-10 pick, player agent Brian Elfus was hearing his client might even crack the top five as the pre-draft process swung into full gear.

Buford recalls the 2011 field as unusually difficult to assess. History bears that out with duds littering the lottery while difference-makers like Leonard, Jimmy Butler (30th, Chicago) and Chandler Parsons (38th, Houston) slid.

Kyrie Irving, already a three-time All-Star for Cleveland, has largely lived up to expectations as the top overall pick, and Klay Thompson (11th) played a starring role on Golden State’s first championship team in four decades.

But with the most career win shares and the highest Value Above Replacement Player of all 60 draftees, Leonard could very well be the best player from the 2011 draft. And the Spurs got him in the middle of the first round in exchange for a player who, for all his improvement, had started a total of 55 games in San Antonio.

“It’s luck (Leonard was available),” Felton said. “(Player evaluation) is not a science. You have to have a little luck.”

Said Buford: “Everybody’s an expert after the fact. The last thing we want to do is act like we’re smarter than everybody. (But) from a cultural standpoint, from a need standpoint, I’m not sure we could have found a better fit than Kawhi.”

Buford and Felton declined to speculate on why Leonard fell into the Spurs’ lap. But Elfus blamed a minor heel injury Leonard suffered just before the draft that forced him to cancel a workout.

“He couldn’t put a lot of pressure on it, and word leaked out (it was worse than it was),” Elfus said. “I had to scramble to get him seen on draft day by an expert and get the information out to every club. We did what we could do.”

The damage, however, was done.

As Leonard dropped out of the top 10 — Elfus expected him to go no later than Sacramento at No. 7 or Charlotte at No. 9 — he had no idea of the drama unfolding in San Antonio.

The Spurs already knew before the draft that Indiana was willing to take Hill in exchange for the 15th pick and additional prospects. Buford said he’d also had preliminary talks with teams above and below that slot.

The Spurs targeted as many as eight players with Indiana’s selection, depending on who was still available, with another batch after that at 29. Given that Danny Ferry, then the Spurs’ V.P. of basketball operations, was high on Butler as well, they might have ended up with a quality small forward regardless. But thanks to the unfounded injury concerns, their top choice was still on the board as No. 15 loomed.

At that point, Felton’s excitement gave way to nerves.

“All of a sudden … it might actually happen,” he said, “and you hope you’re right. (Leonard) might not pan out. That’s a realistic situation. Now it looks easy. But at the time, you had a player who had made so much progress, and he was a great person also. It took a lot, from (management’s) point, to say, we’re going to trade George Hill.”

That happened only after the intense collaboration and preparation that have become hallmarks of the Spurs organization.

Stealthy Spurs

Fehte and Felton pegged Leonard accurately. Player development coach Chip Engelland gave Buford his assurance he could tweak Leonard’s shooting stroke, without which the Spurs probably wouldn’t have made the move. Buford put the Spurs in position to pounce with his pre-draft groundwork.

And when it finally came time to do so, Buford said, Popovich “trusted the process” despite his misgivings. Or, as Popovich would later recall the scene, former assistant Mike Budenholzer prodded him into action.

“Bud was all over me for that one,” Popovich told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2013. “With a need at the three … we thought this would make some sense. (But) they are looking up at me and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this. Jesus, I don’t want to do this.’ (Budenholzer) made me pull the trigger, and it’s been a great trade for both teams.”

Back in New York City, Elfus’ first serious indication the Spurs wanted his client came after he was already theirs, just as Leonard was crossing the stage to meet NBA commissioner David Stern following his initial selection by Indiana.

“R.C. called me and I was shocked,” Elfus said. “They hadn’t reached out once. The only call I got was from R.C. that afternoon, asking about Kawhi’s health. They were doing video work for weeks. In Spurs fashion, they kept it stealth. They did their homework and they didn’t want it leaked.”

It’s a move Popovich still mourns, even after Leonard became the youngest Finals MVP since Magic Johnson and only the seventh perimeter player to win Defensive Player of the Year.

“For basketball reasons, we did it,” Popovich said. “But it was very, very difficult. The team was in shock. (Hill) is an incredible human being. I just fell in love with him overall.”

Buford was every bit as distraught on draft night, calling the trade “one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make.”

But for all that angst, the Spurs had acquired their most talented prospect in a decade, one who could fill their gaping hole at small forward once and for all while providing a much-needed infusion of youth.

Now it was time to turn Leonard — and the developmental coaches who would shape him — loose.

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