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Never really gave the Spurs what they needed. What does he do that Tre doesn't already do, minus defense? Add major injury concerns. Add the Serbian 'lie about everything.' No thanks.
Never really gave the Spurs what they needed. What does he do that Tre doesn't already do, minus defense? Add major injury concerns. Add the Serbian 'lie about everything.' No thanks.
Drafting Topic at #8 would be criticized apocalyptically on draft night and then celebrated as the obvious pick we all saw coming at the time a few years down the road.
Drafting a guy who's reportedly going to sit out the entire season would suck, but feels very PATFO-y if last season is any indication.
Start the CIA Shadow Tank Rumors IMMEDIATELY
This is a “swing for the fences” prospect.
He has some of the highest upside in the draft but could also be a bust.
I believe his outside shot will come and it all depends on his health.
I’d be happy to take a chance on him at 8.
Yep, it would give the Tank Crew a free year to spout their non-sense 24/7 without reprieve, regardless of what PATFO or the players say about winning.
This sounds like it could have been written pre-draft about Nikola Jokic.
As much as I want to give up on this guy after the ACL news, he just totally seems like the type of dude who we look back on in 5 years and go, “How the did we pick _____ over Topic?”
He’s not my first choice at #8 but I wouldn’t be upset at all if we go that route.
I'm also not very athletic and am a pretty good passer.
Or maybe we look back in five years like "How the did Detroit pick Killian Hayes 7th?"
Did you play in Europe at age 17 and 18, and do well?
Lots of guys play well in Europe and suck in the NBA. Let's stop this crappy narrative. "Oh, he can't jump he must be Jokic."
The guy has two near-elite level skills: passing and rim pressure.
Problem is that the main skills a team with an established franchise player usually need - and the Spurs are no exception to this - are defense and outside shooting(spacing). There's a decent chance the shooting eventually comes around, but his weird-ass body makes me doubtful about him ever being even an average defensive player.
Not at 17 or 18 years old on the parent club. One of those pops up maybe very 3-4 years. Porzingod 2013, Luka 2018, Sengün 2021.
It's all Europe, it's all the same. ABA and the ACB league, same amirite?
If the Spurs trade back to the mid-teens I wouldn't hate taking a flier on him, otherwise hard pass tbh.
The two knee injuries, the disappointing measurements, the lies from his camp, the concern that he was propped up on his lower level squad, the concern he couldn't even play next year... seems like enough bad vibes, unfairly or not, for me to want to move on. It's not like picking an injured Embiid at #3 where you know he's a great player if he can regain his health. It's not even clear how well he translates to the NBA before all the other concerns piled up. That's if they still want him. I say move on.
I'm not about appeasing VW like teams do with LeBron, but VW wants to improve and not waste another season. Drafting Topic seems like wasting another season unless there are other moves in place.
I don't know. If they really like him, they should still consider trading back and not take him too high.
The real player we need to be talking about is Devin Carter.
Jokic is the exception not the rule. He's one in a million. and can't be used as a reference. pretty much every euro PG who's have been and will be described with the red flags Timvp mentioned about Topic failed or didn't even made the NBA for those reasons, even when they came in their prime.
Jokic passing game was already described as potentially elite pre-draft, better than Topic actually. and Jokic wasn't expected to have burst nor defend fastest, POA opponents. I'm still honestly puzzled about how people seem so high on a kid who's not very fast, not really athletic, play under the rim, can't really shoot and can't defend at all and whose playmaking skills are OK but, not elite either, just becomes he "dominated" in a minor european league in pro, wihtout any indication he would against real opposition, with just 2 Euroleague games where he's being transparent as data.
Not sure about the idea here? That he learns how to shoot, how to defend, and become Usain Bolt within spurs program? Again, not like his playmkaing skills are Doncic-esque or Rubio-esque. He lacks almost everything spurs need... Luka, TP, Jokic mentioned when talking about Topic, there might be a bit too much fantasy about the kid.
In the "Toronto pick watch" thread, a popular idea was that is was better to have the pick this year because in 2025 Spurs will have 2 to 4 other first round pick and don't need an extra one. If you pick Topic at #8, you're basically turning the Toronto pick into a 2025 pick (with one year less on a cheap rookie contract)...
Topic is really a talented player. There will be a point where a team will be ready to wait one year for that extra talent over other prospects. If I have to guess, it will be between #14 and #20. #8 is way too early for him.
European guards don't have any success in the NBA unless they're all-time great talents.
It's easier to make up for lack of athleticism when you're a skilled wing or big, especially if you're a great shooter.
Unathletic guards just aren't a thing in today's league unless they can shoot lights out.
Topic can't.
Once again, here's the list.
Foreign* guards in recent drafts:
2022: #7 Dyson Daniels
2021: #6 Josh Giddey
2020: #7 Killian Hayes
2018: #3 Luka Doncic
2017: #8 Frank Ntilikina
2015: #5 Mario Hezonja, #7 Emmanuel Mudiay
2014: #27 Bogdan Bogdanovic (came over in 2017 at 25 years old)
2013: #17 Dennis Schroeder
*Foreign as in NBA being their first American basketball experience, I'm not counting foreign players that went to college.
All those players did way more than Topic in their teenage years. And none of them since Bogdan made it. Except for the greatest European prospect ever.
Jokic played in the Serbian and Adriatic leagues, so yeah, it kinda is. If you’re 17/18 playing well and getting minutes (pretty rare) in a grown ass man’s league over across the pond, you’re something different.
Miniature SG. The end.
That's why I wrote about guards being different than forwards and bigs.
In FIBA basketball slow guards are still a think and it's way easier to make up for their lack of athleticism.
It's not a thing in the NBA. If they're not lights out from deep, that is.
I agree that Topic looks like he has generational passing and court vision talent, but not a single other facet of his game is even close to NBA level.
Yeah, he's got a good touch around the rim, but rim protection in ABA league is a joke.
He can't shoot at all. I don't care about FT percentages. While they obviously show he could become a good shooter, in his current state he's at least two years away.
He's disgustingly bad on defense. Hard to watch bad.
Miniature? He measured at 6'2.5 without shoes, with 6'9 wingspan and all of his athletic results were great.
While Topic theoretically has a higher ceiling, Carter is guaranteed to be a great defender and he can actually shoot.
I also wouldn't pick Carter because we have a shooting guard, but he's guaranteed to be a solid contributor in the league.
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