Emoni Bates ...... if available

[lebomb]

Would you take him in the 2nd round? He didnt quite live up to expectations in college, but he is long, a decent shooter, and low risk. How bout a 7'-4" and 6'-10" on the floor at the same time? :claw

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

His only value as a player is as a primary scorer with the ball in his hands but he’s not good enough at it at the college level, let alone at NBA level. Off the ball he doesn’t move and doesn’t care on offense and defense.

Hard pass.

[exstatic]

Absolute trash.

One of the very few times you will ever see a high RSCI guy get a hard re-evaluation in college. Most of the time, they are just allowed to coast on their HS reputation.

[rankingtear]

This is the guy with known off court issues. FO won't touch him.

[mo7888]

I'd pass unless we get a lower 2nd rd pick and took him on a 2way. There are better options in our current range.

[lebomb]

Well, I read he was very impressive at the draft combine. Could have had a rough stretch at Memphis and could be a steal at 33 or 44???

[Mr. Body]

No college player has ever made it in the NBA with a BPM under 1.0. His is negative. He's a complete disaster on defense. He scores because he shoots a lot. His ast/to and ast/usage are really bad. The only possible good he has is as a situational scorer, like a tall guy you stick on the wing on kickouts in late game situations and then yank on defense, but he probably can't even scale down that well because his efficiency is so poor. Basically, instead of shooting 16 shots a game, can he, like, hit two out of three in specific situations? Even if he could, why bother?

[wildbill2u]

My research shows he has created a lot of different viewpoints among scouts because of some physical assets and his combine workouts. Rated all the way from first rounder to the 50s. I think our Spurs scouting team is pretty good and will know what to do with him if becomes available in later positions. (After all, all the signs are that they have done their due diligence and will take Wemby #1. Great scouting, eh?)

[Mr. Body]

My research shows he has created a lot of different viewpoints among scouts because of some physical assets and his combine workouts. Rated all the way from first rounder to the 50s. I think our Spurs scouting team is pretty good and will know what to do with him if becomes available in later positions. (After all, all the signs are that they have done their due diligence and will take Wemby #1. Great scouting, eh?)

Who has him rated in the first round?

[BatManu20]

Bates sucks. Low IQ, poor defender, and a chucker on offense. Hard pass.

[BacktoBasics]

Well I’ll be the other guy here. I think he’s easily worth a 2nd. He showed a lot of resilience and resolve by removing himself from a bad spot and worked pretty hard to improve himself and his game.

[Ariel]

Well I’ll be the other guy here. I think he’s easily worth a 2nd. He showed a lot of resilience and resolve by removing himself from a bad spot and worked pretty hard to improve himself and his game.
The talent is there, but I think he's got a defect that is almost impossible to get around, which is a deeply ingrained bad attitude: he's entitled and plays for himself, taking pride in doing things the difficult, wrong way just to prove he can do it regardless... which he can, at a low efficiency rate that comes at the expense of the team. Instead of making an honest self assessment and working on what his doubters see wrong, he doubles down and goes for more. That kind of mindset is almost impossible to revert, and is the antithesis of what the Spurs are looking for in a player. It's a shame, because if he could lower his head and be willing to accept a smaller, team oriented role, I think he could make it.

[td4mvp2k]

agree talent plus size is there would def be worth a shot with that last pick if he can reform. would be a steal if he turned into a good rotation piece.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If his first name was Master I’d want the Spurs to draft him just for the laughs I’d have every time I saw that name.

As it is, no thanks.

[SequSpur]

oh boy.....

[lebomb]

Would you take a chance on him at #44?

[Stump]

Would you take a chance on him at #44?
Nope. I don't even think I'd invite him to training camp as an undrafted prospect. His attitude is radioactive and his focus on being an alpha scorer is so singular that he never bothered to learn how to play basketball. He's closer to an anti-Spur than a Spur.

[mo7888]

Would you take a chance on him at #44?

Is he open to a 2-way contract? I think that's the only way we'd possibly take anybody at 44.

[BacktoBasics]

I don’t think he’s radioactive or a bad prospect. This is the exact kind of second round swing we should take.

[exstatic]

I don’t think he’s radioactive or a bad prospect. This is the exact kind of second round swing we should take.

He’s a terrible prospect, a high usage, low efficiency chucker who literally does nothing else, including any shred of defense. With 31 picks in the next 7 drafts, we don’t need garbage like this gumming up the works.

[lebomb]

I don’t think he’s radioactive or a bad prospect. This is the exact kind of second round swing we should take.

I was thinking this as well. He can drop a lot of points quickly, and at #44 what do you have to lose to pick up some quick scoring in certain situations.

*shrugs*

[Excessive Egotist]

I don't expect much of a career from him, but he could become an end of bench volume three point shooter. I don't think he's actually been coached ever. Nor do I think he's ever wanted to be coached. Until he changes, coaching can't change him. But I wouldn't be upset if we gave him a Two-Way (if he is undrafted). With 44, there are other players I'd rather see Spurs pick. And I'd prefer to turn 44 into future SRP(s) (2028 or later, ideally) rather than drafting Bates.

[ambchang]

He has some of the worst stats in terms of efficiency and defence. He doesn’t have any decent wingspan and he’s ridiculously underweight.

[tonight...you]

Nope. I don't even think I'd invite him to training camp as an undrafted prospect. His attitude is radioactive and his focus on being an alpha scorer is so singular that he never bothered to learn how to play basketball. He's closer to an anti-Spur than a Spur.
He's like an And-1 player.
Whatever happened to those guys?
Oh...

[lebomb]

Per NBAdraftroom 2nd round pick predictions:


44. Spurs (from Raptors Emoni Bates SF – Eastern Michigan – HT: 6-8 1/4 – WT: 179 – WING: 6-9 – So – The former top prospect has had a tough fall from grace but the potential is still there. He scored the ball well in his second college season and got some of his draft buzz back. Quincy Lewis

[Russ]

I favor Terquavion Smith (guard NC State) at 33 and definitely at 44.

He passes the eyeball test -- athletic, explosive and quick. He has shooting range, can pass, has a high motor, and makes a difference winningwise. He’s also fun to watch (for what it's worth). His shooting stroke is quick, efficient, effortless.

He took his NC State team from 11-21 his freshman year to 23-12 his sophomore year, as the unquestioned leader of that team. Not a coach-killer like so many prospects, quite the opposite. He had a nice Combine performance last year but thought he had unfinished business in college.

Legitimate concerns exist. Statistics. High usage rate, he’s seen as inefficient. But that same high usage rate was probably a major factor in his team’s success. Taking a team from 11-21 to 23-12 with such a high usage rate – that’s gotta reflect on him and winning is a statistic, too. I’ll take it.

He has three green numbers (albeit a bunch of red ones) on Tankathon -- points, assists, and assist/turnover ratio. Those are pretty good categories to excel in. He’s primarily known as a scorer but also averaged over four assists/game, more than most anyone in the 1st round except Cason Wallace at Kentucky and the Thompson twins and Scoot Henderson in the G League. (And he did what he did against the North Carolinas and Dukes in the intensity of the ACC not in a mid-major conference or the G League like a lot of these prospects.)

No one here is talking about this guy much. I think the Spurs may take him – just a gut level feel -- and, unless some real talents fall, they definitely should. The last two guys that were this intriguing and had such a real chance to slip to where the Spurs were drafting were Dejuonte Murray and Keldon Johnson. Miraculously enough, the Spurs got both. Highly unlikely they’ll get this guy but I hope they do. He’s a bargain-basement winner; that’s what they’re gonna be looking for these next couple of years.

You can check out the video below: highlight videos can be deceptive, especially when they focus on outside shooting. And that’s what most of this guy’s videos are. But I watched him in real time on NBATV at the combine and was kinda blown away. This video is more representative of what he can do:

dXa4pURAS7I

I think he would be very nice at 33 and a no-brainer if he somehow lasts to 44.

[BacktoBasics]

I haven’t seen him play but reading the stat sheet he’s putting up respectable numbers. It’ll be interesting to see if he can play his way into the league.

[lebomb]

I think we should have grabbed him at #33 as I suggested early on. I think Bates is gonna shock a lot of folks.

"Bates recorded 21 points (7-11 FG, 5-8 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one assist in 27 minutes during Monday's 100-77 Summer League win over the Grizzlies

Bates is one of Cleveland's two-way players for the 2023-24 season and should continue to feature heavily in their Summer League squad. He flashed impressive efficiency and defensive versatility in Monday's win."

[lebomb]

So no one wants to talk about this.................. :flipoff

[R. DeMurre]

One of the funniest lines in scouting is "he flashed potential." That's literally true of every player in every draft. You're not one of the 60 picks in the yearly draft of the greatest basketball league on the planet if you haven't somehow in some way flashed potential. It's like a politician saying "I believe in the children, and I believe in their futures."

[R. DeMurre]

"I don't believe in the big picture-- I'm more of a small sample anecdotal evidence guy."

[Mr. Body]

I'm interested in seeing what happens. He'll get hunted mercilessly on defense but Cleveland is a team that can perhaps hide him for periods of time due to their other defenders.

[lebomb]

Emoni helped Cleveland win the SL Championship, and in doing so showed he was worth the risk of taking in the second round. I think the Spurs should have snagged him. Low risk, high reward if he worked out. You could always dump or trade him if he became a problem. JMHO

[exstatic]

Emoni helped Cleveland win the SL Championship, and in doing so showed he was worth the risk of taking in the second round. I think the Spurs should have snagged him. Low risk, high reward if he worked out. You could always dump or trade him if he became a problem. JMHO

We don’t need questionable attitude players as projects. Hell, as draft assets go, we could probably get by building the team with just with our first round picks and swaps, and none of our seconds.

Emoni is a no defense, chucking black hole, pretty much everything Spurs players aren’t.

[Mr. Body]

Emoni helped Cleveland win the SL Championship, and in doing so showed he was worth the risk of taking in the second round. I think the Spurs should have snagged him. Low risk, high reward if he worked out. You could always dump or trade him if he became a problem. JMHO

Where exactly on this team does he fit? We have a bad roster crunch already. What he does well Julian Champagnie does better.

[BacktoBasics]

We don’t need questionable attitude players as projects. Hell, as draft assets go, we could probably get by building the team with just with our first round picks and swaps, and none of our seconds.

Emoni is a no defense, chucking black hole, pretty much everything Spurs players aren’t.

He wasn't a black hole in the two summer league games I watched. He played good team ball and had respectable shot selection. I wouldn't characterize him as having no defense in those games either. Time will tell but he looked good.


Where exactly on this team does he fit? We have a bad roster crunch already. What he does well Julian Champagnie does better.

He definitely would have been a long term project.

[lebomb]

As BacktoBasics said, Emoni looked good in the games I saw. He also passed shots up and dished the ball to his teammates often. I didnt see a bad attitude, I actually saw a quiet Emoni, just puttin in work. When Emoni gets hot, he is like a microwave. Shots fall left and right. This is something I can see the Spurs using off of the bench. Anyhow...........

[exstatic]

We are not the ring era spurs, with only late picks and few of them. We have no need for reclamation projects. If he's not better than Champagnie, and he isn't, he's of no use to the Spurs and would be cut, sooner than later.

[Mr. Body]

I agree that his attitude and approach seem to be pretty great. I don't see how an inefficient player who doesn't play good defense makes any sense. I guess people just get enamored of big names and can't let them go.

[exstatic]

I agree that his attitude and approach seem to be pretty great. I don't see how an inefficient player who doesn't play good defense makes any sense. I guess people just get enamored of big names and can't let them go.

It's like NBA scouts, after a player has underperformed in the NCAA. They just can't let go of the high school scouting, in spite of the fact that a tougher level of competition has revealed flaws in their game.

[lebomb]

It's like NBA scouts, after a player has underperformed in the NCAA. They just can't let go of the high school scouting, in spite of the fact that a tougher level of competition has revealed flaws in their game.

Did you read BacktoBasics and my last response? We are going off of what we just say in the summer league. NOT highschool.

"He recorded 13 points in the first half on his way to a total of 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Bates added seven rebounds to help lead the Cavs to the final round."


"Bates scored double-digits every game he played in Vegas and finished averaging 18.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, which propelled him to be named second-team All-Summer League."


Dude played really well, and he was very efficient. Look at his numbers.

[Trill Clinton]

Bates is a bucket and will have a long career thanks to his scoring abilities. Cleveland got em one.

[lebomb]

Bates is a bucket and will have a long career thanks to his scoring abilities. Cleveland got em one.

My niggra!!! :claw

[TekXX]

It's summer league, calm the fuck down. Y'all need to wait until he faces some decent competition and that goes for everyone that dominated in summer league.

[BackHome]

Didn’t he get busted on gun charges before?

[exstatic]

Didn’t he get busted on gun charges before?

Read a blurb today that he’s mentoring with Ja and Miles Bridges. WTF?

[redman112]

Bates is a bucket and will have a long career thanks to his scoring abilities. Cleveland got em one.
dude is a headcase. hard pass