2024 NBA Draft Thread

[Knoxxx]

I’m warming a lot to Filipowski he checks a lot of boxes at PF/C.

[Gibbz]

I’m warming a lot to Filipowski he checks a lot of boxes at PF/C.

I like him a lot but he'd probably be a reach at 7 if the TOR pick conveys. Could probably trade down into the mid-to-late teens and get him if he was the target.

[Mal]

Gimme this Knecht with Raps pick

[baseline bum]

I know, but Castle and Holland seem even less likely or at least further away than Williams and Buzelis from developing into competent or non liability shooters.

I will say though, Holland seems like Spurs material, they've had a history with players who were ranked significantly higher entering college and he'd fill a positional need.

Don't really see undersized PF as a positional need tbh

[TD 21]

So some see Knecht as a McDermott clone, a player they didn't want, but now want to utilize a high lottery pick on Knecht.

His role/ceiling would be capped at 6th man here, due to negative overlap with Vassell.


Salaun's biggest sell is his archetype as a big, 3&D stretch four, but he hasn't proven to be that good of a defender or shooter and he doesn't look all that fluid either. Taking him with the Spurs' own pick sounds like a reach in the present hoping that next year he'd be worth the pick you're using on him right now. That sounds a lot like the reasoning behind the miserably failed Primo experiment, and that's disregarding his peculiar off court hobbies. I'd be extremely underwhelmed if that's the case.

The way I see it, what have Williams or Buzelis (who I believe to be the most likely selections) proven?

Also, the way it's going they might end up in a spot where Salaun is considered less of a "reach".

"Peculiar off court hobbies"?


I haven't not studied Holland in depth, but of the few highlight videos I've watched I kind of like him personally, but more for Kawhi-related nostalgia reasons. I can certainly understand all the criticisms of him.

Unless they think his ceiling and likelihood of at least coming close is significantly higher than the rest, they don't have time to waste on prospects like this, who are likely to take at least 3ish years to maybe become competent shooters in the best case scenario.


Don't really see undersized PF as a positional need tbh

Not advocating for him, but he should be able to guard 1-4 and if the shot ever becomes competent, play more of his natural (by physique) 3 or do so anyway if there's enough shooting at the 4-5.

[scott]

Watching TEN-PUR, Edey and Knecht to me look like classic great NCAA players who will just be NBA role players

[baseline bum]

Sarr is a better fit than Sochan. Get rid of Sochan in a trade. That guy is going to drag the Spurs down if they expect him to be the long term starter at pf.

I'd still keep Sochan for the bench if they draft Sarr. He's cheap and doesn't have much trade value so might as well hold onto him another year or two and see if he improves.

[mo7888]

Watching TEN-PUR, Edey and Knecht to me look like classic great NCAA players who will just be NBA role players

Who in this draft has the game to be more than a role player? Buzelis if he becomes a plus from deep....maybe rhe same with Topic for the same reason?

It's a short list..

[scott]

Who in this draft has the game to be more than a role player? Buzelis if he becomes a plus from deep....maybe rhe same with Topic for the same reason?

It's a short list..

No argument from me there. I’d be happy using both ours and the TOR pick as trade fodder this offseason. Let someone else fall in love with these scrubs (I type as Edey air balls a FT, then turns around and rejects the shit out of Knecht).

I’m more interested in adding a role player with our top SRP than I am trying to use these Top 10 picks as building blocks.

[BackHome]

I’m warming a lot to Filipowski he checks a lot of boxes at PF/C.

Yeah, he is not the sexy pick but your getting a guy who could be a great backup to Wemby and could also play alongside side him in certain situations. In this draft class I will take a a good backup with Raptors pick someone who could be a great backup or even win you some games as a starter if Wemby is out. Also, he has a very high ball IQ and he is a competitor who definitely does not like to loose so he fits with Wemby timeline

[baseline bum]

No argument from me there. I’d be happy using both ours and the TOR pick as trade fodder this offseason. Let someone else fall in love with these scrubs (I type as Edey air balls a FT, then turns around and rejects the shit out of Knecht).

I’m more interested in adding a role player with our top SRP than I am trying to use these Top 10 picks as building blocks.

Not like the rest of the league doesn't know this draft sucks though, so probably wouldn't get too much in trade.

[scott]

Not like the rest of the league doesn't know this draft sucks though, so probably wouldn't get too much in trade.

True, but there will be a handful of FOs who fall in love with their pet cats. Heck, PAFTO might be one of them for all we know.

[Ariel]

The way I see it, what have Williams or Buzelis (who I believe to be the most likely selections) proven?

Also, the way it's going they might end up in a spot where Salaun is considered less of a "reach".
Not much, but the eye test is kinder on them. Buzelis particularly looks like a more skilled player and fluid athlete, so I'm more comfortable gambling on him eventually putting it all together. What's Salaun's ceiling if it all goes right? Jaden McDaniels? In how long? 3 /4 years? Not too enthused with that idea.

"Peculiar off court hobbies"?
https://i.ibb.co/9WM3NM4/trenchcoat-flasher-2.jpg

[Seventyniner]

Edey would have gone #1 20 years ago. Great player, wrong state of the NBA.

[Dejounte]

What a sad draft.

Just draft any dude who can come in and won’t embarrass himself when he’s given minutes off the bat. The Spurs are likely to start the player they draft with their higher pick. He has to come in and command respect.

I think that criteria eliminates:

-Sarr - this dude looks like he’ll go through the Samanic route easily with how he plays basketball
-Cody Williams - probably starts a few games and then the coaching staff will see that he’s still ways off from being a positive contributor
-Castle - nonfactor on offense to the point of being a major liability

iffy:
-Matas or Ron Holland - their gleague stint probably puts them at a disadvantage as far as team play, but if their talent stands out they can make it
-Rissacher - he’d step in and be a minimal contributor by moving offball and catch and shoot threes. His defense will determine if he stays a starter. I’ve said before that he looks like he has stiff hips and poor lateral movement a la McDermott, but if not, then he qualifies

Qualifies:
-Reed Sheppard - for obvious reasons
-Dilly - I think this guy easily shows in practice that he deserves his starter position
-Dalton - for obvious reasons
-Collier - another guy that I think shows in practice that he deserves to be a starter. I think he’ll bully Tre in practice tbh
-Topic - will probably bring his old school game in practice and be a commanding presence as the head of the snake

[Dejounte]

I didn’t know Zion suited up for NC State

[Ariel]

Who in this draft has the game to be more than a role player? Buzelis if he becomes a plus from deep....maybe rhe same with Topic for the same reason?

It's a short list..
Quite a bit of players, actually, the problem is they all come with huge question marks.
Dillingham can be a Maxey/Garland hybrid, but if he doesn't hit his offensive ceiling he might end up unplayable.
Buzelis has the size, coordination and skills that you hope for in a star, but lacks explosion and absolutely needs to be a good 3 pt shooter in high volume to be worthy of a top 5 pick,
Collier is great at getting to the rim and has some crazy creative finishes, but he often looks like a bull in a china shop and turnover machine that would hinder the development of the other youngsters until he gets it together, which may be in 3/4 years... or never.
Topic is also great at getting to the rim but it's more predicated on speed rather than skill plus it's going to be much harder to do that if you're a sub 30% 3pt shooter who defenders can sag off of. Also, his awesome finishing numbers may suffer a big hit with much better athletes and shotblockers, and he isn't really tested at the highest level of European basketball.
Sarr I actually like quite a bit, but he's also a 30% shooter from 3 who will be unplayable next to Wemby and Sochan if he hurts spacing.
Holland seems much smaller than advertised and his frame isn't ideal, his body says smallish 3 but his game says unskilled 4, so while I love his athleticism and hustle, so if he doesn't improve his shooting numbers (around 24% currently) he might end up a deep bench guy.

With that said, those guys do have a path towards stardom or at least high end starters if it all goes right, I might rather gamble on one of them or use the pick on someone more proven (I suggested Zach Collins + Toronto's pick for Avdija + Kispert but got trashed in the comments :fight). Cody Williams, Reed Sheppard and Castle look like potentially quality role players, not bad, but not what you expect from a top pick either. I'd be hard for any of these guys to crack the top 3 in any of the past 10 drafts, to be honest.

[objective]

Some have posted about Juan Nunez before. There's a No Ceilings video posted a few days ago that has me on board for 2nd Round if he's there. His passing is slick

He maybe stops his dribble too much for some passes, but he's a lot of fun to watch.

[CGD]

Watching TEN-PUR, Edey and Knecht to me look like classic great NCAA players who will just be NBA role players

Exactly. It would dumb to spend an early pick on discount-Doug when they can just go out and get that type of player in FA (including… Doug). Edey needs to go to Europe.

[mo7888]

Quite a bit of players, actually, the problem is they all come with huge question marks.
Dillingham can be a Maxey/Garland hybrid, but if he doesn't hit his offensive ceiling he might end up unplayable.
Buzelis has the size, coordination and skills that you hope for in a star, but lacks explosion and absolutely needs to be a good 3 pt shooter in high volume to be worthy of a top 5 pick,
Collier is great at getting to the rim and has some crazy creative finishes, but he often looks like a bull in a china shop and turnover machine that would hinder the development of the other youngsters until he gets it together, which may be in 3/4 years... or never.
Topic is also great at getting to the rim but it's more predicated on speed rather than skill plus it's going to be much harder to do that if you're a sub 30% 3pt shooter who defenders can sag off of. Also, his awesome finishing numbers may suffer a big hit with much better athletes and shotblockers, and he isn't really tested at the highest level of European basketball.
Sarr I actually like quite a bit, but he's also a 30% shooter from 3 who will be unplayable next to Wemby and Sochan if he hurts spacing.
Holland seems much smaller than advertised and his frame isn't ideal, his body says smallish 3 but his game says unskilled 4, so while I love his athleticism and hustle, so if he doesn't improve his shooting numbers (around 24% currently) he might end up a deep bench guy.

With that said, those guys do have a path towards stardom or at least high end starters if it all goes right, I might rather gamble on one of them or use the pick on someone more proven (I suggested Zach Collins + Toronto's pick for Avdija + Kispert but got trashed in the comments :fight). Cody Williams, Reed Sheppard and Castle look like potentially quality role players, not bad, but not what you expect from a top pick either. I'd be hard for any of these guys to crack the top 3 in any of the past 10 drafts, to be honest.

Yes, but it's those question marks you mention that relegate them to role players until they can erase those question marks. I'm not saying that noone has a path to high end starter, I'm just saying that pathway is murky because of questions marks/holes in their game.

None of that's necessarily bad. We need better role players than what we currently have. I'm hopeful that our top guy is a role player that can be much more if he can erase his question mark. I wouldn’t mind our 2nd pick (fingers crossed) being someone with a higher floor (less of a question mark) like Knecht or Filipowski.

[CGD]

Topic is going to be the pick

Definitely think he’ll be there when we pick, whether 2nd or 6th. Only other crap team ahead of us that could use a lead guard is WAS, but even then they have Poole at big money there. But even if they go PG, I have a feeling WAS will irrationally fall in love with Dillingham bc well… it’s WAS.

But should they? Topic is such a wildcard. I do t care for Dilly at all, but I’m really warming to Castle as the top PG option for the Spurs.

[mo7888]

Some have posted about Juan Nunez before. There's a No Ceilings video posted a few days ago that has me on board for 2nd Round if he's there. His passing is slick

He maybe stops his dribble too much for some passes, but he's a lot of fun to watch.

I've got him in the same toer with Kolek. Kolek is more refined and Nunez should have more upside to mine. It's more of a "what are you looking for" question. Do you need someone to play minutes off the bench now or someone you 'might' be able to develop into a higher rotational player in 3 years?

[TD 21]

Not much, but the eye test is kinder on them. Buzelis particularly looks like a more skilled player and fluid athlete, so I'm more comfortable gambling on him eventually putting it all together. What's Salaun's ceiling if it all goes right? Jaden McDaniels? In how long? 3 /4 years? Not too enthused with that idea.

https://i.ibb.co/9WM3NM4/trenchcoat-flasher-2.jpg

Maybe. McDaniels is overrated, but in this draft, if you said to me right now he'll be that in 3ish years, I'd take it and run.

I see it as unlikely Buzelis or Williams are as good or better and expect a similar development track.

Link? If that's more than a rumor/speculation, he's obviously out as a candidate.

[Mal]

I’m warming a lot to Filipowski he checks a lot of boxes at PF/C.

He looks soft as Collins

[TekXX]

I don't follow all these guys like some of you but why isn't Dalton Knecht higher on peoples list?

[rascal]

Yeah, he is not the sexy pick but your getting a guy who could be a great backup to Wemby and could also play alongside side him in certain situations. In this draft class I will take a a good backup with Raptors pick someone who could be a great backup or even win you some games as a starter if Wemby is out. Also, he has a very high ball IQ and he is a competitor who definitely does not like to loose so he fits with Wemby timeline

Why does he have a high bbiq? People tend to throw that nonsesne out for every unathletic white guy.

[mo7888]

I don't follow all these guys like some of you but why isn't Dalton Knecht higher on peoples list?

It's because of his age...

[DAF86]

Maybe. McDaniels is overrated, but in this draft, if you said to me right now he'll be that in 3ish years, I'd take it and run.

I see it as unlikely Buzelis or Williams are as good or better and expect a similar development track.

Link? If that's more than a rumor/speculation, he's obviously out as a candidate.

He's talking about Primo, tbh.

[Splits]

It's because of his age...

which is a retarded argument. "oh I'm only going to get 8-10 good years out of him instead of 2-4 shitty years and 8-10 good years"

no more fucking teenagers

[spurraider21]

which is a retarded argument. "oh I'm only going to get 8-10 good years out of him instead of 2-4 shitty years and 8-10 good years"

no more fucking teenagers
That’s not the argument against older players. The argument is that you are getting him at a level much closer to his ceiling. So with Knecht, you have a guy far more experienced than his peers, more physically developed. He’s expected to be among the best players on the floor in college. But how much more development and improvement can you project? He’s not going to physically grow anymore (contrast with talk about how Wemby will inevitably fill up some)

it’s not to say nba experience doesn’t make you better. Can look at Derrick white who was always pretty good but has nevertheless taken a leap. But he does a lot of the same things he did by year 2 or so, just more consistently. But compare that to dejounte who was drafted young and really transformed his game into something pretty unrecognizable from his rookie year

it’s one of the reasons Sheppard is more intriguing than Kolek. By freshman year he already shows high bball iq, good passing skills, etc, to make him a very high impact player.

[Pauleta14]

I don't follow all these guys like some of you but why isn't Dalton Knecht higher on peoples list?

I’d say age, skin colour, perceptions and stereotypes

[Dejounte]

Another piss poor game by Zaccharie

23 minutes
0-5 3pt
6 pts
27.3% fg
3 rebounds
2 assists
1 turnover

but this is the guy we should trade up for if the Spurs don’t get a high enough pick.

It’s quite a large sample size already, but even at this point we’re still giving him excuses saying things like, “yOu dRaFt FoR tHe PotEnTiAl”.

I’ll reiterate that I’m not opposed to drafting the guy. I’m opposed to the idea that any sacrifice should be made to try to draft him (trading up, losing games, etc) as if he’s a high level prospect. He’s at best a Sochan or Vassell-level prospect. With the Raptors pick, I’ll be happy to take him.

[mo7888]

That’s not the argument against older players. The argument is that you are getting him at a level much closer to his ceiling. So with Knecht, you have a guy far more experienced than his peers, more physically developed. He’s expected to be among the best players on the floor in college. But how much more development and improvement can you project? He’s not going to physically grow anymore (contrast with talk about how Wemby will inevitably fill up some)

it’s not to say nba experience doesn’t make you better. Can look at Derrick white who was always pretty good but has nevertheless taken a leap. But he does a lot of the same things he did by year 2 or so, just more consistently. But compare that to dejounte who was drafted young and really transformed his game into something pretty unrecognizable from his rookie year

it’s one of the reasons Sheppard is more intriguing than Kolek. By freshman year he already shows high bball iq, good passing skills, etc, to make him a very high impact player.

100% spot on. That said, in this draft I think it means less than most other years simply because of all the issues other players have in their games..

[mo7888]

Another piss poor game by Zaccharie

23 minutes
0-5 3pt
6 pts
27.3% fg
3 rebounds
2 assists
1 turnover

but this is the guy we should trade up for if the Spurs don’t get a high enough pick.

It’s quite a large sample size already, but even at this point we’re still giving him excuses saying things like, “yOu dRaFt FoR tHe PotEnTiAl”.

I’ll reiterate that I’m not opposed to drafting the guy. I’m opposed to the idea that any sacrifice should be made to try to draft him (trading up, losing games, etc) as if he’s a high level prospect. He’s at best a Sochan or Vassell-level prospect. With the Raptors pick, I’ll be happy to take him.

Who's saying trade up for him? He's at the top of my board Nd several other boards, but there's nobody in this draft that is worth trading up for in the top 10, where the cost to do so is significant.

[Dejounte]

Who's saying trade up for him? He's at the top of my board Nd several other boards, but there's nobody in this draft that is worth trading up for in the top 10, where the cost to do so is significant.

I’m not going to call the dude out because I’m not trying to pick a fight. The guy can be a little hostile sometimes depending on his mood.

at this point, Zaccharie could murder a guy and he’d still be at the top of your board. I’m convinced nothing can knock him off if this many games where he’s sucking can’t.

[Pauleta14]

If Risacher keeps this trend he might be available with the Toronto pick

[exstatic]

That’s not the argument against older players. The argument is that you are getting him at a level much closer to his ceiling. So with Knecht, you have a guy far more experienced than his peers, more physically developed. He’s expected to be among the best players on the floor in college. But how much more development and improvement can you project? He’s not going to physically grow anymore (contrast with talk about how Wemby will inevitably fill up some)

it’s not to say nba experience doesn’t make you better. Can look at Derrick white who was always pretty good but has nevertheless taken a leap. But he does a lot of the same things he did by year 2 or so, just more consistently. But compare that to dejounte who was drafted young and really transformed his game into something pretty unrecognizable from his rookie year

it’s one of the reasons Sheppard is more intriguing than Kolek. By freshman year he already shows high bball iq, good passing skills, etc, to make him a very high impact player.

Chris Duarte has entered the chat…

[mo7888]

I’m not going to call the dude out because I’m not trying to pick a fight. The guy can be a little hostile sometimes depending on his mood.

at this point, Zaccharie could murder a guy and he’d still be at the top of your board. I’m convinced nothing can knock him off if this many games where he’s sucking can’t.

Gotcha... I hadn't seen anybody push trading up for him...

As for my board, all he's got to do to get knocked down is for somebody else to step up.... That hasn't happened... Risacher is pretty low risk, high floor guy who'll benefit offensively from NBA spacing. He's got a decent ceiling, but not as much as Buzelis or Topic. Short term numbers seem to exacerbate feelings about players around here... Dilly has a few good games and we should elevate the midget to the top of the draft? Topic gets hurt after 2 bad games and shuts it down so he's now outta the mix at the top? Castle's team is playing well so give him the benefit of other peoples effort? Projections aren't based on some short term result or how a particular player fits with a certain team he's playing on at the time. You know this... I get he's not your 'guy', but in this draft he's as good as any.... I get that this isnt a ringing endorsement for him, but there's literally nobody that has clearly separated themselves. My top tier is:

1. Zaccharie Risacher
2. Alex Sarr
3. Nikola Topic
4. Matas Buzelis

If i were putting together a Spurs BB it'd be:

1a. Nikola Topic
1b. Matas Buzelis
3. Zaccharie Risacher

My reasoning is that the difference in their ceilings is greater than the difference in their floors in the way I project them. If you see it differently then that's fine, but let's not pretend like any player is this drafts top 10 is far and away better/worse than anyone else.

[rascal]

I'd still keep Sochan for the bench if they draft Sarr. He's cheap and doesn't have much trade value so might as well hold onto him another year or two and see if he improves.

I have no problem with Sochan coming off the bench. But looks like the Spurs have him locked in as their current and future pf and won't consider anyone else. They need to justify his top ten pick so they will just keep playing him.

Sarr is the top pick in this draft for every team because he has the most upside star potential.

[baseline bum]

I’m not going to call the dude out because I’m not trying to pick a fight. The guy can be a little hostile sometimes depending on his mood.

at this point, Zaccharie could murder a guy and he’d still be at the top of your board. I’m convinced nothing can knock him off if this many games where he’s sucking can’t.

It's such a terrible draft where all the top prospects have had stretches that would kill their stock in any normal year. Every other top prospect coming into the year like Topic, Sarr, Holland, Williams, Buzelis, Walters, Collier, etc has been extremely underwhelming for extended stretches and even the new guys taking some of those spots like Dillingham and Sheppard have had some embarrassing disappearances. So as shit as Risacher has been playing lately there really is little option for taking anyone who has been consistent unless you think Edey can guard anyone or Knecht has the upside to be worth a top 5 pick.

[BatManu20]

1774613601661182304

[buttsR4rebounding]

One other positive about Risacher is the reported very close relationship his family has with Wemby's family. If you are worried about keeping Wemby happy and 2 prospects are close on your board it seems that taking Risacher just for the added benefit of the Wemby woody needs to be taken into consideration.

[JPB]

If Risacher keeps this trend he might be available with the Toronto pick

Or in the secound round... I guess that's where you try to focus on potential, IQ, fundamentals and stuff over stats, although he'll never be stat a guy and 16pts, 5.5 rbds per 36mn, at 35% behind the arc, over the season, is still decent for a kid his age.

You should never have expected a future superstar with Risacher but he's been cooling off a bit the second part of the season. Could be some kind of rookie wall, playing in a pro league. Maybe he should have pulled a Topic, and stop playing after two awful Euroleague games cos "muh, my knee" (then maybe suddenly reappear when there's no more Euroleague games to play)...

[rascal]

Just take Cam Spencer in the second round if you want a white player who is primarily a shooter instead of burning a top lottery pick on Knecht.

[JPB]

I still believe Risacher is spursy, and yeah, would get along on and off the floor with Vic, as a facilitator and 3pt threat and even hopefully 3&D guy. Now it's true he may not have been worth a top 3 pick in many other drafts, but who is this year?

And we already have our superstar. If Risacher can become some type of Bobo/Batum/Finley elite role player during Wemby's prime with the spurs that's fine, get your other star(s) via trades.

[exstatic]

One other positive about Risacher is the reported very close relationship his family has with Wemby's family. If you are worried about keeping Wemby happy and 2 prospects are close on your board it seems that taking Risacher just for the added benefit of the Wemby woody needs to be taken into consideration.

I actually don’t care about that at all. The Spurs flat traded Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose, two of Tim’s best buds on the team, so I don’t think they do, either.

[JPB]

I actually don’t care about that at all. The Spurs flat traded Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose, two of Tim’s best buds on the team, so I don’t think they do, either.

Sure but it is 2024 not 2004. Lebron and co. made their work and it's a players' league now, you want your franchise player happy or he asks for a trade.

[Pauleta14]

I still believe Risacher is spursy, and yeah, would get along on and off the floor with Vic, as a facilitator and 3pt threat and even hopefully 3&D guy. Now it's true he may not have been worth a top 3 pick in many other drafts, but who is this year?

And we already have our superstar. If Risacher can become some type of Bobo/Batum/Finley elite role player during Wemby's prime with the spurs that's fine, get your other star(s) via trades.

18yo, still growing, learning pro life, starting to be scouted etc

Imo even if he loses financially he’d win not being drafted too high. He looks like a long time project that needs to develop without pressure

[Bruno]

A little fun fact: Knecht is older than Anthony Edwards.

Regarding Risacher, you had to wonder if he hasn't hit some kind of "rookie wall". Last year, Wembanyama's team was only playing french league while this season Risacher is playing both french and european league. One of the possible explanation on why he has sucked for a couple of months, is that all these games/practices/travel got to him.

[Russ]

Sure but it is 2024 not 2004. Lebron and co. made their work and it's a players' league now, you want your franchise player happy or he asks for a trade.

Be careful what you wish for.

If you don't draft Sidy Cissoco, Wemby probably doesn't care.

But if Cissoko is on the Spurs and you cut him (which they may) that might be worse.

[exstatic]

Sure but it is 2024 not 2004. Lebron and co. made their work and it's a players' league now, you want your franchise player happy or he asks for a trade.

They would t do it without explanation, but if they tell him his best chance at winning is Salaun or Knecht or whoever, he’ll be fine with it. He wants to win more than anything.

[CorrectCrusader]

I've changed my mind on Matas that size and potential is juicy.

[The Truth #6]

If we get the TOR, obviously it opens up drafting opportunities. We could swing with our pick on Buzelis, Topic, Risacher, or Cody. For the TOR pick: Castle, Knecht, even Collier.

If we get one pick, I'm inclined to get someone who isn't a terrible shooter. So, Risacher (with fingers crossed) Cody, Knecht, possibly Buzelis if workouts legitimately change the perception on his shooting. I've been pushing Knecht to say he should be in the conversation. And also because we have lots of picks coming in and in this weak class, I'm not expecting someone to fix the team immediately, and also, I want the Spurs to improve next year. We aren't in year 1 of a rebuild, more like 2 or 3.

[Seventyniner]

A little fun fact: Knecht is older than Anthony Edwards.

Knecht is also only 9 months younger than Devin Vassell.

(Today I learned that big sites like ESPN and Basketball Reference don't list birthdates for college players, it took a bit more digging to find Knecht's birthdate)

Knecht would be a great pick for an over-the-cap team looking to contend now because he would be cost controlled through his age 27 season and should be able to provide immediate production.

I can see a scenario where the Spurs get the 7th pick, Knecht is still on the board, and a contender like the Bucks, Nuggets, or Wolves offers a decent return for him.

[MultiTroll]

Bring back Blair with healthy knees in the form of DJ Burns?

[exstatic]

Knecht is also only 9 months younger than Devin Vassell.

(Today I learned that big sites like ESPN and Basketball Reference don't list birthdates for college players, it took a bit more digging to find Knecht's birthdate)

Knecht would be a great pick for an over-the-cap team looking to contend now because he would be cost controlled through his age 27 season and should be able to provide immediate production.

I can see a scenario where the Spurs get the 7th pick, Knecht is still on the board, and a contender like the Bucks, Nuggets, or Wolves offers a decent return for him.

All of the age info, down to the day is on TankAThon.

[JPB]

They would t do it without explanation, but if they tell him his best chance at winning is Salaun or Knecht or whoever, he’ll be fine with it. He wants to win more than anything.

Yeah, let's just say if you hesitate or question some player's character knowing another is close or would get along with Wemby can eventually factor in. Character is always something spurs value, as we all know, and Wemby is a beast on the floor but a nice kid off court, so just like Pop used to be careful who they were bringing in that spurs locker room along the big 3, I suppose they'll pay special attention not to bring some diva or a-hole in Wemby's team...

That's why I'm still kinda torn with Trae.

[buttsR4rebounding]

I actually don’t care about that at all. The Spurs flat traded Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose, two of Tim’s best buds on the team, so I don’t think they do, either.

First, I said if it was close between Risacher and another player to take that into consideration, not if they clearly felt another player was better. Second, they didn't trade Rose before they gave him a real juicy contract that was considered an overpay from day 1. At the time it was considered by many a favor to Tim.

[ginobilized]

I actually don’t care about that at all. The Spurs flat traded Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose, two of Tim’s best buds on the team, so I don’t think they do, either.

I think Malik Rose tried to earn his new, lucrative contract and he thought he needed to have a bigger offensive role. That's not uncommon for a role player who overachieves. They had to trade him. His career plummeted with the Knicks and Thunder.

[spurraider21]

100% spot on. That said, in this draft I think it means less than most other years simply because of all the issues other players have in their games..
this is also fair. in a draft full of projected role players, could make a good argument that getting the sure thing role player is better than the guy with potential to be a better role player

[Maddog]

I’d say age, skin colour, perceptions and stereotypes


A little fun fact: Knecht is older than Anthony Edwards.

Regarding Risacher, you had to wonder if he hasn't hit some kind of "rookie wall". Last year, Wembanyama's team was only playing french league while this season Risacher is playing both french and european league. One of the possible explanation on why he has sucked for a couple of months, is that all these games/practices/travel got to him.

I think the age thing is the biggest one.
I watched yesterday game and he's a lot more athletic than I thought he would be and definitely has an edge to him.
He appears to be a late bloomer physically- evidently grew 3+ inches post High School.

[heyheymymy]

I've changed my mind on Matas that size and potential is juicy.

Agree. I am warming up to Buzelis

[baseline bum]

Agree. I am warming up to Buzelis

For me it's just cooling down on everyone else :lol

[scott]

What's Knecht's ceiling? Slower version of Devin Vassell? Knecht also doesn't have the quickness to create separation. We already have that guy, and I don't need to spend a top 10 pick to get a slight worse version.

[Knoxxx]

Knecht is also only 9 months younger than Devin Vassell.

(Today I learned that big sites like ESPN and Basketball Reference don't list birthdates for college players, it took a bit more digging to find Knecht's birthdate)

Knecht would be a great pick for an over-the-cap team looking to contend now because he would be cost controlled through his age 27 season and should be able to provide immediate production.

I can see a scenario where the Spurs get the 7th pick, Knecht is still on the board, and a contender like the Bucks, Nuggets, or Wolves offers a decent return for him.

Trading down with the TOR pick could be a good idea, such as Spurs getting one of the non-lottery bigs such as Filipowski, Klingan, or Edey. And we get a player or future pick or something in the deal.

When I suggested Flip recently I got the familiar Spurs Talk refrain that he looked “soft.” He definitely had a bad game in the Duke exit loss, but when I watch his highlights I see way more athletic ability than our beloved Zollins, whose next contested dunk he scores would be the first I’ve seen.

[BatManu20]

Clingan’s had a great tournament. His size and length are legit, and his Defense deserves praise, but taking an old-school, un-athletic Center who can’t shoot, doesn’t have much of a post game, and struggles to defend PnR 1st Overall or even top-5 would be insane in the modern era, even in a weak draft. Prob a good way to get your GM fired tbh.

1774837144139227282

[JPB]

I can see Sarr going #1 just out of the Wemby effect. You know, as a big, mobile, french, blocking kid...

As weird as it seems, and considering how uncertain drafting is, some GMs/owners tend to (unconsciously) try to find some patterns or trends among these kids, with precious drafts influencing the following ones, like you're so scared, you try to hold on something, anything, rational or not, to make your choice.

[spurraider21]

What's Knecht's ceiling? Slower version of Devin Vassell? Knecht also doesn't have the quickness to create separation. We already have that guy, and I don't need to spend a top 10 pick to get a slight worse version.
mcdermott who is maybe not as shitty on defense

[BatManu20]

1774845213632078251

[spurraider21]

yeah i thought edey's performance answered a lot more questions than knecht's

clingan has also been a monster defensively. if they go head to head, i actually think that's a matchup that probably benefits Edey, since being undersized will be an issue Clingan has never had to deal with until now. still think clingan projects much more easily as a really good NBA defender in drop, but we've just never seen him really have to play man defense in the post, let alone against a monster sized guy like Edey

[scott]

I hope Edey and Clingan both go top 5. Push some of those wings and guards down to us.

[mo7888]

What's Knecht's ceiling? Slower version of Devin Vassell? Knecht also doesn't have the quickness to create separation. We already have that guy, and I don't need to spend a top 10 pick to get a slight worse version.

His ceiling is probably going to be determined by his handle and toughness so it's hard to say. I think his handle will improve, but toughness is harder to develop. That said, I'm not looking for a Devin replacement (that could happen, but I'm not expecting that in this draft), I'm looking for a role player that keeps Branham on the bench at this point. If he develops into a starter, I'd be thrilled, but we've got to develop depth as well. I see depth right now..

[Kevin]

Edey will be a decent backup C in the NBA. 40 years ago he would have went first overall and 20 years he would have been a top five pick. Now he probably goes somewhere in the teens.

[scott]

His ceiling is probably going to be determined by his handle and toughness so it's hard to say. I think his handle will improve, but toughness is harder to develop. That said, I'm not looking for a Devin replacement (that could happen, but I'm not expecting that in this draft), I'm looking for a role player that keeps Branham on the bench at this point. If he develops into a starter, I'd be thrilled, but we've got to develop depth as well. I see depth right now..

Agreed here. I just don't think that role is suited by a slightly worse version of Devin. I'd prefer a completely different archetype/change-of-pace. Someone like Cam Thomas, IMO, would be an idea 6th man. Malik Monk would also fit in quite nicely to that role (and both could pick up some additional minutes next to Devin in a backup lead ball handler role). I don't hate Knecht, I'm just not sure how he fits on this team. Whoever mentioned that his best fit might be as a cost controlled contributor on a contender is probably right, IMO.

[jjspur]

Look, a lot of posters are aching for Risacher or Sarr, I get that, but I seriously doubt either one of them would be a day one starter even on this team. We may not even get the 1st or second pick or even the third or fourth pick and if that's the case I'd go for Knecht. He has the shooting skills we lost when McNuggets was traded, and would make a pretty good replacement player on our second string (better than Branham). Risacher and Sarr have potential true, but they may not make much of a difference for 1 or 2 or more years.

At least Kenecht, is an obvious upgrade to our current shooting. In this weak draft we should be looking for quality backups that will help us win sooner. Risacher or Sarr won't help us win much playing in Austin or spending a lot of time on the bench. I just don't think Wemby will be happy with another 20 win season with that typical draft for potential spurs move.

[spurraider21]

Edey would have been just fine in the 2000s and the very early 2010s... remember thats an era where teams were still mostly starting 2 bigs and traditional centers. Celtics were playing Perkins/KG together. OKC then played Perkins/Ibaka together. the spurs were playing Splitter/Duncan. Heck Miami was still starting Joel Anthony and playing him rotation minutes until 2012, and Haslem still past that.

[JPB]

Clingan’s had a great tournament. His size and length are legit, and his Defense deserves praise, but taking an old-school, un-athletic Center who can’t shoot, doesn’t have much of a post game, and struggles to defend PnR 1st Overall or even top-5 would be insane in the modern era, even in a weak draft. Prob a good way to get your GM fired tbh.

1774837144139227282

Yeah, Clingan even on the top 5 would be crazy to me... People overreacting to the Tounament as always and Givony pimping the kid for some favors or whatever. He's typically the type of player who can shine in College ball but who doesn't have the skillset to have a prominent role in the NBA. Not every white big a Jokic. And you don't want the next Zach Collins.

[mo7888]

Yeah, no way Clingan goes that high (or that would be crazy). People overreacting to the Tounament as always and Givony pimping the kid for some favors or whatever. He's typically the type of player who can shine in College ball but who doesn't have the skillset to have a prominent role in the NBA. Not every white big a Jokic. And you don't want the next Zach Collins.

I hope he does (as long as its not to us)...

[scott]

I hope he does (as long as its not to us)...

Clingan with our pick, Edey with the TOR pick. Triple towers lineup coming up.

[spurraider21]

Yeah, Clingan even on the top 5 would be crazy to me... People overreacting to the Tounament as always and Givony pimping the kid for some favors or whatever. He's typically the type of player who can shine in College ball but who doesn't have the skillset to have a prominent role in the NBA. Not every white big a Jokic. And you don't want the next Zach Collins.
nobody is projecting him to be jokic though

[Dejounte]

nobody is projecting him to be jokic though

Theoretically, would any team even know if they had another Jokic waiting to be drafted with their pick? I feel like if Jokic entered the draft today, no one would know the talent in front of them based on what Jokic did in his pre-draft career.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2096255-nikola-jokic-nba-draft-2014-highlights-scouting-report-and-more

Jokic would be passed up again and again.

[spurraider21]

Theoretically, would any team even know if they had another Jokic waiting to be drafted with their pick? I feel like if Jokic entered the draft today, no one would know the talent in front of them based on what Jokic did in his pre-draft career.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2096255-nikola-jokic-nba-draft-2014-highlights-scouting-report-and-more

Jokic would be passed up again and again.
i mean, probably. the hit rate on bigs with jokic's athleticism is quite low. and he wasnt remotely the scorer or playmaker then as he is now, so it takes a lot of projection to get from 2014 jokic to 2024 jokic

but thats not the profile of Clingan. nobody is saying he should be picked high because he projects to be an offensive hub or anything like that.

[SpursBills]

Clingan is almost definitely going to Memphis where unless he get derailed by foot injuries he's going to be really good there.

This set of filters is likely cherrypicked and possibly coincidental, but this was the first set of criteria I used on Bart-Torvik:
6'11"+ (rim protector sized), defensive BPM > 4 (significant defensive impact), Block% > 10 (elite shot blocker) among Freshmen/Sophomores

Sorted by overall BPM:
1. Donovan Clingan
2. Chet Holmgren
3. Walker Kessler
4. KAT
5. Mark Williams
6. Willey Cauley-Stein
7. Joel Embiid
8. JJJ
9. Mo Bamba
10. Christian Koloko

I mean, this is a pretty high hit rate and Clingan doesn't have any significant red flags like a horrible AST% or TO% except maybe being bad at free throws. The dude anchors a top 5 defense in the country. I'm not saying he's going to be a star or anything, but he's probably one of the surest things do be at least decent in this draft. I don't think Spurs can use him where he's projected to be drafted, but I'd be planning ahead for a Clingan-JJJ defensive front court for the foreseeable future.

[BatManu20]

2013 NBA Draft vibes here (outside of Giannis).

1774902128529608921

[scott]

Theoretically, would any team even know if they had another Jokic waiting to be drafted with their pick? I feel like if Jokic entered the draft today, no one would know the talent in front of them based on what Jokic did in his pre-draft career.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2096255-nikola-jokic-nba-draft-2014-highlights-scouting-report-and-more

Jokic would be passed up again and again.

DJ Burns and Robbie Avila are ready to pushing teams for passing on them

[Dejounte]

i mean, probably. the hit rate on bigs with jokic's athleticism is quite low. and he wasnt remotely the scorer or playmaker then as he is now, so it takes a lot of projection to get from 2014 jokic to 2024 jokic

but thats not the profile of Clingan. nobody is saying he should be picked high because he projects to be an offensive hub or anything like that.

I wasn’t really defending Clingan or anything like that. Just bringing up a new topic.

and I disagree. Jokic appears he had all those moves before the NBA. He just became featured more once Nuggets realized what kind of talent they had:


https://youtu.be/4k3CdwvDy3Q?feature=shared

[spurraider21]

I wasn’t really defending Clingan or anything like that. Just bringing up a new topic.

and I disagree. Jokic appears he had all those moves before the NBA. He just became featured more once Nuggets realized what kind of talent they had:


https://youtu.be/4k3CdwvDy3Q?feature=shared
not all moves and skills project to the nba though. you can look at all the college highlights of guys that didnt pan out. why didnt jimmer's shooting translate, etc

[Atl Spur]

Theoretically, would any team even know if they had another Jokic waiting to be drafted with their pick? I feel like if Jokic entered the draft today, no one would know the talent in front of them based on what Jokic did in his pre-draft career.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2096255-nikola-jokic-nba-draft-2014-highlights-scouting-report-and-more

Jokic would be passed up again and again.

You told the truth…… that’s all. We have no idea how much / far an Edey or clingan can expand their game in the proper setting. Only time will tell

[Dejounte]

not all moves and skills project to the nba though. you can look at all the college highlights of guys that didnt pan out. why didnt jimmer's shooting translate, etc

Well, yea. That’s the part where you have to develop an eye on what translates and what doesn’t. Things start to form patterns, and it’s how you factor everything in. I don’t think it’s as much as a crapshoot as you think it is, and I do believe (maybe someday), a basketball expert out there would be able to distinguish future good NBA players from bad ones… especially with the growing AI technology we have these days.

[Dejounte]

Speaking of patterns, I have a belief that elite passing ability is a sign of high basketball IQ.

i’m not talking about prospects who simply have high assist numbers in college or overseas, but players who can make electrifying passes.

are there past players with elite vision / passing that have not seen success in the NBA? I doubt the number is very high.

In this draft, i’ve focused on strictly playmaking in my search for film for each prospect. a few have stood out to me so far -

1. Dilly - this guy looks to be the best lob passer in the draft. I didn’t realize it before but his fit with Wemby would probably be ungodly.
1b. Topic - sets everyone up. I think everyone knows by now this is his strength.
2. Nique Clifford - this guy is not even projected to be drafted in the 1st and 2nd round, but he looks the part of a good player and even better passer.
3. Jaylon Tyson - not as good of a passer as the other three above but better than a lot of players in the draft.
4. Reed Sheppard - he threads the line between genius passes and basic passes. Basically above average and worth a mention

i wager the Spurs will draft one of these guys.

[exstatic]

Look, a lot of posters are aching for Risacher or Sarr, I get that, but I seriously doubt either one of them would be a day one starter even on this team. We may not even get the 1st or second pick or even the third or fourth pick and if that's the case I'd go for Knecht. He has the shooting skills we lost when McNuggets was traded, and would make a pretty good replacement player on our second string (better than Branham). Risacher and Sarr have potential true, but they may not make much of a difference for 1 or 2 or more years.

At least Kenecht, is an obvious upgrade to our current shooting. In this weak draft we should be looking for quality backups that will help us win sooner. Risacher or Sarr won't help us win much playing in Austin or spending a lot of time on the bench. I just don't think Wemby will be happy with another 20 win season with that typical draft for potential spurs move.

Veterans for ‘now’, draft for high potential.

[Splits]

That’s not the argument against older players. The argument is that you are getting him at a level much closer to his ceiling. So with Knecht, you have a guy far more experienced than his peers, more physically developed. He’s expected to be among the best players on the floor in college. But how much more development and improvement can you project? He’s not going to physically grow anymore (contrast with talk about how Wemby will inevitably fill up some)

it’s not to say nba experience doesn’t make you better. Can look at Derrick white who was always pretty good but has nevertheless taken a leap. But he does a lot of the same things he did by year 2 or so, just more consistently. But compare that to dejounte who was drafted young and really transformed his game into something pretty unrecognizable from his rookie year

it’s one of the reasons Sheppard is more intriguing than Kolek. By freshman year he already shows high bball iq, good passing skills, etc, to make him a very high impact player.

thats what he said

[objective]

Speaking of patterns, I have a belief that elite passing ability is a sign of high basketball IQ.

i’m not talking about prospects who simply have high assist numbers in college or overseas, but players who can make electrifying passes.

are there past players with elite vision / passing that have not seen success in the NBA? I doubt the number is very high.

In this draft, i’ve focused on strictly playmaking in my search for film for each prospect. a few have stood out to me so far -

1. Dilly - this guy looks to be the best lob passer in the draft. I didn’t realize it before but his fit with Wemby would probably be ungodly.
1b. Topic - sets everyone up. I think everyone knows by now this is his strength.
2. Nique Clifford - this guy is not even projected to be drafted in the 1st and 2nd round, but he looks the part of a good player and even better passer.
3. Jaylon Tyson - not as good of a passer as the other three above but better than a lot of players in the draft.
4. Reed Sheppard - he threads the line between genius passes and basic passes. Basically above average and worth a mention

i wager the Spurs will draft one of these guys.

Have you watched Juan Nunez?

[Ariel]

Well, yea. That’s the part where you have to develop an eye on what translates and what doesn’t. Things start to form patterns, and it’s how you factor everything in. I don’t think it’s as much as a crapshoot as you think it is, and I do believe (maybe someday), a basketball expert out there would be able to distinguish future good NBA players from bad ones… especially with the growing AI technology we have these days.
If you can situate every player and the ball on the court all times, plus the time and score, and the time on the clock, that along with each players' track record should allow you to train a model to rate every possible move forward in terms of how they affect their team's chances of winning. You could say the player with the highest bball iq is that which makes the decisions most conducive to winning (highest rated, should be differentiated by role). Probably every team has some form of this right now.

[Ariel]

Clingan is almost definitely going to Memphis where unless he get derailed by foot injuries he's going to be really good there.

This set of filters is likely cherrypicked and possibly coincidental, but this was the first set of criteria I used on Bart-Torvik:
6'11"+ (rim protector sized), defensive BPM > 4 (significant defensive impact), Block% > 10 (elite shot blocker) among Freshmen/Sophomores

Sorted by overall BPM:
1. Donovan Clingan
2. Chet Holmgren
3. Walker Kessler
4. KAT
5. Mark Williams
6. Willey Cauley-Stein
7. Joel Embiid
8. JJJ
9. Mo Bamba
10. Christian Koloko

I mean, this is a pretty high hit rate and Clingan doesn't have any significant red flags like a horrible AST% or TO% except maybe being bad at free throws. The dude anchors a top 5 defense in the country. I'm not saying he's going to be a star or anything, but he's probably one of the surest things do be at least decent in this draft. I don't think Spurs can use him where he's projected to be drafted, but I'd be planning ahead for a Clingan-JJJ defensive front court for the foreseeable future.
That's quite a mixed bag right there, lots of different roles, skill sets and ages. I don't see how the success of Embiid, KAT, Chet or JJJ should be taken as any indication of Clingan's future performance. Like I said in a post here a a while back, probably Walker Kessler is the closest comparison, and he has proven to be a very effective player in his role, who struggles to earn a bigger role due to his offensive limitations. I think Clingan is likely to experience a similar fate, which isn't bad but not worthy of a high lottery pick for most teams. Poeltl could be another reasonable comparison.

[alfahdlan]

Speaking of patterns, I have a belief that elite passing ability is a sign of high basketball IQ.

i’m not talking about prospects who simply have high assist numbers in college or overseas, but players who can make electrifying passes.

are there past players with elite vision / passing that have not seen success in the NBA? I doubt the number is very high.

In this draft, i’ve focused on strictly playmaking in my search for film for each prospect. a few have stood out to me so far -

1. Dilly - this guy looks to be the best lob passer in the draft. I didn’t realize it before but his fit with Wemby would probably be ungodly.
1b. Topic - sets everyone up. I think everyone knows by now this is his strength.
2. Nique Clifford - this guy is not even projected to be drafted in the 1st and 2nd round, but he looks the part of a good player and even better passer.
3. Jaylon Tyson - not as good of a passer as the other three above but better than a lot of players in the draft.
4. Reed Sheppard - he threads the line between genius passes and basic passes. Basically above average and worth a mention

i wager the Spurs will draft one of these guys.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohk_0JW6fU&t=613s
playmaking of Sheppard starts at 10 min mark.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

What do people think about Matas Buzelis? I entered the year very low on him, but checking in on his G-League Ignite season, it looks like he has a physical dimension to his game that I did not anticipate for him coming out of high school. He also seems like an instinctual shot blocker, and has good on ball defense out to the three point line. A line-up featuring Wemby, Sochan, and Buzelis could be surprisingly good on defense give the length, mobility, and switch-ability of all three. I also wonder if, given his physical development this year, Buzelis could play as a point-forward, potentially starting at the 4 and moving Sochan to the three. Curious to hear others' thoughts that may have seen him play more in the G League this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdgYWUo1cY

[exstatic]

What do people think about Matas Buzelis? I entered the year very low on him, but checking in on his G-League Ignite season, it looks like he has a physical dimension to his game that I did not anticipate for him coming out of high school. He also seems like an instinctual shot blocker, and has good on ball defense out to the three point line. A line-up featuring Wemby, Sochan, and Buzelis could be surprisingly good on defense give the length, mobility, and switch-ability. Curious to hear others' thoughts that may have seen him play more in the G League this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdgYWUo1cY

Buzelis can’t shoot.

[rascal]

I'd like buzelis to replace Sochan at pf. Buzelis looks quicker and a better athlete.

Neither should be considered at sf, team needs a high volume shooter, scoring option at sf.

[JPB]

You told the truth…… that’s all. We have no idea how much / far an Edey or clingan can expand their game in the proper setting. Only time will tell

It's about stats and probability. Jokic is just an abberancy and shouldn't be used as as an example or standard. I know I'm the one who brought him up :D, but that was precisely to underline the fact that the ceiling of an unathletic, non shooting center with no particular skills is limited in today's NBA, Jokic is just unique. But if Clingan can also protect the rim against NBA athlets , he should have a decent future there. Is it worth a top 3 pick in this draft? Well, the more I keep reading how bad this class is, the more I can help thinking it might not be that bad.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

Buzelis can’t shoot.

It's funny because that was the one aspect of his game that was most hyped coming into this season. Do you think his shot is fundamentally broken, or potentially fixable? Shooting is the one skill I tend to focus on less for prospects because shooting is the easiest skill to develop. Some prospects have such bad mechanics that the chances of becoming an even adequate shooter would be minimal, but if the mechanics just need minor adjustments I tend to bet on the prospect's other skills that are not teachable.

[exstatic]

It's funny because that was the one aspect of his game that was most hyped coming into this season. Do you think his shot is fundamentally broken, or potentially fixable? Shooting is the one skill I tend to focus on less for prospects because shooting is the easiest skill to develop. Some prospects have such bad mechanics that the chances of becoming an even adequate shooter would be minimal, but if the mechanics just need minor adjustments I tend to bet on the prospect's other skills that are not teachable.

Supposedly, he shot well early in HS, but not later. I’m just kind of done with non shooting wings. The only non shooter I’m interested in this draft is Topic, and he’s a distributor and finisher,and has a strong signal with almost 88% FT shooting.

[ginobilized]

I had a vision this morning.

The ultimate CIA Pop/Spurs move. No one has seen this, but, it's right in front of us.

With the 7th pick in the NBA Draft the San Antonio Spurs select......







Caitlin Clark


You heard it here first

[JPB]

Buzelis can’t shoot.

Yeah, too bad those highlights don't show the 27.3% 3PT shooting. And watching G league defenses is always brutal.

Also:

- Sidy in the G League (20 y.o today): 14.1pt/5rbd/3.3 ass in 29min, 44.3% shooting (24.3% 3pt)

- Buzelis in the G league (20 y.o in 3 months) 14.1pt/6.6rbd/1.9ass in 32min, 44.5% shooting (27.3% 3PT)

Sidy was selected #44 last year...

[CGD]

What do people think about Matas Buzelis? I entered the year very low on him, but checking in on his G-League Ignite season, it looks like he has a physical dimension to his game that I did not anticipate for him coming out of high school. He also seems like an instinctual shot blocker, and has good on ball defense out to the three point line. A line-up featuring Wemby, Sochan, and Buzelis could be surprisingly good on defense give the length, mobility, and switch-ability of all three. I also wonder if, given his physical development this year, Buzelis could play as a point-forward, potentially starting at the 4 and moving Sochan to the three. Curious to hear others' thoughts that may have seen him play more in the G League this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdgYWUo1cY

I’ve been high on him, but the biggest question mark is the shot. While Sochan-Matas-Wemby should be really good on D, you need shooting at the other forward position if you’re also committed to Sochan (which the Spurs are). Theoretically you get that and the D with Risacher, but recent performances have cast some doubt.

[Vienna]

Regarding Risacher, you had to wonder if he hasn't hit some kind of "rookie wall". Last year, Wembanyama's team was only playing french league while this season Risacher is playing both french and european league. One of the possible explanation on why he has sucked for a couple of months, is that all these games/practices/travel got to him.

I'm pretty sure that's an important factor. (that teams will factor in). till today Risacher has played 48 games this season, more than any other prospect in this class. his season began in mid September and it might gon on till June. (if I checked correctly), more or less without a break. Risacher might end the season at 60+ games, almost twice the workload of a typical NCAA season. quite a heavy burdon on a 18y/o body. what if Risacher's season had stopped end January (after 35 games)? his January splits were 12.1 PPG on 48% 3s. we would have a different discussion.

[heyheymymy]

I had a vision this morning.

The ultimate CIA Pop/Spurs move. No one has seen this, but, it's right in front of us.

With the 7th pick in the NBA Draft the San Antonio Spurs select......







Caitlin Clark


You heard it here first


Was going to make this joke after last night. Only half kidding but starting to feel like I'd take Clark over anyone in the lottery right now.

[venitian navigator]

idk, maybe Im a bit too old fashioned but frankly I cant understand how's possible to dany the possible impact, also on the NBA level, of a player (Edey) entering the final four with records of 20 rebounds 40 points games...his impact in the game is massive...its difficult to me to understand how that cant transalate at least for a more than decent weapon in a weak draft (like this is supposed to be) ...the old tell "you cant teach size and height" is still valuable imho...add to that his passing skills from the post and the fact that he could play with an helping big of the same height like Wemby and I see a lot of reasons for drafting him at least (if it conveys) with the Toronto pick...

[venitian navigator]

... and being Canadian he should also be able to speack french...:lol

[exstatic]

idk, maybe Im a bit too old fashioned but frankly I cant understand how's possible to dany the possible impact, also on the NBA level, of a player (Edey) entering the final four with records of 20 rebounds 40 points games...his impact in the game is massive...its difficult to me to understand how that cant transalate at least for a more than decent weapon in a weak draft (like this is supposed to be) ...the old tell "you cant teach size and height" is still valuable imho...add to that his passing skills from the post and the fact that he could play with an helping big of the same height like Wemby and I see a lot of reasons for drafting him at least (if it conveys) with the Toronto pick...

He’ll get switched on the PnR, and exposed on defense. His offense is 2 points, but he’ll give up 3, regularly. Even a quick shot blocker and rim runner like Capela got played off the floor in the playoffs, and was salary dumped to ATL that summer. Boban is one of the most dominant bigs around, and he only plays spot minutes for the same reason, and unlike Edey, he can actually space the floor. Boban’s career PER is 25, which is All Star level. 25 is also the number of games he’s started in his career. A player like that is only used to gum up the works for opposing benches. You should never use a first rounder on one, let alone a lottery pick. Would love him with a SRP. He’d be a nice bench piece.

[CorrectCrusader]

Edey was a second round pick like 3 weeks ago wtf lmao

[mo7888]

What do people think about Matas Buzelis? I entered the year very low on him, but checking in on his G-League Ignite season, it looks like he has a physical dimension to his game that I did not anticipate for him coming out of high school. He also seems like an instinctual shot blocker, and has good on ball defense out to the three point line. A line-up featuring Wemby, Sochan, and Buzelis could be surprisingly good on defense give the length, mobility, and switch-ability of all three. I also wonder if, given his physical development this year, Buzelis could play as a point-forward, potentially starting at the 4 and moving Sochan to the three. Curious to hear others' thoughts that may have seen him play more in the G League this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdgYWUo1cY

I think he's similar to Franz Wagner if his shooting improves and i expect it will..

[Ignazzz]

Clingan with our pick, Edey with the TOR pick. Triple towers lineup coming up.
and Sochan on PG

[mo7888]

Supposedly, he shot well early in HS, but not later. I’m just kind of done with non shooting wings. The only non shooter I’m interested in this draft is Topic, and he’s a distributor and finisher,and has a strong signal with almost 88% FT shooting.

It's the opposite, it was his senior year that he shot well. He shot 54 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.

[BatManu20]

What do people think about Matas Buzelis? I entered the year very low on him, but checking in on his G-League Ignite season, it looks like he has a physical dimension to his game that I did not anticipate for him coming out of high school. He also seems like an instinctual shot blocker, and has good on ball defense out to the three point line. A line-up featuring Wemby, Sochan, and Buzelis could be surprisingly good on defense give the length, mobility, and switch-ability of all three. I also wonder if, given his physical development this year, Buzelis could play as a point-forward, potentially starting at the 4 and moving Sochan to the three. Curious to hear others' thoughts that may have seen him play more in the G League this season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdgYWUo1cY


Been saying for a while now that Matas feels very Spursy to me. His mentality and competitiveness are what stick out imo. Yea his shot is a question mark, but that can be improved with time and reps. He's got good size and length for the position and can do a little bit of everything. Needs to get stronger obv, but he competes hard defensively and uses his length well in that regard. Still young -- doesn't turn 20 til October, so there's still plenty of upside here. Doubt he'll ever be an All-Star, but he projects as a solid glue-guy down the line who can defend, and could potentially fit well next to Wemby. A poor man's Franz Wagner isn't a bad comparison. I think he's going to be pretty high on the Spurs draft board after The Combine and draft evals tbh.

[scott]

I thought Matas was impressive in the Rising Stars challenge, and that is a differentiating factor for me in a class that has very few of them. That was Matas against NBA competition and he showed that he could hang. He's the player I want most for the Spurs... but I'll also not be sad if we just trade away the picks.

[Bruno]

I'm pretty sure that's an important factor. (that teams will factor in). till today Risacher has played 48 games this season, more than any other prospect in this class. his season began in mid September and it might gon on till June. (if I checked correctly), more or less without a break. Risacher might end the season at 60+ games, almost twice the workload of a typical NCAA season. quite a heavy burdon on a 18y/o body. what if Risacher's season had stopped end January (after 35 games)? his January splits were 12.1 PPG on 48% 3s. we would have a different discussion.

Welcome back, mountainballer.

[DAF86]

Spurs' #1 target has to still be Risacher regardless of this recent bad streak. A 6'8 to 6'10" wing that can shoot and play good D is biggest need 1B after PG and, despite these recent struggles, the guy is still shooting 50% from the field and 47% from 3 for the entire season, which, as someone has said above, is twice as long as college basketball players.

[exstatic]

I think he's similar to Franz Wagner if his shooting improves and i expect it will..

Why do you think that? His FT shooting is 69%. That’s not even a lukewarm shooting signal.

[mo7888]

Why do you think that? His FT shooting is 69%. That’s not even a lukewarm shooting signal.

As i said earlier, he was 80% from the FT line his senior year in HS and 42% from 3. I don't think he all of a sudden lost his touch. I think he played on a team that gave him no development . You can look at his shot and see that it needs work, but it's not as broken as Sochan when he came in. With all of the other things he brings, Im willing to bet on developing his form.

[DAF86]

Buzelis and Topic are the only non-shooting prospects I could get behind drafting if my prefered options aren't available.

[objective]

Been watching more Nunez and am all aboard the Nunez train. He's been moving up, tankathon bumped him up to 40 today

His shooting is bad:

3pt% - 32.7
Free throw % - 65.5

But this interview has me filled with some hope. A YouTube comment tipped me off to it.

http://www.eurohopes.com/news/6382/exclusive_interview_with_juan_nunez_ratiopharm_ulm ,_game_breakdown_and_more




What areas of your game are you focusing on the most? Where would you say you have improved the most in recent times?

We use to work the shot and its consistency. Also finishes like high layups, floaters, and shot creation.

Have you made any major changes in your shot?

I have not made any major changes. I think shooting needs time, so I did not make major changes. It’s more about consistency, always doing the same shot, keeping the balance and doing well the follow-through. These details are difficult to assimilate, but once you have done it, it’s way easier. This season, I’ve gained a lot of fluidity.

…

Let's talk about passing now. First, to clear up the doubt. Are you right or left-handed? One has doubts watching you play.

For sports, I’m a lefty. I indeed play tennis better with my right hand, although. At writing, eating, and things like those, I’m right-handed. I’m left-handed at basketball, and I play soccer with my left foot. However, in some areas of my game, I feel better using my left hand and in others, I feel better using my right hand, so I wouldn’t define myself as left-handed or right-handed



To me, I wonder if the Spurs would try to get him to shoot with his right hand instead of this ridiculous Ben Simmons esque desire to shoot lefty for no good reason

[BackHome]

Yeah, I forgot who tipped me off to the kid but watched some game he is good but damn his shooting is terrible free throws and 3 ball are UGLY - I guess a hope and a prayer and as a Draft and Stash?....

[MultiTroll]

Draft, trade or hold tryouts in the stadium parking lot.

Just get a farking functional point guard.

End of tonights Nuggets game was an eyesore.

[rascal]

It's the opposite, it was his senior year that he shot well. He shot 54 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Is the high school 3 point line the same as the G league?

[BackHome]

No they are different hence why some people think his 3 ball can improve as he was decent in High School

[scott]

Been watching more Nunez and am all aboard the Nunez train. He's been moving up, tankathon bumped him up to 40 today

His shooting is bad:

3pt% - 32.7
Free throw % - 65.5

But this interview has me filled with some hope. A YouTube comment tipped me off to it.

http://www.eurohopes.com/news/6382/exclusive_interview_with_juan_nunez_ratiopharm_ulm ,_game_breakdown_and_more



To me, I wonder if the Spurs would try to get him to shoot with his right hand instead of this ridiculous Ben Simmons esque desire to shoot lefty for no good reason

He’s practically Steph Curry compared to some of these other top prospects.

[Vienna]

Welcome back, mountainballer.

thanks....I was just in the area and thought I'd stop by....

[venitian navigator]

He’ll get switched on the PnR, and exposed on defense. His offense is 2 points, but he’ll give up 3, regularly. Even a quick shot blocker and rim runner like Capela got played off the floor in the playoffs, and was salary dumped to ATL that summer. Boban is one of the most dominant bigs around, and he only plays spot minutes for the same reason, and unlike Edey, he can actually space the floor. Boban’s career PER is 25, which is All Star level. 25 is also the number of games he’s started in his career. A player like that is only used to gum up the works for opposing benches. You should never use a first rounder on one, let alone a lottery pick. Would love him with a SRP. He’d be a nice bench piece.
I understand the point but in our current situation I have to disagree with your conclusions... First thing is that Edey looks a lot more mobile, reactive and athletic than
Boban and also if he's not that agile and fast, his offensive skills compared to Capela 's ones are of another planet. As is his career before coming to the nba. Second point is that you're not considering Edey a passing skills... Once he's doubled (and most of the time he's doubled) he's able to pass in a timely way to any shooters around... So the equation 2 points for three
points is, Imho, not that accurate... I agree that his size and weight make him a sure target but frankly if there is one thing that the ncaa game share with nba game is the quickness and athleticism of the players involved and for Edey it worked more than well till the maximum ncaa level...that said, you also have to consider the personnel he's supposed to work with once he is drafted... The looks of Wemby, Vassell and Sochan as help defenders are, Imho, perfect for covering all the potential switching Edey is gonna command... Having someone else to complete the "switching squad" ( like for example, our
ex player Murray at point guard) should be enough to compensate the limited defensive weakness caused by
Edey's excess of size and weight...

[onechance87]

hope rishasher can snap out of it.

[mo7888]

Is the high school 3 point line the same as the G league?

No, it's a couple feet shorter.

[The Truth #6]

I understand the point but in our current situation I have to disagree with your conclusions... First thing is that Edey looks a lot more mobile, reactive and athletic than
Boban and also if he's not that agile and fast, his offensive skills compared to Capela 's ones are of another planet. As is his career before coming to the nba. Second point is that you're not considering Edey a passing skills... Once he's doubled (and most of the time he's doubled) he's able to pass in a timely way to any shooters around... So the equation 2 points for three
points is, Imho, not that accurate... I agree that his size and weight make him a sure target but frankly if there is one thing that the ncaa game share with nba game is the quickness and athleticism of the players involved and for Edey it worked more than well till the maximum ncaa level...that said, you also have to consider the personnel he's supposed to work with once he is drafted... The looks of Wemby, Vassell and Sochan as help defenders are, Imho, perfect for covering all the potential switching Edey is gonna command... Having someone else to complete the "switching squad" ( like for example, our
ex player Murray at point guard) should be enough to compensate the limited defensive weakness caused by
Edey's excess of size and weight...

I think he's worth a shot. Definitely at 33 if we draft there but I feel like Memphis is a type of team to grab him earlier somehow. Or more likely, some other team takes him in the late first round. I don't see us using SRPs and our #33 to move into the late first round. But who knows?

[rascal]

I think he's worth a shot. Definitely at 33 if we draft there but I feel like Memphis is a type of team to grab him earlier somehow. Or more likely, some other team takes him in the late first round. I don't see us using SRPs and our #33 to move into the late first round. But who knows?

He's going to be drafted in the first round.

[BackHome]

I can say this that Edey definitely improved his lotttery selection with his play against one of the best defensive teams in college- He looked really good scoring 40 points and 16 rebounds - he moved pretty good for a guy his size. The other thing I like him vs Clingan is that he played heavy minutes and his conditioning looked really good.

[Ariel]

thanks....I was just in the area and thought I'd stop by....
Reminded me of alpineballer, a good poster at SpursReport.com back in the day. Any chance that was you?

[Ariel]

Been watching more Nunez and am all aboard the Nunez train. He's been moving up, tankathon bumped him up to 40 today

His shooting is bad:

3pt% - 32.7
Free throw % - 65.5

But this interview has me filled with some hope. A YouTube comment tipped me off to it.

http://www.eurohopes.com/news/6382/exclusive_interview_with_juan_nunez_ratiopharm_ulm ,_game_breakdown_and_more

To me, I wonder if the Spurs would try to get him to shoot with his right hand instead of this ridiculous Ben Simmons esque desire to shoot lefty for no good reason
I'd put him in the "draft & stash" wish list for the Lakers' pick, alongside Diadet and Ajinca. I'd have other priorities for the Spurs own top 2nd rounder, though (Ajay Mitchell, Kolek, or someone that falls there)

[onechance87]

I'd put him in the "draft & stash" wish list for the Lakers' pick, alongside Diadet and Ajinca. I'd have other priorities for the Spurs own top 2nd rounder, though (Ajay Mitchell, Kolek, or someone that falls there)

what about carrington,Think he said hes entering draft

[Ariel]

what about carrington,Think he said hes entering draft
I don't think the Spurs will draft and keep 4 rookies, probably 2/3 at most. If the Toronto pick conveys and they use it, they either trade one of the 2 2nd rounders or use it in a draft and stash. Carrington could be an option for one of the 2nd rounders, but he looks like a longer term project, and honestly in the 2nd round I'm leaning more towards guys a bit older and further along, the kind of guys that you can tell in 1 or 2 years if they're keepers or you can safely move on. Worst case scenario right now is having to invest 4 years in a 19 y.o. non elite project, with a high chance he's a deep bench player at best (we already have Branham, Wesley, Cissoko and Barlow for that). Where the Spurs stand right now, I think rotating through prospects faster would be a more useful approach, so unless they really LOVE a given prospect (not ruling out that could be the case with Carrington), I'd pass on 18 year olds in the 2nd round

[ace3g]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uPEiZvQqCY&pp=ygUIcmlzYWNoZXI%3D

[SpursBills]

what about carrington,Think he said hes entering draft

Would be hilarious of the FO viewed him as a Josh Primo do-over. PG prospect who's super young, has good positional size, can't get to the rim, has a decent jump shot, and isn't really good at anything.

[Ariel]

Would be hilarious of the FO viewed him as a Josh Primo do-over. PG prospect who's super young, has good positional size, can't get to the rim, has a decent jump shot, and isn't really good at anything.
Curious as to who are your favorite 2nd round prospects, SpursBills

[Ariel]

Looking at the DNPs and lineups down the line, it's obvious EVERYBODY in our range is tanking: Washington, Charlotte, Portland. With 6 games to go, this is the outline:

#) TEAM (WINS)
1) Detroit (13)
2) Washington (15)
3) Spurs (18)
3) Charlotte (18)
5) Portland (20)
6) Toronto (23)
7) Memphis (25)
8) Utah (29)
8) Brooklyn (29)
10) Atlanta (35)
11) Chicago (36)
12) Houston (38)
13) Golden State (41)
14) Lakers (43)

So I think it's pretty much set in stone:
Detroit: 1. Hope they continue to lose so that they can end the season 2 games from Washington and go all out their last game vs Spurs.
Washington: 2
Charlotte: 3. I don't think they win another game, they intent is clear if you look at today's lineups and playing time
Spurs: 3-5.
Portland: 4-5. Will probably lose everything, so it'll come down to what we do.
Toronto: 6. TOTY for sure
Memphis: 7
Utah: 8-9, likely 8
Brooklyn: 8-9, likely 9
Atlanta: 10-11, likely 11
Chicago: 10-11, likely 10

All in all, I think we'll win one more game to stay below Charlotte but Pop tanks the rest and keeps us above Portland, ending up 4th. Not the end of the world

[SpursBills]

Curious as to who are your favorite 2nd round prospects, SpursBills

A lot of my favorite second round guys may have played themselves into the first round. But in general, I'm a fan of the way Memphis drafts with heavy emphasis on a well-rounded statistical profile. With that said -

Collin Murray-Boyles: Might have played himself into the first round, but on Tankathon he's still a deep second rounder. Great productivity, super young age, great defense and surprisingly good passing chops indicating pretty good basketball sense. His fatal flaw is that he has zero jump shot, but I look to him to have a similar impact as Brandon Clarke in the future.

Nique Clifford: Very well rounded profile. Good defensive metrics, decent shooter, rebounder, passer. Relatively older and might be undersized for the wing, but he passed the eye test for me in the tournament. Currently not listed on Tankathon's top 60, but could develop into a pretty good utility wing.

I actually don't mind taking a swing on Carrington either if he drops to the second round, he's a far better bet at that spot than Primo was in the lottery

[exstatic]

Looking at the DNPs and lineups down the line, it's obvious EVERYBODY in our range is tanking: Washington, Charlotte, Portland. With 6 games to go, this is the outline:

#) TEAM (WINS)
1) Detroit (13)
2) Washington (15)
3) Spurs (18)
3) Charlotte (18)
5) Portland (20)
6) Toronto (23)
7) Memphis (25)
8) Utah (29)
8) Brooklyn (29)
10) Atlanta (35)
11) Chicago (36)
12) Houston (38)
13) Golden State (41)
14) Lakers (43)

So I think it's pretty much set in stone:
Detroit: 1. Hope they continue to lose so that they can end the season 2 games from Washington and go all out their last game vs Spurs.
Washington: 2
Charlotte: 3. I don't think they win another game, they intent is clear if you look at today's lineups and playing time
Spurs: 3-5.
Portland: 4-5. Will probably lose everything, so it'll come down to what we do.
Toronto: 6. TOTY for sure
Memphis: 7
Utah: 8-9, likely 8
Brooklyn: 8-9, likely 9
Atlanta: 10-11, likely 11
Chicago: 10-11, likely 10

All in all, I think we'll win one more game to stay below Charlotte but Pop tanks the rest and keeps us above Portland, ending up 4th. Not the end of the world

The only game I can see us winning, maybe, is Detroit, the last game. Everyone else is fighting for position, or stupid like Memphis.

Toronto started all of this by plummeting from 8 or 9 earlier to 6, after Jak and Scotty went down. The teams higher in the draft order don’t want to lose their spot, so they all tank hard, too. That Charlotte/Portland game tonight must have been embarrassing to watch, with a score right from 1993, both teams in the 80s.

[Mugen]

I know he hasn't played in forever but I just keep coming back to Topic as being the pick. I could see Castle making a good run if shows out in pre-draft workouts. But i think they're committed to having size at the PG position and Topic just checks off so many boxes (young, rim pressure, Euro, shooting potential, etc.).

[Ariel]

The only game I can see us winning, maybe, is Detroit, the last game. Everyone else is fighting for position, or stupid like Memphis.

Toronto started all of this by plummeting from 8 or 9 earlier to 6, after Jak and Scotty went down. The teams higher in the draft order don’t want to lose their spot, so they all tank hard, too. That Charlotte/Portland game tonight must have been embarrassing to watch, with a score right from 1993, both teams in the 80s.
Remaining schedule:
@ NOLA
vs Philly
@ Memphis
@ OKC
vs Denver
vs Detroit

Funny enough, I'm confident we lose that closing game against Detroit, they likely have no. 1 secured by then and will try to finish the season on a positive note, while we're fighting for position and may rest EVERYONE (especially Wemby). It's Memphis I'm worried about, and maybe NOLA / Philly. I think one more win takes us out of 3rd place, and 2 more may have us tied for 4th with Portland.

[Ariel]

A lot of my favorite second round guys may have played themselves into the first round. But in general, I'm a fan of the way Memphis drafts with heavy emphasis on a well-rounded statistical profile. With that said -

Collin Murray-Boyles: Might have played himself into the first round, but on Tankathon he's still a deep second rounder. Great productivity, super young age, great defense and surprisingly good passing chops indicating pretty good basketball sense. His fatal flaw is that he has zero jump shot, but I look to him to have a similar impact as Brandon Clarke in the future.

Nique Clifford: Very well rounded profile. Good defensive metrics, decent shooter, rebounder, passer. Relatively older and might be undersized for the wing, but he passed the eye test for me in the tournament. Currently not listed on Tankathon's top 60, but could develop into a pretty good utility wing.

I actually don't mind taking a swing on Carrington either if he drops to the second round, he's a far better bet at that spot than Primo was in the lottery
Can't say I'm familiar with either of them, but someone is bound to fall, they always do.

Non shooters scare me a bit, but at the second round if you're sold on the rest of his game then it's not a deal breaker I guess. Anything of value you can get out of a 2nd round pick is already a win.

[mo7888]

I'm just looking for value with my 2nd rd pick. I'd pick whichever of these falls and is there..

Bobi Klintman
Kyshawn George
Tyrese Proctor
Pacome Dadiet
Trevon Brazile
Kevin McCullar
Juan Nunez
Tyler Kolek
Tristan Da Silva

[Ariel]

I'm just looking for value with my 2nd rd pick. I'd pick whichever of these falls and is there..

Bobi Klintman
Kyshawn George
Tyrese Proctor
Pacome Dadiet
Trevon Brazile
Kevin McCullar
Juan Nunez
Tyler Kolek
Tristan Da Silva
Good list. Still hoping for Ajay Mitchell though.

[BackHome]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uPEiZvQqCY&pp=ygUIcmlzYWNoZXI%3D

Man that dunk attempt was embarrassing..

[onechance87]

I'm just looking for value with my 2nd rd pick. I'd pick whichever of these falls and is there..

Bobi Klintman
Kyshawn George
Tyrese Proctor
Pacome Dadiet
Trevon Brazile
Kevin McCullar
Juan Nunez
Tyler Kolek
Tristan Da Silva

for sure a pg in the second round...Dont know if wesley and branham will improve.And we got tre for
1 more year,But i think he will resign unless he gets worst next year.

[BackHome]

I'm just looking for value with my 2nd rd pick. I'd pick whichever of these falls and is there..

Bobi Klintman
Kyshawn George
Tyrese Proctor
Pacome Dadiet
Trevon Brazile
Kevin McCullar
Juan Nunez
Tyler Kolek
Tristan Da Silva

I would love to get Kyshawn George but he probably going first...

[BatManu20]

1774186014048707059

[onechance87]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uPEiZvQqCY&pp=ygUIcmlzYWNoZXI%3D

does anybody watch him live.How is his defence,Is it bad lately like his offence.

[DAF86]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uPEiZvQqCY&pp=ygUIcmlzYWNoZXI%3D

The kid is playing playoff basketball and doing his part. Give me this guy with our pick, the worst we are gonna get is a 3 and D 6'9" ish wing.

[BackHome]

So far there no one in the first round that I would put my flag on so far everyone has pluses and more minuses. As far as Risa from just watching the above video I can tell he is raw but also that he has some talent he looked a lot more athletic “Except when he wiffed on that dunk”. So he has potential but no way is he starting or even getting heavy minutes with the big squad his first year. Which is fine with me since he is only 18 years old and he can hang with Sidy in G League

[DAF86]

So far there no one in the first round that I would put my flag on so far everyone has pluses and more minuses. As far as Risa from just watching the above video I can tell he is raw but also that he has some talent he looked a lot more athletic “Except when he wiffed on that dunk”. So he has potential but no way is he starting or even getting heavy minutes with the big squad his first year. Which is fine with me since he is only 18 years old and he can hang with Sidy in G League

He's no doubt starting since day 1 over Champaigne, imho.

[mystargtr34]

I’m comfortable with Risacher as the pick. Even with his recent struggles. I think at his size, shooting ability, fluidity of movement/athleticism he’s can be a solid starter in the league.

I think Sarr is slightly better as a prospect in a vacuum but Spurs need to start drafting for fit as much as BPA given they have their centre piece in Wemby.

Looks like Risacher has parts of MPJ, Deni Avdija, Cameron Johnson in his game.

[Vienna]

Reminded me of alpineballer, a good poster at SpursReport.com back in the day. Any chance that was you?

"back in the day" might not be an accurate term anymore......feels like it was even before the internet.....but yes. respect, you have an amazing memory....

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

"back in the day" might not be an accurate term anymore......feels like it was even before the internet.....but yes. respect, you have an amazing memory....

Regardless of the name, it’s great to have you back. :bobo

[spurraider21]

does anybody watch him live.How is his defence,Is it bad lately like his offence.
the vid shows a lot of defensive clips in the 2nd half. he's very engaged and active on that end. chases/fights through screens, rotates quickly. he got crossed up one time off the dribble tho

[spurraider21]

I’m comfortable with Risacher as the pick. Even with his recent struggles. I think at his size, shooting ability, fluidity of movement/athleticism he’s can be a solid starter in the league.

I think Sarr is slightly better as a prospect in a vacuum but Spurs need to start drafting for fit as much as BPA given they have their centre piece in Wemby.

Looks like Risacher has parts of MPJ, Deni Avdija, Cameron Johnson in his game.
best comp ive read is batum

[Vienna]

best comp ive read is batum

Brandon Ingram? (talking about the 18 y/o Duke version)
I think they are pretty similar in many ways. (age, body type, mobility, shooting).
even if you compare their numbers, some look almost the same: Player Comparison | Tankathon (https://www.tankathon.com/players/compare?players=zaccharie-risacher--brandon-ingram)
(I understand that it's a bit awkward to compare college and pro league numbers).
I don't want to claim that Risacher will be as good as Ingram. Just that there are pretty much the same tools to work with.

[BatManu20]

Regarding Risacher:


After making nearly half of his 3s in his first 34 games this season, Risacher has made only 24.5 percent in the 14 since. It’s possible that his hot streak was nothing more than that. In his first three years playing pro, he made only 32 percent of his 3s, so his recent percentage is a lot closer to his historic norm. In all four pro seasons, he's also made only 71.1 percent of his free throws. And Synergy says he also makes just 29.4 percent of his dribble jumpers and only 40 percent of his floaters. So it’s not like he has a particularly soft touch from that range. Regardless, there’s still potential for Risacher as a 3-and-D guy at the next level.

[SPURt]

As long as Jack Gohlke is there to pick, I’m good

[tapiefan]

Risacher is trash. Believe me. I'm french. His playing will never convert to the NBA. Avoid it at any price.

[onechance87]

Risacher is trash. Believe me. I'm french. His playing will never convert to the NBA. Avoid it at any price.

so who then bro

[rascal]

Risacher is trash. Believe me. I'm french. His playing will never convert to the NBA. Avoid it at any price.

Doubt the Spurs draft Risacher over Topic.

[BatManu20]

Draft Bronny in the 2nd Round, entice Lebron to SA, trade for Trae, win a ring. Bada bing bada boom.

1776263012032143499

[BatManu20]

Jokes aside, Bronny isn’t even a G-League caliber player right now, let alone an NBA caliber one. Kid needs to stay in school. Only reason I could see him actually going pro is if he knows Klutch will tell teams not to draft him so the Lakers can scoop him up with their 2nd around Pick. That’s about it.

[sfernald]

Jokes aside, Bronny isn’t even a G-League caliber player right now, let alone an NBA caliber one. Kid needs to stay in school. Only reason I could see him actually going pro is if he knows Klutch will tell teams not to draft him so the Lakers can scoop him up with their 2nd around Pick. That’s about it.

They will just push to have him go undrafted and then lakers get him without wasting a pick. Everyone happy. This seems to happen all the time, without the threat of lebron’s wrath.

[sfernald]

so who then bro

Best frenchie is Sarr.

[Bruno]

Right now, there are 7 point guard or combo guard projected in the top20: Dillingham, Topic, Sheppard, Collier, Castle, Devin Carter and Jared McCain.
You can add to these players, Juan Nunez, Kyshawn George, Carlton Carrington and Tyler Kolek that are also projected in the first round.

This draft is definitively PG oriented which is good for Spurs given their need at that spot.

[Dejounte]

Right now, there are 7 point guard or combo guard projected in the top20: Dillingham, Topic, Sheppard, Collier, Castle, Devin Carter and Jared McCain.
You can add to these players, Juan Nunez, Kyshawn George, Carlton Carrington and Tyler Kolek that are also projected in the first round.

This draft is definitively PG oriented which is good for Spurs given their need at that spot.

Yeah, they need a point different enough from Tre but not too raw like Wesley.

Dilly and Sheppard are volume 3 pt shooters, which is a plus.
Collier has physical ability (strength) none from the list have.
Castle is a taller version of Tre so I vote no.
Devin’s solid but not spectacular so that’s too much like Tre.
All the other guys I’m just not sure we can have another raw prospect in the PG pipeline so I’d rather find the talent with the top picks vs the second round.

[Dejounte]

What’s also important is a player who imposes his will. Can’t have anybody come in and be timid and scared to mess up the system. Talent aside, Wemby approached the game without modesty. He fit in the offense early on without being disruptive or a blackhole and while not playing hot potato with the ball. The Spurs need total confidence from a young player coming in as a rookie or he will be shoved down the rotation. Guys like Castle don’t fit that profile.

[Degoat]

Doubt it but I wonder if there’s a move back move in the draft where we get a player + a pick

[scott]

Right now, there are 7 point guard or combo guard projected in the top20: Dillingham, Topic, Sheppard, Collier, Castle, Devin Carter and Jared McCain.
You can add to these players, Juan Nunez, Kyshawn George, Carlton Carrington and Tyler Kolek that are also projected in the first round.

This draft is definitively PG oriented which is good for Spurs given their need at that spot.

DJ Wagner, Tyrese Proctor and Ajay Mitchell are some second round candidates to keep an eye out on as well. Wagner and Proctor are probably best off staying in school, though.

[Bruno]

What’s also important is a player who imposes his will. Can’t have anybody come in and be timid and scared to mess up the system. Talent aside, Wemby approached the game without modesty. He fit in the offense early on without being disruptive or a blackhole and while not playing hot potato with the ball. The Spurs need total confidence from a young player coming in as a rookie or he will be shoved down the rotation. Guys like Castle don’t fit that profile.

I would say it depends on the rest of the lineup. With a lot of strong offensive players, you can have someone like Castle. If your forwards are Champagnie and Sochan, you definitively need more offensively from your PG than what Castle is projected to do.

[Dejounte]

I would say it depends on the rest of the lineup. With a lot of strong offensive players, you can have someone like Castle. If your forwards are Champagnie and Sochan, you definitively need more offensively from your PG than what Castle is projected to do.

Fair but I don’t see the Spurs replacing those guys anytime soon. Not for more than two years at least.

[JPB]

I would say it depends on the rest of the lineup. With a lot of strong offensive players, you can have someone like Castle. If your forwards are Champagnie and Sochan, you definitively need more offensively from your PG than what Castle is projected to do.

Yeah, spurs badly need some scoring whether at the wing or PG (or both :D) but I don't thnk you'll really find that in this year's draft, not in the short term anywyay.

[Uriel]

Any updates on Topic? Shouldn’t he have been slated to return from injury by now? Or is he just going to sit out the rest of the year to preserve his draft stock?

[JPB]

Fair but I don’t see the Spurs replacing those guys anytime soon. Not for more than two years at least.

I mean, if Champagnie is still your starting SF in 2 years, Wemby quits the NBA. And Sochan is not a good fit with Wemby in the SL. he could also be used in a trade. PF, SF and PG are 3 spots spurs need to badly upgrade.

[Dejounte]

Uh? I mean if Champagnie is still your starting SF in 2 years, Wemby quits the NBA. And Sochan is not a good with Wemby in the SL. he could also be used in a thread. PF, SF and PG are 3 spots spurs need to badly upgrade,

Whether they need to be upgraded or not is up for debate. When I say “replaced” I meant pulled out of the rotation completely. There will still be players here from the current roster two years from now and will still be core contributors. If you follow this team, they like to keep players. I’m being realistic and using what I’ve seen from this team for decades. I know that blows your mind because of your hopes and desires, but this is reality buddy.

[scott]

Whether they need to be upgraded or not is up for debate. When I say “replaced” I meant pulled out of the rotation completely. There will still be players here from the current roster two years from now and will still be core contributors. If you follow this team, they like to keep players. I’m being realistic and using what I’ve seen from this team for decades. I know that blows your mind because of your hopes and desires, but this is reality buddy.

Because I was curious... I went and looked it up.

Historically, the Spurs are actually kind of a mixed bag and my guess is that if you averaged out the entire Pop era, the Spurs would be around the top 10 in the league in terms of roster continuity. https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/continuity.html

If I get time later I might actually try and aggregate the data to see where the Spurs rank overall in the Pop area in term so of average roster continuity, rather than year by year. If I do, I'll start a new thread.

[baseline bum]

Whether they need to be upgraded or not is up for debate. When I say “replaced” I meant pulled out of the rotation completely. There will still be players here from the current roster two years from now and will still be core contributors. If you follow this team, they like to keep players. I’m being realistic and using what I’ve seen from this team for decades. I know that blows your mind because of your hopes and desires, but this is reality buddy.

The team is in a situation they haven't been in since 1989 and they cleared that roster from 88-89 quick. Alvin Robertson was a way better player than Vassell, night and day better, and they moved him and Cadillac Anderson for Terry Cummings. Johnny Dawkins was a better prospect than Sochan and they moved him for Mo Cheeks. And they were both the right moves. Vassell is about the only player I can still see here in 3 years as a core player possibly, but he could easily be moved to upgrade the roster and I wouldn't complain. Tre will probably get too expensive to keep for a backup PG.

[Dejounte]

Because I was curious... I went and looked it up.

Historically, the Spurs are actually kind of a mixed bag and my guess is that if you averaged out the entire Pop era, the Spurs would be around the top 10 in the league in terms of roster continuity. https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/continuity.html

If I get time later I might actually try and aggregate the data to see where the Spurs rank overall in the Pop area in term so of average roster continuity, rather than year by year. If I do, I'll start a new thread.

please do man. That would be an interesting thread and i’ll be happy to own up if i’m incorrect.

[scott]

please do man. That would be an interesting thread and i’ll be happy to own up if i’m incorrect.

I do not think you will be. It will be a fun project though to see what teams are really turnover happy (just looking at the chart you can kind of see it. LOL Knicks). What would be more interesting to me, which I'm not sure I want to take on as a project... would be 2nd and 3rd (and maybe even 5th) year Roster Continuity rates. I did a little bit of this analysis before the season, too bad the search function is broken.

[Dejounte]

The team is in a situation they haven't been in since 1989 and they cleared that roster from 88-89 quick. Alvin Robertson was a way better player than Vassell, night and day better, and they moved him and Cadillac Anderson for Terry Cummings. Johnny Dawkins was a better prospect than Sochan and they moved him for Mo Cheeks. And they were both the right moves. Vassell is about the only player I can still see here in 3 years as a core player possibly, but he could easily be moved to upgrade the roster and I wouldn't complain. Tre will probably get too expensive to keep for a backup PG.

Talent is always subjective, turnover rate is not. Spurs are consistent in some of their ways, and this is one of those ways where I think they’ll be consistent in, regardless of how people view the talent that’s there and needs to be replaced.

[JPB]

Whether they need to be upgraded or not is up for debate. When I say “replaced” I meant pulled out of the rotation completely. There will still be players here from the current roster two years from now and will still be core contributors. If you follow this team, they like to keep players. I’m being realistic and using what I’ve seen from this team for decades. I know that blows your mind because of your hopes and desires, but this is reality buddy.

The question was about picking guys to replace Champ or Sochan in the SL (obviously).

Anyway, I do'nt think you should rely on the past, that's actually not as clear as you present it, to assume how spurs are gonna act today in that unique situation they're in and with that unique player.

End of story I'm really not sure these guys are still here in 2 years. Sochan maybe on the bench but Champ certainly not as a core member.

[scott]

We talked about the 1989 Model a lot before the season, with folks (like myself and BB) advocating for a similar approach, which led to some fun discussions about TC (cliff's notes: dude was a boss before he tore up his knee).

Big problem is that was a completely different regime with completely different approach to team building and different motivations. Yes, Pop and RC were part of that staff as Assistant Coaches, but I'm not sure they would say they learned much from Bob Bass.

[CorrectCrusader]

Castle is super intriguing because of his switchability on defense. If he gets an offensive game he's probably the best player from this draft.

[scott]

The question was about picking guys to replace Champ or Sochan in the SL (obviously).

Anyway, I do'nt think you should rely on the past, that's actually not as clear as you present it, to assume how spurs are gonna act today in that unique situation they're in and with that unique player.

End of story I'm really not sure these guys are still here in 2 years. Sochan maybe on the bench but Champ certainly not as a core member.

I think it is a really fascinating discussion. It's insightful to look at the past, since we've had continuity in the FO for a long time. While the past does point to a higher than average rate of continuity, the past also has moments where the FO clearly were okay with moving favored young pieces in big strategic moves. George Hill for Kawhi being the most prominent (and maybe the only?) big example that might have any kind of similarities to "big" or surprising moves we might make now. DWhite and DJM trades being the other examples, though those were in a selling frame of mind rather than a building.

I'm hoping that RC, Pop and Brian Wright have the cajones to make a big move if it presents itself. I think Wright does... the elder statesmen might be more hesitant

[baseline bum]

Talent is always subjective, turnover rate is not. Spurs are consistent in some of their ways, and this is one of those ways where I think they’ll be consistent in, regardless of how people view the talent that’s there and needs to be replaced.

You're judging them against mostly an era where they were the most successful team in the history of the league. Of course turnover was going to be low then when they were title contenders for nearly 30 years. Now they're coming off a horrific season that caught them off guard and you have to expect some big changes when they can't afford to screw up this chance they got landing Victor.

[scott]

You're judging them against mostly an era where they were the most successful team in the history of the league. Of course turnover was going to be low then when they were title contenders for nearly 30 years. Now they're coming off a horrific season that caught them off guard and you have to expect some big changes when they can't afford to screw up this chance they got landing Victor.

Interestingly, some of the higher year over year continuity rates in the Pop era came in the Post-Nephew era, not in the heyday of the Big 3 era. I'll definitely do a post a little later.

[BackHome]

I am kind liking Payton Sandfort - 6'7 SF - Iowa - His 3 ball is good .379% to go with his FT% .911 and I like his REB 6.6 to go with his AST 2.7. I would not mind using our late second round pick on him or giving the kid a camp invite. His game is pretty good on the offensive side as he can shoot and he has good court vision and has pretty good handles. On the defensive side he is not good but neither is he that bad...good bench guy for future.

[Mr. Body]

Castle is super intriguing because of his switchability on defense. If he gets an offensive game he's probably the best player from this draft.

Castle will probably be on the short list for the Spurs' first round pick. I'm stuck fearing he's Dyson Daniels, more or less, and that we need more from our pick this year. Or that he's somewhat the same configuration as Cissoko - lots of tools, with shooting not one of them. And the idea of starting him with Sochan is a bit scary. (No, the team is not moving Sochan.)

But then Castle is playing at a very high level for one of the best college teams we've seen in a while and has been throttling opponents' lead scorers. The team needs either a massive scoring punch or a great defender and the guards are better in this lottery than the wings.

[exstatic]

Castle is super intriguing because of his switchability on defense. If he gets an offensive game he's probably the best player from this draft.

He plays as a freshman in one of the most sophisticated college offenses, so he has an offensive game or he’d never see the floor. His shot needs work, though.

[spurraider21]

while castle's shot is definitely not there yet, i think he's better offensively than people think. uconn doesnt exactly feature him. but whether he can actually be a point guard or if his highest aspiration going to be a high end secondary playmaker like iguodala is tbd

[SpursBills]

Castle's one of those guys where I think GMs are looking for any sign at all that he can initiate. If he has basically one good showing either in the championship game or the combine where he's acting as a primary playmaker and shows PG chops, he's going to be consensus top 3 on everyone's draft boards. The nice thing about him is that given his size and defense, you can actually play him as a utility wing early in his career while you wait for him to develop.

[Splits]

He's going to be drafted in the first round.

Definitely some jackass team will draft BobanEdey in the 1st, most likely late lottery, and will feel miserable about that decision in 2 years.

He was the NCAA MVP last year as a junior and didn't come out because he couldn't get drafted. Nothing about him has changed much this year other than a weak draft

[stnick2261]

Any updates on Topic? Shouldn’t he have been slated to return from injury by now? Or is he just going to sit out the rest of the year to preserve his draft stock?

I don’t think that’s up to him. He’s under contract with a team that probably has no interest in his NBA career. Also, his team has gone 3-12 since his injury. The 2 games he did get to play in (pre-injury) his team won both. He had 7 assists in the 30 total minutes played.

[BackHome]

I don’t think that’s up to him. He’s under contract with a team that probably has no interest in his NBA career. Also, his team has gone 3-12 since his injury. The 2 games he did get to play in (pre-injury) his team won both. He had 7 assists in the 30 total minutes played.

Isn't the team owner also his agent?

[exstatic]

Isn't the team owner also his agent?

I think that was his Adriatic league team, the one he was called up from, not his Euroleague team.

[ace3g]

Champagnie converting all the dunks now.

[BackHome]

Damn Raps win and we win..SMH

[exstatic]

Damn Raps win and we win..SMH

:lol it’s almost like the coaches had a conference call, and everybody agreed everyone needed a W, Detroit being the odd man out by playing another tanking team.

[vander]

Any of these top prospects have a reputation of being gym rat / practiceaholic?
IMO that's the most important quality to look for in this weak class.

[sfernald]

Any of these top prospects have a reputation of being gym rat / practiceaholic?
IMO that's the most important quality to look for in this weak class.

no matter how long Champagnie practices he’s gonna. Suck.

[The Truth #6]

Any of these top prospects have a reputation of being gym rat / practiceaholic?
IMO that's the most important quality to look for in this weak class.

Maybe Ron Holland? But he has very few skills it looks like.

[JPB]

I still believe Risacher has the tools to become a very valuable NBA player. Batum as a realistic comparison, getting not too far from a Pippen as a (very) high ceiling.

It bears reminding he's a 19 y.o kid playing pro ball vs. seasoned adults both in local and euro competitions. He's played 56 games already this season* with all the travels euro games include (his team is in the Eurocup finals), which could, partially or entirely, explain his slump in the second part of the season. But the first part was really impressive, and I like his attitude and demeanor on the court, pretty smooth and fluid, sticking to his game and doing anything to help his team win, not letting anything getting him down.

* for comparision a College player will play 33 games a season on average, 41 as the all time record.

[Dejounte]

I still believe Risacher has the tools to become a very valuable NBA player. Batum as a realistic comparison, getting not too far from a Pippen as a (very) high ceiling.

It bears reminding he's a 19 y.o kid playing pro ball vs. seasoned adults both in local and euro competitions. He's played 56 games already this season* with all the travels euro games include (his team is in the Eurocup finals), which could, partially or entirely, explain his slump in the second part of the season. But the first part was really impressive, and I like his attitude and demeanor on the court, pretty smooth and fluid, sticking to his game and doing anything to help his team win, not letting anything getting him down.

* for comparision a College player will play 33 games a season on average, 41 as the all time record.

Pippen? Lol. JPB, your evaluation of Rissacher vs the current Spurs supporting cast is appalling. Keep this same energy if and when Zaccharie is not the player you think he is. The folks who are loud about the current players sucking and then picking players who suck too need to be called out when the time comes tbh. It should humble people some and show them they are bad at evaluating player skill but it likely won’t because pride is a bitch.

[Knoxxx]

A recent comparison I saw for Buzelis was Fran Wagner who if you recall (along with his older brother) attacked the rim unmercifully against the Spurs for dunk after dunk.

[Knoxxx]

Pippen? Lol. JPB, your evaluation of Rissacher vs the current Spurs supporting cast is appalling. Keep this same energy if and when Zaccharie is not the player you think he is. The folks who are loud about the current players sucking and then picking players who suck too need to be called out when the time comes tbh. It should humble people some and show them they are bad at evaluating player skill but it likely won’t because pride is a bitch.

Sounds like the Spurs should definitely hire you, Nostradamus!

[Knoxxx]

Pro comparisons and two-round predictions ahead of Final Four (nba.com) (https://www.nba.com/news/nba-mock-draft-2024-before-final-four)

A couple of PG prospects that are not talked about much here:

12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Rockets): Jared McCain


Previous Mock Draft Spot: No. 11
Team: Duke
Position: PG/SG
Size: 6-foot-3, 197 lbs
Age/Year: 20, Freshman
Nationality: American
Pro Comparison: Immanuel Quickley


North Carolina State’s upset win over Duke overshadowed Jared McCain’s 32-point game, which was the second time he went for 30-plus in this tournament.

He’s become one of the draft’s most convincing shotmakers, and though his size and athletic limitations do raise questions, he’s shown plenty of ways to compensate with his crafty ball-handling and pace, shooting versatility, touch shots in the lane and finishing adjustments.

Teams will view McCain as either a scoring combo and secondary playmaker or offensive spark to bring off the bench.


14. New Orleans Pelicans (via Lakers): Isaiah Collier


Previous Mock Draft Spot: No. 14
Team: USC
Position: PG
Size: 6-foot-5, 210 lbs
Age/Year: 19, Freshman
Nationality: American
Pro Comparison: Tyreke Evans


USC missed the NCAA tournament, so Isaiah Collier figures to start training for the draft and learn how he can alleviate scouts’ concerns over his shooting and decision-making.

The scouting report remains well-defined, with his quickness, power and tough finishing good for creation, rim pressure and gravity, and his shooting struggles and turnovers troublesome for a lead ball-handler.

Scouts are deciding what role will suit Collier best. Regardless, without many starting point guard jobs open, he figures to begin his career as a change-of-pace bench spark.

Same mock has Klingan up from #7 now to #5 overall. Edey #25, for those of us eying a bruiser to pair with Wemby.

[Mr. Body]

A recent comparison I saw for Buzelis was Fran Wagner who if you recall (along with his older brother) attacked the rim unmercifully against the Spurs for dunk after dunk.

That's the hopeful comp. Buzelis doesn't seem to have anything like the playmaking Wagner has and would need to roll high on his shooting and defense getting much better. I have Buzelis as my top lottery-grade wing, but I have doubts.

[exstatic]

A recent comparison I saw for Buzelis was Fran Wagner who if you recall (along with his older brother) attacked the rim unmercifully against the Spurs for dunk after dunk.

Wagner was a very good FT and 3P shooter. If Buzelis matched those numbers, he’d be in contention for #1 in this draft. The only comparison to Wagner would be “He’s like Wagner, minus the shooting”.

[JPB]

Pippen? Lol. JPB, your evaluation of Rissacher vs the current Spurs supporting cast is appalling. Keep this same energy if and when Zaccharie is not the player you think he is. The folks who are loud about the current players sucking and then picking players who suck too need to be called out when the time comes tbh. It should humble people some and show them they are bad at evaluating player skill but it likely won’t because pride is a bitch.

Not sure why the rage and you obviously missed the part when I say "not too far" to Pippen as a "very high ceiling", and I could ironize about all the awful but still definitive and pompous takes you have regularly here on prospects every year (like Bilal as a top 2 player in the draft last year...) or the way you try to act as some kind of drafting guru who knows better than anyone here, trashing everybody... but how about just relaxing and cooling down...

Everyone just gives their opinions here, you disagree fine, but I'm not playing my life on it, you know. No one needs to be "called out" or dismantled and burn alive on a public place because they would be wrong on a prospect. Could I be wrong on Risacher, ofc I could; like I'm wrong on other things spurs eventually. Who isn't? But yeah chill out, if I'm worng I'll say I was wrong... No big deal. Not like I was the ones making the call anyway.

[BatManu20]

1776717654147072385

[Ignazzz]

Yes Please
2025 NBA mock draft
The draft order is based on ESPN projections and reflects the current state of picks owed and owned:

FIRST ROUND
1. Washington Wizards (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/wsh/washington-wizards)
Cooper Flagg (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/250591/cooper-flagg) | Duke | SF/PF | Age: 17.1
2. Charlotte Hornets (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/cha/charlotte-hornets)
Airious "Ace" Bailey (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/247669/airious-bailey) | Rutgers | SG/SF | Age: 17.5
3. Portland Trail Blazers (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/por/portland-trail-blazers)
Khaman Maluach | NBA Academy Africa | C | Age: 17.4
4. Chicago Bulls (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls)
Jalil Bethea (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/252154/jalil-bethea) | Miami | PG/SG | Age: 18.1
5. San Antonio Spurs (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs)
Hugo Gonzalez | Real Madrid B | SF | Age: 18.0
6. Detroit Pistons (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/det/detroit-pistons)
Dylan Harper (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/250614/dylan-harper) | Rutgers | PG/SG | Age: 17.9
7. Houston Rockets (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/hou/houston-rockets) (via Brooklyn Nets (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/bkn/brooklyn-nets))
VJ Edgecombe (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/253913/vj-edgecombe) | Baylor | SG | Age: 18.5
8. San Antonio Spurs (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) (via Toronto Raptors (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptors))
Tre Johnson (https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/247459/tre-johnson) | Texas | SG | Age: 17.9
9. San Antonio Spurs (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) (via Atlanta Hawks (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-hawks))
Egor Demin | Real Madrid B | PG/SG/SF | Age: 17.9

[BackHome]

Yeah, I am all in for 2025 mocks - started to watch Egor Demin this is the first mock I have ever seen that has mentioned the kid very interesting. This is the draft that is either going to give us Championships depending if we get high picks with our pick and traded picks OR if we don't and get sucky picks then it's 500 ball for Wemby SA career....

[Gibbz]

It would suck if Flagg was banished to Washington or Charlotte.

[onechance87]

if flagg dominates college basketball early,I can see teams immediately tanking even if they are
in the play in like raptors.I think portland ,charlotte,utah,washinton,raptors wanting flagg bad including us obviously.

[BackHome]

Yeah, pretty much the bottom 5 will probably will probably still be the bottom 5 next year and teams are just going to pray they get lucky on lottery night. I am not greedy if we got the draft above from ESPN I would be doing cartwheels and be screaming “Spurs Are Back Baby”. Lol

[dbestpro]

Edey reminds me of Rasho.

[Uriel]

I will confess, this is the first time I’ve watched Stephon Castle play, but so far I’ve been really impressed. He has size, he plays under control, with great pace, and he looks like he knows what he’s doing. He reminds me of a bigger and stronger Tre Jones.

[Mr. Body]

I will confess, this is the first time I’ve watched Stephon Castle play, but so far I’ve been really impressed. He has size, he plays under control, with great pace, and he looks like he knows what he’s doing. He reminds me of a bigger and stronger Tre Jones.

He's so efficient with his movements and choices. Never really wastes what he's doing or where he's going. If you had to guess who the 19 year-old freshman on UConn is, it wouldn't be him. Well, not sure who you'd pick. Maybe Spencer?

[dbestpro]

I will confess, this is the first time I’ve watched Stephon Castle play, but so far I’ve been really impressed. He has size, he plays under control, with great pace, and he looks like he knows what he’s doing. He reminds me of a bigger and stronger Tre Jones.

I’m impressed with his patience and game control.

[onechance87]

hope we get that raptors pick....Dilly and castle would be nice.Or risacher and castle would be a nice duo as well.

[BatManu20]

Castle having his best game of the season tonight. He averaged 10.5 PPG on 47% shooting this year (26% from 3). Already has double that tonight. He still can’t shoot for shit which sucks, but his defense, athleticism, and ability to get to the rim have been apparent tonight. He plays at his own pace and is never rushed, which is pretty rare for a player as young as he is.

[Uriel]

Clingan has been really impressive as well. He reminds me of a bigger Mark Williams.

[BatManu20]

Clingan continues to dominate the tournament on both ends. He’s made himself a lot of money this tournament. He’s just so much bigger and longer than everybody else out there, and he’s surprisingly mobile for his size. His matchup with Edey in the National Title Game is gonna be fun to watch. Will be the first time this season he’s not the biggest guy on the floor.

UConn is the better team though and should win it all. Purdue doesn’t have much outside of Edey.

[jesterbobman]

I think the reason Clingan is attractive as a prospect is that he's super effective in exactly the same role he'll have as an NBA player. Be big, control the rim (and the space around the rim as a big boy), come out and set screens and run basic dribble handoffs.

Edey is effective in things that he might not be able to do at the NBA level, which is why he's less attractive, even though he's arguably a better NCAA player.

[BatManu20]

Edey’s the better offensive player at this level, but Clingan will almost certainly be the better player at the next level due to him being significantly better defensively and much more mobile, especially as a rim-runner. Edey’s slow and will get cooked in PnR in the NBA if he’s played major minutes imo.

[onechance87]

what yall think of mark sears getting drafted...Wouldnt mind taking him in the second round.

[spurraider21]

Edey’s the better offensive player at this level, but Clingan will almost certainly be the better player at the next level due to him being significantly better defensively and much more mobile, especially as a rim-runner. Edey’s slow and will get cooked in PnR in the NBA if he’s played major minutes imo.
Yep. I actually expect Edey to win that matchup head to head, but still think Clingan is much more clearly an nba player.

edeys defensive mobility has looked better in the tourney tho.

[TD 21]

The journey to Castle's attempting to become a competent shooter is not one the Spurs should be interested in being on.

People focus on defensive liabilities, then ignore offensive ones in a league that skews offense.

Apparently Salaun is now over 6'11'' in shoes, has filled out his frame noticeably and has outstanding off course intangibles. He intrigues as a trade back candidate (Hawks?).

[BatManu20]

1776823196270084227

[Ariel]

Castle seems like a nice, all around connective piece, but he can't create much off the dribble for himself or others, and his shooting is far away. In a different context I could stand behind it (like I did with Sochan 2 years ago), but now the team already has multiple defensive minded prospects that are spacing liabilities (Sochan, Wesley, Cissoko) and using yet another pick (and a high lottery one) on another guy with the same glaring holes doesn't look appealing to me.

To all the guys jumping on the Castle bandwagon:
1) What role do you see him playing, both in the short and long term?
2) Would you be ok with him being a liability from 3 for at least 2/3 years?
3) Is he compatible with Sochan and, if not, so much better that he's worth setting the others' back?

At the moment, I'm more inclined to go with other prospects over him (Buzelis, Dillingham, Risacher, Sarr, etc).

[Ariel]

Yep. I actually expect Edey to win that matchup head to head, but still think Clingan is much more clearly an nba player.

edeys defensive mobility has looked better in the tourney tho.
What does Clingan do better than, say, Kessler, who is struggling to stay on the floor in Utah? He can be a good fit for a specific team looking for a rim protector (like Dallas was last year), but you can probably find a close enough player in free agency without breaking the bank and use a high lottery pick on someone you can't find in free agency.

[BatManu20]

1776822724754854123

[BatManu20]

1776774758346187232

[Mr. Body]

Castle seems like a nice, all around connective piece, but he can't create much off the dribble for himself or others, and his shooting is far away. In a different context I could stand behind it (like I did with Sochan 2 years ago), but now the team already has multiple defensive minded prospects that are spacing liabilities (Sochan, Wesley, Cissoko) and using yet another pick (and a high lottery one) on another guy with the same glaring holes doesn't look appealing to me.

To all the guys jumping on the Castle bandwagon:
1) What role do you see him playing, both in the short and long term?
2) Would you be ok with him being a liability from 3 for at least 2/3 years?
3) Is he compatible with Sochan and, if not, so much better that he's worth setting the others' back?

At the moment, I'm more inclined to go with other prospects over him (Buzelis, Dillingham, Risacher, Sarr, etc).

All very valid questions.

Eventually you may want him to be more or less the lead guard in the Tre Jones slot. You'd want him to become more of a playmaker, but he does have that ability, as he sets Clingan up a lot. The Spurs - so long as they run a Pop-style offense - don't need a ball-dominant PG. That said, I'm not entirely sure he can be a lead initiator. His handles seem okay, but he doesn't seem to have the speed to totally threaten the rim; he requires strength and spins.

Short-term, I think he and Sochan don't really work on offense. The huge appeal is defense. We get absolutely obliterated by too many guards (have been for years) and getting a big guard who might grow into elite defense is highly attractive.

This was a weird game, though, where he played well but it somewhat proved to me what a problem he would be to draft. I don't even think he's that far from a Cidy Sissoko who has similar strengths and big weaknesses -- although Cidy seems much more chaotic and less polished.

In this draft, it's impossible to have it all. You have to give up something with each candidate. I still have him in my small pile. I like him more than Williams or Risacher. Dunno about Topic. I think I still have Dillingham as my #1 with a drop thereafter. If the Raptors pick comes and Castle is still there, I think I take him and figure it out as you go. We so badly need a defender and we have time to develop the rest.

[Pauleta14]

I still believe Risacher has the tools to become a very valuable NBA player. Batum as a realistic comparison, getting not too far from a Pippen as a (very) high ceiling.

It bears reminding he's a 19 y.o kid playing pro ball vs. seasoned adults both in local and euro competitions. He's played 56 games already this season* with all the travels euro games include (his team is in the Eurocup finals), which could, partially or entirely, explain his slump in the second part of the season. But the first part was really impressive, and I like his attitude and demeanor on the court, pretty smooth and fluid, sticking to his game and doing anything to help his team win, not letting anything getting him down.

* for comparision a College player will play 33 games a season on average, 41 as the all time record.

I wish we'd knew more about his personality (as well as other prospects), it often ends up being a decisive factor in their career successs or not.

TP was alread a sociopath at 18yo and u could feel he had something special, Manu even more for a south american kid arriving in europe.

Quid of Risacher? Any french STers have some infos?

[cutewizard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTO9xWjwsYI

[spurraider21]

What does Clingan do better than, say, Kessler, who is struggling to stay on the floor in Utah? He can be a good fit for a specific team looking for a rim protector (like Dallas was last year), but you can probably find a close enough player in free agency without breaking the bank and use a high lottery pick on someone you can't find in free agency.
Kessler seems to be more of a whiteside esque shotblock chaser and sells for ever contest, which gives up a lot of points anyway. Clingan is more mature in that way.

it’s kind of like asking why gobert is better than Kessler if Kessler blocks more shots

[rascal]

Castle seems like a nice, all around connective piece, but he can't create much off the dribble for himself or others, and his shooting is far away. In a different context I could stand behind it (like I did with Sochan 2 years ago), but now the team already has multiple defensive minded prospects that are spacing liabilities (Sochan, Wesley, Cissoko) and using yet another pick (and a high lottery one) on another guy with the same glaring holes doesn't look appealing to me.

To all the guys jumping on the Castle bandwagon:
1) What role do you see him playing, both in the short and long term?
2) Would you be ok with him being a liability from 3 for at least 2/3 years?
3) Is he compatible with Sochan and, if not, so much better that he's worth setting the others' back?

At the moment, I'm more inclined to go with other prospects over him (Buzelis, Dillingham, Risacher, Sarr, etc).

Castle > Sochan

Sochan is too small for a non shooter at pf and the Spurs shouldn't be stuck on him and not draft players based on having Sochan as a long term option.

[exstatic]

Castle seems like a nice, all around connective piece, but he can't create much off the dribble for himself or others, and his shooting is far away. In a different context I could stand behind it (like I did with Sochan 2 years ago), but now the team already has multiple defensive minded prospects that are spacing liabilities (Sochan, Wesley, Cissoko) and using yet another pick (and a high lottery one) on another guy with the same glaring holes doesn't look appealing to me.

To all the guys jumping on the Castle bandwagon:
1) What role do you see him playing, both in the short and long term?
2) Would you be ok with him being a liability from 3 for at least 2/3 years?
3) Is he compatible with Sochan and, if not, so much better that he's worth setting the others' back?

At the moment, I'm more inclined to go with other prospects over him (Buzelis, Dillingham, Risacher, Sarr, etc).

I wouldn’t not draft someone because of either Wesley or Cissoko,and Castle is much more of a PG than Sochan. The UConn system of motion just doesn’t use a ball dominant guard.

[spurraider21]

I wouldn’t not draft someone because of either Wesley or Cissoko,and Castle is much more of a PG than Sochan. The UConn system of motion just doesn’t use a ball dominant guard.
Wemby and Vassell are the only players worth drafting around. And if there were good enough prospects I still wouldn’t necessarily let Vassell get in the way of that. Nobody else including sochan or whatever should be considered.

We need playmaking, shooting, defense. That’s basically everything.

[wildbill2u]

What are a couple of good/best draft websites with analysis and vids? thanks

[sfernald]

All very valid questions.

Eventually you may want him to be more or less the lead guard in the Tre Jones slot. You'd want him to become more of a playmaker, but he does have that ability, as he sets Clingan up a lot. The Spurs - so long as they run a Pop-style offense - don't need a ball-dominant PG. That said, I'm not entirely sure he can be a lead initiator. His handles seem okay, but he doesn't seem to have the speed to totally threaten the rim; he requires strength and spins.

Short-term, I think he and Sochan don't really work on offense. The huge appeal is defense. We get absolutely obliterated by too many guards (have been for years) and getting a big guard who might grow into elite defense is highly attractive.

This was a weird game, though, where he played well but it somewhat proved to me what a problem he would be to draft. I don't even think he's that far from a Cidy Sissoko who has similar strengths and big weaknesses -- although Cidy seems much more chaotic and less polished.

In this draft, it's impossible to have it all. You have to give up something with each candidate. I still have him in my small pile. I like him more than Williams or Risacher. Dunno about Topic. I think I still have Dillingham as my #1 with a drop thereafter. If the Raptors pick comes and Castle is still there, I think I take him and figure it out as you go. We so badly need a defender and we have time to develop the rest.


Oh god, please, please, please, let’s not waste our precious picks on any more non-shooters. We really don’t need any more members of our 29% three point club do we? Not when there’s decent shooters like Sheppard and Knecht and others there.