Johnny Dawkins

[cholo]

I was surprised to read the Spurs drafted him with the 10th pick overall in the 1986 draft, but he only played three seasons for us. I dont remember him playing for us at all, but I also was only 10.

1) Why did he miss almost 20 games in his second season 87-88, and miss almost all of them the next season? What injury did he have?

2) He put up decent numbers, so why didnt the spurs hold on to him? did he get too expensive? Did they clear his salary to make room for DRob?

3) # 1986-87 (28-54) - Did not make playoffs

# 1987-88 (31-51) - First round loss to Lakers

# 1988-89 (21-61) - Did not make playoffs

Dawkins obviously didnt help us win any games, but he also never got to play with David. Would the Spurs have done better to pair the two?

[ShoogarBear]

1. Dawkins had a variety of leg injuries, at least one of which I recall required surgery.

2. Dawkins was traded to the Sixers for Maurice Cheeks before Robinson's rookie year. The thinking at the time was that they preferred veteran point guard leadership, even if on the downside of his career, to help DRob through his rookie season. Similar think was the reason for trading Alvin Robertson for Terry Cummings. Of course, Cheeks was unhappy in SA and ended up being traded later in the year for Rod Strickland, so so much for the "veteran leadership" idea.

3. I still wonder what kind of team the Spurs would have been with DRob, Dawkins, and Robertson. That would have been the fastest NBA team of All-Time up to that point.

[ShoogarBear]

Who cares about what happened in the 80s and 90s!!!!!!! :madrun

[/New Age Spur Fan]

[SenorSpur]

Johhny Dawkins was THE outstanding NCAA player during his final year at Duke. Dawkins averaged 20.2 points per game and was given the Naismith Award as the nation's top Collegiate Basketball Player.

When he was available at #10, it was a no-brainer that the Spurs needed him. When paired with Alvin Robertson (drafter 2 years earlier), they presented a very formidable and athletic backcourt tandem. A tandem that could score, rebound, and defend. However it was short-lived.

Dawkins sustained a very serious knee injury, which took him out most of his second season and practically all of his third. He was never quite the same player after that. By the time he recovered, he'd lost his first-step burst, his explosiveness and most of his lateral quickness.

As far as why the Spurs got rid of him, I simply believe it was two-fold. The Spurs unloaded him to obtain better players to surround D-Rob and to clear salaries. Furthermore because of his injury, it was obvious the Spurs were not going to invest a long-term deal in him.

He went on to play in the NBA for nine seasons, also playing for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Detroit Pistons. There's no doubt his injury cut short a promising career. Had he remained healthy, his career would have undoubtedly overlapped 5-0 more than it did.

[FromWayDowntown]

Dawkins left San Antonio in the trade that brought the Spurs Maurice Cheeks before the 89-90 season started. The Spurs needed a reliable, play-making point guard and wanted some veterans to place around their two high lottery picks, David Robinson and Sean Elliott. The Spurs were able to send out Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent to acquire a steadying force at the point in Cheeks. It had nothing to do with money and everything to do with wanting to be truly competitive immediately. It was one thing to infuse the club with immense talents, but something else entirely for the young talents to understand how to play the game well at the NBA level. Cheeks, who was then 33 years old, became the facilitator to get those guys off the ground and did an fine job of it. The Spurs, of course, also traded their All-Star guard Alvin Robertson to the Bucks to get an All-Star power forward in Terry Cummings. As the season progressed and the Baby Spurs advanced, the Spurs then were able to deal Cheeks to New York to acquire Rod Strickland, who had the benefit of being both a play-making point and a young player as well.

I think it was crucial for the club to get a guy like Cheeks into the fold to be an example to the younger guys. I don't think that was ever going to happen with Dawkins -- I think that had the Spurs stayed really young in 89-90, they probably would have made the playoffs, but perhaps as a low-end qualifier and might not have bulit the foundation that a division title and a 2nd round appearance gave them.

[cholo]

thanks for the insight vatos. you always hear spurs fans reminisce of cheeks, robertson and even rocket rod. but no one ever talks of johnny dawkins. appreciate it

[wildbill2u]

I always thought Dawkins was overhyped in college as a player simply because he came out of the powerful Duke teams of the time.

He never showed 'franchise' or superstar ability as a Spur and though some may point to his injury, I simply don't buy it. Similar to the pg guy who crashed his cycle and never made it big.

[NO LIMIT ARMY COMMANDER]

Mo Cheeks forced us to wait 9 years. :bang