Subtle Shifts to the Spurs' Drafting Philosophy

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Originally Posted by BillMc

Exactly. It worked for the Jazz. Karl Malone wasn't your typical NBA guy. He'd rather be out fishing or hunting than in a nightclub. Utah was perfect for him and he stayed there like 18 years.

Timmy seems to be a big hunter too.

Of course, I'm joking that this would be a factor in drafting guys. But it is a factor in the superstars staying beyond that first big contract.

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That was a different NBA time. A player who left to pursue rings would have been scoffed. LeBron changed the game. When the NBA alpha chases rings and to some extent succeeds, the floodgates are opened.

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Originally Posted by ZeusWillJudge

There are a lot of people, even some here, who laugh off the idea of hiring character guys. I'm not one of them. But the notion that every Spur player in the last 20 years has been a choirboy is pretty laughable. The way the game is being played now, you have to have a certain amount of athleticism and versatility. Your article mentions that it's not enough to just be big. Bryn Forbes is proof that it's not enough to just be a shooter.

So what is a "character guy" exactly? The team should rule out guys whose off-court baggage will be an on-court distraction. But we all watched Pop put Bertans in the long-term doghouse for coming to a teammate's defense, and getting ejected. People tried to deny it, but that's what happened. But then Pop turns around and calls his team "soft" at least once or twice a year. Tony Parker's off-court drama sure as shit wasn't the kind of thing I would put under the "character" heading. I think it wound up being a distraction, too. Pop didn't give any signs of being less than supportive.

Find guys who are reasonably athletic and versatile, and who are coachable and willing to work hard. Don't penalize the ones who have their teammates' backs. And if your system really lives up to the legend, the "character" guys should be a good influence on the ones who aren't choirboys.

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As long as your top2 to 4 players are strong character guys, then yo can have some role players who have an issue or 2 and most likely get away with it. You cant have a scumbag as your face though. Our biggest issue right now, our coach is our face. We need to find our next george, david, tim, nephew and find him asap.

Spurs have been extremely lucky in getting possible 3 players who would classify as top 100 NBA players of all time in the last 20 years. The chances of that happening in our life time are probably slim to none only way to have a chance of winning another title is through drafting that players which takes years to be able to pick that one gem.

Teams like Flakers and Miami can do instant rebuilds in that players want to play in those markets so they attract All Star players. I like though how Miami did it they have really done well with there recents picks and that made them able to get Butler to put them over the hump and now can look at attracting another Star to play alongside them if they so desire.

So for the Spurs to be successful they have to be able to get something from DEROZZ and LMA and Gay hopefully some decent picks. They then have to have a successful draft and get rid of dead weight ie Forbes, and Beli and the next big thing is head coach. Pop is not going to coach that much longer which means free agents will be less likely to come in knowing a regime change is just around the corner.

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Originally Posted by exstatic

Since drafting DJ, from a rough neighborhood, and raised by a single mom, the Spurs American draft picks, White, Lonnie, and Keldon all came from two parent homes.

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That's nice and all but none of those 3 are superstars. Curry is the only superstar in the current NBA that I can think of that came from a middle class background and grew up with 2 parents. It's pretty rare you find a guy that has both of those ingredients. Not saying it's necessary that a superstar has them but it does help in the sense that they are less likely to bring drama and cause problems. Kobe is the only guy I can think of who had all the ingredients I mentioned but was a big time diva.

Spurs were spoiled in having Dave and Tim. Both came from good backgrounds and were mentally stable people. Not saying that you can't win with someone who is not of that background just saying I prefer guys in the Dave/Tim/Stephen Curry mold versus Lebron/Durant/Harden mold. Their is clear difference between those two groups when it comes to being a diva and bringing drama. The first group brings stability while the second group brings instability.

There's been less stashing. 2013 1st round draft pick - Livio Jean Charles didn't pan out, but he didn't even play his two token rook years in the Spurs. Stashing didn't pan out.
2015 - Nikola Milutinov has developed but it's unlikely he will ever come over to play for the Spurs.

I am glad they haven't stashed 1st round draft picks since then. They need to shepherd their 1st round draft picks closer, specially since they have been reaching for potential (which is fine given the team's situation).

They gambled with Samanic but I would much rather have him in the team than stashed away somewhere unlikely to ever come over. They have also gone recently for physical tools even if they are raw (Murray and Walker) hoping that the player develops to his best possible outcome (you could say Samanic is a similar gamble too). I am hoping they hit the nail on the head with one of their draft picks based on "potential" and "raw" tools. They have to keep combing the stack hoping to get lucky again like they did with Kiwi. At some point they will. It may not be evident to me because I am not scouting draft prospects like I used to, but I trust they are looking and hope they find their guy.

Yeah stashing would be only if your team is competing for a ring and you have 3 first round draft picks ie. Boston. For us no more first round stashing since we are not competing for a championship I would not mind on a high second round pick with the understanding you have high potential and the kid is 18.

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