Spurs finished #5, behind Detroit, Washington, Charlotte and Portland. Of all those teams with better odds, just Washington is picking higher. That should be enough to tell you how wrong your assessment is.
https://x.com/paigeotto_/status/1804502226443939913
Does anyone know how Buzelis actually shot throughout high school? My understanding was that he had one good shooting year his senior year, but otherwise was pretty mediocre. If he was a good shooter all through HS, that changes his shooting projection a bit.
Also, lol at this interview. "I shot well in practices, it was just the game, you know"
Nope cause if we secured 2 instead of Washington we would have kept our pick as they did
Maybe it's a scott thing, but Matas also #1 on my board. Also - scottspurs and I are not the same person
I actually think that could be spot on.
What type of players have they been preaching and drafting? 18-19 year olds. Multi positional. Mature/intelligent. And oddly, most importantly, interview extremely well.
Based on that: Risacher, Buzelis, Cody could be their top 3.
Obviously just speculating.
And to go drunken armchair psychiatrist :
Reed: too short.
Clingman: too ugly
Castle: too intense
Carter: too old
Dillingham: too short
Knecht: too old, too similar to Lil Weezy
Holland: too dumb
Collier: too dumb
Topic: actually, still a possibility
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024...2Kyi5vrpY0M_dw
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The Spurs should consider taking a flyer on two former Euroleague MVPs
San Antonio could find cheap playmaking and shooting in Vasilije Micic and Sasha Vezenkov, two proven talents still trying to find their way in the NBA.
The Spurs were pioneers in looking overseas for talent. In the contending years under Gregg Popovich, they scouted the FIBA game well and added rotation players who learned their trade in Europe.
Since those days the league has caught up and players are in teams’ radars early. More and more international prospects get drafted and join the league quickly, and the ones who can’t perform at the highest level are discarded. It’s harder now to find uncovered gems overseas.
But what about some highly decorated players who made the leap and simply didn’t have the opportunity to adjust? If the team is looking to add some veterans to replace the ones it has lost, taking a look at some European standouts on short, team-friendly deals could be worth it in this transitional period.
Vasilije Micic could be the big combo guard the Spurs need
Last season the coaching staff tried to play bigger ball handlers at point guard, with Jeremy Sochan and then Malaki Branham being the lead guards. In past years, they used Josh Richardson and Josh Primo as main ball handlers off the bench. Tre Jones ended up as the starter because the others struggled, but the idea of a big playmaker is clearly appealing to Gregg Popovich.
Enter Vasilije Micic. The 30-year-old 6’5 point guard joined the Thunder last season after being crowned Euroleague MVP but couldn’t crack the rotation for a contender. He came off the bench for 30 games and struggled with scoring and efficiency, which wasn’t hugely surprising for his adaptation period. Then he was traded to the Hornets and his numbers improved in a bigger role, with his assist percentage in particular climbing heavily. Micic, who didn’t find his stroke from outside in the NBA, also worked with the Hornets’ shot doctor despite shooting over 37 percent from outside for his career, which shows he’s humble and willing to continue to learn. A veteran with no ego trying to live his NBA dream could bring a different perspective to a young locker room and Micic has the skill to help on offense.
The issues with Micic come on the defensive end, where he can struggle to stay in front of quicker players. The Spurs have good point-of-attack defenders that could use help creating in Jeremy Sochan and Blake Wesley so it shouldn’t be too hard to hide Micic on spot-up shooters while he shares playmaking duties.
Micic has one more guaranteed year in his contract worth close to $8 million and then a club option, so he’s essentially on an expiring deal. If he works out, the Spurs can keep him for cheap and if he doesn’t, they can use his contract as salary ballast on a trade or waive him. The Hornets shouldn’t be too attached to him but might want to wait until after the Olympics to move him to see if he can improve his trade value. Still, the Spurs have plenty of second-rounders to make a deal happen.
Sasha Vezenkov could spread the floor for Victor Wembanyama
Spacing and outside shooting have been a severe issue for the Spurs in recent years. Too many of their players can’t shoot or are not consistent enough to punish defenses that overhelp or pack the paint. Last season San Antonio took the 11th most threes per game but ranked 28th in three-point shooting percentage, which shows that opponents were fine with allowing them to pull the trigger from outside because they knew they wouldn’t make them pay.
The team as a whole will have to do better in that area for the offense to click, but Sasha Vezenkov could help the Spurs a lot in terms of spacing. The 2022 Euroleague MVP joined the Kings last season but couldn’t carve out a place for himself and ended up playing just 12 minutes a game and appearing in 42 games, partially because of injuries. In that small of a role, the 6’8 power forward still managed to launch 120 threes and connect on 45, to finish the year as a 37.5 percent shooter from outside. The only two players with a better shooting percentage in last season’s Spurs’ roster were Doug McDermott and Cedi Osman, the guys Vezenkov would be replacing. Vezenkov, who shot 40 percent in his career in Europe, is a volume shooter who can fire on spot-up situations or on the move, coming off screens or after handoffs, so defenses have to respect him.
As with Micic, defense is an issue. Vezenkov is a good defensive rebounder but could get targeted on the pick-and-roll, especially if the Spurs continue to switch those actions. Having Wembanyama on the back line should help mitigate his individual issues and his experience should allow him to play well enough at the team level to avoid being a liability.
Vezenkov, just like Micic, has one more guaranteed year on his contract and a team option for the year after. The Kings have an expensive roster and are reportedly in the process of parting ways with him, since he’s not happy in Sacramento and he’s not a priority for the team. If the Spurs don’t think Sandro Mamukelashvili can fill the role of stretch forward, Vezenkov could be a good, cheap option.
what do you think guys?
hmmmmmmm
There's a thin line between confidense and delusion that he doesn't seem shy to cross in most of his interviews.
Some like it, I see a red flag from a kid that disapointed. It would be diff from someone who just won a le or had a great season
There's no securing anything, just ask Detroit that ended with the worst record for 3 years in a row only to pick #5 each time. In fact even if the Spurs ended with a bottom 3 record, they'd have had a 40.1% chance of ending up with a better pick than they did (1-3), 12% of getting #4, and a 47.9% chance of ending up worse (5+). So no, your statement is totally clueless.
Definitely smoke screen season...
I'm aware of how lottery works. Did Washington move from 2...no. If spurs finished 2 instead that's where they'd be picking...whats hard to understand
I think it has very slim chance to be better than 12th-15th with teams gonna tank very hard this year while Atlanta the opposite with not having their pick... Trading #8 and next year Atlanta pick for this year #1 should sound very appealing to us!
3 days gentlemen.
It is even harder understand that You dont get lottery still.
I’m warming on Castle at 4, and Carter at 8.
Castle, Carter, Vassell, Sochan, Wemby.
Spurs defense would be so much better.
Same. That's becoming my dream draft tbh. Worried Salaun or Williams will be the pick at 8 though which will be annoying.
To me it's an overpay.
Trust me I'm among those who want to accelerate the process but there isn't one "sure" pick in this draft worth giving up ATL's 25'
RZ is my pick but if I'm honest there are plenty of doubts too. Sarr same, maybe more doubts bc of the league he comes from.
Castle Reed Dilli Cody Carter... all have huge interogations too.
Again atl's 25' has a lot more value than the future choice itself. It's a leverage's asset and it can be addded to Spur's pick to trade up to get a almost garanteed futur allsar.
I think the wait is so long that we end up overrating whoever we prefer in this draft, forgetting that it's clearly a weak one.
At best I can imagine PATFO using 2Rds picks and maybe CHA 25', CHI's as well and player(s)
absolutely not.
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