RealGM: 30 Teams, 30 Days: San Antonio Draft Preview

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http://spurs.realgm.com/articles/73/...draft_preview/

30 Teams, 30 Days: San Antonio Draft Preview
Authored by Jason M. Williams - June 22, 2009 - 7:26 pm


2008-2009 Finish: 54-28
2009 Draft Picks: 37th, 51st, 53rd

Pre-Draft 2009-10 Projected Starters:
PG: Tony Parker
SG: Roger Mason Jr.
SF: Bruce Bowen
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Fabricio Oberto
Key Reserves:
PG: George Hill
SG: Manu Ginobili
PF: Kurt Thomas
C: Matt Bonner

What The Spurs Do Well:

As usual, the Spurs were tremendous defensively this past season. Only Cleveland was stingier, with San Antonio allowing opponents just 93.3 points per contest. They imposed their will effectively, limiting teams to fewer possessions. Their field goal defense was in the middle of the pack.

The Spurs weren’t great on the boards, ranking just eighteenth in the league (41.0 per game). They were a cohesive unit, as we have come to expect, and ranked 12th in the NBA (21.2 per) in assists.

They won a lot of games thanks to the way they took care of the basketball. They averaged a league-low 11.7 turnovers and posted a great 1.80 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Tremendous discipline wasn’t just seen in their ball-handling. They tied with Oklahoma City for the fewest technical fouls (31) this season. Boston was whistled for nearly four times as many as the calm, mature Spurs.

San Antonio possessed great shot selection. They were one of only twelve clubs to attempt fewer than eighty shots per game, and they converted 46.6% of them (sixth in the league). Only Boston was better from three-point land, as the Spurs hit 39% of their long-range attempts. Just five clubs made more threes per game in 2008-09.

Greatest Areas Of Improvement:

Rebounding
The Spurs have been an above-average rebounding team ever since Tim Duncan came out of Wake Forest, but slipped a bit this past season. That could be due to their increased activity on the perimeter, because they have a roster full of players with the size needed to be good rebounders.

Youth
It has been a running theme in recent offseasons, but the Spurs really do need to add an injection of youth. They only have three players under the age of 27 -- George Hill, Ian Mahinmi and Marcus Williams – and none played more than 16 minutes per game.

Who’s Gone Number 37th Recently?

The forecast actually doesn’t look too grim with the 37th overall pick. The Spurs lack a first-rounder, but they do have a solid history mining gems out of the second round. Someone similar to Mbah a Moute or Turiaf would be ideal for San Antonio.

2008
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Milwaukee

2007
Josh McRoberts, Portland

2006
Bobby Jones, Minnesota (traded to Philadelphia)

2005
Ronny Turiaf, Los Angeles

2004
Royal Ivey, Atlanta

Who Should The Spurs Target?

-- Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga

If I’m making decisions in San Antonio, I use at least two of their three second-round picks on players that will immediately report to the club. Their history of using the European pipeline is good, but they need some young blood right away. Heytvelt will likely be one of the best players available at No. 37.

-- Danny Green, North Carolina

Green is versatile, just the type of young player that Gregg Popovich needs to add into his rotation. He’s also a proven winner, which means he’ll fit right in alongside the rest of the roster.

-- Jack McClinton, Miami

A lot of people have been talking about McClinton’s ability to score, which would help add a significant punch to San Antonio’s bench.

Picks Over the Past Five Years

Their recent draft history hasn’t been very bright, but they cooked their own goose when they decided to focus almost solely on taking talent from overseas. Check back a few years down the line before passing judgment though. In the years prior to 2004 they grabbed Leandro Barbosa, John Salmons, Luis Scola, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

2008
George Hill, 26th
Goran Dragic, 45th
James Gist, 57th

2007
Tiago Splitter, 28th
Marcus Williams, 33rd
Giorgos Printezis, 58th

2006
Damir Markota, 59th

2005
Ian Mahinmi, 28th

2004
Beno Udrih, 28th
Romain Sato, 52nd
Sergei Karaulov, 57th

Who Do the Fans Want?

According to Andrew Perna’s San Antonio Spurs Lottery Summit, an interactive forum featuring the responses of true RealGM hoops fans hoping to add their two cents to the Spurs draft discussion, the fans of San Antonio have made it known that they would like to draft a power forward that is strong defensively.

The Verdicts

1. What could the team have done differently to make the playoffs?

co_laper: I'd like to have had Bruce Bowen play more minutes. Roger Mason, Matt Bonner and Michael Finley should all play less minutes. Also, we need to utilize Tim Duncan's offense better.

SD2042: If they made more key upgrades to the roster.

ss1986v2: Since you can’t do anything about health, I don’t know if anything could have been done that would have mattered. As far as what could have been done to simply give us a better chance, I would start with the rotations.

bishopospurs: They have to improve offensively and off the glass. We lacked a second scorer on the wing that could create his own shot outside of Tony Parker, and another big to play defense, rebound, and add post-up buckets. Drew Gooden has some offense, but we really lacked defense and rebounding.

Nolan: We could of made a few moves at the deadline to upgrade the supporting cast.

Blame Rasho: We could have made a trade at the deadline and we could have used players like George Hill and Gooden in the rotation, but Gregg Popovich choose to stick with the old guys.

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

pad300: Parker and Duncan.

co_laper: Parker was the only bright spot this season. The playoffs exposed plenty of our weaknesses.

SD2042: The veteran experience of TD and TP, along with the newcomers Hill and Mason.

ss1986v2: The combination of Parker/Ginobili/Mason/Hill was a very nice mix of skills. Unfortunately, that didn’t hold up, and might continue to be an issue down the line.

bishopospurs: Point guard is the only strength right now. Parker and Hill are going to be a great rotation for a lot of years.

Nolan: Our experience and guard play where our biggest strengths.

Blame Rasho: The big three. We have a solid nucleus of players who know their role. We have great chemistry and you never hear anything bad coming from players not getting enough shots or minutes.

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?

pad300: Leaving aside the usual suspects (Tim, Tony, Manu), I’m say Bonner. He was surprisingly effective during regular season.

co_laper: Hill surprised me. Mason also surprised me with his ability to shoot the ball, but we're using him to do too much.

SD2042: Mason stepped up big when it counted, a la the winning shot against Phoenix on the road. Hill stepped up when Parker got hurt.

ss1986v2: Mason, Hill and Bonner all had better than expected showings.

bishopospurs: Hill played well. I disagree with Pop not playing him more in the playoffs to begin with and letting Mason try to be a point guard. Mason was nice until the post season, which kind negates his regular season for me.

Nolan: Bonner. He really stepped up and provided us with a lot of quality minutes when we needed him. Hill was a nice surprise as well. He really stepped up when Tony was out and showed us that he's going to be a good player in our system.

Blame Rasho: I thought that Bonner played pretty well in stretches and became a fixture on the starting lineup.

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?

pad300: Finley and Fabricio Oberto.

co_laper: Bowen. I don't think anyone really knows why he's benched.

SD2042: Manu due to injuries. Bowen was benched for reasons only Pop knows.

ss1986v2: I’d say Finley, but I don’t think anyone was really surprised by that.

bishopospurs: Everybody outside of Hill, Parker, Duncan, and Mason. We showed age all around, Bonner couldn't play defense or grab a rebound to save his life.

Nolan: Finely was quite disappointing, but that really wasn't a surprise to anyone who follows the team. Bowen was less than stellar this year, but I kind of expected that given his age.

Blame Rasho: Mason. He started off well, but then faded badly. I thought we could depend on him for a while when Manu was out, but Pop's questionable rotation that made him a point guard really hampered his play.

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?

pad300: Not exceedingly, but I put little faith in any NBA front office. I am also unsure that there is anyone out there who could do better, including myself. It is very easy to criticize from the sidelines.

co_laper: I’m not confident at all. We've failed to attract big names in free agency for a few years. In fact, I'm not sure if we ever got any big names in the last ten years. Guys like Ime Udoka, Mason and Brent Barry headlines our biggest signings.

SD2042: The Spurs’ stubborn pride has been a concern of mine in the past three seasons. My confidence in their front office is on shaky ground right now.

ss1986v2: Same as last season: cautiously pessimistic. While we do have some assets to play around with (over 30 million in expiring contracts, as well as a couple of partially guaranteed deals and draft picks), we don’t have the room below the tax line to do too much.

bishopospurs: I have very little. We haven't had to rebuild since we had a team with Johnny Dawkins, Alvin Robertson, Johnny Moore, and Artis Gilmore.

Nolan: On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say I’m at about an 8.5. I know they're going to improve the team, but I don't think they'll spend the money that we need to become contenders again.

Blame Rasho: I know they won’t blow up the team and they have a plan. So, I feel confident that the team will not implode, but in the same sense I don't think they can get a difference maker on the team to help the big three.

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?

pad300: Out of the draft, I would say pure talent at any position.

co_laper: I don't really care about adding another youngster in such a weak draft.

SD2042: Youth and depth, especially at small forward and center.

ss1986v2: We need youth on the front line, as well as at small forward and I’m not sure we will be getting that at #37 and beyond.

bishopospurs: A small forward that can create offensively, and a big man that can run, hustle, rebound, play defense, and has a post up game.

Nolan: Depth at wing and center.

Blame Rasho: We need to get younger and more athletic; we were dead last in dunks.

7. Who would you like the Spurs to take with the 37th pick?

pad300: That really depends who falls late, as I said above, we are looking for BPA at that point. On pure talent and current mock draft projections, Victor Claver or Omri Casspi look possible.

co_laper: Who really cares? Anyone else think the Spurs will either select European player or draft an American to play him in NBDL?

SD2042: Danny Green.

ss1986v2: I’d still like a small forward.

bishopospurs: I have seen some mocks having Tyler Hansbrough dropping out of the first round. I would love to see him play next to Tim.

Nolan: Jeff Pendergraph and Danny Green are guys that interest me.

Blame Rasho: I would like a small forward.

[TDMVPDPOY]

im surprise harlemheat didnt get a mention in the article, maybe cause his been banned from realgm, now posting on here lmao.....same with udrih14....

realgm only has like 10 spurs fan posters only and a few more but rarely on troll in the spurs section cause they dont wannab known.....