Big Board 1.0: First Look at Who the San Antonio Spurs Will Target in the Lottery

[TD 21]

Amen over Henderson would not only be insane for the obvious, which is that no team is more in need of an offensive centerpiece than this, but it would signal three other troubling signs . . .

1) They're scared less, mostly from S bag and Primo, but to a lesser extent Murray and even Aldridge and DeRozan.

2 ) It'd be the ultimate attempt to double down on their narrow minded "culture" and "system".

3 ) Which would equal Pop being more involved and having more say than the perception recently, likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

[duncan2150]

I'm not surprised by this board and i trust it tough it's early and a lot of things can change in the next two months.

Wemby no doubt, Scoot is the no 2 ( Amen can clim there) and the Thompsons after them. For the twins, i was low on them because of the OTE but intrigued lately after seeing some games. Maybe i'm more an Ausar fan than Amen because the shoot of the second is totally broken ( never see that in a top 5 prospect maybe ? ) but the tools are totally there.

Then if we draft 6-7 i'm a Walker or Hendricks believer.

We'll see what the workouts will show us.

[james evans]

doesn't matter who they pick. Pop is sending him to the G league for the season hahaha

[Maddog]

doesn't matter who they pick. Pop is sending him to the G league for the season hahaha

Just like this years picks

[JPB]

Yeah, they're gonna love Wemby in Austin.

[baseline bum]

Haven't the Spurs been super tight lipped about who they're interested in after losing Nenad Krstic to the Nets by a pick or two when the Nets found out how badly the Spurs wanted him? Not sure I'd buy this Thompson hype.

[Ariel]

I'm pleasantly surprised at how many people were dazzled by watching the Thompson's games.
Can I ask you to point me where I can go and take a look at those games myself?

[itzsoweezee]

Not taking miller of the spurs have the second or third pick would be franchise malpractice. I don’t care if they don’t want him, a ton of other teams do

[Russ]

Thanks timvp!

[Em-City]

Not surprised at all. I identified the Thompson twins (and Black) early in the season as "Spurs material" so much so that if they're in position to draft Amen (2-4), I wouldn't be surprised if they try to trade for Ausar, too.

Amen over Miller is obvious and I wouldn't put Amen over Henderson past them either.

The twins not only fit their narrow minded ethos, but they've seemingly been looking for a big play maker to run (but not dominate to the point of being heliocentric) the offense for a while.

I don't see Amen as having "franchise player" potential though; I see Iguodala, a complimentary star/elite role player if his shot graduates from terrible to below average.

Why is miller not 2-3 above the twins? Is it just a spurs thing or is there a consensus across the league?

[mo7888]

Why is miller not 2-3 above the twins? Is it just a spurs thing or is there a consensus across the league?

Different people rate him differently. Everyone mostly agrees that the twins have tons of upside with that athleticism (bust possibilities too). Does Miller have have alot of upside or is he pretty much what he is? (An excellent shooter and what else does he bring?)

How you answer those questions determine if you have Miller ahead of the twins or not and those questions are being contemplated in FO's around the league.

[Em-City]

Different people rate him differently. Everyone mostly agrees that the twins have tons of upside with that athleticism (bust possibilities too). Does Miller have have alot of upside or is he pretty much what he is? (An excellent shooter and what else does he bring?)

How you answer those questions determine if you have Miller ahead of the twins or not and those questions are being contemplated in FO's around the league.

Thanks.
It just seems crazy for spurs to pass on a guy who looks like he could have Jason Tatum upside if it is indeed the gun incident that is the sole reason.

[Dejounte]

Thompsons + GG Jackson have been on my wild card tier. Just hard for me to see it at this point. I think the Spurs like to think outside of the box, but this pick would be out of the galaxy. Not sure where all this Spurs-culture reputation is coming from for the twins. Where are you reading that from? TD 21

I do agree, however, that if that shot can be miraculously fixed AND he (meaning either twin) can play organized basketball then he would become one of the most exciting players in all of NBA. It’s sort of like how people are in awe of Morant’s athleticism.

[Dejounte]

From what I’ve read, Scoot is the most Spurs-material in terms of personality and actions off the court, tbh

[Dejounte]

There's definitely logic to picking Amen: they gritted their teeth all season with tanking and want a high upside player, ideally an offensive engine. Most of the other players are role players and that probably doesn't move the needle for the Spurs, they have plenty of upcoming picks for more role players. So yeah, I can see Wemby, Scoot, then Amen would be the priorities if they don't want to settle for role players. Of course Amen could flop but they are well aware of that. Who knows, maybe seeing Sochan improve his shooting got them feeling good about drafting poor shooters? Ha. Even Black is a problematic shooter, just not as horrific as Amen.

Just rambling...

This is my thinking.

People say, “oh, well the Spurs drafted Sochan last year and Black is very similar” except, however, what Sochan is doing is more unique because of his size thus making his upside greater than what Black would ever hope to be. IMO, with a pick this high you aim for a player that shows more upside than that. Black’s lack of great physical attributes (no spectacular athleticism or crazy wingspan) is what makes him look like a low upside prospect. I’m not trying to draft a Derrick White with this pick. I mean, I would, if all other options are unavailable or the other prospects start throwing out red flags. Black is solid, but doesn’t have the “wow” factor.

[JPB]

Thanks.
It just seems crazy for spurs to pass on a guy who looks like he could have Jason Tatum upside if it is indeed the gun incident that is the sole reason.

The death of young mother incident.

[baseline bum]

I do agree, however, that if that shot can be miraculously fixed AND he (meaning either twin) can play organized basketball then he would become one of the most exciting players in all of NBA. It’s sort of like how people are in awe of Morant’s athleticism.

Saw this short a while back that makes it look like Ausar's shot has been fixed

[exstatic]

Can’t help paralleling the twins with Sharpe, another Uber athlete who was one of the worst players in the league last year.

[Chinook]

So long as the Spurs don't "fall in love" with a prospect enough to overlook credible issues, I trust them to make a good pick. The good news is that they should have access to basically every prospect outside of Wemby if they don't get the first-overall pick. The Spurs are currently sitting at a 73-percent chance at getting a top-five pick. MAYBE Henderson doesn't feel the need to work out for a fifth-slotted Spurs, but with trades a possibility, I expect the Spurs to have way more access than they've had in years. Get second, third and fourth opinions, not just from multiple sources but complied by multiple sources to avoid someone having a blind spot ala Wright with Primo. If you do an honest job of evaluating, and you determine Miller is the best guy, pick him.

I have seen basically nothing about any of these players yet. They all seem like fine enough picks. I don't think the team should be blowing their load trying to get another bite unless someone's truly special. Later in the draft I wouldn't be against them trying to use 33, 43 and some minor assets/salary space to grab a late first to attack a position of need (PG or center specifically if they don't grab one at the top). I'm a firm believer that they need to in the very least add compe ion so that guys like Champ, Mamu and Bassey don't just get to waltz into next season on the roster. The team is too bad to treat their roster as if it's full of keepers. But this building process isn't going to be over this year, even if they draft Wemby. I wouldn't want them to be short-sighted.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Amen over Henderson would not only be insane for the obvious, which is that no team is more in need of an offensive centerpiece than this, but it would signal three other troubling signs . . .

1) They're scared less, mostly from S bag and Primo, but to a lesser extent Murray and even Aldridge and DeRozan.

2 ) It'd be the ultimate attempt to double down on their narrow minded "culture" and "system".

3 ) Which would equal Pop being more involved and having more say than the perception recently, likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Either this or, you know, they might think the taller PG who can’t shoot has more upside than the shorter one.

[mo7888]

Thanks.
It just seems crazy for spurs to pass on a guy who looks like he could have Jason Tatum upside if it is indeed the gun incident that is the sole reason.

I don't see Jason Tatum upside myself. I do like him alot and have him as 3rd best in this draft, but I do find myself wavering on that when I weigh his upside against others.

[mo7888]

Thompsons + GG Jackson have been on my wild card tier. Just hard for me to see it at this point. I think the Spurs like to think outside of the box, but this pick would be out of the galaxy. Not sure where all this Spurs-culture reputation is coming from for the twins. Where are you reading that from? TD 21

I do agree, however, that if that shot can be miraculously fixed AND he (meaning either twin) can play organized basketball then he would become one of the most exciting players in all of NBA. It’s sort of like how people are in awe of Morant’s athleticism.

I like Jackson alot and we don't talk about him enough here. I wouldn’t take him with our top pick, but I'd definitely be opportunistic about trading up from our 2nd's to get him if he falls a little.

[CGD]

The death of young mother incident.

Exactly. To be honest, as a fan I’d feel some kinda way about the Spurs drafting him absent a much clearer and cleaner picture of what happened.

[mo7888]

So long as the Spurs don't "fall in love" with a prospect enough to overlook credible issues, I trust them to make a good pick. The good news is that they should have access to basically every prospect outside of Wemby if they don't get the first-overall pick. The Spurs are currently sitting at a 73-percent chance at getting a top-five pick. MAYBE Henderson doesn't feel the need to work out for a fifth-slotted Spurs, but with trades a possibility, I expect the Spurs to have way more access than they've had in years. Get second, third and fourth opinions, not just from multiple sources but complied by multiple sources to avoid someone having a blind spot ala Wright with Primo. If you do an honest job of evaluating, and you determine Miller is the best guy, pick him.

I have seen basically nothing about any of these players yet. They all seem like fine enough picks. I don't think the team should be blowing their load trying to get another bite unless someone's truly special. Later in the draft I wouldn't be against them trying to use 33, 43 and some minor assets/salary space to grab a late first to attack a position of need (PG or center specifically if they don't grab one at the top). I'm a firm believer that they need to in the very least add compe ion so that guys like Champ, Mamu and Bassey don't just get to waltz into next season on the roster. The team is too bad to treat their roster as if it's full of keepers. But this building process isn't going to be over this year, even if they draft Wemby. I wouldn't want them to be short-sighted.

Realistically, I don't think anyone wants to trade multiple future firsts to get a 2nd top 10 pick. Most scenarios getting us two lottery picks have to do with trading back from 2 or 3 with Orlando or moving Keldon (with smaller assets) for a 2nd lottery pick. I think we should consider those options if they are available to us. I'd also be open to packaging 2nd rd picks (maybe the Charlotte protected 1st) plus salary relief (Miami with Lowry for example) to move up into the 1st as well. Currently, we have 3 picks in this draft and I don't think we should add 3 rookies to this roster.

[The Truth #6]

This is my thinking.

People say, “oh, well the Spurs drafted Sochan last year and Black is very similar” except, however, what Sochan is doing is more unique because of his size thus making his upside greater than what Black would ever hope to be. IMO, with a pick this high you aim for a player that shows more upside than that. Black’s lack of great physical attributes (no spectacular athleticism or crazy wingspan) is what makes him look like a low upside prospect. I’m not trying to draft a Derrick White with this pick. I mean, I would, if all other options are unavailable or the other prospects start throwing out red flags. Black is solid, but doesn’t have the “wow” factor.

Oh, I hear you. I guess my point is that if we want to avoid role players to get some possible wow factor player we may have to gamble on someone if we’re picking 4-7, or do you see it differently?