Final Spurs Big Board: Victor Wembanyama and the 2023 Draft

[SpursFan86]

How many non-shooting threats can you get away with on a 9/10 men rotation in today's NBA? The Spurs are pretty much at their limit, I'm not sure they can afford to add many more of those.

In terms of our core pieces that (I think) most people would agree on:

Vassell - can shoot
Keldon - can shoot (know this is somewhat of a stretch, but he’s career 36% from 3 which is respectable)
Sochan - can’t shoot
Wembanyama - can shoot (has work to do but no question he’s a floor spacer)
Branham - can shoot (again, has work to do but I think most people here are optimistic he’ll become a solid outside threat)

If you want to argue Tre as part of our main core then that’s fine but that still just leaves 2 core guys who aren’t good shooters. I’m not disputing that we should be adding more shooters to surround Wembanyama with, but the notion that we can’t target a non-shooter with a 2nd round pick just seems absurd IMO. It’s not like we’re talking about spending a lottery pick to add a main piece who can’t shoot.

[SpursFan86]

Additionally, we had the worst defense in the league last year. You can argue that part of that was from tanking and Wembanyama will change all of that…but does anyone really think we couldn’t use a lockdown wing defender like Walsh? At #44 I’d take that player archetype over some guard who is a great shooter but can’t defend for .

Over time, sure, we absolutely need to prioritize surrounding Wembanyama with shooters…but that doesn’t mean every single draft pick from here on out needs to be someone who can shoot.

[John B]

In terms of our core pieces that (I think) most people would agree on:

Vassell - can shoot
Keldon - can shoot (know this is somewhat of a stretch, but he’s career 36% from 3 which is respectable)
Sochan - can’t shoot
Wembanyama - can shoot (has work to do but no question he’s a floor spacer)
Branham - can shoot (again, has work to do but I think most people here are optimistic he’ll become a solid outside threat)

If you want to argue Tre as part of our main core then that’s fine but that still just leaves 2 core guys who aren’t good shooters. I’m not disputing that we should be adding more shooters to surround Wembanyama with, but the notion that we can’t target a non-shooter with a 2nd round pick just seems absurd IMO. It’s not like we’re talking about spending a lottery pick to add a main piece who can’t shoot.

I think they keep either of McBuckets (preferably) or Graham if they want to compete.

Also our starting C, Zollins can shoot.

[spurraider21]

What makes you think they even want three picks?

his comment is entertaining the hypothetical that they make a selection at 44 but the guy that wanted at 44 was taken just a few spots earlier

it wasnt a prediction

[buttsR4rebounding]

I bet Sochan has been working big time on his 3 point shot and will be much improved this year.

[Ariel]

19. Colby Jones
Jones is a really well-rounded prospect. He can pass, shoot, score, run an offense and defend wings. If he would have played at the combine, he’d probably be a few spots higher on this Big Board.

21. Jordan Walsh
According to a source, the Spurs were really impressed when they had Walsh in for a workout. He’s a wing with exceptional length who looks like a future defensive stopper. Considering that Walsh is the only player I’ve heard who impressed the Spurs during a workout this year, that has to be worth something.

22. Amari Bailey
When I ask opposing scouts to predict who the Spurs will pick in the second round, Bailey is the name I hear the most often. He’s a crafty left-handed point guard prospect who came on late in the year as a freshman and then carried that momentum forward to the combine scrimmages.

My top candidate for #33 was Jaquez, but I'm coming to terms that he'll go in the 15-25 range. Walsh was an option for me at #44, but with the way the draft is shaping up I think there's very little chance he lasts that much, and I wouldn't be disappointed if we take him at #33. Colby Jones and Amari Bailey round up my top 3 choices, unless for some miracle Jaquez is still on the board (he won't be).

[Ariel]

How many non-shooting threats can you get away with on a 9/10 men rotation in today's NBA? The Spurs are pretty much at their limit, I'm not sure they can afford to add many more of those.

It's easier to teach a non shooter to shoot, that it is to teach an undersized player to grow in height or wingspan, or a dumb player to gain IQ, or a a player with an at ude problem to be coachable and team centered, lackadaisical player to improve his drive and motor, or an unproductive player to suddenly pull a 180. So yes, given that the 2nd round features players who didn't get passed on for nothing and there will always be some "if and but" with them, mediocre shooting doesn't concern me as much as those other flaws (undersized, dumb, selfish, low motor, etc).

[CGD]

Thanks for doing this write up.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Nice write-up! I haven't been this excited for the NBA draft in....well, I've never been this excited for the NBA draft!

[rankingtear]

Additionally, we had the worst defense in the league last year. You can argue that part of that was from tanking and Wembanyama will change all of that…but does anyone really think we couldn’t use a lockdown wing defender like Walsh? At #44 I’d take that player archetype over some guard who is a great shooter but can’t defend for .

Over time, sure, we absolutely need to prioritize surrounding Wembanyama with shooters…but that doesn’t mean every single draft pick from here on out needs to be someone who can shoot.

If they are same size, I would take the shooter. Then hide just hide him on the zero offense guy.

[rascal]

Depends on the player, but I pick defense over offense. A player can get better offensively. A bad defender is almost always a bad defender.

I pick offense over defense. You really need both but the spurs need to find another go to shot creator on offense to take pressure off Wemby. they already have some non shooting threats on the roster.
Drafting Sochan almost makes it more important to add more of an offensive threat to the lineup now.

You can't fill the team with all defensive players.

[rascal]

In terms of our core pieces that (I think) most people would agree on:

Vassell - can shoot
Keldon - can shoot (know this is somewhat of a stretch, but he’s career 36% from 3 which is respectable)
Sochan - can’t shoot
Wembanyama - can shoot (has work to do but no question he’s a floor spacer)
Branham - can shoot (again, has work to do but I think most people here are optimistic he’ll become a solid outside threat)

If you want to argue Tre as part of our main core then that’s fine but that still just leaves 2 core guys who aren’t good shooters. I’m not disputing that we should be adding more shooters to surround Wembanyama with, but the notion that we can’t target a non-shooter with a 2nd round pick just seems absurd IMO. It’s not like we’re talking about spending a lottery pick to add a main piece who can’t shoot.

If all these Spurs can shoot how were they ranked 26th in team 3pt shooting and 24th in team FG% last year?

Shooting and scoring is a team problem overall.

[RC_Drunkford]

I'm not really high on Jaquez for the Spurs. Denver or Golden State will probably draft him for bench depth. Makes much more sense for contenders to grab him

[jhfenton]

I've been a fan of Colby Jones from the beginning, he gives me some Derrick White vibes

As an XU fan, I've watched a lot of Colby, and White is the exact player I thought of this season. His improvement each year speaks to his work ethic and coachability. I'm hoping the Spurs find a willing seller in the first round to move up, but I would not be too disappointed if they ended up with Colby at #33.

[DAF86]

In terms of our core pieces that (I think) most people would agree on:

Vassell - can shoot
Keldon - can shoot (know this is somewhat of a stretch, but he’s career 36% from 3 which is respectable)
Sochan - can’t shoot
Wembanyama - can shoot (has work to do but no question he’s a floor spacer)
Branham - can shoot (again, has work to do but I think most people here are optimistic he’ll become a solid outside threat)

If you want to argue Tre as part of our main core then that’s fine but that still just leaves 2 core guys who aren’t good shooters. I’m not disputing that we should be adding more shooters to surround Wembanyama with, but the notion that we can’t target a non-shooter with a 2nd round pick just seems absurd IMO. It’s not like we’re talking about spending a lottery pick to add a main piece who can’t shoot.

That's the thing, though, many guys are. In fact, they want to trade future draft capital to do so and add Anthony Black or Aman Thompson. If you add a guy like Walsh to that with what we already have: Sochan, Tre, Wemby (I know the believe is he will become a good 3 pt shooter eventually but even if that's the case, he will be a 1st option, so he won't be doing much floor spacing. Do you imagine offensive sets with Wemby as the main option and guys like Sochan and Black alongside him trying to provide spacing?) the shooting options look pretty thin, tbh.

[DAF86]

It's easier to teach a non shooter to shoot

But here we aren't talking solely about non-shooters, we are talking about guys with awful looking shots. How many guys that shot it like Anthony Black in college can you remember becoming succesfull shooters in the NBA?

that it is to teach an undersized player to grow in height or wingspan, or a dumb player to gain IQ, or a a player with an at ude problem to be coachable and team centered, lackadaisical player to improve his drive and motor, or an unproductive player to suddenly pull a 180. So yes, given that the 2nd round features players who didn't get passed on for nothing and there will always be some "if and but" with them, mediocre shooting doesn't concern me as much as those other flaws (undersized, dumb, selfish, low motor, etc).

I don't know, I think there are several flaws that are way more fixable than shooting. A guy like Amari Bailey, for example, has flaws like overdribbling, strength and pull up range. That sounds quite a bit like Tony Parker to me, the Spurs didn't too bad working up his flaws, tbh.

We'll see, I'm just wary of getting too many guys which need to work on their shooting.

[TD 21]

We'll see, I'm just wary of getting too many guys which need to work on their shooting.

Agreed. Most non shooters top out as bad - mediocre spot up (never mind pull-up or off movement) ones, so even if they can assist in getting them to that, if the majority of the core pieces are made up of that, then collectively it'll continue to be a poor shooting team.

There's this myth about this organization that because of S bag and to a lesser extent Parker (both of whom preferred to operate more in the mid range), that this organization has magic pixie dust and can transform virtually anyone from bad to good.

[Maddog]

Thanks Timvp. Splendid list. My wish list:

#1 Wemby
#7 Black or Amen (either from Keldon trade plus CHA, CHI, TOR picks, however gets it done.
#13 Bilal, SRP’s plus future Spurs FRP’s.

or
#33 Podziemsky
#44 Nnaji

Bilal will be a bonus if they really want to please Wemby. I’m not thrilled and he seems overrated. I expect Spurs to bring in 3 rookies the most with 1 on a 2way contract.

I’d be extremely hapoy with #1 and #7 if it happened. Go Spurs Go

Podziemsky is oddly fascinating.
Doesn't look very athletic- but good vertical leap. Not very long but got 8.8 rebounds per game.
Shot looks a little wonky, but shot >40% on threes

[offset formation]

Perfect draft for me would be Wembanyama, Coulibaly, Sasser.

[John B]

Podziemsky is oddly fascinating.
Doesn't look very athletic- but good vertical leap. Not very long but got 8.8 rebounds per game.
Shot looks a little wonky, but shot >40% on threes

I just feel that he's going to be Spurs pick at #33 if they haven't traded that pick yet. Pods has been compared to Manu with his gritty plays. He finds ways to score inside and out, rebounds and dives for the ball, high bball IQ, very Spursy to say the least.

[DAF86]

If the Spurs do trade up, I hope it is for Bufkin. He's by far the most complete guard prospect out there. He has every tool to be Wemby's #2.

your Anthony Black and Amar Thompson, clowns!

[BacktoBasics]

If all these Spurs can shoot how were they ranked 26th in team 3pt shooting and 24th in team FG% last year?

Shooting and scoring is a team problem overall.

I’ve never understood people who take sarcastic stances like this. We were clearly tanking. Experimental line ups. Holding players out longer than normal for injuries. Playing guys who would normally be g-leaguers. When you tank and take liberties you wouldn’t normally tank you’re going to see anomalous drops in statistical effectiveness.

I would stand firmly behind your point if the team pushed to make the play in.

Try to be a little more honest.

[DAF86]

I’ve never understood people who take sarcastic stances like this. We were clearly tanking. Experimental line ups. Holding players out longer than normal for injuries. Playing guys who would normally be g-leaguers. When you tank and take liberties you wouldn’t normally tank you’re going to see anomalous drops in statistical effectiveness.

I would stand firmly behind your point if the team pushed to make the play in.

Try to be a little more honest.

The folks disregarding shooting as a problem becuase of tanking are the same that act as if defense is a huge flaw, despite the fact we are probably getting a multiple DPoY in Wemby and have great defenders as Vassell and Sochan as core guys for the future.

I think shooting and scoring is clearly a bigger concern than defense, tbh.

[mo7888]

I just feel that he's going to be Spurs pick at #33 if they haven't traded that pick yet. Pods has been compared to Manu with his gritty plays. He finds ways to score inside and out, rebounds and dives for the ball, high bball IQ, very Spursy to say the least.

I think he's gone long before #33.

[timvp]

Latest ESPN mock draft has Leonard Miller, Colby Jones, Kobe Brown and Jordan Walsh available at 33 but not 44. At 44, there is Amari Bailey, Julian Strawther and Siddy Cissoko.

Tbh, I'd be happy with any combination of those guys.