Reaction: Spurs Trade the 33rd Pick, Draft Sidy Cissoko at 44

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/instant-re...-sidy-cissoko/

[Mr. Body]

It does appear like a calculated trade. I wonder who the Spurs had in their tier and how they read the other teams as going before 44. My guess is they weren't high on players some of us were, like Amari Bailey.

Cissoko is a similar prospect to board favorite Rayan Rupert. Sidy might be a better fit, though, as Rupert kind of overlaps a ton with Wesley in terms of defensive potential and position.

Cissoko has a lot of available skills. Willing defender, decent passer, okay vision, etc. Just needs to develop and see. Big problems with his fouls and he seems in the Zach Collins mold of being super chippy at times.

[John B]

I like it. He’s very athletic and seems a hard-worker, plays PG growing so another facilitator for coach Pop. 3pt shooting and clean-up on defense and Spurs got a real good role player with Sidy.

[BatManu20]

He’s got an NBA body already at barely 18 years old which is good. Still a bit raw offensively, needs to continue to develop his 3-point shooting. Shot 30% from 3 on 3.5 attempts/per this season. Not terrible, but that will have to go up. I actually think this is a really good value for where he was drafted tbh. I think he spends most of his first year in Austin, but in a couple years he could be a valuable role player off the bench for us.

Despite trading 33 which I wasn’t a fan of, we also added my boy Sir’Jabari Rice on a two-way, a guy who is a lethal 3-point shooter at 6’4. Overall this was a great draft tbh. I dig it. What really matters most though is that Wemby is a mf’n Spur.

[Bruno]

What's noteworthy is the timing of the 33rd pick trade: Woj announced the trade while the draft was at pick #28.

I don't agree with the idea that Spurs trade #33 because they knew there will still be good players at #44. There are just too much picks between #28 and #44 to have that kind of reasoning. The benefice of that move was also not worth the risk since they only got a couple of second round picks, that they don't need, for #33.

To me, Spurs trade #33 simply because they didn't like the players available at that stage of the draft. Once they saw nothing special happened in the draft (trade opportunity or a player sliding) , they did their plan A and trade the pick.
What happened at #44 is likely a combination of bad trade offers and Cissoko being unexpectedly available. It looks like an opportunity pick.

[heyheymymy]

Maybe they were working on a deal withCHA 27, UTH at 28 or IND 29 that fell through? All had multi picks.

Maybe they wanted Strawther and got word he was going next so they abandoned ship? Maybe they wanted Nnaji and seeing CHA pick NSJ at 27 somehow triggered confirmation that CHA would take a big with 31?

But yeah probably just hanging around to see if something advantageous developed out of that late first landscape before cashing out on 33. The timing seems weird, if you weren't considering the bevy of good players left at #33 why not do that trade sooner in the night? Seems like they were waiting for something that fell through around 27 and when it did they bailed immediately on 33.

[TDMVPDPOY]

is there enough pt to develop new and current players on the roster? are the spurs competing for a playoff spot or still in the process of developing?

[Mr. Body]

is there enough pt to develop new and current players on the roster? are the spurs competing for a playoff spot or still in the process of developing?

Some guys will spend time in Austin. What's nice is that no two players have the same skill sets, so they are sort of developing in their own silos.

[Bruno]

Maybe they were working on a deal withCHA 27, UTH at 28 or IND 29 that fell through? All had multi picks.

I think the most likely is that they had a limited list of players they liked at #33 and once the last name was crossed off (could have been Sasser or Sheppard or Nick Smith jr), they traded the pick.

What happened at this draft is consistent with Spurs saying they want to be patient. They didn't force a trade or draft a player they didn't like.

[JPB]

What's noteworthy is the timing of the 33rd pick trade: Woj announced the trade while the draft was at pick #28.

I don't agree with the idea that Spurs trade #33 because they knew there will still be good players at #44. There are just too much picks between #28 and #44 to have that kind of reasoning. The benefice of that move was also not worth the risk since they only got a couple of second round picks, that they don't need, for #33.

To me, Spurs trade #33 simply because they didn't like the players available at that stage of the draft. Once they saw nothing special happened in the draft (trade opportunity or a player sliding) , they did their plan A and trade the pick.
What happened at #44 is likely a combination of bad trade offers and Cissoko being unexpectedly available. It looks like an opportunity pick.

Spurs just didn't want to add another uncertain prospect for the sake of it, in a team full of them. They really had to LOVE him.

Pop litterally said last night he was happy with what they had and with how the young guys had worked during the summer and spurs need proven talent and experience around Wemby who wants to win quickly. not sure some guys still there at 33 would have been thrilled to spend the year in Austin, which Sidy will...

Getting 2 future SPRs is not a coup but it's still a little something and they liked Sissoko at 44, they could at some point sign under a two way contract, assuming they cut one of Barlow or Champagnie.

[rankingtear]

This was an hour before the draft i think. Tanner is also Sochan's agent.

[rankingtear]

[JPB]

This was an hour before the draft i think. Tanner is also Sochan's agent.

Probably why Dusty assumed (not heard) that.

[CGD]

I’m pleased with the outcome of the draft.

Some of y’all forget that the Josh freakin Richardson trade last winter (and seemingly others in the NBA since) involved 4 (!!) SRPs. It’s ok to build up the reserves for future dealings.

[slick'81]

We got wemby! Everything else is gravy

[Chinook]

What's noteworthy is the timing of the 33rd pick trade: Woj announced the trade while the draft was at pick #28.

I don't agree with the idea that Spurs trade #33 because they knew there will still be good players at #44. There are just too much picks between #28 and #44 to have that kind of reasoning. The benefice of that move was also not worth the risk since they only got a couple of second round picks, that they don't need, for #33.

To me, Spurs trade #33 simply because they didn't like the players available at that stage of the draft. Once they saw nothing special happened in the draft (trade opportunity or a player sliding) , they did their plan A and trade the pick.
What happened at #44 is likely a combination of bad trade offers and Cissoko being unexpectedly available. It looks like an opportunity pick.

While I agree that the Spurs were probably not confident there would be good players at 44, I did say well before the draft that 33 was the most likely pick to be traded. Anyone drafted at 33 was going to be part of the roster crunch, whereas at 44, they'd be in line for a two-way deal. Now, it's not clear where Cissoko is going to be after Rice's signing. But I don't think plan A for 44 was to trade that pick too. I think if anything their plan was to draft someone like Rice and use a two-way on him, but when they saw Cissoko was still available, they went ahead and drafted him instead with the possibility of him being on the roster.

In a way, it's almost certain the Spurs didn't love the value of picks at 33. They traded the pick for basically nothing (I say basically because the seconds are at least after the glut of picks the team currently has), after all. But I don't think they particularly didn't like the players there as much as no one was good enough to make them want to stay in given the issue it'd cause on the roster. As mentioned before, the Spurs should've been able to easily trade up into the 20s to get a guy they liked there, provided they were willing to use cap space. That they didn't suggests to me that they might have a legit plan for that space and weren't willing to just sell it again this year. Remember, some of the floor penalties kick in this season, so the team is likely not going to just sit on it going into the season. So despite having a real incentive to use it and having the opportunity to use it to get into the 20s, the Spurs decided against using it. It's something to keep an eye on.

[John B]

The more I hear about this guy, the more I’m convinced he is the right pick. He is a hard-worker who is a team player, a bigger combo who can pass and defend. Very Spursy.

[poopbox]

Doesn't really matter. If Sidy ends up being a rotational player for us I'd be shocked and that would be a major win for us. Our youth and depending on what we do in free agency means he'll probably be playing spot minutes for the kings in 4 years like Metu was.

And again...there is nothing wrong with hoarding second round picks, as they are great for getting deals over the finish line. If you go look at any 10 random nba trades...you probably going to find a ton of second round picks in them. I assume that is why the spurs are collecting so many, to make them apart of future trades.

[Dex]

I believe timvp mentioned previously that it was likely the Spurs would trade one of their 2RPs simply because we don't have the space on the roster to add three more bodies.

I was a little surprised it was 33 and not 44, but it sounds like it worked out okay. We still got a good prospect, and add to the treasure trove of picks that Wright has assembled. I'll take it.

That said, after I saw they traded pick 33, I went to sleep because I was exhausted of waiting

[slick'81]

Clearly the spurs couldn't trade up like they wanted. On to free agency

[exstatic]

This was an hour before the draft i think. Tanner is also Sochan's agent.

Crusty!

[Bruno]

As mentioned before, the Spurs should've been able to easily trade up into the 20s to get a guy they liked there, provided they were willing to use cap space. That they didn't suggests to me that they might have a legit plan for that space and weren't willing to just sell it again this year. Remember, some of the floor penalties kick in this season, so the team is likely not going to just sit on it going into the season. So despite having a real incentive to use it and having the opportunity to use it to get into the 20s, the Spurs decided against using it. It's something to keep an eye on.

Rumors were mostly (only?) about Spurs getting another lottery pick and there might have been a reason.

Spurs might have seen this draft as being only about 15 players deep. I'm no draft expert but I see quite a gap between Bufkin at #15 and Podziemski at #19. Even if Spurs could have had a late first round pick, they might just not have been interested in.

Salary floor will surely play its part this summer for Spurs but I don't see that as a big deal. If they re-sign Trey and sign a random FA to a $10M/1 year contract, they should be over it.

[LeBowen]

Highlights and reports are hyping up Cissoko as potentially legit starter, some mocks had him in top20, but we have to be realistic, there's a reason why he fell all the way to 44th pick.

Just turned 19 a couple of months ago, so he should've probably stayed in Europe for another year. Definitely Austin bound in the next two seasons.

[leo07251413]

Hey timvp, if both Rupert and Cissoko are there at #44, who would've been the pick, who would've been the pick?
Do you have any intel on that? I'm curious about your own opinion on this as well. Thanks in advance.

[Mr. Body]

Highlights and reports are hyping up Cissoko as potentially legit starter, some mocks had him in top20, but we have to be realistic, there's a reason why he fell all the way to 44th pick.

Just turned 19 a couple of months ago, so he should've probably stayed in Europe for another year. Definitely Austin bound in the next two seasons.

Both G-League Ignite guys fell hard -- Leonard Miller and Sidy Cissoko. That is, other than Scoot. I really wonder what the league thoughts about Ignite are right now. Players coming out of there have not been ready or very good at all.