Decent fan of Sheppard, though I acknowledge his weaknesses. I think he offers a lot of what Lonzo offers, as a helper on D (obviously not the 1:1 defender and doesn't have the size), a boost to transition scoring with hit aheads, a secondary half court creator who you want next to another primary, though, shoots the ever living out of the ball.
I'd be fine drafting Sheppard. I think the team will opt to be a relatively egalitarian offense, with Wemby involved a lot in the half court, ala Jokic in Denver. That reduces the need for a primary playmaker (though, obviously you'd love to get someone who can do that, you're not going to say no if there was a Luka level prospect in this draft).
The fit in the starting lineup would be Sheppard - Vassell - SF (I'd try and pry Okoro away from the Cavs) - Sochan - Wemby. Not a locked in, long term starting lineup, but I don't think we know our starting lineup now for le teams. That's going to change over time.
Offensively, run things through Wemby a lot, with inverted pick and rolls / handoffs with each of the players being a sufficient dribbler / passer / playmaker, and shooting in 3 of the 4 non-wemby spots. Sheppard is a good enough off ball player to move and cut and be valuable with and without the ball. Defensively, a bit weak. Not going to be a le team. Okoro could take on POA responsibilities, but you're going to have to put Sheppard on someone, and if there's a big team he'll be hunted. He's a weak 1:1 defender, who was (very) valuable as a helper.
Also possible that Sheppard isn't good enough to be a starter (it happens), and he moves to a bench role, as a movement shooter who generates defensive events and can handle bench level defensive assignments.
I agree with this.
Wemby likes having chances to playmake, that's part of not being pigeonholed as a classic center.
Sheppard should be good enough to do close to what Jones was doing on ball but with the bonus of deadly shooting
His POA defense was bad as a freshman. Give him some time and teaching to get better.
I am enjoying the takes saying that a guy who shoots over 50% from 3 only fits on certain teams.
Great idea, have virtually every moment where they're both active of at least one ball handling guard on the floor who can't shoot and that's not even factoring in Jones and Sochan.
Just what a team that hasn't been able to shoot in the better part of a decade needs needs.
What will it take to trade up from 8 to 2?
If you want to stealth tank then drafting Topic is no brainer
If Topic is the guy they like, they should take him. The Spurs don't especially need a PG this year with Jones and Wesley already on the team and free agency if that fails. Drafting Topic would also allow the Spurs to see what they have if they draft Sheppard with their other first. If Sheppard is more of an off-guard in the NBA, then he and Topic complement each other, and the team will just have to be okay with Topic/Sheppard/Vassell/Sochan/Wembanyama as the starting five. If they're both PGs, let Jones go and let them compete to see who starts and who's the backup. Then when it's time to make the inevitable trade for a star, they will be able to include a blue-chip prospect while retaining a starting PG.
I hope not #facepalm, this crossed my mind
Agree. I hope Topic is not the guy, but if he is, him getting picked is still understandable some even with injury. At that point, I’d prefer them trade 4 for 7+14 probably and try to snag Reed+Topic with 7 and 8 (which I think is doable) and at least get another pick then.
As flat as this draft is, trading back makes alot of sense. You could possibly pick up Williams who was mocked top 8 not long ago.
Do y’all think Matas Buzelis could play SF consistently or will he be a liability there? It would be nice to upgrade Champagnie’s spot in the starting lineup lol
Sac-Town pick #13 and #45. Shows the variance on prospects and how mocks will likely change as a result.
According to ESPN’s NBA Draft insider Jonathon Givony, the Spurs are even entertaining the idea of packaging No. 4 and No. 8 to trade for the first overall pick from the Atlanta Hawks. In this scenario, the Spurs would reportedly be targeting Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher.
4 and 8 for 2 and 26 which would open up the possibility of packaging 26 and 35 to get into the low 20s.
Wesley is just a body. He won't be in the rotation again (barring absences obviously) and might not even be on the team if he's used as ballast in a trade.
He is a SF. In time, he should grow into being more of a combo forward if not more of a PF.
He's definitely not a starter out of the gate though.
Last edited by TD 21; 06-05-2024 at 11:25 PM.
I'd go The Furph instead. Probably just straight up better.
One consideration from doing this type of deal is how it affects the Hawks’ winning prospects in the next 3 years, given the picks they owe us. Suppose they agree to this deal and draft Clingan at #4 and Knecht at #8. Would that help them win more games in the next 3 years than just drafting Risacher at #1 outright? I believe it would.
He doesn’t have the handles or shooting you want from the SF position and I am a strong believer he will have to grow into the PF position. So the sooner he gets on that Peanut butter special sauce diet the better off he will be
I love how hilariously inept they are at making things up. The Luka Doncic-Trae Young trade only had one other element, a 1-5 protected pick in the next draft, and that was a move from 3 to 5 involving vastly better regarded players. So, ESPN wants us to believe in this flat draft that the price for moving up basically the same two slots would be a 4 and 8 from the same draft? GTFOH.
He has some Mamu, weak for PF and laterally slow for SF.
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i think Risacher has always been the target hmmmmmmm
well, I do expect the Spurs FO entertaining ideas like the mentioned one, because THAT'S THEIR ING JOB.
doing their homework doesn't mean that they will eventually pull the trigger on this ideas.
people here tell all the time, that this is a very weak draft, right? so, a number 8 pick in this draft doesn't have the same value than in most other drafts, right?
so why get crazy over the (theoretically) scenario to use the pick for a trade up deal? and comparing trades in different drafts, as if thoses were precedencial cases and would determine pricing of the future, won't get you nowhere.
I tried to make a point about Risacher some weeks ago, to not just look at the player, but rather look at the cir stances. If Wemby would be happy to get Risacher at his side, a #8 pick in a allegedly weak draft is probably a small price for an important move regarding bonding your superstar to the franchise. (it's no secret how close the ties between the Risacher and Wembanyama families are).
Spurs might see some more reasons why they might be willing to trade the #8 pick. that is roster spots, cap space, free agency and future fexibility. so it will be a weighing up choices and in the big picture the trade up scenario might win, even if the talent you trade for doesn't look like a can't miss opportunity at first glance.
Wemby at center and then Zacchary at forward could be terrifying for years to come......
Givoney isn’t the most plugged in guy for rumors.
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