Pick #2 - Strategies

[Teamduncan21]

Always reliable Dusty Garza talking about smoke getting thicker.

There's about 10% chance Harper isn't a Spur on the opening night.
5% for Nico making another re ed move and not taking Flagg.
5% for Spurs potentially trading for Giannis.

His comment was kinda non sense though. Like spurs draft the pick or trade the pick. Like of course.
So the only added value is the pick would be Harper.

[Ariel]

I don't think there's a chance the Spurs trade the #2 for Giannis. Maybe like half a percent chance.

I do think there's a chance Nico takes Dylan Harper and Flagg drops. In a normal world, no, but in this case, yes, there's a slim chance. There's even a hilarious but extremely thin chance he takes Bailey.

Chances Nico Harrison passes on Cooper Flagg are about the same as those of his family being abducted by a Spurs fan and him being coerced into doing so. Any volunteers?

[exstatic]

Shaedon Sharpe can't miss...he's got next etc, etc. I expect Harper to pan out, but I also expected Sharpe to be better than he is. Things aren't always what they seem to fans... That said, do I take Harper @ 2? Absolutely, but let's not anoint him as something that he's not yet.

I’m not sure why you would expect that. He was a HS wonder with questionable eligibility who chose not to play at UK. Basically like someone from OTE or the GLI, wasting a year when he could have been learning.

[LeBowen]

I’m not sure why you would expect that. He was a HS wonder with questionable eligibility who chose not to play at UK. Basically like someone from OTE or the GLI, wasting a year when he could have been learning.

The real question is if he shoots better than Aaron Gordon.

[Mr. Body]

Chances Nico Harrison passes on Cooper Flagg are about the same as those of his family being abducted by a Spurs fan and him being coerced into doing so. Any volunteers?

There really isn't a zero percent chance he takes Harper.

[Mr. Body]

Shaeden Sharpe decided to sit on his ass during college even when he got eligibility and could have played. He's non-compe ive. I saw James Wiseman in terms of wanting to hide himself to protect his draft stock. Now, he's obviously much, much better than Wiseman in terms of... everything. But that mentality is gross. Harper is a gamer. He didn't quit on a very bad Rutgers team. Even when he got sick and then got hurt. he came back and kept going.

[mo7888]

I’m not sure why you would expect that. He was a HS wonder with questionable eligibility who chose not to play at UK. Basically like someone from OTE or the GLI, wasting a year when he could have been learning.

I had him 10th overall. It wasn't a wild miss, but he has been short of that expectation. Most pundits had him higher than I did and rascal, who i was responding too, had him higher.

[Ariel]

Shaedon Sharpe can't miss...he's got next etc, etc. I expect Harper to pan out, but I also expected Sharpe to be better than he is. Things aren't always what they seem to fans... That said, do I take Harper @ 2? Absolutely, but let's not anoint him as something that he's not yet.

Shaedon Sharpe wasn't "can't miss", those don't fall to 7 and most of us didn't even want him for the Spurs at 9.

[Mr. Body]

People take athletic profiles as "can't miss." One of the most fallacious things about evaluating prospects.

Sharpe is in the LaMello Ball "doesn't actually want to play basketball" category.

[jjspur]

The #2 pick is a no brainer. Just take Harper. Don't over think it or reach badly like the team did in the 21 draft when pee pee boy Primo was taken. In fact at least a dozen or so better players including Bassey and Mamu who were taken in the 50's in that same draft, are still in the NBA and on the Spurs while Primo is long gone from the NBA and is now just a sad statistic. Whomever decided to draft Primo, so much for thinking you're smarter than the rest of the NBA. Guess what ass clown(s) - You're not !

So the lesson here is, sure the spurs should do their homework, but unless Harper has similar issues like Primo (which I don't think he does) just select Harper. End of story.

I've always maintained that there are two camps in the spurs organization that do drafting - a smart one and a dumb one. The smart camp usually makes the smart or safe pick that the spurs are known for, and the dumb camp that reaches for players few have ever heard of or trade for picks that have little value.

This draft is an opportunity for the spurs to significantly improve the team. I hope they don't blow it by overthinking or overreaching the picks.

[rankingtear]

I don't think people understand how bad the rest of that team was. Same people bring up Bailey's lack of playmaking, but it would've looked a lot better if his teammates could actually make lay ups. Harper scoring like that on such a trash team make his stats even more impressive.

It is his fault he invited his butt buddy to hoard all the NIL money.

[mo7888]

Shaedon Sharpe wasn't "can't miss", those don't fall to 7 and most of us didn't even want him for the Spurs at 9.

You're missing the point.... which was that most pundits had him higher than I did and he didn't reach their prediction...and the 2nd (and main) point is that rascal had him very high, in fact, he was certain Sharpe wouldn't miss yet he did. So him saying Harper won't miss isn't compelling...

[Ariel]

You're missing the point.... which was that most pundits had him higher than I did and he didn't reach their prediction...and the 2nd (and main) point is that rascal had him very high, in fact, he was certain Sharpe wouldn't miss yet he did. So him saying Harper won't miss isn't compelling...

If that's a crack at rascal then it's fine, but I'm going by my own assessment on both of them pre-draft. I think Sharpe had more in common with Cam Whitmore and Ace Bailey than he does with Harper, in terms of prospect profile (uber athletic, scoring minded, low assists, questionable feel for the game, character -selfish?-). I'm a lot more confident on Harper hitting at the next level.

[mo7888]

If that's a crack at rascal then it's fine, but I'm going by my own assessment on both of them pre-draft. I think Sharpe had more in common with Cam Whitmore and Ace Bailey than he does with Harper, in terms of prospect profile (uber athletic, scoring minded, low assists, questionable feel for the game, character -selfish?-). I'm a lot more confident on Harper hitting at the next level.

You got it... there are several players who underperformed i could have used...Kuminga, Green ,sugs, etc... I used Sharpe because it's the best example talking to rascal

[Mr. Body]

IMO Sharpe is exactly that mold, AAU God who either can't or doesn't want to compete at an actually high level.

[exstatic]

IMO Sharpe is exactly that mold, AAU God who either can't or doesn't want to compete at an actually high level.

This is one of the reasons that I’ve always been down on players from the now defunct GLI and from OTE. They just want to sit out a year in a nothing program while waiting for draft eligibility. There no real development. It’s also why I’m high on Castle. He accepted the challenge of learning, being coached, and playing a role when he was a top 2 PG prospect, and could have written a 30% USG ticket at almost any university. It’s also why I’m high on Fears. He reclassified, showed up as a 17 year old #40 prospect to a major basketball conference (SEC) program, and burned down every expectation anyone had for him right to the ground. He’s now mocking at #5 on TaT.

[rascal]

You're missing the point.... which was that most pundits had him higher than I did and he didn't reach their prediction...and the 2nd (and main) point is that rascal had him very high, in fact, he was certain Sharpe wouldn't miss yet he did. So him saying Harper won't miss isn't compelling...

Sharpe hasn't missed. You talk like he's a bust.
Dropped 18.5 a game last year. Portland is still high on him. Still has room for growth as a more efficient scorer.

He wasn't drafted for his defense.
He gets guarded on his 3 point attempts unlike Sochan.

Both Sharpe and Harper will be future all stars.

[mo7888]

Sharpe hasn't missed. You talk like he's a bust.
Dropped 18.5 a game last year. Portland is still high on him. Still has room for growth as a more efficient scorer.

He wasn't drafted for his defense.
He gets guarded on his 3 point attempts unlike Sochan.

Both Sharpe and Harper will be future all stars.

Lol

[ambchang]

I won’t say there is no chance mavs pass on cooper, but there is only one single scenario that would happen, and that’s if the rumours of the mavs burning Dallas so bad they can get run out of town to Vegas, where they get all that gambling money in casinos with the basketball arena as a gigantic entertainment complex.

The main reason people thought Nico would pass on Flagg is because he already did something incredibly stupid, which was trading away Luka.

There were three running theories for this:
1) Nico got ordered by ownership to do it to get themselves run out of town to Vegas. Covered above
2) Nico valued defence and believe Luka will never lead them to a le because of that. Flagg plays defence as well as any prospect. That’s his calling card. So if d is the reason traded Luka, he would actually focus on getting Flagg because Flagg is pretty much a can’t miss prospect on d
3) Nico is trying to erase the organization of the last regime and is on a power grab. This has nothing to do with getting Flagg. In fact him getting Flagg would be a huge feather on his cap to start this new regime.

Some say Nico is just incompetent and he is incompetent enough to bypass Flagg. I don’t see it that way at all. He built pretty much the ideal team around Luka before he traded Luka away. He’s not stupid, so I’m not even entertaining this point. Besides, even isiah Thomas and Michael jordan wouldn’t pass on Flagg, it’s that obvious.

[Mr. Body]

I won’t say there is no chance mavs pass on cooper, but there is only one single scenario that would happen, and that’s if the rumours of the mavs burning Dallas so bad they can get run out of town to Vegas, where they get all that gambling money in casinos with the basketball arena as a gigantic entertainment complex.

The main reason people thought Nico would pass on Flagg is because he already did something incredibly stupid, which was trading away Luka.

There were three running theories for this:
1) Nico got ordered by ownership to do it to get themselves run out of town to Vegas. Covered above
2) Nico valued defence and believe Luka will never lead them to a le because of that. Flagg plays defence as well as any prospect. That’s his calling card. So if d is the reason traded Luka, he would actually focus on getting Flagg because Flagg is pretty much a can’t miss prospect on d
3) Nico is trying to erase the organization of the last regime and is on a power grab. This has nothing to do with getting Flagg. In fact him getting Flagg would be a huge feather on his cap to start this new regime.

Some say Nico is just incompetent and he is incompetent enough to bypass Flagg. I don’t see it that way at all. He built pretty much the ideal team around Luka before he traded Luka away. He’s not stupid, so I’m not even entertaining this point. Besides, even isiah Thomas and Michael jordan wouldn’t pass on Flagg, it’s that obvious.

My sense that Nico could take Harper, albeit extraordinarily unlikely, is solely based on how Dylan Harper fits his team better than Flagg does. Flagg plays the same position that Anthony Davis does. Without Kyrie, and even with Kyrie, they need a heavy guard presence for balance, and that is Dylan Harper. He may see Flagg as a high-end support piece and Harper as a high-end load-carrying star.

It doesn't take too much of a leap to try to see things from Nico's perspective. He's already laid out his vision with the Luka trade. Again, don't think it happens at all, but it's within his patterns.

[baseline bum]

I've always maintained that there are two camps in the spurs organization that do drafting - a smart one and a dumb one. The smart camp usually makes the smart or safe pick that the spurs are known for, and the dumb camp that reaches for players few have ever heard of or trade for picks that have little value.

Primo is their only real up. Yeah Samanic never amounted to anything but that's a risk taking an upside swing at 19.

[baseline bum]

This is one of the reasons that I’ve always been down on players from the now defunct GLI and from OTE. They just want to sit out a year in a nothing program while waiting for draft eligibility. There no real development.

Mostly agree but damn did the both of us miss on Amen Thompson. I didn't like him either in the draft but love watching him now.

[exstatic]

Mostly agree but damn did the both of us miss on Amen Thompson. I didn't like him either in the draft but love watching him now.

He is doing what he is doing on sheer physical talent, as is his brother. Didn’t understand the scope. He’s kind of an outsized version of what they said Scoot would be. Even if he doesn’t get a 3 pointer, he could still be like a supercharged version of Iguodala. What he is,however, is in no way due to OTE.

[The Truth #6]

I'd say Nico is arrogant and stubborn more than simply unpredictable. He holds Kobe as the gold standard for work ethic. Luka is more like Shaq if compared to Kobe specifically in regards to work ethic. Nico hated Luka's work ethic. Trading him is dumb in the way that he did it though. Nico made it way too personal and obviously got a return. If he was like Presti and made a killing, then different story.

But unless he thinks Flagg is lazy, which no one does, then I don't see any world where he passes on Flagg.

[scott]

I'd say Nico is arrogant and stubborn more than simply unpredictable. He holds Kobe as the gold standard for work ethic. Luka is more like Shaq if compared to Kobe specifically in regards to work ethic. Nico hated Luka's work ethic. Trading him is dumb in the way that he did it though. Nico made it way too personal and obviously got a return. If he was like Presti and made a killing, then different story.

But unless he thinks Flagg is lazy, which no one does, then I don't see any world where he passes on Flagg.

If Flagg wanted to be a Spur, here is the three step plan

1. Wear a Fire Nico t-shirt in every press conference
2. Use #FireNico hashtag in every IG post
3. Start reposting Fire Nico chant videos across multiple social media platforms

More than Nico might be a dumbass, I think he's an egomaniac. Which is weird, because if you watch his end of season presser he also come off as a huge cuck