ESPN Article - Spurs’ Player Development Machine

[exstatic]

thats like saying oden was a solid #1 overall pick because he would have been fine but not for the injuries


did he, though? he didnt do anything of note in his career. he was drafted as a shooter and he was a poor shooter at the nba level. averaged less than 6 ppg for his career on 41% shooting

With a broken 5th metatarsal....

Oh, and the Oden comparison is invalid. Oden was damaged goods when drafted. Anderson was very promising before being injured on the job.

[spurs1990]

Well, you have to include Livio Jean-Charles and Milutinov. But you can throw in a relatively decent number of second rounders like Giricek and Dejuan Blair that the team had a hand in.

I didn't want to count those two international guys since they still haven't played in the league, and their jury is out. Also for other 1st, 2nd rounders they drafted Barbosa, Dragic, John Salmons, who all played close to 800 games, but I'm not sure if they drafted them for themselves or were advised to by another team.

i wouldnt consider james anderson as having panned out

2010 draft was considerably weak after the 20th pick. Only players I would peg as being missed by the Spurs would be Greivus Vasquez (2011 1st Rd vs Mem ugh), Hassan Whiteside, and Lance Stephenson. The latter two you wouldn't want on your roster today fair to say.

[$pursDynasty]

Funny the Spurs develop players, then they leave via big money offers the Spurs aren't willing to match. But of those players that left name me some that continued to improve after leaving the Spurs, I can't think of any recently (Boban, Baynes, Dedmon, Simmons, GHill, CJoseph) heck the same can be said of MVParker and the former KingSlayer. Point being players leave here rarely do they improve or am I missing some guys?

[TDMVPDPOY]

imo the 3 tosb stayed around too long after the last championship run, the younger players all bolted in trades or better pay deal the spurms couldnt fit onto roster due to loyalty contracts to tosb vets

[Seventyniner]

I didn't want to count those two international guys since they still haven't played in the league, and their jury is out. Also for other 1st, 2nd rounders they drafted Barbosa, Dragic, John Salmons, who all played close to 800 games, but I'm not sure if they drafted them for themselves or were advised to by another team.

IIRC the Spurs were told to pick Barbosa and Dragic, like the Pacers were told to pick Number Two. In that case, no credit to PATFO for those two obv.

[CGD]

Wow, Ian and Blair get a shout out in the peice but no mention of Kyle.

[Maddog]

From Deadspin
Then there’s the Spurs, whom frankly I don’t really want to discuss. But discuss them we must! This postseason marks the Spurs’ 22nd straight playoff appearance, and their 29th in the past 30 years. Only eight times, in those 30 frickin’ years, have they made the playoffs and failed to win a series. As a fan of the Washington Wizards, I find that track record absolutely disgusting. It makes me sick.
Anyway here they are, again, in the frickin’ playoffs. Once again, cir stances conspired to deprive them of a vitally important young building-block player for the entire season—this time, limby guard Dejounte Murray tore his ACL in the preseason; last time, Kawhi Leonard just kinda decided he didn’t want to be a Spur anymore—and they just plugged the next dude into the rotation and kept it moving. The Spurs have used one—one—top-20 draft pick since 1998. The active roster they will bring to tonight’s game will include a grand total of two players the Spurs selected in the draft, ever. Disgusting! Outrageous in fact!