Spurs' future draft picks

[mardigan]

That would be throwing Scola away, IMO. Better sign Scola than give him for sub-starters like those.

For sure agree, Scola would contribute far more than those guys

[AFBlue]

Looking at the projected draft order, picks #15, 16, 17 & 18 all belong to teams with a bunch of young guys already. They would probably be looking for some type of vet or experienced player in return. Right now those picks belong to Atlanta, NJ, Golden State & the Sixers. All of those teams would make good trading partners IMO, 3 teams are in the east & Nelly with the Warriors would deal with Pop. I dont know if Scola plus Beno plus our first rounder could get us that high, but that should be somewhere around his trade value. If Scola cant move us up 8 to 10 spots in the draft, then I say keep him & try to package him for a package like the afformentioned Khrypa & Duhon.

Atlanta needs a point guard in the worst way and to get a guy like Law, Lawson, or Augustin they'll have to keep that pick. Plus, the last good thing Billy Knight did for his team was get Zaza for under $5M and even that was a risk.

The Warriors run far too much and far too fast to have use for a guy like Scola. I'm sure they'd be the one to take a shot at McRoberts if he falls that far...he's a better-passing Troy Murphy.

The other two teams you mentioned are intriguing though:

The Sixers left a gaping hole at PF when they let Webber go for nothing. Joe Smith's contract is up and he's more of a shooter than a low-post guy anyway, and Stephen Hunter just flat-out isn't that good....he was made to look better by the Suns' fast pace.

The Nets are disgustingly thin on the frontline and could use some serious help. But I think the Nets will again look to unload Kidd if they can get some serious offers for him this summer (I would say Hawks, but Knight never does anything right).

[AFBlue]

The main reason I think Scola doesn't get traded though....

There are a TON of PF prospects in this draft. If the Spurs made Scola available in a year that had few prospects to choose from, his value would certainly be higher.

As of right now, I just think he's more valuable to the Spurs on their team and I think it'll flesh itself out that way...

[mardigan]

The main reason I think Scola doesn't get traded though....

There are a TON of PF prospects in this draft. If the Spurs made Scola available in a year that had few prospects to choose from, his value would certainly be higher.

As of right now, I just think he's more valuable to the Spurs on their team and I think it'll flesh itself out that way...

Yea but Olympic experience plus Euro league dominance>most of the college pfs coming out this year

[AFBlue]

Scola Update:

8pts (4/7 shooting) 5rebs, 1ast in 18 minutes in a 93 -75 blowout of Pau Orthez.

[AFBlue]

Tiago Splitter has also played well of late and that should improve his draft stock, despite questions about his potential buyout.

His line today:

14pts (6/8 shooting, 2/6 FT), 4rebs in 19mins

[AFBlue]

and for good measure...

Ian Mahinmi had 4pts and 2rebs in 15 minutes

[AFBlue]

Yea but Olympic experience plus Euro league dominance>most of the college pfs coming out this year

That's a good theory, here's another one....

"Out of sight, Out of mind"

I know he's tearing up the Euroleague and that there are more international scouts than ever now, but GMs are inundated with the NCAA tournament right now and saturated with American prospects.

Another theory is the "Joe Liebermann Concept"

Basically, while Scola's talent is undeniable and proven, he's the "old dog" and there are newer, younger International prospects stealing the limelight. To some GMs Scola may have lost his "luster" or "upside". Guys like Yi Jianlin, Tiago Splitter, and Nicolas Batum are the "it" international guys right now.

Could a GM be attracted to his "seasoned" play and almost prefer international guys to americans? Yes, but I'd suggest those GMs are few and far between.

[mardigan]

Thats very true Tony, I didnt really think about it like that, he hasnt been in the limelight in some time, Im just hoping that teams will see that if the Spurs are high on this guy, and they are a great team, that maybe a lesser team could use him even more

[AFBlue]

Thats very true Tony, I didnt really think about it like that, he hasnt been in the limelight in some time, Im just hoping that teams will see that if the Spurs are high on this guy, and they are a great team, that maybe a lesser team could use him even more

Put simply, it will be much easier than last year...but still much harder than it looks.

The Spurs have to have a team interested in Scola, that is also at a high enough spot for the Spurs to snag who they want, and is willing to drop down to the lower part of the first....this all on draft day when the window for each pick is like 5 minutes...

[Bruno]

Scola Update:

8pts (4/7 shooting) 5rebs, 1ast in 18 minutes in a 93 -75 blowout of Pau Orthez.

Don't give too much weight at this game, it was a borderline friendly game.


About Scola :
I don't think Spurs will sign him this summer. Scola and Bonner are both average defenders/rebounders and bring the same thing : hustle and some offense (even if it's not the same kind of offense). I think Spurs will re-sign Bonner and trade Scola, likely in a package with expiring contracts for a vet.

[AFBlue]

Don't give too much weight at this game, it was a borderline friendly game.


About Scola :
I don't think Spurs will sign him this summer. Scola and Bonner are both average defenders/rebounders and bring the same thing : hustle and some offense (even if it's not the same kind of offense). I think Spurs will re-sign Bonner and trade Scola, likely in a package with expiring contracts for a vet.

I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK!....just kidding

I do think that the difference in their offensive game does have some relevance though.

Scola is a low-post threat that can create for others while Bonner is a shooter with limited game outside of that...if you're giving me the choice there I go with Scola.

While it's possible that the Spurs re-sign Bonner (God knows they like his gritty play), it is also possible that a player with his similar skill set is available in the second round (Fazekas, Ryan Anderson (Cal), Radenovic). I'm not saying you're wrong, but not re-signing Bonner is a possibility.

[AFBlue]

Looks like Julian Wright is staying in school for one more year. He's a sophmore with enough hours to graduate in 3 years and has maintained for quite some time that he'd be going back, so it's not that big of a shock...but he's still passing up millions.

No direct effect to the Spurs because he likely would've been a top 5 or 10 pick, but it's one less player in this draft making it less deep.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2810182

Jayhawks' Wright says he will return for junior seasonBy Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Regardless of what happens in Saturday's West Regional final between No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed UCLA at HP Pavilion, Jayhawks forward Julian Wright knows one thing: he'll be back with the Jayhawks next season.

Wright, a 6-foot-9 sop re, said he will return to Kansas for his junior season in 2007-08, even though he is considered a potential lottery pick in June's NBA draft if he forgoes his final two seasons of college eligibility.

Wright, from Chicago Heights, Ill, has averaged 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 37 games.

"I made the decision before this season that I'm not thinking about [the NBA] at all," Wright said. "I'm coming back."

Wright is still considered a somewhat raw prospect with tremendous abilities.

He scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Kansas' 82-80 overtime upset of then-No. 2 Florida on Nov. 25, a game in which Wright dominated Gators forwards Al Horford and Joakim Noah, another pair of potential NBA lottery picks.

But Wright also has been plagued by inconsistency at times during his second college season. He scored 33 points and had 12 rebounds in a 92-74 win over Missouri on Feb. 10, then scored only four points with three turnovers in a 71- 62 victory over Kansas State nine days later.

"He's just a sop re in college," Kansas coach Bill Self said of Wright. "He's a fabulous talent, and I've said that all along. When he's playing his best, his ceiling is higher than anyone else's. But he's not a natural scorer. That's not what he wants to do. So sometimes he can kind of give the appearance of not impacting the game as much because he's not scoring points."

Wright said part of the reason he plans to stay at Kansas is he hopes to earn a bachelor's degree in communication studies in only three years. He hopes to graduate from Kansas by summer 2008. On the court, Wright said he probably won't reach his full potential for "another five years."

"The route to getting better is to stay in college," Wright said. "The NBA is more of a skills setting."

[Mr. Body]

No direct effect to the Spurs because he likely would've been a top 5 or 10 pick, but it's one less player in this draft making it less deep.

Possibly too a team looking for a SF will look at the next guy instead of him, ensuring a Jeff Green or Corey Brewer goes higher, but he was probably going too high for that anyway and those guys will settle in the late lottery.

[Bruno]

I'm waiting for two things about this draft :

- The early entry list : there are a lot of underclassmen in this draft (20 are projected to be first round picks). The quality of players available for the Spurs pick will highly depend on who will enter in the draft.

- Pre-draft camp mesurement : among all SFs projected around Spurs first round pick/Bucks second round pick, only one seems to have a good size to play SF in the nba (Dominic Mcguire). It will be interesting to have measurements of players like Tucker, Almond or Bryars to see if they are big enough to play SF in nba.

[mountainballer]

Possibly too a team looking for a SF will look at the next guy instead of him, ensuring a Jeff Green or Corey Brewer goes higher, but he was probably going too high for that anyway and those guys will settle in the late lottery.

this was what I was thinking. a bit of a domino effect. it might not effect us much, but at least it also doesn't help the Spurs.

I can see why Wright goes back to school. he says that he never intended to declare this year, but if he would, his last two games possibly would have hurt his stock quite a bit. he might have slipped to no.8 or so.
next year he has a good chance to be a top 3 pick.
(about the money, there is quite some difference in guarranteed money. a no. 3 pick get 3years/9million, a no. 8 pick gets 6 million )

[Mr. Body]

Early entry list very important. Sites have guys like Spencer Hawes on the list that I don't think will go pro.

Spurs will need to trade up if they want their SF, unless it's McGuire and he pans out. Other guys like Jared Dudley might be available, but I don't see them as solutions. Taking a guy like Tucker or Byars gives you, probably, a bench player instead of a longtime starter.

[wildbill2u]

Early entry list very important. Sites have guys like Spencer Hawes on the list that I don't think will go pro.

Spurs will need to trade up if they want their SF, unless it's McGuire and he pans out. Other guys like Jared Dudley might be available, but I don't see them as solutions. Taking a guy like Tucker or Byars gives you, probably, a bench player instead of a longtime starter.

McGuire has announced recently that he's coming out. He looks like he may be the athletic SF we've been looking for--and he's probably gonna be in our range in the draft. These kids are all gambles once you get out of the lottery picks but he's as good as any that might still be around when we pick.

[AFBlue]

McGuire has announced recently that he's coming out. He looks like he may be the athletic SF we've been looking for--and he's probably gonna be in our range in the draft. These kids are all gambles once you get out of the lottery picks but he's as good as any that might still be around when we pick.

The thing about McGuire is that he hasn't hired an agent, so I think he'll do the workouts and assess his draft stock before coming out. If he has good workouts and gets strong indication that he'll go in the first round, I think he stays. That doesn't mean he won't fall to the first part of the second, but with Julian Wright going back to Kansas, McGuire's draft stock as one of the few SF increases.

[mardigan]

The thing about McGuire is that he hasn't hired an agent, so I think he'll do the workouts and assess his draft stock before coming out. If he has good workouts and gets strong indication that he'll go in the first round, I think he stays. That doesn't mean he won't fall to the first part of the second, but with Julian Wright going back to Kansas, McGuire's draft stock as one of the few SF increases.

Byars=The next Josh Howard
The Spurs can make up for not taking Howard by taking Byars

[mountainballer]

Bulls win again, Cavs lose again.
Bulls now are 1/2 game behind.
Tomorrow Cavs and Bulls meet in Chicago.
Bulls will for sure try everything to catch the Cavs and get the no.2 seat. (otherwise they would fall to no.5, play the Raptors or Wizards in the first and likely meet the Pistons in the 2nd round)

so for us the no.53 pick looks realistic again.

[AFBlue]

Byars=The next Josh Howard
The Spurs can make up for not taking Howard by taking Byars

On Byars, Chad Ford (who is ESPNs NBA Draft Specialist) responded to a Chat question saying that the #12 prediction (NBAdraft.net) was wildly too high and that he has MUCH less athleticism than Thornton and isn't a better shooter/scorer than Morris Almond...but that was a better comparison. He set Byars draft position firmly in the second round.

I'm not saying I trust wholeheartedly in ESPN, but NBAdraft.net is the only one that has Byars in the first...

BTW, I don't understand the random picks by NBAdraft.net...they have the Spurs getting combo guard Gabe Pruitt and then PG Bobby Brown in the second....where's the understanding for a needed 3?

[Bruno]

BTW, I don't understand the random picks by NBAdraft.net...they have the Spurs getting combo guard Gabe Pruitt and then PG Bobby Brown in the second....where's the understanding for a needed 3?

Early mock draft aren't based at all on teams needs, it's just a ranking of players. Gabe Pruitt at 28th just means that he is the 28th best prospect and not that they think that Spurs should/could draft him.

Another think to consider about Spurs and the future draft is that Spurs won't have a lot of roster spots available if they don't do some trades or waive some players. As it stands,Spurs second round pick and Bulls second round pick (if Spurs get it) will likely be traded or used to draft euros who stay overseas and I can see too Spurs trading either their first round pick or Bucks second round pick. Spurs should only add one player (maybe two but I won't bet on it) from the 07 draft to their roster next year.

[AFBlue]

Early mock draft aren't based at all on teams needs, it's just a ranking of players. Gabe Pruitt at 28th just means that he is the 28th best prospect and not that they think that Spurs should/could draft him.

Another think to consider about Spurs and the future draft is that Spurs won't have a lot of roster spots available if they don't do some trades or waive some players. As it stands,Spurs second round pick and Bulls second round pick (if Spurs get it) will likely be traded or used to draft euros who stay overseas and I can see too Spurs trading either their first round pick or Bucks second round pick. Spurs should only add one player (maybe two but I won't bet on it) from the 07 draft to their roster next year.

Thanks for the info, but that's somewhat misleading on their part.

I see your point on the # of roster spots, which is why I think only one of the prospects would be on the roster next year.

I could see a scenario where the Spurs snag a high-potential international prospect (Fernandez, Belinelli, Tomic) to stash for maybe a year, and then grab the SF in the early second (McGuire, Terry) to add to the roster for next season. The last two picks could either be traded away or used to grab some more international prospects...

[Mr. Body]

If the Spurs wind up draft-n-stashing the first rounder and pulling an only passable player like Rayshawn Terry with the Milwaukee pick, that would IMO be a disaster. In my estimation, this team needs to add two good young talents who are not currently on the roster. Though he isn't exactly 'young', one of those two can be Luis Scola.

There will be a roster crunch, sure. The way I see it:

Robert Horry is retiring, his spot is open.

Beno Udrih - this is the last time he will have any real value, is a cheap contract, and might still flourish in another system; he will be traded.

Jackie Butler - do they want him anymore? I could see him go in a package or to wherever Larry Brown is, etc. He's cheap but doesn't seem to be what the Spurs need. If they can draft a Craig Bradshaw, Butler is absolutely gone.

Melvin Ely - depends on what happens to Butler and other big guys. His spot is essentially open.

Fabricio Oberto - slim chance he opts out and goes overseas, but I don't think so.

James White - that decent performance gave a little pause, although against GSW. Keep, unless a better young SF prospect can be had, which is definitely possible.

Jacque Vaughn - resigned.

Francisco Elson - kept.

So... two spots will open up, at least: Horry's, and either Ely's or Butler's (or both). This could very well be the summer Brent Barry is traded, too, if the Spurs think they can get their young SF packaging him with Scola + picks or something like that, although of course that wouldn't necessarily open a slot.

If I were the Spurs, I would prioritize moving up in the draft. After that, they should have contingencies in place depending on what players become available. I doubt Ian Mahinmi comes over this summer. And again, I think the Spurs need two valuable new players to come in this summer

[mathbzh]

I doubt Ian Mahinmi comes over this summer. And again, I think the Spurs need two valuable new players to come in this summer

If Mahinmi doesn't play more with Pau, I hope he will come this summer. But he will go directly to NBDL.