Exactly LOL. Wont be a bad pick for 15+ range though!
Sheppard is clearly the top 10 prospect I like the least. I have a hard time at viewing him being more than a decent bench player in the NBA. Do not want.
Exactly LOL. Wont be a bad pick for 15+ range though!
that's exactly what I thought too: Why waste #4 on Patty Mills 2nd coming? Sheppard doesn't create shots for himself, Dillingham does. He was better defensively, but won't do much on that end in the NBA cause he's too small.
It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out in a few years, but my worry with Dillingham is he'll need to be ball dominant in order to match his college production, where he had a usage rate of 30%... do you want an undersized ball dominant guy who isn't much of a defender to pair with Wemby? it's kinda the Trae Young debate all over again, though Dilly's small sample size on shooting is better.
Yeah, Dillingham being ball dominant is a serious question.
Givony is starting to think Reed Sheppard at #4.
We are either getting Topic or Castle with the 4th pick, after that, who knows
Yea I'm not taking Sheppard at 4 personally. Much rather have Castle. But at 8 he becomes a real consideration if he's still on the board imo, depending on who else is available of course.
Just try and get Charlotte to give you 6 for 8 + their pick back and take both. They may very well compliment each other better than any pair we could pick.
Sheppard makes sense next to a big point guard, or someone who can take some point duties who can cover for his lack of size on defense. One reason why Houston is potentially a fit, with Amen.
A Castle-Sheppard selection makes sense in the same way. They can both run actions and Castle covers for Reed's inability to be a lock-down defender, bringing out Reed's off-ball defense.
I'm not in love with the pick (if that's something we'd see) but it makes sense esp in this draft.
I see Sheppard and Dilly as both really great bench players for a playoff team
I don't see the Mills comparison at all. Sheppard had a better 2pt%, a better 3pt%, and significantly more assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks in fewer minutes. Sochan was a 6'9" PG for part of last season, but that's where the Magic Johnson comparisons end.
Dillingham shared ball handling duties with Sheppard and does well on catch and shoot 3s. He's able to play off the ball. He's also very good at relocating.
i absolutely agree that the spurs value length which is why i'm baffled that LJ would put dillingham on top of their draft board. i would rather that the spurs have, and draft for, length as well, just so that they can matchup better against the other teams with great length-such as the t-wolves and OKC.
Because Dillingham has categories where he is exceptional.
I don't know. Teams pick apart these guys that don't meet this measurement or that metric and then they come in and play well in the NBA. This is all a crapshoot for the most part, but I'm sure Reed will likely be a solid player.
I really hope they don't. Lotta good Branham's exceptional wingspan does when he's arguably the worst in the league defensively among guards getting rotation minutes.
As a comparison - Steve Kerr. Sure he was slow, small and scrawny, but he could shoot really really well. He wasn't the most important player on the team, but he sure came in awfully handy during our championships. A role player, but a very important one. All teams need players like him.
branham wasn't a terrible pick considering where he went at; i don't know if the warning signs about his atrocious defense were that apparent back then. but there's no doubt that the spurs place value on length. just how much value in this draft is a question i guess we'll have the answer to soon enough.
he was also a proven winner and NBA champion.
yeah no thanks . good shooter but has to be slightly more dimensional.
Way more a fan of getting Castle and Knecht as the two picks and moving assets around after that.
Really REALLY think Castle might be the guy and with his defense, ability to move off the ball, facilitation, when the shot improves, and it will the form is good, then the game follows from there.
Knecht really is BPA, and think at worst hes a 6MOTY guy.
Reed doesn't have length, but from the number of blocks and steals, he clearly has quick reactions and hands. Wingspan is one tool, hand speed and reflexes are another.
I'm a fan as I think he has outs to be someone like Haliburton (the book coming out of the draft on Hali was a great, careful (low turnover) secondary creator with an ugly shot that went in (Reed's shot isn't ugly, but it goes in), people thought he'd have almost no chance to be a primary PG). He'll be hunted on D as a man defender, but a 52% 3 point shooter running inverted pick and rolls with Vic is scary, steals / deflections are really valuable.
https://www.tankathon.com/players/co...ese-haliburton
I think I'd go Castle 4 if both are on the board (I'm a semi believer in Castle getting to 36% from 3 over time and other attributes as a strong wing with a decent handle get to low level Jimmy Butler / Jrue Holiday), but I'd be fine with Reed at 4.
Actually like picking Sheppard at #4. Don't need a strong or traditional playmaking PG with Wemby already looking like he can be the hub on offense. What the Spurs do need though is someone who can shoot the 3 reliably. They are bottom 5 in the league in 3 pt shooting despite being above average in attempts. They also need someone who will not be a net negative on defense and Sheppard can at least get some steals here and there.
If Castle or Sheppard are available at 4, its going to be a real hard decision....either pick would be good. However I would bet that both are gone by pick 8. Castle & Sheppard would be 2 great picks, if the draft breaks the spurs way.
Branham had some very concerning defensive metrics pre-draft I think. It's just that his eye test was so good with how effortless he was able to score especially toward the end of the season that it probably outweighed any concerns about his defense.
I wasn't as numbers oriented at this time last year compared to this year, but looking back at his statistical profile:
defensive BPM/BPR of 0.4/0.28 is atrociously bad - for comparison - Trae Young 0.8/0.49, Bryn Forbes 0.4/0.97 (as a senior), Cam thomas -1.2/-0.39 (lol)
anemic steal rate (1.6)
average to poor rebounding rate relative to size and wingspan suggesting he plays small and has a lower motor
None of the above in isolation is a death knell for him, but taken together they do paint the picture of a poor low motor defender. He's still young and has time to turn it around and in time his offense may make up for his defense if he develops well, but the defensive indicators were definitely there early I think.
I'm very skeptical anybody we pick at number four in this draft will be a starter. Perhaps Castle if you can get his shooting fixed.
As others have said, I'm fine with Reed or Castle at 4. They're very different players but they both provide things that this team really needs. You either get a good role playing defender who has some scoring ability or you get a lights out shooter who might make that 3-pointer you need at a very important time in a very important game.
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