Haliburton would have been my choice if it were up to me, tbh ... and his offensive game has translated even better than I thought it would. Great IQ, great court vision and passer, deep range -- a lot to like about Haliburton on offense.
That said, advanced stats say Haliburton has been a disaster on defense. I haven't watched him enough to confirm he's been bad on D but given his skinny body and lack of strength, that was always a worry with him.
If Haliburton is legitimately a bad defender, then I think the Spurs made the right choice. I wouldn't enjoy a return to the Forbes/Belinelli years, even if Haliburton would have been a major asset on offense.
Vassell would have been my number two choice. So far, advanced stats say his defense has been great. Eye-test says his defense has been very good. He was really good offensively in the preseason and we've seen glimpses that he's more than a 3-and-D prospect.
Too early to tell which player will be better but I'm happy with Vassell. In a redraft situation, both of them probably jump over a number of players taken before them including Hayes, Jalen Smith, Okoro and maybe Avdija and Toppin.