Spurs' future draft picks

[timvp]

Suns might not pass up Belinelli at 24 and San Antonio draft right in front of them at 28. I doubt any promise is true - the Spurs are too prudent to do so early, or at any time, since they may want to trade up... unless they already know what's happening with Scola... - but, that said, I think Gabe Pruitt is an excellent choice and may be an utter steal with some further coaching. With his height and capabilities, he could soon be the 2nd best point in the draft, no kidding.

That's a pretty bold proclamation. I wasn't blown away when I saw him. It doesn't look like he even did the testing part of the predraft camp. 6'4 college height could be like 6'1 NBA height.

Looking at his stats, they look pretty sub par and he might have actually gotten worse last year.

[Mr. Body]

Who are the candidates for 2nd best point after Conley?

Law, Crittendon, maybe Dowdell and others.

Crittendon is a big project and may never be a full-time PG anyway. Law might be very good, but I'm not sold on him. Pruitt has a lot of good tools and it's not like a tremendous PG crop, anyway. Some good counsel and Pruitt could be very solid. And his stats are certainly not sub-par. You're not looking close enough. As for his height: he could just as easily be 6'4".

But who cares, he is one of the good prospects for back-up point guard.

[timvp]

12.5 points
4.3 assists
2.8 rebounds
.416 FG%
.350 3P%

Shot 7-for-23 in the tourney in the last two games.

What am I overlooking?

[mountainballer]

According to DX the Spurs will be working out these guys on June 6th:

Carl Landry
Kyle Visser
Nikita Shabalkin
Lamont Hamilton

mentioned Landry in post 1494.
I wonder if he is a canditate for the #33 pick, or for the case he falls down to #58.
I wonder if he would have got more attention, if he wasn't constantly called undersized, listed at 6-7 (when in fact he is almost 6-9). no other frontcourt player (except Oden) gave Horford/Noah in the NCAA tournament more problems than he did. one of the most constant players in college BB.
maybe David Lee, but a bit stronger.

[mountainballer]

12.5 points
4.3 assists
2.8 rebounds
.416 FG%
.350 3P%

Shot 7-for-23 in the tourney in the last two games.

What am I overlooking?

Ramon Sessions?

[T Park]

maybe David Lee, but a bit stronger

good god, if thats who he is, draft him.

[Mr. Body]

12.5 points
4.3 assists
2.8 rebounds
.416 FG%
.350 3P%

Shot 7-for-23 in the tourney in the last two games.

What am I overlooking?

Great assist/turnover rate, very good steals. Bad shot selection -- too many threes. Nice ft%. A better shooting percentage in a previous year. His tournament performances were very good other than shooting: 2 games, 10 rebounds, 15 assists, 3 turnovers, 7 steals. If you watched the games, you'll know he did well on Lawson and Augustin, two highly touted points. The shooting stats suggest a system problem and a foundation to build on.

That's what you were overlooking, but hey, you can selectively pick the stats you want, but I see promise there. Not saying he hung the moon, but there's no reason to tear him down.

[timvp]

Hey, if you want to say he's good, go ahead. I'm just trying to gather information on him. I was being sincere with my question. No harm intended.

I've seen him play but he never really struck me as Spur-like. Then again, the Spurs have never really been forced into drafting domestic talent like they might be this year.

Seriously though, he's the listed size where his measurements would have been vital. If he measures a legit 6-foot-4 with a big wing span, then his values sky rockets because he could be a combo guard. If he's actually closer to 6-foot, then he becomes a second round pick.

[Mr. Body]

Sorry for coming off chippy.

I'd like to see his measurements, too. I don't know much of his character or whether he'd be Spur-like or not. He doesn't seem a bad guy, and on the court, the way he values defense is a real key. It's hard to tell whether a guy declining the Orlando camp is making a bad decision (Wilson Chandler) or is concealing himself for a reason.

I have no idea. The rumors of a promise are puzzling to me. Givony said it came from two sources. Obviously one of those sources could be quoting the other, but it originated somewhere. It could just as easily be a smokescreen for someone else.

[ChumpDumper]

We're totally drafting that Finnish kid because no one is talking about him.

[mountainballer]

I'd like to see his measurements, too. I don't know much of his character or whether he'd be Spur-like or not. He doesn't seem a bad guy, and on the court, the way he values defense is a real key.

whereever he is listed, it's 6-4. so, even if an inch or two are added, he should have at least a decent size for a PG. if he could also play SG might not be the primary question. (of course it would be nice if he could, though)

overall it would make a lot of sense, even if this was the 1st round pick.
I guess you were the one who mentioned, that there will be a better chance to find a decent back-up PG in our draft area, than to find a potential successor of Bruce.
Spurs might plan to solve the SF question via trades or free agency anyhow, so they might (other than we have been speculating for weeks) focus on PGs.

most things about Pruitt sound good, his ability to play defense is often mentioned.
he played SG in highshool and when he came to USC and was then was moved to PG and had to learn how to run the point. seems as if he made quite some improvement in this area and there might be still a lot room for further improvement.

maybe the Spurs draft Pruitt at #28, Landry at#33 and Seibutis at #58.
quite a difference to all the speculations we already made.

[objective]

the Suns just had Pruitt in for a workout. Could be that maybe it was the Suns that had promised a pick to Pruitt, after all, they do have two picks in the 20s.

[freedom&justice]

Holy crap Oden has a 32 inch no-step vertical and a 3/4th court time of 3.27? That guy is going to be a monster. 6-foot-11 without shoes with the athleticism of a small forward and the speed of a point guard?

Holy ..that's scary.

[objective]

don't know if this has been posted without the search feature, but:

Brandon Heath had a workout scheduled with the Spurs

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007..._255_22_07.txt

Heath -- the leading scorer in the history of theÝAztecs and the Mountain West Conference -- said he has post-camp individual workouts scheduled with "about 12 teams," including the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

[Darkwaters]

I was pretty set on Dowdell over Pruitt. But I suppose I'd have no problem taking either.

Do we think that Byars could legitimately be there at 28? What about Bellineli? He looks like a reasonable Suns pick for 24.

[mountainballer]

don't know if this has been posted without the search feature, but:

Brandon Heath had a workout scheduled with the Spurs

the interesting thing is, that Heath is pretty much the same player like Pruitt. (with less playmaking ability). seems as if the Spurs are defintly looking for this type of combo-guard.
Heat is expected to go undrafted, so he might be the plan B if Pruitt is already picked at 28 or 33. Heath will be there at #58.

[Bruno]

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_6070440

Afflalo's agent, Sam Goldfeder, said the former UCLA star either worked out or will work out for the Lakers, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Utah, San Antonio and Seattle in preparation for the June 28 draft.

[Bruno]

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Sa...=1037645509200

Visser will work out for the Spurs today as he starts a two-week tour of auditions for various teams leading to the NBA Draft on June 28.

From San Antonio it’s back to Washington, where he has been training since signing with Octagon and agent Lance Young. Then it’s on to New York for workouts with the Knicks and Nets. Then he’ll go to Philadelphia, then head west again, with workouts scheduled with Utah, Golden State and Dallas.

[A.H 21-50]

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_6070440

interesting that afflalo have a workout for the spurs because he's projected as a late first round pick
for the spurs he could be a nice addition i think

many options for the team : inside with visser (33 rd pick ) or landry (58 th ) and outside with afflalo ......

but that shows that the spurs will explore all their options not only an Sf and a pg ...

[wildbill2u]

Nothing on Nikita Shabalkin DX since this little bite in 2006:

Ponkrashov’s biggest rival for this “award” was his countryman Nikita Shabalkin, an all-around power forward with an impressive skill set that we already had seen in Zaragoza in the summer of 2004. He can evolve in the low post thanks to his great footwork, he knows how to finish near the basket, has a very effective jumper, can pass the ball or put the ball on the floor, and he’s smart, tough, and shows plenty of character… basically the complete package. However, his combination of size (6-9 on shoes, although with a 7-1 wingspan) and athleticism seriously damage his stock. Still, he should become an excellent player in Europe.

Just the type of player the Spurs might take to avoid any guaranteed money.

[yavozerb]

I think the spurs are bringing Visser for look as a favor for Tim Duncan..Just kidding, this kid looks pretty polished coming out of school and anything but a PG in this draft I am happy with..

[Mr. Body]

Visser and Afflalo could both be available at 33. I am kind of thinking 28 goes to a point/combo.

I think mountainballer could be right - point and size in this draft; SF elsewhere. At this point in the draft we can only expect bench talent. I'm thinking the Spurs already know what they will be doing for the SF. Another thread covers what I think that will be.

Shabalkin seems an extreme possibility, perhaps as a 58 or as an option for next year. I need to check if he's even entered the draft.

[A.H 21-50]

Visser and Afflalo could both be available at 33. I am kind of thinking 28 goes to a point/combo.

I think mountainballer could be right - point and size in this draft; SF elsewhere. At this point in the draft we can only expect bench talent. I'm thinking the Spurs already know what they will be doing for the SF. Another thread covers what I think that will be.

Shabalkin seems an extreme possibility, perhaps as a 58 or as an option for next year. I need to check if he's even entered the draft.

the players who will have a workout for the spurs will tell us if the team wants to draft a pg with their first pick
for example if they shows interest in guys like brooks , dowdell... who probably be there with the 33 rd pick that means they have other potions with the first choice .....

as i said many options for SA and the workouts will give us some clues about team options in this draft

except pruit who do you think can be a good choice with our first pick as a point/combo ??

[Mr. Body]

except pruit who do you think can be a good choice with our first pick as a point/combo ??

Dowdell looks good, Taurean Green, although I'm not a huge fan. Bobby Brown and Aaron Brooks will draw interest, but are flawed, and Petteri Koponen is a Euro who could be left.

It seems Miami really likes Dowdell, but at 20 he seems a bit high.

If Pruitt is really drawing attention, I could see Phoenix or Detroit jumping on him before us.

[yavozerb]

Has anybody even heard if spurs are even looking at pg's for the draft? I can see a pg at #58 only..

[Darkwaters]

Has anybody even heard if spurs are even looking at pg's for the draft? I can see a pg at #58 only..

They've got at least one workout planned with a PG so far (I forgot the name). And that is all that has really leaked so far. Of course, there was the rumor that the Spurs promised Pruitt the 28th pick...but it is likely not substantiated by anything.