Spurs' future draft picks

[Mr. Body]

wow. we get McDyess. this one came out of nowhere.

I made the decision in the McDyess thread. Hope that's okay with everybody.

[wildbill2u]

Has anyone ever done a scientific statistical study on whether a long wingspan is actually better --or even as good as--a tall and athletic body? Any examples?

Does the fact that a player drags his knuckles on the floor when he walks actually translate into basketball prowess? I remember Romain Sato's claim to fame was that he had a tremendous wingspan. He still has the wingspan--he doesn't have an NBA job.

Or am I asking for too much reality over fantasy here?

Here's the answer to my own question at DX, one of the sources of all this wingspan and 'best athlete at the combine" idiocy.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2096


But Can He Play? Analyzing the NBA Pre-Draft Combine Results

by: Jonathan Givony - PresidentJune 5, 2007He has a 7-6 ¾ wingspan, and a 9-3 ½ standing reach. He jumps out of the gym with a 39 inch one-step vertical, bench presses 185 pounds 24 times and runs a 3.3 in the three quarter court sprint. But can he shoot? Dribble? Catch a rebound? Play? Do we even care? (see rest of article)

[Bruno]

To me, measurements results are way more interesting than combine results.

NCAA constraint aren't at the same than NBA constraint. Size, weight, wingspan are interesting to know how the player will translate his skills in nba.

Combine results are quite useless. One of the main problem is that the players aren't tired when they do the runing test. An heavy player can have good results but he will be tired quick and will be less effective. His "in game" athletism won't be the same at all than his combine athletism. A combine without a test to see if players have a good motor isn't very interesting. Bench press is too totally useless to me.

BB isn't track & field, it's a skills games. Measurement and combine results will never tell the whole story.

[Darkwaters]

Awesome.

But...

I think it's Nocioni starting, the bench of Dowdell/Ginobili/Dudley/McDyess/Elson.

So where does Bowen work into this? If Nocioni is starting and Dudley is coming off the bench...

I think I take McDyess (at the 2 yr, 6M deal you stated in that other thread) in a heartbeat. Especially if Horry retires. Thats just an absolute seamless transition. Win now. Rebuild once Duncan is gone.

I think Elson is either traded or bought out. The guy is downright worthless at this point and I'd much rather have Ian over here in the DLeague taking up that roster spot than a worthless vet sitting on the bench making 3M.

What trade do you think we make that nets us Nocioni? Barry/Beno/Scola for Nocioni in a S&T? I wasn't sure what we decided would be the best trade scenario?

[ChumpDumper]

I think Elson is either traded or bought out. The guy is downright worthless at this point and I'd much rather have Ian over here in the DLeague taking up that roster spot than a worthless vet sitting on the bench making 3M.

Didn't we say the same thing about Oberto last season?

[Darkwaters]

Didn't we say the same thing about Oberto last season?

Yea, but Oberto was getting garbage time at best last year. Elson has been pulling starters minutes for much of the season and hasn't been very attractive in the least. Oberto was never given the opportunity to succeed in his first season...Elson was handed the starting job and ended up becoming a peripheral player.

[ChumpDumper]

Pretty much everyone sucks their first year as a Spur. It's an interesting phenomenon.

[Darkwaters]

Pretty much everyone sucks their first year as a Spur. It's an interesting phenomenon.

Ok, I'll give you that one. But I still think that with as many options out there as there are the Spurs could find a much better option. Of course, 3M is really a rather meager sum to pay for a big in this league. Especially when a lot of people are paying their backups 6M or 7M per. But still, I think Elson is on the block for the right deal.

[ChumpDumper]

For the right deal, anyone is available.

[Darkwaters]

For the right deal, anyone is available.

For the most part. But I see it taking far less persuasion to convince the Spurs to move Elson than most anybody else on the team (Beno and Barry excluded).

[Admidave50]

It's camembert!

Dalembert is definitely not a cheese name.

Nevertheless, you can say that Dalembert stinks as camembert

[timvp]

Looks like Tauren Green has moved into the first round bubble. I can live with Green at 33. I don't really know about first round, though.

[Mr. Body]

I don't like Green at 28. There are too many good back-up points floating around in the bubble and it's not clear Green is going to become much. There will be some SGs/swingmen with better resumes right there. Green at 33 would be fine, although I do think he'll bust.

[timvp]

I'm not a huge Green fan. I just have a feeling that he's a Spurs type of draft pick.

[BradLohaus]

also impressive: Nichols was 10.39 in the lane agility test! I guess that's the best number of the last 3 years.
it was reported, that he displays nice lateral quickness, but this number makes him look like a living pinball.
I wonder why we've not been talking more about him.
he is an outstanding shooter (best shooter at the camp), has nice lenght and wingspan, is a decent rebounder and seems to have all tools that are needed to also make him a great defender. he will be available at 28 for sure, but likely also at 33. any thoughts?

That's the SF I want out of all the reasonable options. He's quick and long, so you know we can turn him into a great defender. He knocks down open jumpers as well as anybody in the draft. Sounds exactly like what we ask Bruce to do. If he's still around at 33 I think we have to take him.

This was from day 2 at the camp from DXpress:

Demetris Nichols, 6’8, SF, Senior, Syracuse
18 points, 3 rebounds, 7-9 FG, 4-5 3PT




Joseph Treutlein

Demetris Nichols had a strong game to start off his week here at Orlando, living up to his expectations as one of the most highly touted players here. He had a typical Demtris Nichols game, putting points up on the board as quickly as he got touches, but not contributing much in any other statistical areas, though he did a solid job playing perimeter defense when his man got the ball.

As you can see from the statline, Nichols was very efficient in scoring his points, making the most off all his touches, as he’s not a player who consistently creates shots for himself. Nichols got out in transition and did a good job drifting to the open spaces on the floor, where his teammates got him the ball for his quick-release outside shot, which he knocked down almost every chance he got. Nichols scored 13 points in the first five minutes of the game by getting out in transition, finishing on lay-ups on the break, and even creating a fast-break himself, making an anticipation steal coming from behind his man, and dribbling the length of the court to lay the ball in the hoop. He played well in transition overall, not just scoring the ball, as he consistently was one of the first players on his team down the court, and also made some nice transition passing, even handling the ball in the open court when he needed to.

Nichols did try to mix things up a bit on offense, putting the ball on the floor more often than he did at Syracuse, though he wasn’t able to consistently score, but he didn’t force the issue either. On one possession he faked a shot before putting the ball on the floor in the lane, but he passed the ball to his teammate when he recognized a weakside defender coming over. On another possession he put the ball on the floor going left and went into a stepback jumper from the free-throw line, but he missed the contested shot. One of Nichols’ nicest plays on the day was when he dribbled left from the top of the key and went into a fadeaway jumper, but he got called for a con uous offensive foul for a push-off that might not have been there.

Defensively, Nichols was matched up with Dominic McGuire in the second half, and whenever he got the ball and tried to put in on the floor, Nichols did a good job moving laterally to stay in front of him, not letting him score the ball against him. He played aggressive man defense when his man had the ball in his hands, but got caught not boxing out at times when his man didn’t have the ball.

[BradLohaus]

Day 3

Demetris Nichols, 6’7, SF, Syracuse

17 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 to, 6-7 fg’s, 2-4 ft’s, 3-4 3-pt

The term “instant offense” certainly describes Nichols’ play so far in Orlando. His scoring totals have been unrivaled, and he is doing it with remarkable efficiency. Nichols is absolutely lethal as a spot up shooter, and has the length to get his shot off over most wing defenders. He is also good at making defenses pay for losing attention, capable of finding a soft spot in the defense and hoisting a shot before anyone can react.

The rest of Nichols’ game is less attractive, but he has the athleticism and length to contribute in other ways at some point. Nichols plays good defense at times, but could probably use his natural gifts to his advantage a bit more often in non-shooting areas. Nichols once again scored a large chunk of his points over a short period of time, but his shooting runs are proving to be game-changing here in Orlando. His team is now 2-0, and given the way he shot at Syracuse as a senior, it would be a surprise if Nichols didn’t light it up again tomorrow.

[yavozerb]

Almond at #28 and Nichols at #33 would not be too bad!!

[Mr. Body]

Nichols duplicates James White in some ways - a scoring mentality, but no rebounding and not much else - although he'd be an upgrade. It's good that he plays solid defense, even man to man, despite playing so much zone in Syracuse.

We could do far worse than him at 33. It may mean sayonara to White, but that's no big deal.

[Mr. Body]

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

Carl Landry
Kyle Visser
Nikita Shabalkin
Lamont Hamilton

[T Park]

never heard of any of em

[Mr. Body]

Seriously.

There was a huge workout in Houston, with 12 players and 12 teams. Maybe the Spurs were also there. Or the Spurs are keeping it quiet on who they have. Or they're just going to get these 'character guys'.

[Mr. Body]

In Jonathan Givony's podcast, the guy from DX - http://www.sigdomain.com/draftexpress_2.mp3 - he's reporting rumors from two sources of a promise the Spurs are giving to Gabe Pruitt either their 28 or 33 pick, which was one reason why he stayed out of the draft camp.

[T Park]

Now Gabe Pruitt I've heard of.

Refresher on Pruitt?

[Mr. Body]

Looking more into him right now. USC Junior, 6'4", talented but just starting to put it together, played well in NCAAs against Lawson of UNC and Augustin of Texas, although didn't shoot that great; 5 steals vs. Carolina. Vs. Texas he was 10, 6, and 8.

DX profile: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=384

Tall, good handles, skinny, smooth. Good passer and facilitator of the offense. Good ft%, could shoot better (high volume of 3s), good assist/turnover ratio (2.3/1), 1.8 spg.

I find it unusual that any Spur promise has been leaked, so take it with a grain of salt. If they DID promise him and got him, I'd be very pleased.

[T Park]

I remember Pruitt now.

Yeah he sounds like a of a point guard.

Hope it works out.

At worst he sounds like another Antonio Daniels.