Spurs' future draft picks

[Mr. Body]

Why are we taking Taurean Green off? He seems a longshot but is not unlikely.

Isn't Aaron Gray coming in for a workout?

I'm not sure it'd be worth doing Cook, Davis, Williams, or McRoberts. Afflalo is probably okay; Nichols I have heard nothing about lately; and Byars probably is gone earlier in the 20s along with Fernandez, but a thread would be fine.

[AFBlue]

Yeah, probably gotta go with 15.

Gabe Pruitt PG
Morris Almond SG
Marco Belinelli SG
Rudy Fernandez SG
Petteri Koponen PG
Wilson Chandler SF
Jared Dudley SF
Zabian Dowdell PG
Dominic McGuire SF
Taurean Green PG
Kyrylo Fesenko PF
Kyle Visser C
Arron Afflalo SG
Demetris Nichols SF
Derrick Byars SF

That's 15. Of the list, I think Visser would be a reach at 28 or 33 ... but I guess the list needs a center possibility. Afflalo to me is too short to really address a need and Nichols isn't a good enough defender to be a Spur.

I agree that Green is a little out of place but I just have a feeling ...

Other names that could be added are Daequan Cook, Glen Davis, Marcus Williams and maybe Josh McRoberts.

Spurs did supposedly work out Dequan Cook and Marcus Williams would be a value pick at 33 if he's still there...not sure about the other two (McRoberts and Davis). I'm also not sure about Nichols.

[timvp]

A mitigating factor I think is, that if the Spurs keep all three of their picks, one and possibly two of the picks will be players they can stash overseas. My bet is eitther 28 or 33 is a foreign player. Maybe both.

Yeah I don't see the Spurs passing Fernandez, Belinelli, Fesenko and Koponen multiple times. If Fernandez or Belinelli are available at 28, I think they'd rank high on the Spurs' choices.

However, the Spurs are big into promises so I gotta think there's a decent to good chance they promised someone like Koponen or Fesenko a selection if they stayed in the draft.

[Mr. Body]

However, the Spurs are big into promises so I gotta think there's a decent to good chance they promised someone like Koponen or Fesenko a selection if they stayed in the draft.

Are they really big on promises, though? The Mahinmi example looms large, obviously, but that may have been a special case. Otherwise, the Spurs seem too prudent to promise a player a spot, especially in a draft as volatile as this one promises to be.

[timvp]

The Spurs' M.O. is to promise the late first round pick if the player agrees to shut down workouts for other teams.

Wilson Chandler fits what the Spurs need and he's reportedly backed out of a lot of recent workouts. Hmmm...

[timvp]

Are they really big on promises, though? The Mahinmi example looms large, obviously, but that may have been a special case. Otherwise, the Spurs seem too prudent to promise a player a spot, especially in a draft as volatile as this one promises to be.

Yeah, this might not be a good year to promise. But Mahinmi was promised a pick. The Spurs told Udrih and Parker that they'd for sure pick them if they were on the board. Same with Krstic, Dorrell Wright and Ndudi Ebi.

The Spurs usually don't go into a draft without a guy who the've told they'd for sure pick. But then again, this is a deeper than usual draft and the Spurs have to be looking more domestic than usual.

[Mr. Body]

That makes sense. I'd think they'd only promise to guys legitimately who should be selected in the top 23 or so... of course they'd only promise to one guy. For some reason I think that could be Fesenko.

[AFBlue]

The Spurs' M.O. is to promise the late first round pick if the player agrees to shut down workouts for other teams.

Wilson Chandler fits what the Spurs need and he's reportedly backed out of a lot of recent workouts. Hmmm...

Chad Ford of ESPN already reported on this. There's strong indication that he received a promise and a team that loves him is NY (sitting at #23), but he did speculate that if it wasn't the Knicks, it was definitely a team in the first round.

Chandler could be the guy...

[timvp]

For some reason I think that could be Fesenko.

Better Fesenko than Koponen. I'd rather just try to rehabilitate Beno than to draft Koponen.

[AFBlue]

The other guy that supposedly received strong interest, if not a promise, from the Spurs was Gabe Pruitt, IIRC. Can someone confirm that or am I just imagining that's the case?

[ChumpDumper]

Better Fesenko than Koponen. I'd rather just try to rehabilitate Beno than to draft Koponen.

As little as I know about them, I'm not against drafting either one, as neither will be on the roster for probably two seasons.

[timvp]

Chandler could be the guy...

Chandler would be nice. Although, I can't find any true measurements for him. He's raw but if he's truly 6-foot-8, he'd fit a need on the Spurs.

[timvp]

The other guy that supposedly received strong interest, if not a promise, from the Spurs was Gabe Pruitt, IIRC. Can someone confirm that or am I just imagining that's the case?

DraftExpress supposedly heard from two sources that the Spurs promised him a pick. He's been working out for other teams so I doubt the Spurs promised him.

Pruitt at 28 or Dowdell at 33 would be pretty nice.

[AFBlue]

As little as I know about them, I'm not against drafting either one, as neither will be on the roster for probably two seasons.

You're not the only one who hasn't heard about them. Koponen was certainly the suprise of the pre-draft camps and Fesenko is relatively new on the scene as well. I agree that both sound like raw prospects that won't be able to contribute in the near future...

[AFBlue]

DraftExpress supposedly heard from two sources that the Spurs promised him a pick. He's been working out for other teams so I doubt the Spurs promised him.

Pruitt at 28 or Dowdell at 33 would be pretty nice.

Well, Ford has him going #20 to the Heat, and a couple other sites have him about 4 to 5 picks ahead of the Spurs....so my guess is that he was thankful for the gesture (promise or interest) but hoping for better. For the record, I would love to see Pruitt in a Spurs uni...

[AFBlue]

Chandler would be nice. Although, I can't find any true measurements for him. He's raw but if he's truly 6-foot-8, he'd fit a need on the Spurs.

The Chandler interest is a bit intriguing because there are two other combo forwards (Dominic McGuire and Reyshawn Terry) that have seemingly better all-around games and upside. McGuire seems like a more complete defensive player and Terry seems like a more complete offensive player. But, if it does come down to Chandler, I suppose I'll have to trust the Spurs FO.

[timvp]

As little as I know about them, I'm not against drafting either one, as neither will be on the roster for probably two seasons.

Good point. Fesenko and Koponen would be on the longterm draft 'n stash program. Even Belinelli sounds like he'd be up for a draft 'n stash.

If the Spurs keep all three picks, I think the best bet is that they'd go with two draft 'n stashers and one domestic.

At 58, perhaps someone like Marko Tomas. The Spurs looked at Tomas extensively back in 2004 and he might be worth a late gamble to see if he can improve over the next couple years.

[BradLohaus]

Regarding Nichols, I know he's worked out for the Knicks and the Nets, and has workouts sceduled with Golden State and Portland.

The Nets' GM on his workout from the Nets page on nba.com:

Breaking down the workout participants, Stefanski started with Nichols.

“Nichols is an NBA shooter, there is no doubt he can knock down shots,” said the GM.

Nichols definitely believes in his shooting ability. Asked about how his shooting went today, he said “mostly all of my shots were going in…as usual.” He’s coming into individual workouts after a very strong offensive showing at the Orlando pre-draft camp, where he converted on 9-of-13 three-pointers. While instant offense and the ability to hit deep shots is something he is especially good at, some knock his defense and his ability to fill out the other columns in the stat sheet. He said that his past season, where he led the big east in scoring, and his performance in Orlando showed what he can do and that he can play defense and put the ball on the floor.

“I think I displayed that in Orlando, I think I showed that out here. I know what I can do.”


mostly all of my shots were going in…as usual

Not sure how I feel about that, but shooters, like cornerbacks, have to have confidence and short memories.

[Darkwaters]

I'd rather have a thread for Alando Tucker instead of Aaron Afflalo. I think hes a more likely selection.

If Belinelli is drafted he stays overseas at least a year. The guy has some buyout issues and has openly said he wants to come to the NBA as an established player. Next season he'll have more opportunity to be exactly that.

I like Marko Tomas at 58 a lot. I also wouldn't mind shooting for Jonas Macilius or Sun Yue either.

[timvp]

Here is an interesting recap from less than a year ago. Two interesting names within:

Viktor Sanikidze carried Georgia into the final of the Ostchem U20 European Championship Division B with a dominant performance in his side's 74-63 semi-final defeat of Finland.

Sanikidze tallied 27 points and 14 points for Georgia, who earn promotion to Divison A in 2007.

A cat and mouse game saw Finland lead 14-15 at the end of the first quarter with 10 points from Petteri Koponen.

However Georgia lead at the half thanks to 13 and 7 rebounds from Sanikidze and 14 points from Iraki Sakvarelidze. 11 first half turnovers from Finland also added to their woes and Georgia led 41-34 at the start of the third quarter.

With 6 mins to go in the third a long three from Jari Vanttaja narrowed the Georgian lead to 48-41 but the red team replied immediately with a three of their own, however, the Finns narrowed the gap closer to 55-50 at the end of the third.

By now Koponen had moved on to 15 points and Sanikidze led all players with 20 points and 10 rebounds

The last quarter was much like the first, with both teams turning the ball over and making a number of long range jumpers. The Finns who had been one of the surprises of the tournament struggled with foul trouble losing their point guard Vuori with 5 minutes remaining.

With 90 seconds left the Georgians clung to a 69-59 lead. A pair of free throws put them up by two more with less than a minute to go . The Finns challenge was over and Georgia ran out 74-63 winners.

Georgia will take on FYROM in Sunday's final.

If Sanikidze dominated Koponen, I don't know if that shows negatively on Koponen or positively on Sanikidze. It'd be interesting to know if Sanikidze were even a draftable prospect at this point if he weren't property of the Spurs. I can't tell if he's worthless or still somewhat part of the future.

[AFBlue]

Here's a new one to throw into the fray. I was reading about the deadline yesterday and came across this nugget from Chad Ford...

Koponen is being considered by a handful of teams in the late first round. The fact that he's staying in probably means he got a team to commit.

Likewise, it appears that Barac got a promise that enticed him to stay. Several teams drafting late in the first round, such as the the Pistons and the Spurs, have been intrigued by him. Dallas also likes him and holds the 34th pick.

Barac projects to be like a Memet Okur type who has decent inside game but prefers to play on the perimeter...also has limited athleticism. I just saw it and thought it was interesting...

STANKO....the fun we'd have with that....

[picnroll]

Koponen has almost certainly gotten a guarantee from someone in the first round. He's the kind of PG that Pop has always lusted after. Pop tried to get that type of PG with Beno but failed. By all accounts Koponen is heady, very tough, very good passer, good ball handler, good change of pace, change of direction dribbler. Petty good shot but form is not great (Engelland). DraftExpress compares him to Beno but NBADraft.net compares him to Hinrich. Not that those comparisons mean jack. He fits the Spurs MO to me.

[AFBlue]

I'd rather have a thread for Alando Tucker instead of Aaron Afflalo. I think hes a more likely selection.

If Belinelli is drafted he stays overseas at least a year. The guy has some buyout issues and has openly said he wants to come to the NBA as an established player. Next season he'll have more opportunity to be exactly that.

I like Marko Tomas at 58 a lot. I also wouldn't mind shooting for Jonas Macilius or Sun Yue either.

Afflalo has reportedly worked out for the Spurs and Tucker hasn't, to my knowledge. Also, Afflalo is a decent jumpshooter and solid worker on the defensive end. He's a Raja Bell-type role player....a guy that I could definitely see taking at 33.

[timvp]

Here's a new one to throw into the fray. I was reading about the deadline yesterday and came across this nugget from Chad Ford...



Barac projects to be like a Memet Okur type who has decent inside game but prefers to play on the perimeter...also has limited athleticism. I just saw it and thought it was interesting...

STANKO....the fun we'd have with that....

Nice find on Stanko

The more I look at the Spurs roster situation and the more I read about all these foreign prospects who stayed in the draft due to "promises", the more I think one of these guys is who the Spurs will pick at 28.

Add Stanko to the list with Fesenko, Koponen and Belinelli.

Knowing the Spurs, we should start looking for information on Ralfi Silva Ansaloni. He's the only other foreigner (other than Yi) who declared early.

Can anyone find anything on that guy?

[picnroll]

i.

Knowing the Spurs, we should start looking for information on Ralfi Silva Ansaloni. He's the only other foreigner (other than Yi) who declared early.

Can anyone find anything on that guy?

I googled him earlier and found ten pages all of which were saying he was staying in the draft in 20 different languages.