Primo only worked out for one team some serious chess being played
Atleast avery johnson loved the pick
Sounds like the Spurs FO got played. Somebody started a rumor about being interested in Primo, and made sure the Spurs heard it, in hopes the Spurs would react, and not take Sengun. And it worked.
To know who would be responsible for such a rumor, just look where Sengun went. Houston. They took the candy from the baby.
The Spurs FO needs adult supervision.
Primo only worked out for one team some serious chess being played
Atleast avery johnson loved the pick
If this guy is a complete bust then it's on Brian Wright...
It will never look good unless Sengun is a bust.
it sucks to be a fan of a team that sucks enough to get in the lottery
it sucks even more to be a fan of a lottery team that doesn't even make the draft exciting
Just be happy we don't suck enough to get the #1 pick, otherwise we'd make even more fools out of ourselves with picking Primo as #1 overall.
I had Primo 22 on my Big Board and that was higher than most other people had him. I'm not concerned about his ability or upside but, the thing that concerns me is the total lack of awareness of the guys value to other teams. It was malpractice to not trade back and get him along with someone like Jones, Johnson, Jackson, or Kispert...
Now we are sitting here hoping that this FO can do something it has never really been successful at and that's navigating the free agent market and making trades. It's fairly depressing...not because of the player but from the mismanagement perspective..
at the end of the day they are professionals who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to draft and develop players.
and we are the loudmouths on a message board that don't know repeating what "Draft Central Express" writes or some other bull that makes us feel good
Duarte, moody and kispert were also available. So they would all have to be busts as well. I was hoping for Duarte or moody…not sengun…but obviously would rather have sengun over primo.
Yeah I mean you're right but even still the value is not good for the position we drafted.
Walker, Samanic, and Vassell have been pretty underwhelming picks to say the least as of late. Only Keldon Johnson has shown anything among the recent picks.
In general I agree with what you're saying here. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to the people who get paid to do this but the evidence is really stacking up:
The botched nephew trade
The reach for Samanic
The inability to make any move... ever (DDR trade?)
The Bertans fiasco
Their inability to make any moves AGAIN (DDR S&T)
The Primo reach
Now we, the loud mouths, get to watch the team develop a guy most experts say has the ceiling of "an NBA starter" for the next few years while DDR walks for nothing and we throw all of our cap space (probably close to the max) at some 7 foot overrated European (justification will be they wanted to make sure Chicago didn't match). Hey, but at least our young guys will get to finally develop with DDR gone and this kid in Austin for a guaranteed two years.
Time to call a spade a spade. This team has drafted/developed a group of high floor, low ceiling talent. At best we have a couple fringe Allstars down the line and guys who are good #2 options with no premier player. But don't worry, I'm sure with our track record of bringing in those players in free agency the FO is confident they'll be lining up to join this squad...
Bottom line, we needed a home run and they settled for a base hit.
Regarding the FO. It’s the s. I’m still holding out a sliver of hope for their FA moves. Might be Pop still making senile roster demands. Fact the Ben Simmons trade proposal was leaked shows there are loose lips there.
Brian Wright is the wrong man for the job end of day. Fairly interesting that his arrival has gone right along with dumb decision after dumb decision.
Maybe the higher ups will stop counting their dollars one day and realize whats actually happening and do something.
Great, we spent a lottery pick to bring in the second coming of Bryn ing Forbes.
I doubt it. I mean Pop was making roster demands back when RC was making great picks like Parker, Ginobili, Hill, Splitter, and Leonard. To me this screams RC ing the team over by leaving his GM position and taking away the one compe ive advantage the Spurs had: great drafting. And now we have a scrub ass GM ing our drafts up leaving the Spurs with no advantage whatsoever.
Holts threw RC some insane money and he would have been an idiot to not take the role he has now. Too bad they hired some moron proving time and again how ing god awful he is though in his place.
Primo measured at 6-5 at the combine. He's already bigger than Bryn Forbes. He's basically the same size as Devin Booker. That's not going to be a reason why he struggles in the NBA.
True. They really are nervous Nellies. Extremely cautious about everything. Afraid to make moves. Yet, still think they are smarter than everyone else. I get not being impulsive, but their process is out of touch with their current moment. Their current process is making things worse.
Last edited by The Truth #6; 07-30-2021 at 08:58 AM.
I'm still not clear why Primo left for the draft so soon, if he was behind other players and had room to grow. Seems really risky, but I guess there's an opportunity cost of not leaving when you know you can start a contract. His gamble paid off as at least one team -- sounds like more (?) -- pulled him earlier than anyone expected.
My questions are:
1. Could the FO trade down and still select him? I don't think so. It's not magic; it requires partners while calculating other teams' needs and desires. There were the Pacers, Golden State, and other smart teams just behind. Maybe we can believe them that the intel was someone wanted him. It's not a terrible stretch to believe Indiana would have taken him instead of Duarte. Teams widely thought as trade-down partners, in OKC and NYK, actually did other things with their picks. The Knicks traded out. So... I don't think a trade-back was possible.
2. Was Primo the right pick against what was available? Widely believed to be flat after the initial 5-7 picks (turns out Giddey was one of those instead of Bouknight), it was hard to place many players above others in the late lottery to early 20s. It's not a stretch to think Primo could become better than Moody or Kispert or others. It doesn't defy belief. But they will be much more productive immediately and it's not a stretch that they will always be better. As timvp points out, it's not like Primo's potential pops off the charts. They stole a lottery pick from 2022, but probably still in the same range. That's... weird. He doesn't fill a need and complicates things for established players who had good chemistry.
3. What was the intel? I feel that media mocks lag behind team mocks by a good amount. Ziaire Williams only started appearing in some top 10s in the last several days, where previously he was much later in the media drafts. Only some caught wind and moved him up. This guides perception considerably. (And Williams had many of the same problems Primo has in terms of production.) Imagine a scenario where the draft was held next Thursday. Would mocks start reflecting his rise at that point? Are we reacting to media narratives?
What really bothers me about the pick are:
1. This seems lackadaisical and directionless. The pick and team response seem to indicate no real plan, sensibility, or character for the present. I feel like this underlines Dejounte Murray's response. Who are we? Where is the help coming from? Wright's subsequent comments suggest Primo is for the future... but what future? More importantly, what now? Are they embracing losing, and what does this mean for future lottery picks? More reaches?
2. What about team culture? One of the best things about the young players last year was they seemed to be bonding, hanging out, working hard together. Does this pick indicate that multiple players must watch their backs? It sure seems to suggest someone is getting dumped before long. Of course it's the NBA and movement happens, but now the shadow has become a looming reality. Does this make players mercenary? Does it force DJM to start looking for the exit?
3. Who did they miss on? The problem with the pick becomes moot if no one after Primo excels more than he does. We won't know for another 3-5 years. But it sure seems like there was a player on the board who had a much, much higher ceiling than anyone else in the range, who is super-productive and only half a year older, and that is Sengun.
So... I don't know. I can see the rationale for the pick, that the intel was that he was rising, that more time in evaluation would have shown him in more media mocks, that there was no other player they valued more. But then Primo seems limited in very key ways. He's not athletic and this causes him significant problems. Frankly, he projects as a great role player and complementary piece, not a star. Meanwhile, we might have missed on a top 5 talent for the draft class and caused a lot of problems for the current team. Tank ahoy -- and who on this team wants to play through that? And if we do tank... who trusts this FO to not be picking dandelions while other teams are serious?
The question we'll never know the answer to -- would the Spurs have taken Primo over Bouknight if Bouknight had fallen one more spot to 12?
If so, the meltdown might have been even more crazy.
My guess is the Spurs actually would have taken Primo over Bouknight.
If the Spurs liked Sengun more than Primo, they simply would have drafted him at #12. The fact that they chose Primo over Sengun means that they think he will be a better player.
Honestly think Bouknight is a bit overrated.
Or... they didn't expect Sengun to fall and when he did, they froze and simply went with their plan to reach for Primo.
People in here acting like this way 100% Wright's pick, as if it would've been done without the blessing of RC
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