I get that you're the edgy Pro-Spurs fan, but I think you should look at what I'm saying rather than looking for a place to get a shot in. A 12/6 rookie is actually really good, especially for one who isn't starting and getting tons of touches. To put it into perspective, his TS% is higher than any of the regular-rotation players from the season. He was better than Poeltl, who is older and has had more time with NBA coaching. The idea that passing him up wouldn't require a ton of development is wrong-headed. Regardless, let's say in 2022-2023, Sam becomes a 15/7 guy. That's a non-All Star, but it's certainly not a JAG like you'd probably think. And let's say he hits those numbers in a relatively efficient way, so him being a chucker wouldn't be part of this. AND let's say Clarke doesn't get any better for some reason nor gets more minutes to up his raw number. Yeah, if you draft a guy and wait two years just for him to become a slightly better player, it's not a great use of an investment. I dunno what to tell you. If you're going to take a project, then you have to get clearly more to justify the time spent, not just slightly more.
The idea that Clarke is who he is and that that guy is not very impressive is just horribly thought out. Even if that were the case, he'd've been exactly what the Spurs needed. I'm hoping Sam becomes a guy who can be the best player on the team, but it definitely doesn't HAVE to work out that way, just like it didn't work out that Murray had more potential than White or that Milutinov was going to become this good future big to justify on passing up guys in the draft. The Spurs get things wrong from time to time, and sometimes it's obvious enough to know even in the first year. Sometimes it's not, though, like White over Jordan Bell. Time will tell, but time right now says Clarke was the better pick, potential included.