Spurs Select F Luka Samanic in the 2019 NBA Draft (19th Overall)

[Chinook]

Sam wishes he could be as good as Anderson.

Sam is why the Spurs tend to value character way more than what often seems reasonable. You can have a questionable character if you're an NBA-ready player (or like in Murray's case where his actual personality isn't the issue but he has red flags in his history). If the main thing a player has to do is grow up but it's already there on the court, you can work with that. But if a player is a project with a at ude, it makes it hard to believe he'll put in the work needed or accept the coaching needed for him to improve. Sam didn't have that. Walker does. That's why Lonnie's made it four years despite not improving as fast or decisively as many hoped while Sam couldn't make it to his third year. Primo's at ude seems great, which is why I'm not worried about his play. Hopefully, if the Spurs are going to take projects in June, they don't pick guys like Sam again. Being tall and able to dribble is one of the most useless reasons to draft someone if they don't have the other things there.

[John B]

I still don't understand as i saw not a lot of upside in him, a lot of weaknesses like the motor. Maybe the vision was different here in Europe about him but when a lot of scouts or observers are so low on a guy, it's difficult for me to understand why we took him ( as we are good at finding talent).

About Watson or Williams, i can see some flashes that was not the case with Samanic who was bad in a weak league.

Actually Luka was a double-double machine in the Gubble. I think he was undefeated with Tre, until both were called up prematurely because players were missing. I don’t know his back story. But I rooted for Luka. It was unfortunate that he injured himself. I think he was who the Spurs envisioned in the modern PF position who has the height, physicality and outside shooting, which now obviously Keldon is too short for, worst with McD in the SL along. I think had Luka exhibited the Spurs character that PATFO always look for, that he would’ve stayed longer like Lonnie.

I don’t wish anyone bad including Luka. Something in his character did not sync with Pop and the powers that be. And it’s not just low BBall IQ either, because Lonnie obviously doesn’t have much higher. It was simply character issue. And as mentioned, he killed it at the Combine, likewise Joe and Primo. The latter two seem to be good character. Luka slipped and the decision relied heavily on the Combine without the character scrutiny that Spurs scouts were seemingly known for.

[Uriel]

Can somebody please tell me exactly what incidents occurred that reveal Samanic’s supposed bad character?

It’s not that I don’t believe the people saying it, I just genuinely don’t know what happened that made people think that way.

[BackHome]

Didn’t New York release him?

[MultiTroll]

Didn’t New York release him?

Si Senor.

The Knicks Have Released Luka Samanic - 03-18-2022 (prosportsdaily.com)

[Gagnrath]

Can somebody please tell me exactly what incidents occurred that reveal Samanic’s supposed bad character?

It’s not that I don’t believe the people saying it, I just genuinely don’t know what happened that made people think that way.

Feel less like it's bad character and more like lack of work ethic and desire.

[John B]

Feel less like it's bad character and more like lack of work ethic and desire.

I don’t buy the lack of work ethic. The guy obviously got big compare to when he was first drafted. He was hitting the gym. And he dominated Gubble with double-double. It was character that rubbed somebody the wrong way. I also don’t know the details.

[Robz4000]

Can somebody please tell me exactly what incidents occurred that reveal Samanic’s supposed bad character?

It’s not that I don’t believe the people saying it, I just genuinely don’t know what happened that made people think that way.

He straight up ghosted his team in Europe leading up to the draft. He was also known for skipping workouts regularly while in Europe according to a few posters iirc.

[Texas_Ranger]

He straight up ghosted his team in Europe leading up to the draft. He was also known for skipping workouts regularly while in Europe according to a few posters iirc.

I saw Luka partying at a club in Croatia at 5am and next day, actually the same day, he had a game at like 2pm. I also have friends working for Olimpija, which was Luka's club and everyone was not impressed by his at ude.

[JeffDuncan]

Can somebody please tell me exactly what incidents occurred that reveal Samanic’s supposed bad character? …

There weren’t any “bad character” incidents with the Spurs. That’s a fabrication by a few posters to this forum. The serious question about Samanic was whether he was highly motivated to play basketball, which it appears he is not.

[Maddog]

There weren’t any “bad character” incidents with the Spurs. That’s a fabrication by a few posters to this forum. The serious question about Samanic was whether he was highly motivated to play basketball, which it appears he is not.

It's hard to know. The Spurs don't throw people under the bus.
My impression is it was more an issue as above. He lacks a burning desire to play basketball and may be a bit of a loner. There may be a degree of "Laziness" but he's clearly worked on his body and even skills. In games he seems a bit mechanical and you don't see that compe iveness.
Despite obvious skills and athleticism he had few takers after the Spurs cut him.

[exstatic]

I don’t buy the lack of work ethic. The guy obviously got big compare to when he was first drafted. He was hitting the gym. And he dominated Gubble with double-double. It was character that rubbed somebody the wrong way. I also don’t know the details.

His motor issues manifested themselves his gleague rookie year, and never stopped, being the reason for his cut. I watched Austin clips and games, and even then, he frequently didn’t run back in transition defense.

Over the last few SA games, I’ve seen a couple of missed opponent dunks and layups, leading to Spurs possessions. The opponent had a clear advantage. Samanic would have gotten zero of those rebounds, because he would have trotted to mid court to watch, like he did on a number of occasions, like he did in his final game in a Spurs uniform.

[duncan2150]

The sadness of this situation is that everybody could see his weaknesses when he was playing in Slovenia. He was bad in Europe, no motor, he just showed up at the combine and play hard on time. He scammed a lot of people, strange that the spurs don't see that.

[exstatic]

The sadness of this situation is that everybody could see his weaknesses when he was playing in Slovenia. He was bad in Europe, no motor, he just showed up at the combine and play hard on time. He scammed a lot of people, strange that the spurs don't see that.

I think they understood the risks, but figured picking at 19 was worth taking a shot. Sometimes these issues are maturity related, and sometimes, it’s an en led personality thing. They hoped he would grow out of it, but he didn’t. The end.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Didn’t New York release him?

New York released him because he was injured. Otherwise he surely would have been called up.

[JPB]

You have those millions ready for you just to play ball, all you gotta do is work out an be professional... but nah, I'm gonna be a lazy full of myself.

[dbestpro]

He was averaging 27.6 points on 39 percent shooting from 3-point range and 54 percent overall in the G-league before he got hurt.

[NickiRasgo]

He was averaging 27.6 points on 39 percent shooting from 3-point range and 54 percent overall in the G-league before he got hurt.

Where he belongs.

[exstatic]

New York released him because he was injured. Otherwise he surely would have been called up.

he’s the exact kind of player that Thibs would hate. He wouldn’t have gotten minutes, anyway, with Randle starting, and Toppin developing.

[couchman]

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...DXv.mp4?tag=12

[BatManu20]

His motor sucked. Zero heart or desire to win. At least that’s how it came off. There were rumors his work ethic was . I remember the last straw being this play against Orlando where he just completely quit on the play. He was cut the next day. Wasted pick but whatever. PATFO took a swing at least, even if it was a miss. Just glad we got Keldon out of that draft.

[wildbill2u]

Some people wonder why NFL players continue to run hard downfield on kickoffs when it is obvious that the ball is out of play... Because there is no loafing in football by mostly bench players who are part of the suicide kickoff team. Luka clearly wasn't going to catch the faster player going for the basket ahead of him--but you have to play like you want to try when you aren't a starter.

[exstatic]

Some people wonder why NFL players continue to run hard downfield on kickoffs when it is obvious that the ball is out of play... Because there is no loafing in football by mostly bench players who are part of the suicide kickoff team. Luka clearly wasn't going to catch the faster player going for the basket ahead of him--but you have to play like you want to try when you aren't a starter.

You have to do that ALL OF THE TIME if you’re playing for Pop or Thibs. It also wasn’t an isolated incident.

Sean related a story of an interaction with his college coach, Lute Olsen. Sean had been kind of drifting, and Lute pulled him aside and said:”when you don’t play hard, you’re not very good”. This was a home state Parade All American recruit who would go on to win the Wooden award. Lute said it because Sean needed to hear it.

[Mr. Body]

Some people wonder why NFL players continue to run hard downfield on kickoffs when it is obvious that the ball is out of play... Because there is no loafing in football by mostly bench players who are part of the suicide kickoff team. Luka clearly wasn't going to catch the faster player going for the basket ahead of him--but you have to play like you want to try when you aren't a starter.

You also never know what's going to happen. Last night one of the Spurs had a steal and blew the attempt. I think it was Keldon who was following.

[John B]

You have those millions ready for you just to play ball, all you gotta do is work out an be professional... but nah, I'm gonna be a lazy full of myself.

But that’s exactly what it is for en led players with full of athletic gifts. And Samanic was just one of the many “could have been” names IF only. Lyles was another borderline. Bigs with guard skills.

The problem with Samanic getting drafted was, that this management seemed to have been heavily relying more on the results of the Combine than ever. Primo and Weiskamp also did very well at the Combine, but who seem to be good characters. Samanic is the one who slipped.