Official San Antonio Spurs 2021 NBA Draft Discussion Thread

[The Truth #6]

We likely need someone like Kai to rise so Moody can fall. Hoping others see the appeal, but for a small market that has inherent challenges attracting/keeping NBA talent, I don’t see the appeal of any 3 year player development just to play. (Luka was a two-year, thank you very much). By the time Kai is even possibly ready, he’s easily out the door. At least Garuba can at least play defense now, in contrast.

[BacktoBasics]

Unfortunately, I don't share the same viewpoint of Lonnie "overcoming" his weaknesses on defense. Sure, there may have been 3-4 games where he was OK. But overall, his improvement came on the offensive side of things. Lonnie has too many brain farts on defense.

“Overcome” might not have not been the best word. He’s serviceable. He can be on the court. Prior to this season it was almost impossible for him to be a functional player on the court.

I think his development and how it pertains to playing time speaks more to him being functional on the defensive end despite being viewed as an offensive player.

Of course it’s much easier to talk about his improvement offensively. Handling the ball, movement, finishing, overall scoring in the flow of the etc. All of that has trended up nicely in my opinion. I’m not sour on Lonnie like most here are.

[4lifecowboy]

“Overcome” might not have not been the best word. He’s serviceable. He can be on the court. Prior to this season it was almost impossible for him to be a functional player on the court.

I think his development and how it pertains to playing time speaks more to him being functional on the defensive end despite being viewed as an offensive player.

Of course it’s much easier to talk about his improvement offensively. Handling the ball, movement, finishing, overall scoring in the flow of the etc. All of that has trended up nicely in my opinion. I’m not sour on Lonnie like most here are.

I'm a big fan of Walker's. Unlike most I view him as our most valuable young commodity. He should have been being developed as a primary scorer.

[BacktoBasics]

I'm a big fan of Walker's. Unlike most I view him as our most valuable young commodity. He should have been being developed as a primary scorer.

I don’t feel that he wasn’t. For the record I’m a fan too and feel as though he made great strides this season.

But you can’t play the guy if he’s completely dysfunctional on the defensive end of things. He didn’t have poor rotation as much as he rotated in the wrong direction entirely. He was lost and way behind the curve at the pro level. You can’t drive a car if you have no concept of a brake and gas pedal, no matter how fast you were on that big wheel in grandmas driveway.

[PhantomDashCam]

[Biggems]

Texas Homer here.......I wouldn't draft any of the Longhorns in this draft. They are all missing vital parts of their games. However, Brown does seem to have the most upside, if he can get into the gym and accept tons of coaching.

[bluebellmaniac]

33 days until the Draft

[slick'81]

33 days until the Draft

Loong way to go ,but definetly gettin more excited

[ace3g]

[John B]

John B

Watch this entire video and tell me his defense is good with a straight face.

He's slow footed, and lazy on close outs. He's not even putting his hand up when he runs to his guy! Defending 3's is arguably the Spurs' kryptonite. Jalen was put on skates in one play in the video. His hips are so stiff, he gets blown by so easily.

Jalen is more like a center on defense. If we're thinking of him as a small ball 5, that's fine. Any other way and we may be looking at a continuation of last year on defense.

No doubt he is talented on offense. And if that's what the Spurs see as something special, then go for it. If he has no character concerns, then go for it. But he has a lot of work to do on defense, and it may be possible that he'll just be a liability on that end and his team will have to find a way to mask it.

The scouting report on defense is, ”perimeter defense is inconsistent, had elite moments, others he had stone feet and possibly lacked efforts. Pick and roll defense, left more to be desired, looked lost, played in ‘no man’s land’ in coverages.” I like the comparison in Lonnie. Both are athletically gifted and off the roof. And if the Spurs would pick Jalen, I’d root for him as much as I rooted for Lonnie. (Admittedly I was disappointed with Lonnie’s deferring too much, but with the departure of some veterans, I’m hoping that he will step up next season, but that’s another story.) It’s not that Jalen is slow, but more of “being lost” or not knowing the system. And that’s coachable. What’s not coachable is height and length, athleticism and this kid has tons, and he has used them. What you didn’t show is his chased blocks, on the post defense, steals, charges This kid has defensive potential. His hips are not stiff . There are highlights of him chasing hus guys in the perimeter and blocking shots. Again I like him because he has Star potential and I’m hoping the Spurs take a swing on a huge return, and not take the safe route on a role player. Luka, much like Lonnie, is another big return if he pans out.

[Dejounte]

The scouting report on defense is, ”perimeter defense is inconsistent, had elite moments, others he had stone feet and possibly lacked efforts. Pick and roll defense, left more to be desired, looked lost, played in ‘no man’s land’ in coverages.” I like the comparison in Lonnie. Both are athletically gifted and off the roof. And if the Spurs would pick Jalen, I’d root for him as much as I rooted for Lonnie. (Admittedly I was disappointed with Lonnie’s deferring too much, but with the departure of some veterans, I’m hoping that he will step up next season, but that’s another story.) It’s not that Jalen is slow, but more of “being lost” or not knowing the system. And that’s coachable. What’s not coachable is height and length, athleticism and this kid has tons, and he has used them. What you didn’t show is his chased blocks, on the post defense, steals, charges This kid has defensive potential. His hips are not stiff . There are highlights of him chasing hus guys in the perimeter and blocking shots. Again I like him because he has Star potential and I’m hoping the Spurs take a swing on a huge return, and not take the safe route on a role player. Luka, much like Lonnie, is another big return if he pans out.

He was chasing guys from behind because they blew by him. That is the very definition of stiff hips. He couldn’t move quick enough laterally to stay in front of his man, so he had to use his speed to catch up.

[Dejounte]

I love how the weaknesses of people’s personal favorites are attributed to “inconsistency” and how better coaching is the miracle fix for all of their weaknesses. What is so wrong with going after players who know how to play and betting on their upside to improve? It seems people are so allergic to players who have the basketball IQ to improve, while penalizing them for already knowing how to play and quickly characterizing them as low upside players.

Did people forget the last and most successful developmental was a player with “low upside” and that he simply knew where to be at all times on offense and especially defense? He was legitimately classified as a “role player” pre-draft.

Lonnie is *not* the shining example of how the Spurs should draft players. Kawhi is. Derrick White is. Good thing the Spurs are going back in that direction with Vassell last year, and they should continue in that direction this year.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

It’s going to be some solid undrafted players that will be available if a lot of these young men keep their names in the draft.

[ace3g]

[John B]

I love how the weaknesses of people’s personal favorites are attributed to “inconsistency” and how better coaching is the miracle fix for all of their weaknesses. What is so wrong with going after players who know how to play and betting on their upside to improve? It seems people are so allergic to players who have the basketball IQ to improve, while penalizing them for already knowing how to play and quickly characterizing them as low upside players.

Did people forget the last and most successful developmental was a player with “low upside” and that he simply knew where to be at all times on offense and especially defense? He was legitimately classified as a “role player” pre-draft.

Lonnie is *not* the shining example of how the Spurs should draft players. Kawhi is. Derrick White is. Good thing the Spurs are going back in that direction with Vassell last year, and they should continue in that direction this year.

Kawhi was an athletic freak with potential, which is what Jalen is, likewise Lonnie and Luka. Vassell was a polished player and a safe bet, while some would’ve like Halliburton. White is a “role player.” We need him because he’s a glue guy if he manage to stay healthy, but he will never be, imo a star and that’s fine. Championship teams needed a Fisher and Horry. But I think we have plenty of those already. I think we have one of the best role players, but that’s it. We are missing the big 3. Unfortunately for the Spurs it’s harder to find in the FA with our obvious reasons much discussed here. Maybe on a trade. But on this draft I would want them swinging big, take a chance. Jalen was the 6th pick to Wizard before opting out and his stock went down. I want to believe he was nursing a foot injury and didn’t want to hurt his stock even more. He chose to protect himself. That’s perfectly okay. It’s his future. To have all his talent at 12th, rebound, push the ball in transition and pass like a guard, chase blocks, charge, defend the post, score inside/outside. This kid got game. Nothing wrong with Sengun, Wagner. Just a personal preference. This kid is is exciting to root for, much as I rooted for Lonnie and Luka. Right now I’d take Jalen’s defense than Rudy’s. Much respect to your opinion bruh, Jalen is my dog in the fight.

[Kurik]

Kawhi is an athletic freak with potential, which is what Jalen is, likewise Lonnie and Luka. Vassell was a polished player and a safe bet, while some would’ve like Halliburton. White is a “role player.” We need him because he’s a glue guy if he manage to stay healthy, but he will never be, imo a star and that’s fine. Championship teams needed a Fisher and Horry. But I think we have plenty of those already. I think we have one of the best role players, but that’s it. We are missing the big 3. Unfortunately for the Spurs it’s harder to find in the FA with our obvious reasons much discussed here. Maybe on a trade. But on this draft I would want them swinging big, take a chance. Jalen was the 6th pick to Wizard before opting out and his stock went down. I want to believe he was nursing a foot injury and didn’t want to hurt his stock even more. He chose to protect himself. That’s perfectly okay. It’s his future. To have all his talent at 12th, rebound, push the ball in transition and pass like a guard, chase blocks, charge, defend the post, score inside/outside. This kid got game. Nothing wrong with Sengun, Wagner. Just a personal preference. This kid is is exciting to root for, much as I rooted for Lonnie and Luka. Right now I’d take Jalen’s defense than Rudy’s. Much respect to your opinion bruh, Jalen is my dog in the fight.

Press the enter button after at least every 100th line.

[John B]

Press the enter button after at least every 100th line.

I’d put emoji’s and pictures if it helps you

[Dennis the Menace]

1A Murphy
1B Kai

[Manu&Duncan fan]

1A Murphy
1B Kai

1A Kai
1B Murphy

Praying we get both. We need athletic bigs who can shoot 3s. Both Kai and Murphy can do that. But Kai can play both 4 and 5 which is a big deal.

Dejourte complains that Kai doesn't have a consistent shooting. If he does, we don't even have a chance to dream about getting him. He would be a top 2 guy if his volume on 3s doubles.

[BackHome]

On a side note Zaire Williams measured at 6’8 without shoes and he had the 3rd highest score in the lane agility in the combine with a time of 10.69

[GAustex]

If that knucklehead Greg Brown is around in the second round taking a flyer on him might be worth it.

[BackHome]

Yeah he killed his stock playing in these games he definitely not going in the first round - He probably should have stayed in school one or two more years he is so raw

[PhantomDashCam]

[Dejounte]

My latest big board - 1st round only

Tier 1 (I would be happy)

Franz Wagner
Moses Moody
Josh Giddey

Tier 2 (Safe picks, with high boom potential)

James Bouknight
Alperen Sengun

Tier 3 (Boom or bust)

Jalen Johnson
Trey Murphy III - I don't think he'll last until the second round, so preference is a trade down for a later 1st for him

Tier 4 (Safe picks, with low boom potential)

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl - I don't think he'll last until the second round, so preference is a trade down for a later 1st for him
Chris Duarte - Preference is a trade down for a later 1st for him

Tier 5 (Not convinced, but could see why)

Kai Jones
Tre Mann - Preference is a trade down for a later 1st for him
Usman Garuba - Preference is a trade down for a later 1st for him


Tier 6 (Meh)

Jaden Springer - We already have too many mid-range shooters, and I don't believe in his upside to set himself apart from our current group of guards
Keon Johnson - We already have too many mid-range shooters, and I don't believe in his upside to set himself apart from our current group of guards
Corey Kispert - I believe the Spurs can pick up Joe Wieskamp in the second round if they want to go this route. Joe might not be as good, but IMO, more value needs to be taken with the 12th pick

List does not include the obvious top 6 projected picks in the draft: Cade, Mobley, Kuminga, Green, Suggs, Barnes

New additions: Trey Murphy III & Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
Prospects who fell: Jaden Springer & Keon Johnson

List is pretty much in order. I'd draft the group in Tier 1 before Tier 2, Tier 2 before Tier 3, and so forth...

At a bare minimum I'll be satisfied if we draft any guy from Tier 1 to Tier 5. If we draft someone who is from Tier 6 or not listed here... it'll take time for me to like the pick.

List is close to being final.

[alfahdlan]

If we value defense and all around play, why not Herbert Jones in the 2nd round?