https://www.spurstalk.com/blake-wesl...022-nba-draft/
After Sochan at 9 and Branham at 20, Wesley was who I was hoping for at 25. I must be dreaming because this isn't supposed to happen on draft day as a Spurs fan.
Love the pick. High upside swing and that’s exactly what you want at that point in the draft. Wesley’s a much better defender than Lonnie ever was and is still a great athlete. I think he has a chance to be a good player for us if Chip can help tweak that jump-shot. Great pick at 25 imo.
Wesley's and Ivey's freshman seasons stats look incredibly similar. Let's hope our guy can improve the same way Ivey has. There's certainly a lot to like.
Good comparison. Ivey and Wesley were the two best one-on-one "separators" in the draft. Ivey is obviously a much superior talent -- but, as you indicated, he was a sop re and Wesley was a freshman.
Seems like a level headed kid. I like him all around.
Yeah Ivey's elite athleticism makes his ceiling higher, but overall their games are similar and a lot will depend on how their shooting improves. I actually kinda like Wesley's shooting form a little bit more but Ivey's has been going in his second season, so he's more proven. Still, even a discount Ivey would be good value at 25.
I think we're both underselling and overselling Wesley in a way. I don't think he's necessarily boom-or-bust, and he doesn't have to be a home run. Like Johnny Davis, he was required to do almost everything for Notre Dame. He was doing this as a freshman while Davis was a sop re.
Honestly, I'm kind of puzzled why the whole draft slept on Wesley. He has fantastic tools, including great athleticism and he appears to be a gamer. While he doesn't have Ivey's A++ athleticism, he still is very similar, and it's not hard to imagine he'd make a similar leap in his sop re year.
This was a fantastic pick and I think teams will regret futzing around with the likes of Jake LaRavia and Christain Braun.
Avery Johnson and the CBS crew give it an A- grade. Not that we should give a what they think necessarily. But they think it’s a steal. So did Jay Bilas when we selected him.
Looking how it has unfolded.
Defensive PF - Sochan Check
Go-To scorer - Malakai? Maybe
Point-of-attack defender - ?
On-man defensive C - ?
Looking how the teams picked. I think I would’ve gotten:
Davis - 9 point of attack defender, go-to scorer, All-Star upside
Liddell - 38 PF strong shot blocker and go-to scorer
23-25 I could have used to get Duren or Williams.
Notre Dame’s season turned around when Wesley was moved to the starting lineup. They went from having a losing record to being tied for the 2nd best record in the ACC.
I'm a little ambivalent on the Sochan pick...he, Duren, or Davis would have been fine with me but he is the better fit. I really like our next two picks but I absolutely would have taken Liddell at 38 instead of cash and had him replace KBD on the roster.
Great pick @ 25 tbh. He's a kid that I actually wouldn't mind being down in G League for most of the year. Branham and Sochan (obv) should be with the main squad though.
Sochan is so much more than a defender; in my opinion Davis & branham have a similar trajectory. Blake might become your Ja morant lite type ( I’ll give him a few to develop first but I like the kid )
Lonnie had elite athleticism. It's not a guarantee of anything other than jumping high and running fast.
20 and 25 wouldn't get you to the place needed to draft Duren or Willams.
This is the cost for Duren:
2025 1st pick, 9 mil Walker buyout, a 10-pick swap in last night 2nd round
So the Pistons essentially traded Jerami Grant for the 13th pick (Jalen Duren), a 10-pick swap upgrade in 2nd round tonight and Kemba Walker's (owed 9 mil in final year of his deal)
You think the Spurs couldn’t have done better?
You know all 3 will be in Austin at least until trade dead line where we can move some older players for future picks. But all 3 will still get some playing time with the big club but Sochan will get the most.
I really like Sochan, no question there. I think he brings a defensive swagger the Spurs are missing. Malaki and Blake are fine and I’m hoping one of them would be an offensive stud plus lockdown defender with their long wingspan. I hate the high second round pick 38th trade for future 2nd round with Memphis, potentially low 2nd round. I would’ve rather taken Liddle, another tough scoring PF or Kamagate as stash.
I just couldn’t get over Davis at 10. Man, that kid goes to battle and shibes in brighter lighter lights. Knowing I could’ve paired him with Liddle and possibly Duren.
Wesley was a very good pick, position overload be damned. He may not be a key part of the roster in year one but I think he will develop into something special. Hopefully he turns into that guy who can check the elite small guards who give the Spurs so much trouble, while also being a handful himself on the offensive end.
Detroit traded a future pick in a "hot" draft, 2023, plus four second rounders. Spurs were never going to trade a future asset for ANOTHER FRP in this draft, and what they had in hand was not good enough to jump up to 13.
Duren was my guy, but I'm fine with Sochan, who was my second choice. There will probably be another Duren who will come along next year.
I was surprised to see Ivey and Wesley grew up together. Their play styles are very similar.
The four second round picks are coming from New York.
Easily Spurs could’ve beaten that 10-pick 2nd round with either 20 or 25. 9 mil for Kemba and future 1st round.
Sochan, either Malaki/Wesley and Duren would have been awesome. And yeah, Liddell at 38.
I just feel it’s missed opportunity.
^ and it was 2025 from Portland, not 2023
This is also assuming the Spurs, or anyone else, had any idea Charlotte was doing this. It's not like they make these trades on conference call.
John Hollinger said he would have selected him at 11. At the draft they said the only more athletic player than Wesley was Ivey. You can tell he has a much better feel for the game than Lonnie does, probably even now with 4 years of NBA experience under his belt.
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