But players don't come in a vacuum, there's a price tag attached. So I'm not saying he's necessarily going to be better, but if he's close enough then that makes Sidy a much better value pick for the Spurs.
Or they weren't as high as whatever option they're gunning for in free agency. Doesn't necessarily mean they're super high on him, just that they weren't higher on any guy we could have picked at 33, which makes the point moot.The "we would have taken him with this pick but we were happy to get him with the later pick" talk is always funny cause if they were that high on the player they would have taken him at 33
He seems to be a WILLING and GOOD passer, I can't say I've followed Ignite closely but watching clips of him he makes some good reads and delivers. He needs to polish his skills and learn the game, but there's a good enough foundation there to be hopeful. In any case, it's a very good option in the 2nd round, at ANY spot, even early.
I don’t believe PR. It’s OK, though. Big picture, what matters are the young players they already have on the roster that might develop into stars, their own draft pick in 2024 which promises to be in the lottery again and might yield a star, and maybe that Atlanta pick in 2025. A marginal rotation player they drafted at 44, and whatever slightly less marginal rotation player they missed out on at 33 are mere trifles.
The FO seems to see things in terms of fields of possibility and opportunity, at least after a certain point, rather than specific targets. They value cap flexibility, maintaining draft assets, and other categories that don't show up conventionally in mock drafts or actual picks. Other than top picks, that is (Sochan, Wemby).
For whatever reason, they valued taking two extra SRPs over swinging on a prospect at 33. Chinook's reasoning that they didn't want to give out guaranteed money is very credible.
They then marched on, seeing what was happening until 44. They probably saw guys they liked get picked. What seems clear, they weren't pressed on grabbing anybody at all. The current roster is jammed with players. No player they could get in the SR was needed.
Ergo... passing on the 33 due to guaranteed money vs. no need for a player.
Ergo... waiting to see on the 44.
If no one they liked was at 44, they probably would have booted it, too.
This is what they mean, it seems, about being prepared for luck. Stick to overall patterns and plans. When things fall your way, you're ready for them.
2nd rounders have guaranteed $$$? When did that happen?
When the beginning of the second round started being treated as defector first round.
I should have at least checked his stats first. I was trying to extrapolate from a highlight video and that wasn't a good idea. Because it's a highlight video, most of the time he's going to be finishing rather than passing anyway. He did have a few nice dimes later in the video and I wrote a lot of what I posted while watching.
A couple of tidbits regarding Cissoko:
- His dad played basketball at the 1980 Moscow Olympics with the Senegalese team.
- When he was 14 years old, he moved to Spain to a team called Baskonia. He stayed there until being 18 years old. Baskonia is mostly known here for being the team of Splitter and Scola.
I love that we ended up acquiring one of the three French wing prospects. Now, Cissoko might be the furtherest away (from being NBA - ready) but he brings an intriguing mix of defensive + playmaking potential with a NBA - ready physique.
As much as I wanted another guard prospect, it just wasn't in the cards.
Last edited by J_Paco; 06-24-2023 at 10:51 AM.
How do you know that ? Imo he has the tools to become a good role player probably off the bench, but who is right ?
Like you said about cissoko and bilal there is nothing to compare, the upside is more on bilal that's why he's the pick 7 vs pick 44
That's where we disagree. that's not even close, to me. I know every rookie a team picks suddenly becomes beautiful and full of talent but Sissoko is a fringe NBA player and he may never really get quality rotation minutes with the big boys, spending most of most his time in Austin. I expect Bilal to have an impact year one with his defense and fast break speed...
Nobody barely even mentioned Sissoko before the draft and I"m not sure he' won't be mentioned that much in the future here. He won't be in a contending, or let's say a compe ive version of a spurs team and may end up as a filler in a trade. I see Bilal having a long career as a valuable, productive player thanks to his defense, BBIQ and athleticism.
Completely untrue.
And Calderon, Nocioni, Macijauskas, Rakocevic, Teletovic, Huertas... Bunch of euro all time great played there.
That is name popped up, probably like pretty much all the players in this draft, and I believe Timvp had him at 33 in his Big Board, but I really don't remember many members here pimping him or routing for the spurs picking him or even making more than throwing is name ou there.. , most peeps were surprised and dissapointed when spurs traded #33 and drafted him (notably before Rupert)... It's there in the draft thread... But feel free to refresh my memory on how high you were on Sissoko before the draft.
You can also make the argument that no one was hyping Bilal before Wemby team started playing in the Playoffs. You have to wonder if he was not on Wemby team where would he realistically be picked? Either way will see who is better in a few years I can say that Sidy is much happier that he is own the Spurs as far as for his future. While Bilal is happy he went so high I feel for him because Washington is a terrible place for him to develop. But who know we might be able to pick him off Washington when his contract ends.
I’m getting up to speed on him. From some of the different scouting reports, there seems to be a wide variance of opinions on certain types of skills he possesses. For example, some say he’s athletic, some say he’s slow footed and unathletic. Some say he has a good handle since he was a point guard, others say he has a poor handle. Some say he is a great defender, some say he lacks lateral quickness.
I suppose the simple explanation is he is raw and lacks consistency. Curious to get opinions from someone who watched him previously.
as long as we have Wemby, Bilal will always be willing to sign here tbh
Rupert asked teams NOT to draft him because he had a long term contract set up with Portland. Most of the prospects talked about here went earlier, there were no notable slides into the 2nd round like there was with Cam Whitmore in the first round, in fact several guys climbed up the boards significantly. In my case, my favorite was Jaquez, who had fantastic workouts and ended up at 18, I also liked Whitehead who went at 22 and Strawther who went 29, some guys (not me) were high on Olivier-Maxence Prosper who went 24, Nick Smith Jr who went 28... again, not a whole lot of talent dropped, but the guys who were supposed to. Would I have liked Colby Jones or Amari Bailey at 33? Sure, but if there was only one spot and they decided to go with Sidy, it's a defensible pick, nothing worth getting worked up over.
There were some who felt like Cissoko fit the mold of the undrafted or late draft players the Heat have turned into contributors the last couple of years. I'll be curious to see if he develops into an NBA player or not. Not too worried about trading 33. The Spurs probably need to add some horsepower to put around Wemby, and second round projects probably aren't the answer.
Video Scout.
I think Sidy is best thought of as similar to Sochan, as a power wing (rather than big forward / Small ball centre) who works as a connective passer with some off the dribble juice, and has the physicality to contest on the outside and defend a range of positions.
Obviously, the shot is the big question and if he can't shoot consistently it's hard for him to fit in, but that's a development question.
Think it's fairly obvious that the Spurs weren't incredibly high on him (as in, a top 20 grade), given the trade at 33.
I just don't understand the handwringing. His defense alone might be enough to make him a rotation level NBA player. Since nobody really knows exactly what Wemby is going to be, Cissoko is exactly the type of player the Spurs should be targeting -- a 2-5 switchable, long, live body with a high basketball IQ. No matter how Wemby plays, Cissoko is the type who is going to be able to fill in the gaps on either end of the court around him. And if he busts or never gets his shot fixed, so what? What was the opportunity cost? Locking in a G-League lifer like Leonard Miller into a guaranteed contract?
Looks like a guy with an NBA body the Spurs think they may mold into something.
He's pretty mechanical but that may be perfect for the Spurs' clandestine lab (or not).
If he can become a reliable shooter and fix his foul issues he‘ll already be more than a 3-and-D player. There‘s a good chance he can become a long term bench piece
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