Professional Draft Evaluations: Ford, Draft Express, S.I..

[wildbill2u]

These are the only three I've found but maybe some others will surface. I pulled out the Spurs comments but all the teams are rated at the sites.

Chris Ford of ESPN: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft...%3ddraftgrades

San Antonio Spurs Grade: A Round 1: Tiago Splitter (28)

Round 2: Marcus Williams (33)

Analysis: The Spurs continue to amaze with their ability to find gems late in the draft. Splitter would've gone 10 to 15 spots higher if he had been able to get out of his contract and come to the NBA next season. But next summer, he can exercise a buyout and join the Spurs. When he comes, he'll be 23, battle-tested in the Euroleague and ready to supplant Fabricio Oberto in the middle.

As a pure small forward, Williams also seems like a great fit, as long as he can get with coach Gregg Popovich's team-oriented game plan.

Draft Express: http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2156
San Antonio Spurs

Picks: Tiago Splitter (#28), Marcus Williams (#33)

A+

The rich get richer once again, as the best team in the league lands possibly the most NBA-ready player in the draft…all the way down at #28. That almost shouldn’t be allowed, it’s so unfair to everyone else. The reason this happened is because most teams preferred to draft backups who will play 10 minutes a game at most next year rather than wait another season for some real help. But that’s why the Spurs are the Spurs, and everyone else is everyone else.

At #33, the Spurs again got some solid value in Marcus Williams, a player who was considered a lottery pick for much of the year before his season went and his stock dropped from working out poorly and for the wrong teams (for example Washington, selecting #16, the day before the draft). Williams isn’t quite the defender or perimeter shooter the Spurs covet on the wing as Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen continue to age, but he does have the upside to improve in those areas, being a very naturally talented sop re with superb scoring instincts. He will have to restructure his shooting mechanics to reach his full potential, though.

With the #58 pick, the Spurs pulled off yet another shrewd trade like they do practically every year (the reason why they were drafting at #33 this time), flipping a late 2nd rounder for Toronto’s 2008 2nd round pick. Considering how weak of a crop this was for International players this year, there is certain to be more value to be found in 2008.

Marty Burns of Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...des/index.html
B San Antonio Spurs Tiago Splitter (28); Marcus Williams (33), Giorgos Printezis (58) Defending champs can afford to be patient and take chances, and that's what they did. Splitter is a talent who could contribute once he gets out of his European pro contract. Williams fills a need for an athletic backup small forward.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

i disagree, i think portland got the most nba ready player in young rudy fernandez, but splitter is certainly capable of cracking our lineup and getting a few minutes per game this year

[intlspurshk]

I think SPURS just picked the best of the leftovers. I don't understand why it's an A. Maybe be B or B+. If SPURS manage to trade up to get Rudy or at least their 1st choice, then it would be an A though.

[AFBlue]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19495244/

San Antonio
Tiago Splitter has been rated high in the draft before and dropped out because of the buyout provisions. He is a 6-foot-11 power forward and because it is the Spurs, Splitter figures to be a factor in the NBA. The club doesn’t miss much. Marcus Williams was one of the best players in the Pac-10 and slipped to the second round. The environment around the NBA champs could shape him up.

Spurs got a good review from this guy..... "B" overall.

[jag]

I really felt good about the draft, but i'm still alittle confused about the Williams pick. Either way it's interesting to see that everything is grading the spurs well.