They were looking to move up for Daequan Cook last year, or at the very least had him on the radar. Don't think it's so much that they won't spend first round money, as they are just extremely selective about first round domestic prospects.
I agree about being very selective. They know that most of the late 1st rounders will fail to make the league at all although the native born players get protected status and money.
However, if they found a really deep draft had a player who was a lock to make the team and fit with the team's needs and philosophy, they would take him. It just ain't likely to happen at 26.
The deadline for the early entry is on Sunday. We will know soon who has entered in the draft and who hasn't. This year, it will be damn important to see who will stay and who will pull out. On DX mock draft, 27 or the 28 first picks are underclassmen.
The withdrawal deadline is on June 16th, the draft on June 26th.
Spurs situation should be quite complicate. This draft is bigmen oriented and Spurs needs perimeter players.
Most coveted swingmen like Rush, Alexander, Douglas-Roberts or Batum should be gone at 26. Only lesser prospect like Lee, Weaver or Giddens will be available.
Will Spurs settle to draft one of these players at 26 ?
If they don't do that, they will have to be creative by doing a trade or by finding a hidden gem overseas.
The draft is still in a long time but I have a hard time to figure what Spurs could do with their pick. I'm not really optimistic about Spurs being able to do something interesting.
Bruno...
You gotta Believe!
I am very excited about this draft...even if the Spurs don't do anything "interesting." Big changes may be on the horizon, and this team that is once again contending for a championship is going to do their best to get even better this offseason. I am utterly thrilled with the thought of how dominant the spurs can become.
I agree with you. DX's mock draft has us picking some swing men like Rush, Calathes, and Gary Forbes, but Rush may be too small and over-hyped and the other two are not locks by any means. Calathes is interesting because he's so smart and long.The deadline for the early entry is on Sunday. We will know soon who has entered in the draft and who hasn't. This year, it will be damn important to see who will stay and who will pull out. On DX mock draft, 27 or the 28 first picks are underclassmen.
The withdrawal deadline is on June 16th, the draft on June 26th.
Spurs situation should be quite complicate. This draft is bigmen oriented and Spurs needs perimeter players.
Most coveted swingmen like Rush, Alexander, Douglas-Roberts or Batum should be gone at 26. Only lesser prospect like Lee, Weaver or Giddens will be available.
Will Spurs settle to draft one of these players at 26 ?
If they don't do that, they will have to be creative by doing a trade or by finding a hidden gem overseas.
The draft is still in a long time but I have a hard time to figure what Spurs could do with their pick. I'm not really optimistic about Spurs being able to do something interesting.
I'm wishing for a SF that is at least 6'8" with some perimeter skills and there ain't many out there at any pick within our reach.
Lee and Weaver are too short in my opinion for our need at SF. Giddens is too short and has off court issues that probably eliminate him from the Spurs board.
My idea for the Spurs' second round: draft Calathes and James Gist, if he's still available with the latter pick, two very different SF prospects. Gist is transitioning to the perimeter, but could have a great deal of defensive potential considering his ridiculous athleticism and hard work. Throw them both out for Summer League, invite them to camp, and cut the one that's not working out. If neither is working out, look at guys overseas like Terence Morris, who is suddenly flourishing. There's not a "long SF" impact player available, but there are project prospects to consider.
I don't think Weaver's an SF prospect, but perhaps a lockdown combo-guard who needs someone to work on his jumpshot (paging Chip). The Spurs pursued Roger Mason; maybe Weaver could be a similar, more offensively challenged player.
And I wouldn't take Giddens off the board just yet. He could have a lot to offer if he's turned himself around.
A guy I would strongly consider is Bill Walker... Most drafts project him into the 2nd round. I think he has the physical potential to be another Ron Artest, but with less crazy and more jumpshot...
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Bill-Walker-552/
He's tremendous athlete with huge strength for his size.
He's developing a jump shot (which Artest never really had):Walker’s quickness and explosiveness were also on display, particularly in the first half. He was able to beat defenders to the rim both from the perimeter as well as the post, where he likes to go to a baseline spin move and muscle his way to the basket. Of particular note from this game was Walker’s ability to hang in the air and finish shots with contact. While his general explosiveness has gradually returned to him since his second ACL tear, his body control and hang time have stayed consistently impressive. The most impressive example of this came in the first half of the USC game when Walker was able to beat his defender along the baseline, take off from the left side of the paint, float to the opposite side, and lay in a soft reverse. These are the types of explosive and finesse plays that will attract NBA scouts.
The strong showing continued from Walker in the Wildcat’s second round match up with Wisconsin, where the Cincinnati native was able to go for 18 points on 7-11 shooting. We got to see more of Walker’s play around the basket in this one, where he showed his ability to pin down his defender and score with his back to the basket. At about 230 pounds, Walker is very strong for a player at this level and rarely has trouble sealing off defenders for position on the block. Once he has the ball, his combination of strength, quickness and leaping ability make him a very tough opponent to slow down. He does however need to improve his touch around the hoop.
And he's already got a strong slashing game, which is something we lack from our reserves (ie. beyond Manu and Tony)The 22-point performance really gave us an opportunity to see the full offensive repertoire that Walker brings to the table. He started right away by knocking down a long jumper from beyond the arc in the game’s opening minute. Walker’s 3-4 shooting performance from deep was somewhat uncharacteristic, as he shot just over 30% from this range during the season and was very inconsistent with his three point shooting. Walker also looked more comfortable shooting off the dribble than he had since the last time we reviewed him. A couple of times in the first half he was able to pull up against Trojan defenders and with seemingly little effort knock mid-range jumpers. This is an area of Walker’s game that is still being developed, and he doesn’t go to it very often, preferring to either catch and shoot or take the ball straight to the rim.
Finally, the best sign of all, he's willing to put the effort in on DWe also got to see some more of Walker attacking the basket from the perimeter. He has a fantastic make up for a slasher: quick, explosive, able to take contact and possessing great body control.
There are negatives, he needs to work on his handleWhile his strong defensive play may have not shown up statistically in his two tournament games (no blocks or steals), Walker continued to be a solid presence on the opposite end of the floor. As has been his style all season long, Walker hounded opponents when they controlled the basketball, a few times able to force turnovers thanks to his tenacity.
and his perimeter shooting.The major factor holding Walker back at this point continues to be his ball handling skills. Though he was able to keep his turnover numbers down, it was clear to see that he needs to continue to work on this area of his game. His dribble is very loose, and as has been mentioned on this site previously, his crossover dribble is not very effective as he brings the ball very far away from his body as a method of faking out his defender. Walker also got into trouble a few times when he became overly aggressive, taking off in the lane while out of control and picking up offensive fouls.
I think the single biggest issue is his knees - he's had 2 ACL tears so far. I would want a thorough medical exam, but he looks like the real deal so far to me.As has been previously mentioned in write ups on Walker, his somewhat awkward shooting form deters him from being a more consistent outside shooter. He releases the ball out in front of him rather than higher over his head, as well as tending to push the ball more than he allows it to roll off his finger tips.
BTW, some people might say his at ude is a problem; I think SJax worked just fine. His intensity might be a real pick-up some games...
The other item I might consider would be a trade down with either the Timberwolves or (more likely) the Trailblazers or the Sonics. Our first for their 2 highest seconds. I would expect the trailblazers or the sonics to be the more likely options. Portland has a huge number of possible prospects that will need roster space, particularly once you count draft picks (they have 4 this draft, 13 (lottery),34,35,53). Similarly 6 with the Sonics (2 (lottery), 23, 32, 43, 50, 57).
A draft where we went 4 times in the second, and got say Walker, Weaver, (Dragic or Ponkrashov or even, if we are lucky, Pekovic), and traded our 4th pick forward, like we did last year with TO... would be a very good draft in my estimation.
Walker won't stay in the draft if there's a chance he goes in the second round. At least that's my guess. I'm still not convinced he has the proper Spurs' mentality, he plays largely for himself at this juncture.
Portland has indicated a willingness to trade off picks, but not just for higher picks. They're going to want some quality pieces to surround their young core with, and I'm not sure we can give them that. Sonics and T-Wolves seem more likely if there's a player they especially like that drops to our spot.
I don't know how many teams will actively consider making a deal with a team wanting to trade up in 1st round but after the 4th pick I think a lot of teams "should" be willing to consider it this year.
Last edited by Crow; 04-26-2008 at 11:19 PM.
Keith Brumbaugh , anybody heard of this kid...Supposedly was a top prospect out of high school and then lost his scholarship for getting into trouble. Averaged 33 pts this last year in community college and is projected in the 2nd round. He is 6'9 at the SF'SG position.
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/prof...brumbaugh.html
Trading backwards into the second round is a likely scenario, but given Mahinmi and Splitter on the squad, and likely a brand-new back-up point guard (whether a rookie or not), I can't see them bringing in yet another two rookies. I'm not even sure they'll want to bring in a swingman or guard rookie of any kind.
I know - next year we will have a minimum of 2 (effectively) rookies on board - Mahinmi and Splitter. I am unsure what Pop would feel about more rookies vs. veterans, but the transition will have to happen sooner or later. With the draft I proposed, I would expect to see something like this.
Bigs - Duncan, Oberto, Bonner, Thomas (resigned using Bird Rights), Mahinmi, Splitter (with Mahinmi and Splitter competing for 5th big vs. D league spot...)
Wings - Manu, Bowen, Udoka, Barry, Vet signed with MLE, Walker (again Walker potentially in the D-League)
PG's - Parker, Vaughn, Weaver (as 3d pg, again likely spending some time in the D-league as development)
The Euro drafted in the Raptors Spot (Ponkrashov/Dragi/Pekovic) would stay in Europe for at least another year. Our 4th second round pick would be traded forward again, like we did with the Printezis pick last year (to get this years Raptors 2nd).
This roster is very Rookie heavy for us (usually only 1...), however, they are spread over all the positions, so we would have enough veterans to carry on, even if the rookie at that position busts.
Last edited by pad300; 04-28-2008 at 08:55 PM.
I'm hoping we luck out in the lottery and get Derek Rose. If so, we will practically give you all of our other picks.
Walker's knees got better as the year went on, I think he'll be fine barring injury.
He's got lottery level athletic ability, but he doesn't have the want-to to play defense at the level of Artest.
His jumper is a little scary as well. Almost of all of his damage came on dunks and 3s (where he has more of a set-shot).
He'd be a good project, but likely won't be ready to contribute mentally or physically to a championship level team until Duncan is ready to hang them up.
One note: I don't know why some 'analysts' continue to question his handle. He's fine attacking with the ball. He's not going to remind anybody of AI, but he's well above Brandon Rush as well.
I'm hoping and expecting that he comes back to school.
We are not really looking for another long term prospect big man, but since his performance during the nike hoop summit, Ajinca his having a very good run in the french league.
His last 3 games (3 win for HTV and a playoff spot ensured):
12 pts / 3 rbd / 1 ast / 3 blk in 18 minutes
17 pts / 7 rbd / 3 ast / 0 blk in 19 minutes
15 pts / 8 rbd / 1 ast / 1 blk in 25 minutes
For the 3 games he shoots 16/22 FG (2/2 3pt) and 10/12 FT.
His stats for the season:
5 ppg (53 FG%) / 4rpg / 1 apg / 1 bpg / 1 to / 2PF in just 11 minutes
Per minute he has the 3rd best rating of the french league.
Nando De Colo has declared for the draft.
Nando De colo: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Nando-De-Colo-5087/
He has spurs written all over him!!!
the last thread is started a while ago was about him
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83668
he looks like the type of back-up PG the spurs would need. He stepped up after i posted the first thread. I kept an eye on him and even though i did not see him the things i read confirmed my first gut feeling.
Right, but in today's L'Equipe, he says he is not sure whether he actually will make the move or not. Seems more as "let's see what it gives".
L'Equipe also says that Nicolas Batum confirmed he wanted to play in the NBA.
Hey Najera is testing FA, should we give this veteran dude a look? he can guard all 5 positions, problems is his a dinosaur....
Courtney LEE.
He is a 6'6 SG and is long enough to guard the 2 or 3. He is extremely athletic and is a natural scorer. He is the smoothest player I have ever watched, he makes everything look pretty and easy. He would be such a good fit here, He is great at defense and can score at will, but know's his place and will not take bad shots.
Yes, I've read this article.
De Colo is testing the waters.
He has entered in the draft to know what NBA scouts/teams said to him. If he likes what he hears, he will stay in the draft. If he doesn't have a good feedback, he will withdraw from this year draft.
Ajinca and Beaubois are also testing the waters.
Playing testing the waters usually stay in the draft when they think they will be drafted in the first round where you get a guaranteed salary.
If Beaubois, De Colo or Ajinca stays in the draft, it will likely means that a team has made him a promise to pick him in the first round.
Spurs likes international players and have a late first round pick. If they like one of them (or a player like Casspi), I can see them making a promise to pick him in the first round. They did that in 2005 with Mahinmi.
The draft withdraw deadline is on June 16th. Looking at what international players is still in will be very interesting.
Batum will stay for sure in the draft. Only a disaster like a major injury could change that
That's what I was thinking, and Casspi and de Colo both fill a need for this team in the future. With more underclassmen returning to school this year and thus diluting the quality of the Spurs' pick, it would be wise to show patience with foreign prospects, as they have done previously.
Looked at the DX mock draft today and their changes put me into a funk. None of the players left on the board on our first pick, second pick, or third pick look like good choices that realistically would help us. Too many centers, Pfs and undersized swing men and pgs. Here's their chart by postions and ranking.
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/...n,-w-Analysis/
And some players like Hansbrough are off the chart completely. Is he not going into the draft?
There are currently 4 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 4 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
