Shooting Be Damned: Spurs Pick Juan Nunez, Harrison Ingram in the Second Round
Juan Nunez, a point guard out of Spain, was picked by the Spurs (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs entered the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft with two second round picks. After swapping a pick with the Indiana Pacers, the Spurs selected Juan Nunez with the 36th pick. At No. 48, San Antonio went with Harrison Ingram, a 21-year-old forward.
-Personally, I thought Juan Nunez was a mid to late second round pick. I love his passing — he could have been the best pick-and-roll orchestrator in the entire draft. At 6-foot-4 barefoot with a 6-foot-7 wingspan and an 8-foot-6 standing reach, the 20-year-old from Spain also has very good length for the point guard position.
But, man, he has two huge issues that gave me pause — especially when imagining him in San Antonio. First of all, Nunez can’t shoot. His stroke needs a lot of work. As it is, it’s a two-handed shot where his thumbs do a lot of the work. For his career, he’s a sub-30% three-point shooter and an even more worrisome sub-60% free throw shooting.
Additionally, Nunez was one of the least athletic players in the history of the NBA combine. He posted a 22-inch vertical. That’s the second worst vertical ever for a point guard, ahead of only the infamous Smush Parker 22 years ago. Nunez’s sprint speed was almost equally as bad.
European scouts rave about Nunez’s intangibles. Since the draft, I’ve been told that the Spaniard is a top tier competitor with an undying will to win. He’s had a lot of international success even though he hasn’t had many talented teammates. Scouts also tell me that Nunez really wants to play in the NBA eventually, which is notable because there have been a lot of talented guards from Spain who ultimately prefer to play in Europe.
The Spurs are obviously banking on Nunez’s intangibles and passing ability. Spain has a history of producing quality guards, so it’s a reasonable bet that Nunez is going to have a long, successful basketball career. I question whether he has what it takes to play in the NBA — but I don’t hate the use of a second round pick to find out.
Nunez could stay in Europe for at least a year but his representatives haven’t closed the door on the idea of him going straight to the NBA. If he stays in Europe, Nunez would be the first draft-and-stash pick for San Antonio since Nikola Milutinov in 2015. But, to reiterate, Nunez is determined to eventually give the NBA a shot.
-Harrison Ingram is an okay pick at 48. I scouted him a couple years ago when he declared for the draft as a freshman out of Stanford. He was intriguing because he played quite a bit as a point guard despite being 6-foot-5 barefoot with a longer than 7-foot wingspan.
Ingram ultimately decided to go back to school but then stagnated as a sophomore. He then transferred to North Carolina and played better as a 3-and-D wing.
At 233 pounds, has played at point guard, power forward and as a 3-and-D wing at various points in his college career. He’s a smart kid with a powerful frame. For his size, he’s a good passer and processes the game quickly.
Why did he fall to the 48th pick? Well, you guessed it, his shooting is a question mark. He shot 62% at the line in his three college seasons. While he hit 38.5% of his three-pointers with North Carolina, that’s an outlier after hitting fewer than 32% of his threes at Stanford.
For Ingram to have an NBA career, he’s going to have to hit three-pointers at an above average level. Considering that his free throw shooting is so bad, that’s not a likely outcome.
Ingram is a bit heavy-footed, so it’ll be an uphill battle for him to become a successful perimeter defender. He can also be slow to get off the ground, which is part of the reason why he hit 45.4% of his two-pointers while in college.
Ingram wasn’t able to workout with the Spurs due to injury prior to this draft but he’s a very well known prospect at this point. He’s been on the NBA radar since high school. Character-wise, not many prospects score higher. He almost played basketball at Harvard and is regarded as a great teammate who never complains about his ever-changing role.
All in all, I don’t have too much of a problem with drafting Ingram. He’s basically a run-of-the-mill second round forward prospect. Having point guard experience makes him a little interesting, especially when you factor in his smart all-around play and his 7-foot-plus wingspan.
-Honestly, I can’t say I’m too pleased with the Spurs picking Nunez and Ingram after drafting Castle in the first round. How is the front office going to pick three non-shooters in the draft? Did they watch the Spurs play last year?
Hell, Castle might be the best shooter of the three — and his lack of shooting was his glaring flaw as a prospect. At least Castle can shoot free throws. Nunez and Ingram are terrible free throw shooters, which is usually a warning sign that a prospect isn’t going to be able to shoot from the perimeter in the NBA.
Last draft, after selecting Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs picked the shooting-challenged Sidy Cissoko in the second round. Cissoko proceeded to shoot 25% on threes in the G League and 8% in the NBA.
To reiterate, each individual pick was fine. I understand that in the second round, you’re just looking to find players who can play in the league and can’t be too picky about attributes. But it’s frustrating that the front office decided to invest in three more non-shooters (four in a row, counting Cissoko) at a time when shooting should be a priority. Wembanyama deserves spacing, not unrelenting traffic because his teammates can’t shoot. It’s 2024, my guys.