The San Antonio Spurs Have Picks 11 and 41 in the 2020 NBA Draft
Devin Vassell could be who the Spurs pick in the 2020 NBA Draft (Photo via Twitter)
After the lottery balls stopped bouncing, the San Antonio Spurs learned on Thursday night that they will pick 11th and 41st overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Spurs had about a nine percent chance of moving up into the top four picks in the draft, however this time San Antonio didn’t get any lottery luck.
The news wasn’t all bad for the Spurs, though. There was also a chance that they could drop to as low as the 14th pick. Additionally, this draft doesn’t have any clear-cut franchise players or superstars — so the Spurs didn’t miss out on any big-time talent by failing to move up.
As it is, picking 11th is by far the highest the Spurs have drafted since selecting Tim Duncan No. 1 overall in the 1997 NBA Draft. And while this draft doesn’t have many exciting prospects at the top of the board, it’s regarded as a relatively deep draft. The Spurs should be able to get a good prospect with their first round pick.
Who Will the Spurs Pick in the 2020 NBA Draft?
The draft isn’t until October 16th, so this is still really early to project who the Spurs will pick. In fact, there’s talk that the NBA could push the draft back a few more weeks — so Spurs fans may need to be extra patient.
Who might the Spurs be looking at? In ESPN’s mock draft, they have San Antonio selecting Devin Vassell, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard out of Florida State. Although he weighs only 180 pounds, he’s regarded as a pesky defender. Vassell connected on 41.5% of his three-pointers, so he projects to be a three-point threat on the NBA level.
The Athletic has the Spurs going with Aaron Nesmith in their mock draft. Nesmith is a 6-foot-6, 215 pound swingman who averaged 23 points per game at Vanderbilt. He hit 51.2% of his three-pointers and 82.5% of his free throws, so whichever team drafts him will hope that his marksmanship translates to NBA.
There are really only three players who the Spurs certainly missed out on by not getting better luck in the lottery: Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball. Everyone else on the board could potential drop down to 11, while those three are a lock to be gone by then.
In the second round, the Spurs being able to select 41st is a lot higher than they are accustomed to picking. While finding second rounders who pan out is a difficult task, San Antonio will have a better chance of finding a diamond in the rough than they do in most years.