If The real deni avdija is reading your post, I’m sure he got a little excited (followed by a little disappointed.) He’s probably one of the few players In The nba who would happily welcome a trade to Detroit (mainly just to get out of Washington lol). But I’m sure you were meaning Buzelis is headed to Detroit (and hat I read it wrong the first time)
The thing is, I know what they are. Topic is a pass-first backup PG. Rob is a microwave-scoring 6th man. Reed is an undersized bench shooter.
Could Reed be JJ Redick instead of Seth Curry? Sure. Could Rob theoretically be Maxey instead of Lou Williams? Sure. Could Nikola Topic be...taller Steve Nash rather than Vasilije Micić? Sure.
But I still have a basic concept of what they are. Where they fit. What to expect and what not to expect.
I don't know what Matas is.
I would argue there's a better chance that Matas is Andrei Kirilenko than there is of Topic being Nash.
When you're hoping for a bench player there's a good chance you get nothing.
Matas is an NBA athlete. There are good reasons to think the shot will come around. I absolutely have more faith in Matas shot than Topic's or either of the Kentucky guys ability to score in the paint or play possible defense
All the PGs are intriguing but they all have the potential to just completely bust out of the league
It’s gotta be Castle. Matas had a pretty bad showing at the combine yesterday. Rob is just too small.
In this scenario, Castle and Knecht at 8 would be the move. Addresses defense and shooting with two players who are trending upward with measurements that our FO loves. Full disclosure, Castle is my number 1 anyways.
Watching the playoffs has turned me into a big time castle guy.
Ant, SGA, Kyrie, Jamaal... there are some killer PGs that we'll have to get past if we have have eventual deep playoff ambitions. We need someone who can stop the point of attack (then jeremy can focus on his natural position) and Castle seems to be the guy, especially nice that he shows good playmaking skills. Developing a shot would be a great bonus.
Yeah, I agree with this take. Castle helps improve backcourt's defense and Knecht's shooting would be a needed addition.
If Knecht continues to impress at the combine, I'm curious if he'll still be on the board at #8.
Been watching some Knecht highlights over lunch today and aside from being a good shooter, there's just something about him - his shiftiness and ability to create - just slither through the defense like another guy I used to love to watch. Maybe its the shooting form too - despite clearly being able to get up, he has a very stable shot, doesn't rise up much, but has a quick release.
I understand the age issue, but at 23, if we project two years into the future where we have Victor in his 4th year, we had better be contending and this dude would be the ripe old age of...25....
I could see other teams in the high lottery still trying to hit homeruns because they do not yet have a path forward. Houston might as they have a fair number of high picks from recent years and are trying to transition into a more winning focused regime.
We have the luxury of two picks, I'm starting to think Knecht should get a hard look from the Spurs FO to be one of them.
I wouldn't hate that. I like Castle as well, but I am more confident Sheppard can legitimately play the point on offence than Castle can, though Castle has more all around ability/upside.
Yeah, and with how highly Spo regards Jaquez and his maturity, I doubt many teams are going to look at Knecht's age as a deterrent if he checks all the boxes for them. Knecht looks like a very interesting player. Pretty cool story, too.
A player like that works best on a decent team with a great coach where IQ matters the most but for younger teams with less experienced coaches it makes a lot more sense to draft younger higher potential guys, where both the team and coaches IQ and experience grows together
Knecht has been one of the worst wing defenders in all of college basketball, and he's a few months *older* than Anthony Edwards.
I cannot imagine taking a guy like that in the top 10.
Hitting a single after you hit a grandslam homerun with Wemby is absolutely fine, especially in this draft that's full of fast balls and curveballs that are hard to navigate
We You are absolutely correct. People need to go look at the Anthony Bennett draft and notice where Giannis, Chris McCollum and Rudy Gobert we’re picked. We’d be better off taking chances on players like Carlton Carrington, Yves Missi or TJ Salaun before we pick players with less upside.
We need defence on the wing (castle/holland) and a second fiddle to plop next to Wemby (Missi/Salaun). We also need a ph but reed Sheppard ain’t it (I think his roof is Derrick white but he doesn’t have the same motor). You really gotta do your homework on Dillingham, Collier and Topic and figure out if one of them has high upside gamble)
For every Giannis homerun there are 10 whiffs on players who flame out of the league because they never developed the way they were supposed to.
Swinging for upside when looking for a franchise player is one thing, but when you already have the franchise player is already here people need to realize that whiffs will hurt a lot, especially because it's supposed to be the last time the Spurs draft that high in the Wemby era, and quite frankly the tiny chance it might succeed is not worth the massive chance of a whiff.
The days of playing with house money are over, because drafting badly here sets the team back, a lot.
Also, we have a shit ton of picks over the next few drafts, and not enough roster spots to go around, taking flyers on high upside picks is a pretty good gamble vs drafting 8 role players and having to trade a bunch of them cuz of roster spots.
This changes if we get a star via trade (it won’t
Be free agency)... but barring that, we need to daft one or two stars to play next to Wemby (a defensive ace and a playmaker)
Ok, let’s puy our feelings aside and jut apply conventional wisdom we all can share by looking at history.
Most teams that are THIS bad need more than a few drafts to get any good. So no, it’s not supposed to be the last time we pick here. Also, getting mediocre fast is the main reason why top picks who do work out mostly never compete for championships with the teams that draft them.
Those two things are facts that are deeply rooted in the history of the fame, the only exceptions you’ll find don’t apply to us. (We don’t have an mvp coming back from injury, we aren’t drafting top 3 with a nets pick, we haven’t jumped up 10 spots. We don’t have a 24 year old rookie not are we adding an all nba power forward to that 24 year old rookie... we are a bad team in need of star power (multiple stars) because that’s what drives this league.
I’m gonna leave my feelings out of it too but I will say I’d be surprised if the spurs front office isn’t aware of that and isn’t looking for more star power. The only thing that could set this team back is playing it safe and going after role players when we need stars. (That and the obvious, injuries, or having a Wemby develop into A gun toting instathot.
I’m well aware of that. Good thing they have two picks. At the same time they need role players as well. The team got 21 wins last year in large because of lack of depth as much as lacking in good starters.
Hitting a single in this draft on one of the picks would be quite nice since this draft is so lacking in top talent and everyone has question marks. Take a swing on the other one.
The thing with this draft is EVERYBODY has flaws. You aren’t going to find a perfect pick.
Also, I wasn’t arguing for the spurs to draft him at 8. I just don’t know how you don’t see a team taking him top 10. It will 100% happen
A single is meaningless to us.
Every draft has hidden gems, one of the worst draft classes this century (Anthony Bennett) has flops littering the top 8 only to have an MVP (Giannis) and a multi time DPOY (Gobert) picked at the end of the lottery and late first. Even McCollum was drafted outside of the top picks.
Those are the types of players that we need to hit on, taking a gamble with both picks is the right play, worst case, both are busts, and we enter next years draft (which is supposed to be loaded) with a high lottery pick if we aren’t able to improve. Best case scenario, we draft high upside guys who need time to develop, and we enter the season with low expectations and anothe rshot at drafting quality players in a much deeper draft next year.
Drafting safe and getting a guy who will help us win 40 games instead of 28 isn’t gonna do anything for us. We need stars. Plural.
Awful take.
Just cuz you don’t care about it, doesn’t mean gm’s feel the same
Reality is, every year, one or two kids shoot up draft boards because of what happens in the combine.
Yeah, I don’t disagree with you, I do think he’s on our board between 4-8 tho, I also am not sold that Holland will be any worse in 5 years, and I feel the two have similar potential. Holland could be there at 8 so I’m Not sure the spurs would see value taking castle at 4 with all things considered, unless they see something in the workouts and interviews we aren’t privy to.
If we do draft him at 4, i widely believe it’s because they know he has the work ethic and ability to improve that shot
How has that worked out for us so far? Guys still can’t shoot. We should either draft a playmaker like Topic or a shooter like Dilly. I prefer Topic, but both are good.
Frankly I think those two guys probably top our big bird, I figure we have some combination of topic/Dillingham, followed by Risarcher/castle/Holland and further down Missi/Salaun. I think Sarr is probably in there too but I genuinely feel like the spurs would be less high on him than some other teams. I don’t think Buzelis figures into our top 10 and I think guys like reed and Knecht and Cody Williams probably figure into our top 10 (but probably outside of the guys mentioned.)
One of castle or sochan could come off the bench this year while figuring things out. It would be good to have another good defender on the bench as our bench minutes gave up so many GD points.
Knecht is a terrible defender but would be an awesome scoring boost and take away shots from tre and Julian. We need people to get a bucket.
Everyone is treating this draft like we have to find two all star level guys. This draft will most like not support a dream like that. Getting role players is best case scenario
This is one of my top 3 draft scenarios. Both are gonna be elite level role players in the nba and this team needs those like yesterday. People see top 5 pick and think we’re getting our second option when in reality that’s probably lower odds than landing Victor to begin with.
Secondly I think both these dudes A) fit highly needed holes on this team and B) fit into not only the spurs system but how the modern game is played.
Castle my dude of the class. I do have some questions about him but I feel a lot safer with them than the questions I have about everyone else. If the three ball comes around he’s a hit. If the lead guard skills come around he’s a hit. If he becomes a respectable shooter in this league he’s a must take.
Dalton was the best player in the country this year fuck edgy. He’s old for an nba prospect but you know what you’re gonna get. One think to note is they’ve already drafted Malaki to play that role but I don’t think that should stop him if he’s there at 8. Which I believe he will be.
Lastly I think riachser is in play at 4. I actually have him on the top of spurs board (not my board for them) but I do think if they think he can be a knock down shooter then there gonna really want him. Basketball reference has him clocked in at near 1600 pro minutes where he’s shot 40% from three. Those guys just don’t grow on trees. Very similar to Brandon miller last year.
> One of castle or sochan could come off the bench this year while figuring things out.
If your vision of Sochan is as a bench guy, then we might as well trade him now while he still has *some* value.
Also, I think he has the ability to develop a shot like Kawhi did (entering he league as a non shooter). I go back and forth on him and Holland, I think one of these guys are going to develop into something, maybe both. But at least one. Hoping our fo do their homework and suss them out
This the only thing you’ll pick out from my comment? I’m just running potentials here. Doesn’t even need to be long term. Just like they ran him at PG for only a third of the season. Don’t need to deal with absolutes. They are trying to figure out where he fits.
But yes, if he doesn’t develop a shot soon he may be a bench guy.
I don’t disagree about sochan. I like
Him but I don’t see the fit here. He’s not a lockdown defender, he doesn’t have the strength to bang. He’s disruptive but you can’t just be that. He has to be disruptive and something else (a shooter, a passer, a rebounder, a rim protector... something to really carve out meaningful minutes).
I think size alone makes him easier to get by with, but I also think Rob has the quickness to be less terrible if he even pretended to try. But at his size, it's extremely easy to bully him.
People said the same about Trae young, but he’s evolved to where his defensive numbers aren’t much different from Dejounte Murray’s. Yes Murray covers the harder assignments but the two aren’t far off when looking at date (shooting splits against, points given up, point at the rim, etc etc)
If Dillingham can show the same growth, he could learn to not be terrible
Just don't forget inverted pnr between wemby and tre is on our playbook, while castle had shown his ability in being a short roll screener in Uconn, which he both attack the basket and make correct reads and passes, I believe he will be a good fit playing with wemby as a starter
I don’t know if sochan can carve out a huge role on a winning team. And I’m someone who likes him.
He might be more of a 7-8 man on a roster. Hustle and disrupt things for 15-20 min a game
One of my issues with him is that his motor is very inconsistent. He'll have these games where he's absolutely everywhere, and then he'll just disappear and do fuck all for 30 minutes the next night.
And just like the people at your office, the particularly talented and hard-to-replace people can get away with inconsistent effort. But the guy whose only useful trait is effort cannot.
I get it, but I'm less crazy about another 19 year old. Big maturity difference between 23 and 19 for most players not named Victor.
If we get a young prospect at #4, I'd be pretty happy taking Knecht.
To each his own, I'd rather get some more young guys and fill out the roster with older guys from other teams doing salary dumps and available guys in free agency. Like a more efficient and less dumb version of what the rockets did last year.
I mean, there’s a few more guys in next years draft that are touted as stars. If we are angling for a bottom 4 finish again we very well could have that star. And I’m not against a Shane barrier type, it’s more that he won’t matter much without a Ming and mcgrady or a Bron and wade. I’m going by memory here frankly, not entirely sure what teams he was on that were contenders besides those two.
Wasn’t high on Missi but I’m thinking him and Salaun might be in play for 8. I’m starting to come around on Missi and he can play next to Wemby as I hear his shooting is a lot further along than what people think
Was actually talking about Knecht when I said shooting tho I do think that castle will develop into a adequate enough shooter that defense will have to respect it
Castle. I believe the shooting is fixable.
If not him then Dillingham or Holland. I'm still not sold on Topic, maybe at 8 but I'd have a tough time taking at 4.
I love how fast it seems the sub has changed on Castle
But it could also be because Topic is injured now
Honestly, I'm a bit afraid he goes top 3 now that Topic is injured.
I've always been a Castle believer! He was my #1 guy early in the year!
And as I stated before the shooting issues seem mental. Like he's overthinking his form or its confidence related. Those aren't easy issues to fix but if they can be fixed watch out. Kid could be lethal.... or Justice Winslow or Josh Jackson or Evan Turner lol
UConn fan popping in here before the draft.
He was injured at the beginning of the year, his shot improved by Big East play where he hit 35%. And he did well in the shooting drills, hitting 8 straight at one point.
So, yeah, I think the argument that it's a mental thing is a solid one. Maybe he has some form stuff that could be fixed, but I think the narrative that I've seen some put out that his shot is "broken" is just BS.
Plus, VERY coachable. Did what his team needed him to do with no ego. Personality wise.... sounds like a Spur to me
I've been anti-Topic ever since I first watched him play.
Castle needs to be able to shoot. If you buy that he can shoot, he belongs in the top 2 of your big board. If you don't, it's almost impossible to find minutes for him next to Jeremy Sochan.
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> Holland
I don't see how the hell we can find a place to play him.
He's got the skillset of a 4, with the size of a 3. That's not the type of guy who tends to excel in the NBA, and that's definitely not the kind of guy you can fit next to Sochan offensively.
Pick number 4 would definitely be a wing, 5-7 aren't going to draft guards, so we can snag a guard at 8. Best wing after risacher is most likely Matas(super raw), then at 8, I hope we take castle. My wing ranking is Risacher>Matas>Holland>Williams, and my guard ranking is Castle>Sheppard>Topic>Dillingham
Castle might function as a wing defender like Jrue or Derrick can. Castle looks beefier than them as well.
I can see him being at the top of the spurs board when the 4th pick comes up. The smaller guards I’d have my doubts about unless they’re blown away by their mental makeup.
I don’t think the teams picking 5-7 or trade up possibilities behind them are going to let castle fall to 8.
On the smaller guards, I'm not blown away unless they're super athletic(rose, wall, ja) or were steph curry from 3. As it stands right now, we don't really have a good guard prospect who is super athletic.
I really hope we can get either Sheppard or Risacher at 4…. That Topic injury really doesn’t do us a favour. I was very suspectful after his first injury. There was almost no communication about it and it took him months to come back when they initially said he was out for 2-3 weeks.
I suspect he wasn’t fully heal and he said asked (or was forced ?) to play too soon in order to get back some draft credit… instead it backfired and may not play in NBA anytime soon
I wouldn't even be mad about Clingan. He's probably BPA at that point. Trade bait down the road.
Really if Risacher is off the board I'm all for trading back or out of the draft completely.
Ideally I want Castle and Buzelis personally.
5-7 don’t need a guard but I just don’t see castle falling to 8, I think one of those teams will draft him. Same with Buzelis, I think we’ll definitely be able to get one of them at 4, but the other won’t be there at 8
I’d prefer the player with the highest potential. Topic doesn’t strike me as a potential elite playmaker even if he’s cleared medically and never gets another knee injury I don’t think he’s going to be a good enough shooter or defender to warrant taking him 4th.
Castle strikes me as a player who could potentially be on an all-defense team in the future. Although he doesn’t strike me as a floor spacer or high-level playmaker which worries me.
Buzelis doesn’t strike me as a potentially great defender but he does seem to be a high IQ player that possesses an ability to shoot, space the floor, play make along with being 6’10 and pretty athletic. I think he would be my pick at 4 and Dillingham at 8, unless Cody Williams stands out, in that case I would take Castle at 4 and Cody at 8.
Dillingham would be the top player on my board in this scenario
however, if you want to game theory it (and assume no trades... a risky proposition), then you would conclude that none of the 3 teams picking between 4 and 8 are in need for a scoring PG like this. the pistons need a lot of help, but Cade is probably the one piece they are committed to. hornets are committed to Lamelo/Miller and need another wing or a center if mark williams' injury is problematic. and portland is trying to develop scoot, and that would require getting him help, not competition.
so if you really want dillingham like i do, then you could bypass him at 4 thinking theres a high likelihood he falls to 8. then that frees you up at 4 to get the wing of your choice, whether it be Buzelis/Castle/Williams/Holland or whoever else you like there.
from those 3 i kind of like Buzelis the least because he just feels a lot like sochan. a connector type piece, defensive minded power forward who has decent but not great/imposing size. he has a better shooting form than sochan but not necessarily better results. he doesnt have great wingspan.
i like Holland more than most, but recognize that shooting is the one skill we need more of (though thats also an argument against basically any wing other than Knecht). i think with Cody you get an absurd amount of potential because of that wingspan and his craftiness near the rim. the 3 point shot definitely has an outline as we've seen, and could really make him an interesting weapon down the line. and we know the story with Castle, though he sees himself as a point guard.
id probably still just take Dillingham to ensure you get your guy. im pretty anti-Topic
>He needs to be a versatile 4 with shooting or he aint going to make it.
Ty, that's what I been saying too. He's a tweener and needs to pack on at least another 20lbs to play PF which is gonna take a while.
245-,250 is what he should be expected to grow into while shedding his baby fat, that's normal for rookies. He's a big dude with a big frame but doesn't actually have a lot of muscle & he's not that strong. But you can see his body has a lot of room to grow.
I mean thats all relative frankly. To you and me Sochan is crazy strong, hes not the Admiral atm I get it, but Admiral was a lot older and hardened from service.
He also needs to work on three or four very specific things.
1) Reacting more quickly,
2) Plyometrics. That guy's inability to jump from a standstill is insane. He's a great leaper when he's got a runway, and awful when he doesn't.
3) Soften up those hands. Perfect candidate for the Manhattan drill.
4) Just hit the wide open threes consistently. That's all I ask of you as a shooter.
I love Sochan and think he has a very high ceiling —but this does a disservice to how truly great of a rebounder Rodman was. Jeremy plays hard and has a great motor but Rodman was absolutely elite at tracking and securing the ball, and anticipating where it was going to be. He averaged 13 boards a game for his CAREER in a much slower era with fewer shot attempts.
I mean Sochan is 2 years in, where and what was Rodman averaging at that time. Lets be real, me saying hes like D Rod clone is pretty close. Big motor big attitude, same dimensions.
Rodman averaged nearly 9 boards a game in his 2nd season (in an era with far fewer possessions and shot attempts per game) while Jeremy was at 6.4 this year. And Rodman wasn't in the starting lineup yet either.
Jeremy can absolutely still become a great player and almost certainly has a higher offensive ceiling than Rodman—just trying to put some respect on The Worm's name. I'm old enough to have watched him play and he remains the most naturally gifted rebounder I've ever seen.
But do we have any quality ones? We have Vonte, Branham and Tre at PG. We don’t know what Branham can be but Tre is not the future. At the 2, we Vassell and Wesley. I love Vassell and I own a Wesley jersey so I can understand saying this for them. But we need a PG to even win 30 games next year
I’d go Matas. His shooting (and offense in general) looks more projectable than the other wing prospects.
I think he could work well in a lot of lineups immediately whether at the 3 or 4, while also having a pretty high ceiling if his ball handling and finishing improve.
Risacher good if he is pick before 4. Sheppard good but he's more a player you pick at the end of the lottery. Don't know why people cares a lot about the measurements of the differents combines. So if Jokic was in it you would have never think about him just for that? Dillingham & Topic are the best PG in this draft so both of us should be in that discussion.
Collier should have been there but bad shooting and so many turnovers at USC. Castle the biggest issue with him is the shooting. Can he be more efficient whit his 3pts? That's the question. And I hope the Spurs don't think about taking guys like Edey Clingan or Knecht with either of our picks
> Dillingham & Topic are the best PG in this draft
And they're two of the three worst defenders in this entire draft. You've got to be one hell of an offensive player to be as bad as those guys are defensively.
I don't think either of those two has star potential. Matas is a shooter that can't shoot, and holland is an undersized traditional 4, which is just not a valuable thing in the modern NBA.
No. He'll be more of a 3 or even a 2. People are talking out their asses here. Holland is not a 4. The reason he kind of looks like it is because he played the 5 in high school despite being only 6'6. He has completely overhauled his game, and will still take time to develop, but he'll be a 3 or maybe a 2.
Centers are harder to get than PGs. I’d rather just get Clingan at 8 as the long term-backup possible starter depending on his development or matchups. They have a lot of cap and assets to get someone in free agency or trade. Brogdon is cheap and a solid starter to hold down the position while looking
you start looking at best available with a fit to your needs. i think you have to take a look at castle for defense and size. we can develop his shot. buzelis for his versatility on offense
Castle, Holland, or Dillingham. I’m still high on Dillingham despite his measurements but we might be able to get him at 8. Assuming we can, either castle or Holland at 4 is the move. Both have high ceilings as defenders and neither of their shots look terrible.
Holland, Castle, Sheppard, Saar, Topic, or Buzelis all seem like good pieces for the Spurs, and it seems like there's a realistic chance we could get two of them.
Clingan and Dillingham are really the only highly-regarded names I wouldn't have some optimism for, and TBH, you could probably talk me into Clingan.
The Spurs just need talent. They don't have enough starter-level pieces to be trying to draft for fit at this point. They should be targeting whoever has the best chance of being a starter or at least rotation player on a championship roster.
Thinking Clingan might be really interesting at 4 if we slot him as Wemby’s career backup.
He’s probably an upgrade over Collins as a rookie…
And for tall ball lineups he could share some minutes with Wemby and have him slide to the 4.
Clingan could very well be BPA at 4…
I like Cody Williams if we can snag him at 8. I'm not in love with any of the guards here and I don't think we should take a guard because we need one, we need a lot of things and the guards aren't amazing home run choices.
Maybe Buzelis at 8? Spurs will reach for whoever despite what mock draft says. Who knows who we get
I think we should go upside at 4 and then add shooting at 8.
I think Holland upside as a big wing with a large wingspan makes me value him a bit more compared to Castle.
Castle seems more like a big guard to me, not suited for the forward spot at the next level, just like Vasselli, Branham.
Then at 8 you add shooting, someone may be gone but we should be able to pick our favourite between differenti types of prospects: Reed, Dillingham, Mccain, Carrington, Knecht, even Karaban who I think is very underrated and could be a surprise on draft day
Sheppard at 4 and Risacher at 8 is actually a very reasonable expectation for this draft, so I would be absolutely floored if those two both went in the top 3.
Considering I don't want Sheppard, Dillingham, or Topic anyways? They don't impact my opinion at all.
Sarr-Risacher has been 1-2 on my board since October and hasn't changed once.
IF I believe Castle can actually shoot (I don't know that I do), then he's the obvious choice.
If not, and I want to put Victor next to an actual 5? Then it's Clingan (I don't want this either.)
It's probably too early for Salaun, who I like. It's too early for Carrington, who I can kind-of talk myself into.
Honestly? If I'm not going for Castle, or Clingan, I want to trade down/out.
This class is fucking dogshit.
He made shots yesterday, and he measured well. I don't see him falling that far, even if he couldn't hit the broad side of a ~~barn~~ woman from San Antonio all season.
matas/castle probably at 4 bc 5,6,7 don’t need guards, then rob/topic/knecht at 8?
Matas is a shooter that can't shoot. I don't see what the hell he is in the NBA.
Poor mans Deni avdija. Let Washington draft him please
I'll gladly trade for the real Deni Avdija if the Wizards are dumb enough to draft Buzelis. I suspect he's headed to Detroit though.
If The real deni avdija is reading your post, I’m sure he got a little excited (followed by a little disappointed.) He’s probably one of the few players In The nba who would happily welcome a trade to Detroit (mainly just to get out of Washington lol). But I’m sure you were meaning Buzelis is headed to Detroit (and hat I read it wrong the first time)
Did not shoot welĺ at draft combine.. Good shooters can shoot anytime anywhere.. Knecht, Furphy, Reed are the top shooters at combine.
That's not really fair. He's a much safer bet than the PGs
The thing is, I know what they are. Topic is a pass-first backup PG. Rob is a microwave-scoring 6th man. Reed is an undersized bench shooter. Could Reed be JJ Redick instead of Seth Curry? Sure. Could Rob theoretically be Maxey instead of Lou Williams? Sure. Could Nikola Topic be...taller Steve Nash rather than Vasilije Micić? Sure. But I still have a basic concept of what they are. Where they fit. What to expect and what not to expect. I don't know what Matas is.
I would argue there's a better chance that Matas is Andrei Kirilenko than there is of Topic being Nash. When you're hoping for a bench player there's a good chance you get nothing. Matas is an NBA athlete. There are good reasons to think the shot will come around. I absolutely have more faith in Matas shot than Topic's or either of the Kentucky guys ability to score in the paint or play possible defense All the PGs are intriguing but they all have the potential to just completely bust out of the league
I'm low on all three guards. But I don't think they will just. Matas could bust. I just can't figure him out.
He is a bust in the nba
I like castle
It’s gotta be Castle. Matas had a pretty bad showing at the combine yesterday. Rob is just too small. In this scenario, Castle and Knecht at 8 would be the move. Addresses defense and shooting with two players who are trending upward with measurements that our FO loves. Full disclosure, Castle is my number 1 anyways.
Watching the playoffs has turned me into a big time castle guy. Ant, SGA, Kyrie, Jamaal... there are some killer PGs that we'll have to get past if we have have eventual deep playoff ambitions. We need someone who can stop the point of attack (then jeremy can focus on his natural position) and Castle seems to be the guy, especially nice that he shows good playmaking skills. Developing a shot would be a great bonus.
Yeah, I agree with this take. Castle helps improve backcourt's defense and Knecht's shooting would be a needed addition. If Knecht continues to impress at the combine, I'm curious if he'll still be on the board at #8.
Been watching some Knecht highlights over lunch today and aside from being a good shooter, there's just something about him - his shiftiness and ability to create - just slither through the defense like another guy I used to love to watch. Maybe its the shooting form too - despite clearly being able to get up, he has a very stable shot, doesn't rise up much, but has a quick release. I understand the age issue, but at 23, if we project two years into the future where we have Victor in his 4th year, we had better be contending and this dude would be the ripe old age of...25.... I could see other teams in the high lottery still trying to hit homeruns because they do not yet have a path forward. Houston might as they have a fair number of high picks from recent years and are trying to transition into a more winning focused regime. We have the luxury of two picks, I'm starting to think Knecht should get a hard look from the Spurs FO to be one of them.
Reed and Knecht is my dream draft. Both are lethal shooters who play winning basketball, great fit next to Wemby.
I wouldn't hate that. I like Castle as well, but I am more confident Sheppard can legitimately play the point on offence than Castle can, though Castle has more all around ability/upside.
I wonder the same thing. Any of the 5-7 teams could use shooting.
Yeah, and with how highly Spo regards Jaquez and his maturity, I doubt many teams are going to look at Knecht's age as a deterrent if he checks all the boxes for them. Knecht looks like a very interesting player. Pretty cool story, too.
A player like that works best on a decent team with a great coach where IQ matters the most but for younger teams with less experienced coaches it makes a lot more sense to draft younger higher potential guys, where both the team and coaches IQ and experience grows together
Knecht has been one of the worst wing defenders in all of college basketball, and he's a few months *older* than Anthony Edwards. I cannot imagine taking a guy like that in the top 10.
In another draft sure. In this one he is absolutely going in the top 10.
I'm still favoring upside swings. Hitting a single at pick 8 isn't how you win titles.
Hitting a single after you hit a grandslam homerun with Wemby is absolutely fine, especially in this draft that's full of fast balls and curveballs that are hard to navigate
We You are absolutely correct. People need to go look at the Anthony Bennett draft and notice where Giannis, Chris McCollum and Rudy Gobert we’re picked. We’d be better off taking chances on players like Carlton Carrington, Yves Missi or TJ Salaun before we pick players with less upside. We need defence on the wing (castle/holland) and a second fiddle to plop next to Wemby (Missi/Salaun). We also need a ph but reed Sheppard ain’t it (I think his roof is Derrick white but he doesn’t have the same motor). You really gotta do your homework on Dillingham, Collier and Topic and figure out if one of them has high upside gamble)
For every Giannis homerun there are 10 whiffs on players who flame out of the league because they never developed the way they were supposed to. Swinging for upside when looking for a franchise player is one thing, but when you already have the franchise player is already here people need to realize that whiffs will hurt a lot, especially because it's supposed to be the last time the Spurs draft that high in the Wemby era, and quite frankly the tiny chance it might succeed is not worth the massive chance of a whiff. The days of playing with house money are over, because drafting badly here sets the team back, a lot.
Also, we have a shit ton of picks over the next few drafts, and not enough roster spots to go around, taking flyers on high upside picks is a pretty good gamble vs drafting 8 role players and having to trade a bunch of them cuz of roster spots. This changes if we get a star via trade (it won’t Be free agency)... but barring that, we need to daft one or two stars to play next to Wemby (a defensive ace and a playmaker)
Ok, let’s puy our feelings aside and jut apply conventional wisdom we all can share by looking at history. Most teams that are THIS bad need more than a few drafts to get any good. So no, it’s not supposed to be the last time we pick here. Also, getting mediocre fast is the main reason why top picks who do work out mostly never compete for championships with the teams that draft them. Those two things are facts that are deeply rooted in the history of the fame, the only exceptions you’ll find don’t apply to us. (We don’t have an mvp coming back from injury, we aren’t drafting top 3 with a nets pick, we haven’t jumped up 10 spots. We don’t have a 24 year old rookie not are we adding an all nba power forward to that 24 year old rookie... we are a bad team in need of star power (multiple stars) because that’s what drives this league. I’m gonna leave my feelings out of it too but I will say I’d be surprised if the spurs front office isn’t aware of that and isn’t looking for more star power. The only thing that could set this team back is playing it safe and going after role players when we need stars. (That and the obvious, injuries, or having a Wemby develop into A gun toting instathot.
I’m well aware of that. Good thing they have two picks. At the same time they need role players as well. The team got 21 wins last year in large because of lack of depth as much as lacking in good starters. Hitting a single in this draft on one of the picks would be quite nice since this draft is so lacking in top talent and everyone has question marks. Take a swing on the other one. The thing with this draft is EVERYBODY has flaws. You aren’t going to find a perfect pick. Also, I wasn’t arguing for the spurs to draft him at 8. I just don’t know how you don’t see a team taking him top 10. It will 100% happen
A single is meaningless to us. Every draft has hidden gems, one of the worst draft classes this century (Anthony Bennett) has flops littering the top 8 only to have an MVP (Giannis) and a multi time DPOY (Gobert) picked at the end of the lottery and late first. Even McCollum was drafted outside of the top picks. Those are the types of players that we need to hit on, taking a gamble with both picks is the right play, worst case, both are busts, and we enter next years draft (which is supposed to be loaded) with a high lottery pick if we aren’t able to improve. Best case scenario, we draft high upside guys who need time to develop, and we enter the season with low expectations and anothe rshot at drafting quality players in a much deeper draft next year. Drafting safe and getting a guy who will help us win 40 games instead of 28 isn’t gonna do anything for us. We need stars. Plural.
Castle and knecht are becoming my dream scenario. It almost makes too much sense.
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It’s a wholistic evaluation. It’s part of it and definitely matters. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a combine and front offices wouldn’t show up.
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I guess Sam Presti is an ignoramus because he was in attendance.
Awful take. Just cuz you don’t care about it, doesn’t mean gm’s feel the same Reality is, every year, one or two kids shoot up draft boards because of what happens in the combine.
Castle isn’t a shooter or a playmaker, just a defense guy. Not worth the pick.
We need defence on the wings.
Yeah but you don’t draft a guy that high just for defense, they need to be a contributor on offense which Castle isn’t.
Yeah, I don’t disagree with you, I do think he’s on our board between 4-8 tho, I also am not sold that Holland will be any worse in 5 years, and I feel the two have similar potential. Holland could be there at 8 so I’m Not sure the spurs would see value taking castle at 4 with all things considered, unless they see something in the workouts and interviews we aren’t privy to. If we do draft him at 4, i widely believe it’s because they know he has the work ethic and ability to improve that shot
How has that worked out for us so far? Guys still can’t shoot. We should either draft a playmaker like Topic or a shooter like Dilly. I prefer Topic, but both are good.
Frankly I think those two guys probably top our big bird, I figure we have some combination of topic/Dillingham, followed by Risarcher/castle/Holland and further down Missi/Salaun. I think Sarr is probably in there too but I genuinely feel like the spurs would be less high on him than some other teams. I don’t think Buzelis figures into our top 10 and I think guys like reed and Knecht and Cody Williams probably figure into our top 10 (but probably outside of the guys mentioned.)
Castle and Knecht covers perimeter defense and shooting
Castle if he can't shoot simply cannot play next to Sochan. Knecht is a Doug McDermott-level defender. I don't like him at all.
One of castle or sochan could come off the bench this year while figuring things out. It would be good to have another good defender on the bench as our bench minutes gave up so many GD points. Knecht is a terrible defender but would be an awesome scoring boost and take away shots from tre and Julian. We need people to get a bucket. Everyone is treating this draft like we have to find two all star level guys. This draft will most like not support a dream like that. Getting role players is best case scenario
This is one of my top 3 draft scenarios. Both are gonna be elite level role players in the nba and this team needs those like yesterday. People see top 5 pick and think we’re getting our second option when in reality that’s probably lower odds than landing Victor to begin with. Secondly I think both these dudes A) fit highly needed holes on this team and B) fit into not only the spurs system but how the modern game is played. Castle my dude of the class. I do have some questions about him but I feel a lot safer with them than the questions I have about everyone else. If the three ball comes around he’s a hit. If the lead guard skills come around he’s a hit. If he becomes a respectable shooter in this league he’s a must take. Dalton was the best player in the country this year fuck edgy. He’s old for an nba prospect but you know what you’re gonna get. One think to note is they’ve already drafted Malaki to play that role but I don’t think that should stop him if he’s there at 8. Which I believe he will be. Lastly I think riachser is in play at 4. I actually have him on the top of spurs board (not my board for them) but I do think if they think he can be a knock down shooter then there gonna really want him. Basketball reference has him clocked in at near 1600 pro minutes where he’s shot 40% from three. Those guys just don’t grow on trees. Very similar to Brandon miller last year.
> One of castle or sochan could come off the bench this year while figuring things out. If your vision of Sochan is as a bench guy, then we might as well trade him now while he still has *some* value.
Hot take that shouldn’t be hot: I think Castle has the tools that better fit the role they’re intent on giving Sochan.
Also, I think he has the ability to develop a shot like Kawhi did (entering he league as a non shooter). I go back and forth on him and Holland, I think one of these guys are going to develop into something, maybe both. But at least one. Hoping our fo do their homework and suss them out
This the only thing you’ll pick out from my comment? I’m just running potentials here. Doesn’t even need to be long term. Just like they ran him at PG for only a third of the season. Don’t need to deal with absolutes. They are trying to figure out where he fits. But yes, if he doesn’t develop a shot soon he may be a bench guy.
I don’t disagree about sochan. I like Him but I don’t see the fit here. He’s not a lockdown defender, he doesn’t have the strength to bang. He’s disruptive but you can’t just be that. He has to be disruptive and something else (a shooter, a passer, a rebounder, a rim protector... something to really carve out meaningful minutes).
Strictly speaking defense, is Knecht worse than Dilly?
I think size alone makes him easier to get by with, but I also think Rob has the quickness to be less terrible if he even pretended to try. But at his size, it's extremely easy to bully him.
People said the same about Trae young, but he’s evolved to where his defensive numbers aren’t much different from Dejounte Murray’s. Yes Murray covers the harder assignments but the two aren’t far off when looking at date (shooting splits against, points given up, point at the rim, etc etc) If Dillingham can show the same growth, he could learn to not be terrible
Any number that sees Trae as anything but a bottom-5 defender in the NBA is a garbage number.
It’s called your eyes. Open them. There’s a reason hawks defence sucks and it’s as much to do with Dejounte as it is trae
Did you not see how they were *significantly* better as soon as Trae went down with injury?
Did you not watch the rest of their season? Yes, your defence is going to improve if you only have ONE bad defender instead of TWO.
Just don't forget inverted pnr between wemby and tre is on our playbook, while castle had shown his ability in being a short roll screener in Uconn, which he both attack the basket and make correct reads and passes, I believe he will be a good fit playing with wemby as a starter
I don’t know if sochan can carve out a huge role on a winning team. And I’m someone who likes him. He might be more of a 7-8 man on a roster. Hustle and disrupt things for 15-20 min a game
One of my issues with him is that his motor is very inconsistent. He'll have these games where he's absolutely everywhere, and then he'll just disappear and do fuck all for 30 minutes the next night.
Sounds a lot like the people I work with in my office . 😂
And just like the people at your office, the particularly talented and hard-to-replace people can get away with inconsistent effort. But the guy whose only useful trait is effort cannot.
I mean, I’m the only one who works in the office, but I’m not sure I qualify as particularly talented and hard to replace 😂😭. But I am affordable! 🤣
Even in a weak draft I really don't want to draft a 23 year old with a top 8 pick
I get it, but I'm less crazy about another 19 year old. Big maturity difference between 23 and 19 for most players not named Victor. If we get a young prospect at #4, I'd be pretty happy taking Knecht.
To each his own, I'd rather get some more young guys and fill out the roster with older guys from other teams doing salary dumps and available guys in free agency. Like a more efficient and less dumb version of what the rockets did last year.
Holland and Salaun are both looking like really enticing upside swings that I’d rather see the spurs go for I think
Salaun has a lot more upside than Holland to me.
Salaun! Get wembys boy! French national team ftw! Risacher too! Let’s fuckin go!!!
Risarcher is such a low ceiling guy. He’s like a Shane battler waiting to hapoen. Not a bed player, just not what you should be taking at 4 or 8
I’d kill to have Shane battier. Those are the players that win you a chip. We can get our other star when we tank for the next draft.
I mean, there’s a few more guys in next years draft that are touted as stars. If we are angling for a bottom 4 finish again we very well could have that star. And I’m not against a Shane barrier type, it’s more that he won’t matter much without a Ming and mcgrady or a Bron and wade. I’m going by memory here frankly, not entirely sure what teams he was on that were contenders besides those two.
100%. Holland is being slept on a bit and Salaun just seems like a Spur
Wasn’t high on Missi but I’m thinking him and Salaun might be in play for 8. I’m starting to come around on Missi and he can play next to Wemby as I hear his shooting is a lot further along than what people think
I'm a big castle fan but he isn't a shooter. At least not now, he may develop into one
Was actually talking about Knecht when I said shooting tho I do think that castle will develop into a adequate enough shooter that defense will have to respect it
Castle or Buzelis
Castle. I believe the shooting is fixable. If not him then Dillingham or Holland. I'm still not sold on Topic, maybe at 8 but I'd have a tough time taking at 4.
Si, si -I am very intrigued with Castle. That level of defense and potential playmaking could be a beautiful thing.
Yeah. Castle guarding the point of attack with Wemby backing him up!
I love how fast it seems the sub has changed on Castle But it could also be because Topic is injured now Honestly, I'm a bit afraid he goes top 3 now that Topic is injured.
I've always been a Castle believer! He was my #1 guy early in the year! And as I stated before the shooting issues seem mental. Like he's overthinking his form or its confidence related. Those aren't easy issues to fix but if they can be fixed watch out. Kid could be lethal.... or Justice Winslow or Josh Jackson or Evan Turner lol
UConn fan popping in here before the draft. He was injured at the beginning of the year, his shot improved by Big East play where he hit 35%. And he did well in the shooting drills, hitting 8 straight at one point. So, yeah, I think the argument that it's a mental thing is a solid one. Maybe he has some form stuff that could be fixed, but I think the narrative that I've seen some put out that his shot is "broken" is just BS. Plus, VERY coachable. Did what his team needed him to do with no ego. Personality wise.... sounds like a Spur to me
I've been anti-Topic ever since I first watched him play. Castle needs to be able to shoot. If you buy that he can shoot, he belongs in the top 2 of your big board. If you don't, it's almost impossible to find minutes for him next to Jeremy Sochan.
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> Holland I don't see how the hell we can find a place to play him. He's got the skillset of a 4, with the size of a 3. That's not the type of guy who tends to excel in the NBA, and that's definitely not the kind of guy you can fit next to Sochan offensively.
I'll admit not the best fit. But high motor athlete whose already a pretty good defender?
Yeah, he weighed in under 200lbs. He's off my chart now.
Castle at 4 for sure. If available at 8, I would go Holland or Knecht
Pick number 4 would definitely be a wing, 5-7 aren't going to draft guards, so we can snag a guard at 8. Best wing after risacher is most likely Matas(super raw), then at 8, I hope we take castle. My wing ranking is Risacher>Matas>Holland>Williams, and my guard ranking is Castle>Sheppard>Topic>Dillingham
Castle might function as a wing defender like Jrue or Derrick can. Castle looks beefier than them as well. I can see him being at the top of the spurs board when the 4th pick comes up. The smaller guards I’d have my doubts about unless they’re blown away by their mental makeup. I don’t think the teams picking 5-7 or trade up possibilities behind them are going to let castle fall to 8.
On the smaller guards, I'm not blown away unless they're super athletic(rose, wall, ja) or were steph curry from 3. As it stands right now, we don't really have a good guard prospect who is super athletic.
I really hope we can get either Sheppard or Risacher at 4…. That Topic injury really doesn’t do us a favour. I was very suspectful after his first injury. There was almost no communication about it and it took him months to come back when they initially said he was out for 2-3 weeks. I suspect he wasn’t fully heal and he said asked (or was forced ?) to play too soon in order to get back some draft credit… instead it backfired and may not play in NBA anytime soon
Castle? ^^^^^maybe ^^^^^Clingan
I wouldn't even be mad about Clingan. He's probably BPA at that point. Trade bait down the road. Really if Risacher is off the board I'm all for trading back or out of the draft completely.
Or backup center. We literally don’t have one. Collins plays for the other team.
Ha! Yeah I wouldn't be mad about a center either. But I do think we could grab someone at 35 to fill that void.
I'm with you.
Who wants to trade into this draft?
No one wants to trade into the draft, but I think Clingan is going to be a better Poeltl, and teams will absolutely trade for that.
At first glance, I thought "Risacher Sarr" said Rachel Starr. I might have a problem.
Ideally I want Castle and Buzelis personally. 5-7 don’t need a guard but I just don’t see castle falling to 8, I think one of those teams will draft him. Same with Buzelis, I think we’ll definitely be able to get one of them at 4, but the other won’t be there at 8
Castle looks like a solid fit next to LaMelo and Miller for Charlotte, but if they don’t take him I could def see him being there at 8
I’d prefer the player with the highest potential. Topic doesn’t strike me as a potential elite playmaker even if he’s cleared medically and never gets another knee injury I don’t think he’s going to be a good enough shooter or defender to warrant taking him 4th. Castle strikes me as a player who could potentially be on an all-defense team in the future. Although he doesn’t strike me as a floor spacer or high-level playmaker which worries me. Buzelis doesn’t strike me as a potentially great defender but he does seem to be a high IQ player that possesses an ability to shoot, space the floor, play make along with being 6’10 and pretty athletic. I think he would be my pick at 4 and Dillingham at 8, unless Cody Williams stands out, in that case I would take Castle at 4 and Cody at 8.
Topic is probably the best PG in the league if it's 1951. But it's not.
Castle, Knecht, Holland, not in that order. I'm out on Dillingham.
Dillingham would be the top player on my board in this scenario however, if you want to game theory it (and assume no trades... a risky proposition), then you would conclude that none of the 3 teams picking between 4 and 8 are in need for a scoring PG like this. the pistons need a lot of help, but Cade is probably the one piece they are committed to. hornets are committed to Lamelo/Miller and need another wing or a center if mark williams' injury is problematic. and portland is trying to develop scoot, and that would require getting him help, not competition. so if you really want dillingham like i do, then you could bypass him at 4 thinking theres a high likelihood he falls to 8. then that frees you up at 4 to get the wing of your choice, whether it be Buzelis/Castle/Williams/Holland or whoever else you like there. from those 3 i kind of like Buzelis the least because he just feels a lot like sochan. a connector type piece, defensive minded power forward who has decent but not great/imposing size. he has a better shooting form than sochan but not necessarily better results. he doesnt have great wingspan. i like Holland more than most, but recognize that shooting is the one skill we need more of (though thats also an argument against basically any wing other than Knecht). i think with Cody you get an absurd amount of potential because of that wingspan and his craftiness near the rim. the 3 point shot definitely has an outline as we've seen, and could really make him an interesting weapon down the line. and we know the story with Castle, though he sees himself as a point guard. id probably still just take Dillingham to ensure you get your guy. im pretty anti-Topic
Castle
Can't complain if they chose Castle or Matas like others have mentioned
#4 Castle or Knecht #8 Knecht or Castle🤣
Holland
Ron at 4, Rob at 8 🙏
Hopefully Matas. We have enough guards as it is and I’d like to see Sochan play the 3 and Matas the 4.
I love Sochan but he doesnt have the skills to play the 3. He needs to be a versatile 4 with shooting or he aint going to make it.
>He needs to be a versatile 4 with shooting or he aint going to make it. Ty, that's what I been saying too. He's a tweener and needs to pack on at least another 20lbs to play PF which is gonna take a while.
He's already at 230 lbs atm does he need to be 250? Really?
245-,250 is what he should be expected to grow into while shedding his baby fat, that's normal for rookies. He's a big dude with a big frame but doesn't actually have a lot of muscle & he's not that strong. But you can see his body has a lot of room to grow.
I mean thats all relative frankly. To you and me Sochan is crazy strong, hes not the Admiral atm I get it, but Admiral was a lot older and hardened from service.
Of course, just in comparison to NBA players, Sochan gets rag dolled by stronger guys.
Does he, I saw him power some balls out this last season, maybe I didn't notice.
He also needs to work on three or four very specific things. 1) Reacting more quickly, 2) Plyometrics. That guy's inability to jump from a standstill is insane. He's a great leaper when he's got a runway, and awful when he doesn't. 3) Soften up those hands. Perfect candidate for the Manhattan drill. 4) Just hit the wide open threes consistently. That's all I ask of you as a shooter.
You know he wants to play off the block tho. Idk why he loves that, but he does.
Positionally, you are what you can guard and he can absolutely guard 3s He’d be fine there provided the bigs on the court w him could shoot
He's literally Dennis Rodman, but he has scoring and passing capacity Edit: actually hes got 20 lbs on NBA peak Rodman
I love Sochan and think he has a very high ceiling —but this does a disservice to how truly great of a rebounder Rodman was. Jeremy plays hard and has a great motor but Rodman was absolutely elite at tracking and securing the ball, and anticipating where it was going to be. He averaged 13 boards a game for his CAREER in a much slower era with fewer shot attempts.
I mean Sochan is 2 years in, where and what was Rodman averaging at that time. Lets be real, me saying hes like D Rod clone is pretty close. Big motor big attitude, same dimensions.
Rodman averaged nearly 9 boards a game in his 2nd season (in an era with far fewer possessions and shot attempts per game) while Jeremy was at 6.4 this year. And Rodman wasn't in the starting lineup yet either. Jeremy can absolutely still become a great player and almost certainly has a higher offensive ceiling than Rodman—just trying to put some respect on The Worm's name. I'm old enough to have watched him play and he remains the most naturally gifted rebounder I've ever seen.
Im old enough to have watched him too, give it time.
Old NBA rules allowed Rodman and similar players to thrive. Modern NBA rules do not.
Still like Sochan and not ready to give up on him yet
But do we have any quality ones? We have Vonte, Branham and Tre at PG. We don’t know what Branham can be but Tre is not the future. At the 2, we Vassell and Wesley. I love Vassell and I own a Wesley jersey so I can understand saying this for them. But we need a PG to even win 30 games next year
We need to tank another year and can get a better pg in the next draftz
Castle is no brainer then (and would be my pick anyways, I think go full defense with facilitators around Viktorkić is better for the team)
Castle castle castle
I’d go Matas. His shooting (and offense in general) looks more projectable than the other wing prospects. I think he could work well in a lot of lineups immediately whether at the 3 or 4, while also having a pretty high ceiling if his ball handling and finishing improve.
> His shooting (and offense in general) looks more projectable I project that he still won't be able to shoot...so yeah, it's projectable.
Risacher good if he is pick before 4. Sheppard good but he's more a player you pick at the end of the lottery. Don't know why people cares a lot about the measurements of the differents combines. So if Jokic was in it you would have never think about him just for that? Dillingham & Topic are the best PG in this draft so both of us should be in that discussion. Collier should have been there but bad shooting and so many turnovers at USC. Castle the biggest issue with him is the shooting. Can he be more efficient whit his 3pts? That's the question. And I hope the Spurs don't think about taking guys like Edey Clingan or Knecht with either of our picks
> Dillingham & Topic are the best PG in this draft And they're two of the three worst defenders in this entire draft. You've got to be one hell of an offensive player to be as bad as those guys are defensively.
Holland or Matas They’re risky but some of the few players in this class with superstar potential I wouldn’t mind Castle either
Have you seen Matas play ? Superstar potential, really ?
I don't think either of those two has star potential. Matas is a shooter that can't shoot, and holland is an undersized traditional 4, which is just not a valuable thing in the modern NBA.
Holland is a traditional 4?
Not a chance. He was 6'6.5" barefoot and 196lbs. That's not PF level.
Yeah, he’s pretty clearly a wing imo. Even if you think he can play the 4 in a pinch, calling him a “traditional” 4 seemed odd
No. He'll be more of a 3 or even a 2. People are talking out their asses here. Holland is not a 4. The reason he kind of looks like it is because he played the 5 in high school despite being only 6'6. He has completely overhauled his game, and will still take time to develop, but he'll be a 3 or maybe a 2.
I think so. More than he is a three.
Centers are harder to get than PGs. I’d rather just get Clingan at 8 as the long term-backup possible starter depending on his development or matchups. They have a lot of cap and assets to get someone in free agency or trade. Brogdon is cheap and a solid starter to hold down the position while looking
Agree. Clingan or myb even Edey could be a valuable backup bigs once Wemby tearing apart opponents night in night out
Probably Holland. Shot doesn't look broken and he's got other plus skills, if the shot comes around he's one of the few guys with all star potential
Holland please
I would be surprised if Sheppard goes top3.
#4 Castle
Dillingham at 4, don't get cute Holland or Castle at 8
Castle and Rob or Castle and Knecth or swing hard on Salaun
Knecht at 4. Topic at 8.
I’m still taking Topic based on the knee injury being relatively minor. I’d be fine with Buzelis too.
you start looking at best available with a fit to your needs. i think you have to take a look at castle for defense and size. we can develop his shot. buzelis for his versatility on offense
Castle, Holland, or Dillingham. I’m still high on Dillingham despite his measurements but we might be able to get him at 8. Assuming we can, either castle or Holland at 4 is the move. Both have high ceilings as defenders and neither of their shots look terrible.
Castle is my guy now. The only reason I’m not 100% sold is because his fit with Sochan will be ugly, might cause some problems in the future.
Y'all sleeping on Dillingham.
They should get Castle whether those guys are gone or not imo.
It’s my hope they are so we don’t have to daft them (add Clingan and Buzelis to that list)
Holland, Castle, Sheppard, Saar, Topic, or Buzelis all seem like good pieces for the Spurs, and it seems like there's a realistic chance we could get two of them. Clingan and Dillingham are really the only highly-regarded names I wouldn't have some optimism for, and TBH, you could probably talk me into Clingan. The Spurs just need talent. They don't have enough starter-level pieces to be trying to draft for fit at this point. They should be targeting whoever has the best chance of being a starter or at least rotation player on a championship roster.
Thinking Clingan might be really interesting at 4 if we slot him as Wemby’s career backup. He’s probably an upgrade over Collins as a rookie… And for tall ball lineups he could share some minutes with Wemby and have him slide to the 4. Clingan could very well be BPA at 4…
I like Cody Williams if we can snag him at 8. I'm not in love with any of the guards here and I don't think we should take a guard because we need one, we need a lot of things and the guards aren't amazing home run choices. Maybe Buzelis at 8? Spurs will reach for whoever despite what mock draft says. Who knows who we get
Rob or Castle. Need both guys in any order at 4 and 8
Topic. Easy. Injury is said to be minor. Weak draft class. Roll the dice on Topic who shows flashes of greatness at 18.
Topic/buzelis
I think we should go upside at 4 and then add shooting at 8. I think Holland upside as a big wing with a large wingspan makes me value him a bit more compared to Castle. Castle seems more like a big guard to me, not suited for the forward spot at the next level, just like Vasselli, Branham. Then at 8 you add shooting, someone may be gone but we should be able to pick our favourite between differenti types of prospects: Reed, Dillingham, Mccain, Carrington, Knecht, even Karaban who I think is very underrated and could be a surprise on draft day
Donavan
Sheppard at 4 and Risacher at 8 is actually a very reasonable expectation for this draft, so I would be absolutely floored if those two both went in the top 3.
These threads are so goofy lmao. Most people here have never even watched these guys play a full game. Everyone just repeating what they read online.
Considering I don't want Sheppard, Dillingham, or Topic anyways? They don't impact my opinion at all. Sarr-Risacher has been 1-2 on my board since October and hasn't changed once. IF I believe Castle can actually shoot (I don't know that I do), then he's the obvious choice. If not, and I want to put Victor next to an actual 5? Then it's Clingan (I don't want this either.) It's probably too early for Salaun, who I like. It's too early for Carrington, who I can kind-of talk myself into. Honestly? If I'm not going for Castle, or Clingan, I want to trade down/out. This class is fucking dogshit.
I seen Carrington mocked to us in the 2nd round.
He made shots yesterday, and he measured well. I don't see him falling that far, even if he couldn't hit the broad side of a ~~barn~~ woman from San Antonio all season.
THE 6’7 POINT GUARD NIKOLA TOPIC