Weren’t the Raptors trying to do the whole “positionless” thing, found mediocrity and then were in the market for certain positions again?
Charlie_Steve
If we land outside the Top 2, then there’s a whole host of multi-positional wings that we can choose from. Miller, Walker, Thompson, also Thompson, Whitmore, Hendricks, Black, take your pick.
CRoseCrizzle
Walker is not a game changer alone, but I think he can become a very good player on a contending team. His versatility, especially on defense, is really impressive. I think he’d fit on well with Spurs culture.
Imaginary-Cycle-1977
I liked this breakdown and have been wondering the same the myself. Asked about Walker and Sochan co-existing on the nba draft sub a month or so ago.
I love Walker and if we don’t hit in the lottery I’ll be diving super deep into his game. I’m mostly of the mind that a team as shitty as us shouldn’t worry about fit, but I do think we need to look at whether he and Sochan can share the court for long stretches, otherwise we’re not really maximizing the potential of our top 10 picks. I’m looking at it in two ways:
– Do Sochan and Walker have enough shooting, ball skills, and foot speed to play together next to a traditional big?
– Or, do Sochan and Walker have enough size/rim protection/rebounding to play together as our two bigs?
I’m kinda iffy on both questions tbh. Feel like in the first case we’re gonna be deficient on offense and in the second scenario we’re gonna struggle on defense against any sort of size.
Thunderhorse74
I don’t know a ton about Walker other than he is an intriguing prospect with some strong Spursy attributes. Frankly, if we are considering Walker it means A.) we blew the tank in the final two weeks with CHA and someone else diving for the bottom and we have the worst possible outcome in the draft and pick 7th or 8th. Or B.) the Spurs like him so much that they bundle a couple picks to move back into the mid lottery and snatch him.
There will be rioting on the Riverwalk if A occurs.
I could accept B if we didn’t already have and are very much in love with Jeremy Sochan. Of course, the attraction is versatility motor and I’m sure they’d find a way to make them work as similar players (Like PG13 and Nephew – except they haven’t won dick together, so….but injuries and Clippers curse, etc)
EDIT: a quick look at current mock drafts has him likely 6th, as high as 5 in one and as low as 13 in another) If he falls that low, maybe throwing some picks at someone around 11-13 would be an option f they really like him but I honestly don’t know enough about him to say good or bad.
In a vacuum, yeah, I like Walker alot, but I don’t see an acceptable path to get to him at this point.
texasphotog
I like Walker’s game and if we had a better team put together, I would love him. But he kind of doubles you up on Sochan abilities and I don’t think he is a true game changer on his own. We need a primary ball handler and probably an actual center/rim protector. Walker is the guy you add to get over the hump on an almost complete team. He isn’t the game changer the Spurs need.
Look at the West right now, and it is more than likely we will need a legit big guy, not a strong PF.
* Denver – Jokic * Memphis – Adams/JJJ * Sacramento – Sabonis * Phx – Ayton * Clippers – Zubac is fine, but I think Clippers are on the way down * Warriors – Legit more positionless. Too bad we don’t have a guy like Curry/Thompson. * TPups – Gobert/Towns * Mavs – They have a lot to do to get the right guys around Kyrie/Luka * Lakers – Davis, LeBron, Vanderbilt, Bamba * Pelicans – Jonas/Zion * Thunder – Young and more positionless with Chet/Giddy/SGA * Utah – Kessler/Lauri * Portland – Nurkic is meh. Dame, Simmons, Grant, meh. Not really worried about Portland going forward. * Houston – Seguin and Jabari
Sochan or Walker would be great against a lot of these guys, but at the top end, you probably want a bigger center than either of them. Against some teams like Dallas, GSW, and OKC, it wouldn’t really matter. But at the top of the league, Denver, Memphis, Sac, and Phoenix, it will absolutely matter.
Sochan/Walker would be great against the teams like Clippers, Warriors, Mavs, Thunder – but I am not sure those are the teams we are gearing up to beat.
Don’t overthink things. If we had a deeper and better nucleus, then I could see going after the guy that could turn into Draymond, Jr. But we don’t have the elite guys in place and we don’t have a primary playmaker. Even playing positionless basketball (or like the Beautiful Game team where everyone could pass and create some) you still have a guy that is a great primary creator for others. Parker on our 14 team. Curry and Draymond on the Warriors. Giannis and Jrue on the Bucks. The Celtics are probably the worst here with “only” White, Smart, and Brogdon to go with Tatum. Cleveland has Garland, Mitchell, Lavert, and Rubio.
That primary playmaker is vitally important. We don’t have it. I think Vassell, as good as he is, probably isn’t going to be a playmaker on par with guys like Curry, Mitchell, etc.
Don’t overthink it. Wemby #1. Scoot #2. Miller #3 if you are comfortable with the character issues, if not, #3 goes to Thompson, Thompson, and Black. Then use the ~40-50mm in free agency money on Naz Reid and a 6th man like Bruce Brown to give quality minutes while Devin/Keldon rest and maybe some spot point duties.
deneuvig
I think if we fall 5th or 6th and Walker is there it’s a really enticing package. The defense is elite, size is Rudy-like. Honestly given how well we develop youth I think this kid could be more than what he’s shown in a veteran NCAA program.
Also defense is fun, would love to see us harass other teams with tall long switchable wings like Jeremy and Jarace
Datboy_98
RemindMe! 10 days
ZookeepergameMotor48
We should take Walker 4-6 if it looks like he is BPA, but I’m very skeptical that he could play the 5 (he plays way more face up than a big man you want with low position). I could see Sochan and him starting together, but then getting one subbed out sooner to stagger rotations and put players with better long range touch out to spread the offense. He’s not a glove-like fit, but if he’s BPA at our pick, he’s BPA. All top 3 picks fit way better. I’m not sold on either Thompson brother and won’t solidify my pre-draft opinion on them until we hear about their NBA workouts. Their level of competition is laughably low.
10 Comments
Weren’t the Raptors trying to do the whole “positionless” thing, found mediocrity and then were in the market for certain positions again?
If we land outside the Top 2, then there’s a whole host of multi-positional wings that we can choose from. Miller, Walker, Thompson, also Thompson, Whitmore, Hendricks, Black, take your pick.
Walker is not a game changer alone, but I think he can become a very good player on a contending team. His versatility, especially on defense, is really impressive. I think he’d fit on well with Spurs culture.
I liked this breakdown and have been wondering the same the myself. Asked about Walker and Sochan co-existing on the nba draft sub a month or so ago.
I love Walker and if we don’t hit in the lottery I’ll be diving super deep into his game. I’m mostly of the mind that a team as shitty as us shouldn’t worry about fit, but I do think we need to look at whether he and Sochan can share the court for long stretches, otherwise we’re not really maximizing the potential of our top 10 picks. I’m looking at it in two ways:
– Do Sochan and Walker have enough shooting, ball skills, and foot speed to play together next to a traditional big?
– Or, do Sochan and Walker have enough size/rim protection/rebounding to play together as our two bigs?
I’m kinda iffy on both questions tbh. Feel like in the first case we’re gonna be deficient on offense and in the second scenario we’re gonna struggle on defense against any sort of size.
I don’t know a ton about Walker other than he is an intriguing prospect with some strong Spursy attributes. Frankly, if we are considering Walker it means A.) we blew the tank in the final two weeks with CHA and someone else diving for the bottom and we have the worst possible outcome in the draft and pick 7th or 8th. Or B.) the Spurs like him so much that they bundle a couple picks to move back into the mid lottery and snatch him.
There will be rioting on the Riverwalk if A occurs.
I could accept B if we didn’t already have and are very much in love with Jeremy Sochan. Of course, the attraction is versatility motor and I’m sure they’d find a way to make them work as similar players (Like PG13 and Nephew – except they haven’t won dick together, so….but injuries and Clippers curse, etc)
EDIT: a quick look at current mock drafts has him likely 6th, as high as 5 in one and as low as 13 in another) If he falls that low, maybe throwing some picks at someone around 11-13 would be an option f they really like him but I honestly don’t know enough about him to say good or bad.
In a vacuum, yeah, I like Walker alot, but I don’t see an acceptable path to get to him at this point.
I like Walker’s game and if we had a better team put together, I would love him. But he kind of doubles you up on Sochan abilities and I don’t think he is a true game changer on his own. We need a primary ball handler and probably an actual center/rim protector. Walker is the guy you add to get over the hump on an almost complete team. He isn’t the game changer the Spurs need.
Look at the West right now, and it is more than likely we will need a legit big guy, not a strong PF.
* Denver – Jokic
* Memphis – Adams/JJJ
* Sacramento – Sabonis
* Phx – Ayton
* Clippers – Zubac is fine, but I think Clippers are on the way down
* Warriors – Legit more positionless. Too bad we don’t have a guy like Curry/Thompson.
* TPups – Gobert/Towns
* Mavs – They have a lot to do to get the right guys around Kyrie/Luka
* Lakers – Davis, LeBron, Vanderbilt, Bamba
* Pelicans – Jonas/Zion
* Thunder – Young and more positionless with Chet/Giddy/SGA
* Utah – Kessler/Lauri
* Portland – Nurkic is meh. Dame, Simmons, Grant, meh. Not really worried about Portland going forward.
* Houston – Seguin and Jabari
Sochan or Walker would be great against a lot of these guys, but at the top end, you probably want a bigger center than either of them. Against some teams like Dallas, GSW, and OKC, it wouldn’t really matter. But at the top of the league, Denver, Memphis, Sac, and Phoenix, it will absolutely matter.
Sochan/Walker would be great against the teams like Clippers, Warriors, Mavs, Thunder – but I am not sure those are the teams we are gearing up to beat.
Don’t overthink things. If we had a deeper and better nucleus, then I could see going after the guy that could turn into Draymond, Jr. But we don’t have the elite guys in place and we don’t have a primary playmaker. Even playing positionless basketball (or like the Beautiful Game team where everyone could pass and create some) you still have a guy that is a great primary creator for others. Parker on our 14 team. Curry and Draymond on the Warriors. Giannis and Jrue on the Bucks. The Celtics are probably the worst here with “only” White, Smart, and Brogdon to go with Tatum. Cleveland has Garland, Mitchell, Lavert, and Rubio.
That primary playmaker is vitally important. We don’t have it. I think Vassell, as good as he is, probably isn’t going to be a playmaker on par with guys like Curry, Mitchell, etc.
Don’t overthink it. Wemby #1. Scoot #2. Miller #3 if you are comfortable with the character issues, if not, #3 goes to Thompson, Thompson, and Black. Then use the ~40-50mm in free agency money on Naz Reid and a 6th man like Bruce Brown to give quality minutes while Devin/Keldon rest and maybe some spot point duties.
I think if we fall 5th or 6th and Walker is there it’s a really enticing package. The defense is elite, size is Rudy-like. Honestly given how well we develop youth I think this kid could be more than what he’s shown in a veteran NCAA program.
Also defense is fun, would love to see us harass other teams with tall long switchable wings like Jeremy and Jarace
RemindMe! 10 days
We should take Walker 4-6 if it looks like he is BPA, but I’m very skeptical that he could play the 5 (he plays way more face up than a big man you want with low position). I could see Sochan and him starting together, but then getting one subbed out sooner to stagger rotations and put players with better long range touch out to spread the offense. He’s not a glove-like fit, but if he’s BPA at our pick, he’s BPA. All top 3 picks fit way better. I’m not sold on either Thompson brother and won’t solidify my pre-draft opinion on them until we hear about their NBA workouts. Their level of competition is laughably low.
Love me some Walker.