With a [recent report of the Spurs considering trading back into the lottery for a PG](https://www.reddit.com/r/NBASpurs/comments/13qrdb1/report_spurs_looking_to_trade_for_another/), I wanted to take a look at some of the potential candidates in the draft. I’m excluding Scoot Henderson and Amen Thompson as they likely both go in the 2-4 range based on the mocks I’ve seen and I don’t think Spurs trade up that high. I’m also no draft expert.
*[Anthony Black](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-BSKTFh0ks) (PG, 6’7, 19)*
Player Comp: Josh Giddey with defense, Shorter Ben Simmons.
A big, intelligent guard who is a great playmaker in transition and the Pick and Roll. He makes smart reads and quick reads to find the open man and can use his size to deliver passes at the best angles. A good finisher at the rim with either hand and through contact. His major weakness on offense is his outside shooting (30% from 3) and teams frequently go under screens and dare him to shoot. His FT shooting (70%) also doesn’t necessarily indicate future improvement on his shooting.
Black is an excellent defender that is quick enough to guard PGs and big enough to guard shooting wings. High effort and uses his length to harass ballhandlers, and fights over screens to stay connected while being disciplined. Also a solid off ball defender that knows how to time his doubles and help with a hand in the lane or by shooting the gap for a steal. Expect a lot of steal/deflection into transition buckets.
Think he has the highest upside/ceiling of any of these players, all depending on how his jumpshot develops. If the Spurs think they can develop his outside shooting, with his physical tools and intelligence I think he could be a future all-star level player. A Black/Vassell/Sochan/Wemby would be an absolutely menacing defensive group with intelligence, versality, length and hustle.
*[Cason Wallace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAvfZT48IiE) (PG, 6’2, 19)*
Player Comp: Jrue Holiday, Davion Mitchell
Good 3 point shooter that can hit them from the corners or above the break and knows how to keep the spacing. Very efficient finisher with a decent midrange and floater game to complement. Super solid Pick and Roll playmaker, his overall offensive game is just really reliable and safe. Doesn’t really create much separation with iso moves and might find creating space even harder at the NBA level against NBA athleticism and length.
His defense is also super reliable. Uses his length (6’8) to contain the ball handler, great at predicting the dribble moves and positioning his body to deny them. Never gives up on a play and is capable of some highlight reel chasedown blocks. Size will be a problem for him, and sometimes he just gets smoked on screens because he isn’t quick enough to get around them.
Seems a really solid PG with a high floor, but I think his size limits his ceiling. A very safe pick, especially if Sochan develops into a Draymond-style secondary playmaker.
*[Kobe Bufkin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukMJ-B2WmlQ) (PG/SG, 6’4, 19)*
Player Comp: Tyrese Maxey with some defense, Slender Jamal Murray
Versatile scorer than can hurt the defense in different ways. Can score from the Pick and Roll or handoffs, getting to the rim where he is a very creative finisher as well as being able to pull up and shoot a jumpshot if they give him space. Off-ball value as a decent 3 point shooter so defenses have to respect him on the perimeter and cuts to the basket if they fall asleep. Has some upside as a Pick and Roll playmaker, although can be careless throwing into traffic. Can struggle a bit when forced to make complex reads.
Quick defender with a 6’8 wingspan that he knows how to use. Jabs at the ball and forces turnovers in space but can also slide well to stay with his man. Uses his length to help in passing lanes and also is a surprisingly good shot blocker for his size. His slight build means he struggles in some matchups, has a few defensive lapses when dealing with more advanced coverages.
Probably the most scoring upside of any of these picks but also probably the worst defender and playmaker. More of a combo guard than a true floor general PG and needs to put on some muscle but could be interesting if he puts it all together.
*[Jalen Hood-Schifino](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFFKAiyl5d8) (PG/SG, 6’5, 20)*
Player Comp: Malcolm Brogdon, Spencer Dinwiddie
Measured Pick and Roll maestro who plays at his own tempo, getting to his spots on the floor where he has an excellent midrange. As a playmaker he is smart enough to take what the defense gives him then find the open man and as a bigger guard he has the physical tools to make difficult passes and manage double teams. Lacks athletic burst and is a very streaky shooter from deep. Turnover prone and while he showed flashes of promise his stats are pretty unimpressive.
Excellent 1v1 defender that knows how to use his size and length to harass guards and wings. Can stick to people in space and also stay attached through screens. Didn’t really get a lot of steals despite his length.
Jalen Hood-Schifino is a very “Spursy” pick. A lot of mocks have him going in the 20s and he’s the kind I could see spending half the year in the G-League to tighten up the turnovers/mechanics and in a year or two develop into a Derrick White-type player. Kind of a similar profile to Primo, hopefully without the off court issues.
by rawsharks
12 Comments
How much would we give up for picks in each of these ranges? Black for instance is mocked anywhere from 6-late lottery. I am really high on him personally. How much would we have to give Utah or Washington to get another top 10 picks?
How many future picks is Black worth? Washington may actually be a decent target for their pick since they are a bit light on future picks for a rebuilding team and have none next year.
Id really like Wallace because his nickname could be The Little Fundamental because he’s so by the book
My dream scenario is charlotte takes miller and we trade for the #3 to grab scoot. Unfortunately reality disagrees with that ideal. Out of these I would prefer Black, size at PG is a nice luxury to have specifically for defensive lineups. The first step in building back into a contending roster is solidify our defense.
I would love Wallace. Might take too much to trade into lottery but maybe Orlando doesn’t want 2 rookies this year. Idk what it would take tho. TOR 2024 maybe plus Wesley or Branham? Does Orlando have a bad contract we can take on?
I’d look at Ausar and Keyonte too as guys they could be thrown in with this grouping
Any source that spurs is looking to get another lottery pick?
Kobe!
u/throwstuff165 for some reason I can’t see your reply in the post but it’s in my notifications, who did the wizards give the knicks a first for?
How bout Joshua Primo
I think its a given the Spurs attempt to do something. Whether or not they find a willing trade partner at an acceptable price point is another story, but if they do not, there will be those that say “typical Spurs playing it safe and making no moves”
Anyhow, as an untrained fan and lacking the professional scouting acumen or inside info that personal workouts and interviews provide, I suppose the Spurs value of all those guys listed will depend on those factors.
In terms of assets, I don’t think anything is strictly off the table per se, but there are some assets we would be much more willing to part with than others. Again, as a fan, I’d be fine with dealing the CHA, CHI, and TOR picks in that order. The TOR pick could turn out rather good for us if we keep it, but if it means snatching a top PG prospect to grow up with Victor, I’m all for it.
Personally, I like Black, but the price is higher for him than the others (most likely) Reportedly, the Spurs have interviewed Wallace so there is some interest and I think he can be had in the 11-14 range. The Dallas pick at 10 seems available but they will need a ready made player to help Luka, not a bunch of capital, so that will require a 3rd team. and…its a harder sell to get the best asset out of a deal when the 3rd team is supplying the player. It has been mentioned before, but #10 and salary to the Spurs, Ayton to Dallas, draft capital to PHX. Meh, lots of issues there including two direct competitors dealing with one another.
One note on the OKC/Knicks trade last year: NYK were clowned for that at the time but NY fans are like that, so grain of salt. Still, all the assets they got were protected and off in the future. But they snatched Brunson and made the 2nd round, so its hard to fault the deal too much now. If those picks convey, they might walk out of that deal pretty happy.
OKC, on the other hand, had more picks than they could spend and went after a targeted player in Diang. Whether or not he pans out is secondary – at the time, they liked him enough to pull the trigger which is exactly what we should be looking into now. We are in a similar position. We have good pieces surrounding a premiere prospect and more picks than we can spend. We should be looking into getting higher quality talent over quantity, but still holding assets in reserve to, down the line, be able to acquire pieces to win in the short term. I am against trading picks for vets to go hard now, but at some point after Victor gets established and we can evaluate how all the pieces we have fit around him and improve themselves, that may and likely will change to some extent.
At the end of the day, much will depend on how the board shakes out and who is available at what spot. I think Wash or Utah takes Black. I think Wallace could be had at 11-14 and most of those teams have a reasons/incentive to move off those picks and deal.
8. Washington
9. Utah
10. Dallas
11. Orlando (from Chicago)
12. Oklahoma City
13. Toronto
14. New Orleans
Dallas as mentioned above, Orlando already picks 6th and have alot of talent in place, OKC has a solid backcourt in SGA/Giddy (though they may have a target in that range and want to remain in the area) Toronto owes us a lightly protected pick already next year, NOLA…who knows?
We’ll see! That’s what makes this exciting/fun. Its a little anti-climactic now, we already know Victor is coming to town, but there are real possibilities of other fun stuff happening!
Cason Wallace measured 6’2.5 without shoes at the combine in Chicago so he’s around 6’4 in shoes
I seem to be in the minority but I’m not a big fan of Black’s fit with our young core. They spacing of a Black-Vassell-Johnson-Scohan-Wemby lineup is really poor. I think with Scohan showing so much promise as a secondary play maker a scoring guard would be preferred.
Honestly outside of Scoot and Amen, I think Branham already offers alot of what an Ideal guard in our lineup would have.