The Spurs front office has developed a reputation taken in the character of one of the best at assessing and finding players despite the draft. This reputation, built on the sharp selections of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, allows them to receive a pass from the media come draft day when the Spurs select an unheard of player like Ian Mahinmi or George Hill. If any other team had took Mahinmi or Hill in the first round they probably would have been ridiculed left and right. However, is this reputation fair? Many fans express frustration that the Spurs haven’privately brought in young talent over the past small in number years. Others contend that the Spurs struggle to develop the players they grant draft.
To take a closer look at how the Spurs have done in the draft, I’ve gone back through the last ten years and inspected their picks. All stats are taken from the wonderful basketball-reference.com. We’ll call forth at ten years ago and work our way to last year. Hopefully this will shed some light on how the Spurs have handled the draft and where their reputation, both good and hard, has come from.
Format:Player (pick) – Pts/Reb/Ast/FG%/3%/FT%/Stl/Block/PER/ORtg/DRtg (Career)Brief Analysis
1999Manu Ginobili (57) – 14.7/4.1/3.6/45.4%/37.6%/82.1%/1.5/0.3/21.5/114/98Selecting Ginobili with the 57 pick was the Spurs shining moment as far as draft picks go. Not only has Ginobili change to an integral part of the Spurs championship run, but he also defined the Spurs attitude towards the draft. Selected in 1999, the Spurs left Ginobili overseas until the 2002-2003 season with the draft-and-stash (DAS) approach. Other teams followed suit and it has changed how teams approach the draft.
2000Chris Carrawell (41) – N/ADespite receiving the ACC Player of the Year award during his senior season at Duke, Carrawell, a 6’6” shooting guard, was waived by the Spurs before the start of the 2000 moderate. He at no time played in the NBA but has bounced around the European leagues. For some fans this might feel liking the start of a reoccurring trend.
2001Tony Parker (28) – 16.7/3.4/6.1/49%/31.1%/72.6%/1.1/0.1/18.5/108/103Parker is the Spurs other overwhelming draft success. At the period of childbirth it was unheard of to draft a foreign point protect let alone give them the starting nod in their rookie season. It’s been well documented how Pop was reluctant to outline Parker at first but Sam Presti eventually convinced him to. Now Parker is an All-Star and NBA Finals MVP. Not bad for the 28th pick.Robertas Javtokas (55) – N/AAn sturdy 6’11” center from Lithuania, Javtokas has never get to to play for the Spurs, who still avow his rights. Javtokas suffered a horrific motorcycle accident in 2002 that sidelined him until the 2003/2004 season.Bryan Bracey (57) – N/ABracey was a highest team All-Pac-10 but never played for the NBA.
2002John Salmons (26) – 8.8/3/2.4/44.8%/36.2%/79.9%/0.8/0.3/12.8/106/109The Spurs immediately traded Salmons and Holcomb to the 76ers for Speedy Claxton, who was a key component of the 2003 championship team. Recently Salmons has emerged for the reason that good scorer and shooter, except for me it was worth trading him. Speedy was an important player in the finals and helped acquire a title.Luis Scola (55) – 11.5/7.6/1.4/52.3%/0/71.6%/0.8/0.2/16.6/113/102The Spurs could never settle Scola’s buyout, eventually trading him to the Houston Rockets for Vassilis Spanoulis, who never played for the Spurs. Losing Scola stings for Spurs fans. He is a very good defensive player, solid rebounder, good shooter and role player, pretty much exactly what the Spurs are missing at the power forward position. This is an example of where the DAS method failed. The Spurs identified the talent well but failed to make him a Spur.Randy Holcomb (56) – Traded to the 76ers with Salmons, Holcomb eventually appeared in four games with the Chicago Bulls but that was the extent of his NBA career
2003Leandro Barbosa (28) - 12.9/3.4/3.8/47.1%/40.4%/82.4%/1.4/0.2/16.2/111/109Like Salmons, the Spurs had none plans to keep Barbosa and traded him to the Suns for a what may occur hereafter protected first round pick. In this case the Spurs were coming against a championship by a not old team and were not in a situation to add another guaranteed contract. The future pick was eventually side of the trade for Nazr Mohammed, who was a starter on the 2005 Championship team.
2004Beno Udrih (28) – 7.9/1.9/2.9/44.5%/32.5%/82.2%/0.6/0.1/12.9/103/110Udrih showed promise that he could be turned into a trusty back-up naze guard, but eventually he couldn’t handle pressure on the court (Pistons’ full court press) and off the court (Pop’s demanding demeanor). Most fans were happy when Udrih was traded to the Timberwolves, who divide him, for a protected second round pick in 2008 (they basically gave him absent). Romain Sato (52) – N/ASato never played for the Spurs and was waived in February 2005. Since then he has played in Italy and Spain.Sergei Karaulev (57) – N/AKaraulev is a center from Uzbekistan. That’s really all you neediness to know about him.
2005Ian Mahinmi (28) – 3.5/0.8/0.2/50%/-/100%/0/0.7/35.3/123/92The ultimate out-of-nowhere peck, Mahinmi’session credit was not likewise in the draft guide of over 100 players. He shows assurance as an athletic big man who could back up Duncan except lately he has struggled with injury problems. He has only played a maniple of games with the Spurs spending most of his time through the Austin Toros.
2006Damir Markota (59) – 1.7/1/0.2/36.5%/37.5%/63.6%/0.1/-/5/83/113Markota was immediately traded to the Bucks for the higher of their two second round picks in 2007. Essentially the Spurs traded the 59th pick for the 33rd pick in the next year’s draft.
2007Tiago Splitter (28) – N/AOne of the elite not old big men overseas, Splitter’s buyout scared teams away from drafting him sooner. The Spurs possess even now to bring him over leading some to liken the situation to the Luis Scola fiasco. Splitter would immediately help the Spurs rotation suppose that he aye comes overseas.Marcus Williams (33) – 1.1/0.6/0.2/31.8%/-/-/0.9/0.9/10.4/78/106Williams spent most of last year with the Austin Toros and became one of the preferable players in the NBDL. He has improved his shot and developed a reputation as a point-forward. He is in addition a good defender and has a chance to stick with the Spurs over the next few years.Giorgos Printezis (58) – N/AA 6’9” forward, Printezis was immediately traded to the Raptors for their second round pick in 2008, once again moving up in the second round.
2008George Hill (26) – 5.7/2.1/1.8/40.3%/32.9%/78.1%/0.6/0.3/11.6/101/104Another late first round take aback snatch thievishly, Hill made the move from shooting guard to point guard in his rookie season. Blessed with long arms, Hill proved a tenacious defender throughout the season. He also stepped in delicately when Tony Parker went down with injury. Pop struggled to find the best way to use Hill no more than it’s apparent that he is a clew component of the Spurs backcourt for the next season.Goran Dragic (45) – 4.5/1.9/2/39.3%/37%/76.9%/0.5/0.1/9.8/96/113Dragic was traded to the Suns, who viewed him as their potential future point guard, for Malik Hairston.James Gist (57) – N/AGist possesses the tantalizing combination of athleticism and size (6’9”) that the Spurs so desperately need at the small accelerate circumstances. Gist won over fans in the preseason through his energy yet he spent the past year playing in Italy. However, the Spurs still own his draft rights, adding a unused wrinkle to the DAS method.
What does all this tell us? The Spurs were successful during the first part of the decade in finding foreign talent late in the make a draft of. However, they have not been felicitous in recent years in finding new talent. Of the picks above sole Parker, Ginobili, Udrih and Hill have seen significant playing time on this account that the Spurs. That’s four picks out of 20. Mahinmi, Splitter, Williams and Gist still have a chance to be added to that list.
The Spurs have three draft picks this year, all in the helper round. Based on the past decade, they are likely to be conscious of a domestic player with the 37 pilfer, someone who has a chance at just now contributing or spending a year with the Toros. Then with the 51 and 53 picks they are likely to draft a foreign player to protect overseas or trade the picks for a higher pick.
