San Antonio Spurs: NBA Draft

San Antonio Spurs: 2009 NBA Draft

Jeff Fox — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:41:59 -0700

2009 NBA DRAFT: NBA Team Needs/Capsules - NBA Mock Draft - Top 100 Prospects

- We’ll update our Team Capsules with more specific info once the lottery is complete.

San Antonio Spurs

2008-09 Record: 54-28

Draft Picks: 37, 51, 53

Key Free Agents:

Michael Finley (Player option)

Drew Gooden

Fabricio Oberto (Partially guaranteed)

Ime Udoka

Jacque Vaughn

How They Got Here:

For the tenth year in a row the Spurs won at least 50 games, with Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Coach Popovich once again leading the way this season. If it wasn’t for Manu Ginobili missing half the season due to injury, they probably would have won closer to 60 games. As it was, their 54 win total was their worst season since 99/00.

What They Need:

The Spurs are getting old - and injury prone - very quickly, so they need an influx of top-shelf young talent. Unfortunately they don’t have any first round picks this year to accomplish this. Their small forward and center positions are especially old, so they should concentrate on those with their second round picks.

Who They'll Take:

As mentioned, the Spurs need young wing and post players. Among the possibilities in the second round that they should consider would be Danny Green, Victor Claver, Omri Casspi and Alade Aminu. The Spurs tend to do well with their draft picks, so if anyone is going to find a jewel in the second round, its them.

San Antonio Spurs Draft History (since 2000)

2008: George Hill (26), Goran Dragic (45), James Gist (57)
2007: Tiago Splitter (28), Marcus Williams (Arizona) (33), Giorgos Printezis (58)
2006: Damir Markota (59)
2005: Ian Mahinmi (28)
2004: Beno Udrih (28), Romain Sato (52), Sergei Karaulov (57)
2003: Leandro Barbosa (28)
2002: John Salmons (26), Luis Scola (55), Randy Holcomb (56)
2001: Tony Parker (28), Robertas Javtokas (55), Bryan Bracey (57)
2000: Chris Carrawell (41)

2009 NBA DRAFT: NBA Team Needs/Capsules - NBA Mock Draft - Top 100 Prospects

Top Prospects

Stephen Curry - PG/SG - Davidson

Tyreke Evans - PG/SG - Memphis

Blake Griffin - PF - Oklahoma

James Harden - SG - Arizona State

Jordan Hill - PF - Arizona

Ty Lawson - PG - UNC

BJ Mullens - C - Ohio State

Ricky Rubio - PG - DKV Joventut

Brandon Jennings - PG - Arizona

Hasheem Thabeet - C - UCONN

NBA: VC to Spurs, Shaq & Kobe Reunited, More..

Hoopsworld — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:37:34 -0800

A Hollywood Ending for Shaq and Kobe?

This weekend in Phoenix we will see Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson all reunited for the first time since the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons in The NBA Finals in 2004. It marked the end of a highly successful but also highly tumultuous run for the trio.

Almost five years ago, no one could even imagine the three on a basketball court working toward the same cause. The emotions at the time simply ran too high.

Time, however, tends to heal most wounds.

Just recently O'Neal told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith the whole squabble between he and Bryant was simply "marketing," later adding, "I always did love Kobe."

Anyone else feel like the big guy is angling for a reunion that might last longer than the few hours it will take to play Sunday's All-Star Game? And with Andrew Bynum out for the rest of the regular season and everyone not named Steve Nash on the trading block in Phoenix, what better time for it?

On the surface it sounds like an intriguing idea. The problem is that O'Neal is making $20 million this season and will make the same again next season. The Lakers are perennially one of the NBA's biggest spenders, but it would be hard to see even the Lakers absorbing that kind of price tag in this kind of economic climate.

Moreover, the Lakers would have to part with too many pieces to make a deal with the Suns work financially. Since Pau Gasol is untouchable Lamar Odom would almost certainly have to be part of the deal for it to work financially... yes, the same Lamar Odom who dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers last Sunday. In addition to Odom, the Lakers would also have to give up at least two other players for the salaries to work. Given the way the Lakers are playing, that would simply be too much for the Lakers to give up.

From a sentimental perspective it's fun to think about O'Neal coming back to Los Angeles. And given the kind of shape he's in and how well he's been playing, he could be just the kind of inside presence the Lakers need to assure another title for the Lakers come June.

All that said, a return to Tinseltown for O'Neal appears very unlikely. At the very least O'Neal's recent rhetoric is posturing to make sure his number 34 one day hangs in the rafters in Staples Center next to greats like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson.

And who knows, perhaps the Lakers might be able to pick him up when he's a free agent in the summer of 2010 or even next summer if the Suns get crazy and decide to buy him out after this season to help shave some money off their cap. At that point, though, there's no guarantee O'Neal will be playing at the level he is now and Andrew Bynum will have likely developed his game even further and might be lacing up his sneakers for an All-Star appearance.

If there were ever a place where we could script this kind of ending, though, it would of course be Los Angeles.

Kobe, Shaq and Phil riding off into the sunset together.

Too crazy to imagine?

Well, Hollywood endings always seem to be.

Will Denver Stand Pat?

The Denver Nuggets are playing some very good basketball. We're talking best in the history of the franchise since it joined the NBA kind of basketball.

With a record of 36-17 the Nuggets head into the All-Star break for all intents and purposes tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the West's second best record and 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

After Tuesday's against the HEAT, Miami head coach Eric Spoelstra called the Nuggets a contender and one of the top six teams in the league. He hasn't been the first to voice such sentiment this season, either. Barring some kind of drastic change of fortune, it seems hard to fathom Denver not making it out of the first round of the playoffs this season.

All that said, it also seems hard to fathom the Nuggets getting past the Los Angeles Lakers out West.

Can the Nuggets compete with the Lakers as currently constructed? You bet. However, anyone who thinks the Nuggets would beat the Lakers in a seven game series based on what we've so far this season is probably fooling themselves.

Don't get me wrong, if the Nuggets were even able to advance to the Western Conference Finals that would be one hell of a season all things considered. However, if the objective is truly to win a title than the Nuggets have to make at least one more roster move. But wanting to make a move and finding one that makes sense are certainly two different things.

Furthermore, given the relatively solid showing Johan Petro had last night in Orlando with Chris Andersen out of the lineup, perhaps the coaching staff might now view Petro as the additional big man the team has been said to covet.

Should Denver want to make a deal, the team has Charlotte's conditional first round pick to play with and can also offer up the expiring deal of Linas Kleiza. Whether or not that will return anything that makes the team better, though, is questionable especially considering how much the value of New York's David Lee seems to have increased over the past several weeks.

George Karl has been more and more public over the last few days about how he thinks this current Nuggets' group has earned the right to stay together and show what they can do come playoff time. Of course, this is the same sentiment we heard last year when the Nuggets were exploring deals for players like Ron Artest and Mike Miller.

Don't misunderstand, last year's team had some fatal flaws that this year's iteration simply doesn't have. That said, it's still hard to imagine the Nuggets getting past the Lakers come playoff time.

Perhaps making it to the second round of the playoffs or even to the Western Conference Finals is good enough in the eyes of some in the organization. If not, Denver's front office had better be glued to their cell phones over the course of the next week looking for a deal that could give Denver a viable shot to knock off the Lakers.

Windows of opportunity close very quickly in the NBA... just ask the Dallas Mavericks or the Phoenix Suns. Denver is at least in the conversation right now as far as being a contender is concerned and the worst thing the organization can do is take it for granted and assume they will be in a similar position a year from now.

If the right deal is not there to be made even despite the front office's best efforts, that's one thing. But standing pat because of financial considerations or because this team has "earned the right" to try and win come playoff time is something entirely different.

V.C. Really a Good Fit in San Antonio?

There have been substantial rumblings in the past week or so about the Spurs trying to find a way to land Vince Carter. While the idea may sound intriguing on the surface, the more one thinks about it the less sense it seems to make.

First, it doesn't seem like San Antonio really has the pieces to get a deal done. And even if the Spurs tried, it would almost certainly mean the team would have to part with Roger Mason, a player that has been a very important part of the Spurs' success this season.

Second, Carter really isn't the type of player the Spurs need. Sure he's got all kinds of scoring ability, but he is also a player with notoriously bad shot-selection who often becomes disinterested defensively. San Antonio is a team that has always been built to execute with precision offensively, play tough on the defensive end and find a way to add role players that fit around the team's "Big Three."

"Clearly this is a championship organization and I think it starts from the top," Mason recently told your friendly neighborhood columnist. "I think everybody's mindset is totally unselfish and towards one common goal which is to win. And with that unlike a lot of other teams they are willing to make the sacrifices to do that."

One such sacrifice is resisting the urge to trade for a "superstar" mid-season and instead stay the course with role players like Mason who aren't sexy names but fit what the Spurs are trying to do a whole lot better. Moreover, it's not like the Spurs made the wrong choice by bringing in guys like Matt Bonner and Mason, who are now thriving in Gregg Popovich's system after having been given ample playing time.

"I knew they made me a very high priority in free agency," Mason explained. "I got a lot of attention from a lot of teams, but when I signed here I knew I'd have a pretty big role."

Part of that role has included making big shots at big times... sort of like a guy named Robert Horry used to do.

"Obviously, you dream about hitting game-winners as a kid but you can't predict that," said Mason. "But I definitely thought I'd be an integral part of the team."

Much like the Nuggets as mentioned above, the real question for the Spurs seems to be whether or not they can get by the Lakers come playoff time. The Spurs would probably be viewed as underdogs by most around the league at this juncture, but given the organization's track record you have to believe they will have at least a puncher's chance.

"We're still a work in progress," Mason admitted. "We're starting to play better now, but the encouraging thing is that we're winning games and we still haven't hit our stride yet. Obviously, the Lakers are the team to beat since they went to The Finals last year. Even without Bynum they are still the team to beat in the West because we saw what they did last year without him. I like where we're going and by the end of the season I think we'll be able to compete for a championship."

And given the Spurs' history why should anyone believe otherwise?

It's fun to talk about Carter relocating to San Antonio, but in the end it's hard to see how that deal fits into the recipe Popovich and General Manger R.C. Buford have used so successfully for so long.

Summer League Player Grades: Picks 21-30

Hoopsworld — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:34:40 -0700

By: Preetom Bhattacharya

NBA GMs are judged for their ability to evaluate talent and the best of them are able to find prospects that have been overlooked by other teams. Whether it be finding a contributor in the tail end of the first round or taking a project in the second, executives in the NBA have plenty of reasons to sit through the grueling two rounds. The main one? Those players may be integral pieces in a championship puzzle.

After grading the top and middle 10 picks, HOOPSWORLD rates the last third of the first round:

21. Ryan Anderson – New Jersey Nets (via trade from Dallas)
Noteworthy Performance: 18 points, seven rebounds against the Miami HEAT
Grade: B-
Review: The biggest question mark for Ryan Anderson was whether he was physical enough to play the power forward position in the NBA or if he was going to be an oversized 3 – he didn't quite answer that. Anderson's perimeter game was already known to be very solid, as he has range to the three-point and his ball-handling and quickness are good enough to get to the basket. Although he showed a willingness to play in the paint, Anderson's next step is to continue to develop as a "big". He's on the right track.

22. Courtney Lee – Orlando Magic
Noteworthy Performance: 27 points (8-14 FG), 4 assists, 3-3 from 3P, 8-9 FT against Oklahoma City
Grade: B+
Review: Courtney Lee did exactly what the Magic had hoped they would see from him – score. In addition to his notable statline above, Lee had a 30-point outburst to finish the Summer League. The variety in which he was getting those points is what will really makes the Magic happy – he knocked down threes, nailed the mid-range, and even penetrated to get to the basket and foul line as well. That kind of diversity will be nice for an Orlando team that was far too heavily reliant on the three-pointer at times.

23. Kosta Koufos – Utah Jazz
Noteworthy Performance: 12 points, 10 rebounds against the Atlanta Hawks
Grade: INC
Review: Kosta Koufos has shown that he's able to shoot the NBA three-pointer and he'll be able to develop nicely behind Mehmet Okur, but his performances in Salt Lake City's Rocky Mountain Revue have been too inconsistent so far. After a rough debut, in which it seemed like Koufos could only net fouls, he recovered nicely with the double-double noted above and then had a mediocre showing in Game 3. With a few more games left to go, Koufos can still earn himself a nice grade with solid performances.

24. Serge Ibaka – Oklahoma City (via trade from Phoenix)
Noteworthy Performance: N/A
Grade: N/A
Review: OKC decided to keep Ibaka in Spain for a few years as he continues to develop.

25. Nicolas Batum – Portland Trail Blazers (via trade from Houston)
Noteworthy Performance: 12 points, five rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves
Grade: C
Review: The Trail Blazers believe that Nicolas Batum will become a very solid defender in the future because of his length and athleticism. In Vegas, though, Batum was overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of many of his opponents. Although he improved and adjusted as each game passed, he didn't show much aggressiveness on offense and must develop a consistent jumpshot. He's only 19-years old, so he has time, but the Blazers' patience will certainly be tested, as it was with Travis Outlaw.

26. George Hill – San Antonio Spurs
Noteworthy Performance: 21 points, three assists, four rebounds against the Utah Jazz
Grade: C+
Review: The Spurs have said that George Hill has an opportunity to be the team's primary backup to Tony Parker and he has certainly shown talent so far but has been inconsistent. His shot wasn't falling for him in Las Vegas, but his performances have gotten better since coming to Salt Lake City. The nice part for the Spurs is that even if Hill is inconsistent, the team can turn to the steady veteran hand of Jacque Vaughn.

27. Darrell Arthur – Memphis Grizzlies (via trade from New Orleans and Portland)
Noteworthy Performance: 23 points (10-15 FG), six rebounds, one block against the San Antonio Spurs
Grade: B
Review: Everyone knew that Darrell Arthur had talent, but too many teams foolishly passed up on him over a rumor that his kidney isn't 100%. Arthur certainly has a chip on his shoulder and came out with something to prove in Vegas with a stellar debut. He's been resilient as well – in Games 2 and 3, he struggled to hit his shots, but he's clearly confident in his abilities and wasn't fazed. Arthur's mobility gets him up and down the court and his ability to score in a variety of ways (jumpers and post moves) will almost certainly make him a bench contributor for Memphis this season.

28. Donte Greene – Houston Rockets (via trade from Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis)
Noteworthy Performance: 40 points (12-20 FG, 5-10 3P), three assists, three rebounds against the Phoenix Suns
Grade: A
Review: Donte Greene can flat-out shoot the ball, which is certainly something Rockets' head coach Rick Adelman is excited about. Greene needs to diversify his offensive game, becoming more than just a jumpshooter, but he's athletic enough and showed in college that he has a lot of variety of ways to score. He'll need to develop as a defender, but was a flat-out dominant scorer in Las Vegas.

29. D.J. White – Oklahoma City (via trade from Detroit)
Noteworthy Performance: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 9-15 from the field against the Chicago Bulls
Grade: C
Review: White started in all of OKC's games, averaging a nice 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He showed that he was able to leave the paint and knock down some midrange jumpers and that he could bang around inside and grab a few rebounds. Because White is a smart player, he'll adjust as needed and should continue to grow in his productivity.

30. J.R. Giddens – Boston Celtics
Noteworthy Performance: N/A
Grade: N/A
Review: The Champs didn't get involved in any of the summer leagues and Giddens has yet to sign a contract.

Cheerleader of the Day: San Antonio Spurs

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:01:59 -0700

Cheerleader of the Day

Thanks to our friends over at Icon
Sports Media, we have access to thousands of great college & NBA basketball photos
to use on the site. Each day, along with our

Picture of the Day, we'll be featuring a Cheerleader of the Day. In honor of
the upcoming NBA Draft, we'll be focusing on NBA dancers until the end of June!

San Antonio Spurs

- Check out past

Cheerleaders of the Day!

- Also check out the

Picture of the Day!

1st Round Picks vs Playoff Success

Jon Teitel — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:04:55 -0700

FACT #1: Most homegrown 1^st round picks since 2000: Celtics, Hawks, and Supersonics with 5 each (but these 3 teams have combined for only 7 playoff appearances in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #1: Drafting a lot of players in the 1^st round and keeping them on your team will not necessarily lead to success, as each of these teams have a top-5 lottery pick this year.

FACT #2: Most acquired 1^st round picks since 2000: Trailblazers with 9 (but only 4 playoff appearances in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #2: Portland has been busy signing/trading for former 1^st round picks for much of the decade, but it has not helped a lot so far, although I have a feeling that their newest homegrown addition (Oden) might turn them from losers into winners.

FACT #3: Most homegrown/acquired 1^st round picks since 2000: Trailblazers with 12 (but only 4 playoff appearances in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #3: Portland can bring five former 1^st round picks off of their bench, but apparently potential will only get you so far, as they had one of the worst teams in the league last year.

FACT #4: Least homegrown 1^st round picks since 2000: Bucks, Nuggets, Suns, Timberwolves, and Wizards with 1 each (these 5 teams have combined for 23 playoff appearances in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #4: Despite the fact that 2 of these 5 teams missed out on the playoffs this year, and the Suns were the only team to win a single playoff series, these teams have shown that you can get to the playoffs year after year without developing your own 1^st round picks.

FACT #5: Least acquired 1^st round picks since 2000: Clippers with 0 (and only 1 playoff appearance in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #5: I suppose that Clippers owner Donald Sterling might be the X-factor in this one, but the fact remains that one reason the Clippers keep ending up in the lottery is because they rarely trade for/sign players who are recent 1^st round picks.

FACT #6: Least homegrown/acquired 1^st round picks since 2000: Bucks, Clippers, Jazz, Spurs, Timberwolves with 3 (these 5 teams have combined for 24 playoff appearances in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #6: Sterling’s distaste for re-signing his 1^st round picks has cost him in the past, but the other 4 teams have consistently made the playoffs with a combination of players who are either older, not former 1^st round picks, or both.

FACT #7: Most playoff appearances since 2000: Spurs with 8 (despite only having 2 homegrown and 1 acquired 1^st round pick in 8 years)

CONCLUSION #7: The NBA’s defending champion has proven that the addition of recent 1^st round picks is completely irrelevant to success, although this year’s NBA Finals MVP is one of their 2 homegrown 1^st round picks.

8 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Spurs: 2 homegrown (Parker, Udrih)

1 acquired (Ely)

7 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Kings: 3 homegrown (Douby, Garcia, Martin)

1 acquired (Salmons)

Lakers: 4 homegrown (Bynum, Cook, Farmar, Vujacic)

3 acquired (Brown, Mihm, Radmanovic)

Mavericks: 2 homegrown (Ager, Howard)

2 acquired (Diop, Harris)

Pacers: 3 homegrown (Granger, Harrison, Williams)

4 acquired (Diogu, Dunleavy, Murphy, Tinsley)

6 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Nets: 4 homegrown (Boone, Krstic, Williams, Wright)

3 acquired (Collins, Jefferson, Nachbar)

Suns: 1 homegrown (Stoudemire)

3 acquired (Banks, Barbosa, Diaw)

5 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Bucks: 1 homegrown (Bogut)

2 acquired (Hodge, Villanueva)

Hornets: 4 homegrown (Armstrong, Paul, Simmons, West)

2 acquired (Chandler, Mason)

Jazz: 2 homegrown (Brewer, Williams)

1 acquired (Araujo)

Sixers: 2 homegrown (Dalembert, Iguodala)

2 acquired (Carney, Hunter)

Timberwolves: 1 homegrown (McCants)

2 acquired (Griffin, Madsen)

4 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Celtics: 5 homegrown (Allen, Foye, Green, Jefferson, West)

3 acquired (Perkins, Rondo, Telfair)

Magic: 2 homegrown (Howard, Redick)

3 acquired (Dooling, Nelson, Turkoglu)

Nuggets: 1 homegrown (Anthony)

5 acquired (Hilario, Johnson, Kleiza, Martin, Smith)

Raptors: 4 homegrown (Bargnani, Bosh, Graham, Peterson)

4 acquired (Dixon, Ford, Humphries, Jackson)

Trailblazers: 3 homegrown (Outlaw, Randolph, Webster)

9 acquired (Aldridge, Dickau, Jack, Jones, Magloire, Miles, Przybilla, Rodriguez, Roy)

3 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Bulls: 2 homegrown (Gordon, Hinrich)

5 acquired (Deng, Khryapa, Sefolosha, Sweetney, Thomas)

Grizzlies: 3 homegrown (Lowry, Swift, Warrick)

4 acquired (Gasol, Gay, Jones, Miller)

Knicks: 4 homegrown (Balkman, Collins, Frye, Lee)

5 acquired (Crawford, Curry, Jeffries, Richardson, Robinson)

Rockets: 2 homegrown (Head, Ming)

3 acquired (Battier, Snyder, Tsakalidis)

Supersonics: 5 homegrown (Collison, Petro, Ridnour, Sene, Swift)

1 acquired (Wilcox)

Wizards: 3 acquired (Haywood, Stevenson, Thomas)

1 homegrown (Hayes)

2 playoff appearances in past 8 years

Cavaliers: 2 homegrown (Brown, James)

2 acquired (Gooden, Pavlovic)

1 playoff appearance in past 8 years

Clippers: 3 homegrown (Kaman, Korolev, Livingston)

0 acquired

Warriors: 4 homegrown (Biedrins, O’Bryant, Pietrus, Richardson)

2 acquired (Cabarkapa, Wagner)

0 playoff appearances in past 8 years

*Bobcats: 4 homegrown (Felton, May, Morrison, Okafor)

2 acquired (Brezec, Wallace)

Hawks: 5 homegrown (Childress, Johnson, Smith, M. Wiliams, S. Williams)

1 acquired (Claxton)

*only in existence since 2004

Do Lottery Players Equal NBA Success?

Jeff Fox — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:40:49 -0700

The title of the article pretty much sums it up – do the number of lottery drafted players on a NBA team’s roster affect the team’s outcome on the court? At first blush the obvious answer would be yes – more often than not talent wins out on the court, so more talent on a roster should equal more wins. On the other side of the coin, normally the worst teams in the league are the ones drafting in the lottery, so therefore crummy teams should have their rosters saturated with lottery picks.

Your trusty writer went about trying to answer this question by perusing all 30 NBA team’s rosters from the 2006/07 season. Any player who appeared in at least one game for a team qualified to be counted towards that team’s lottery player total, so lottery players who were traded during the season counted on multiple team’s totals. After all the number crunching, NBA teams had on an average about five players on their roster who were selected in the lottery. Here are the teams that disobeyed the average and were at the far ends of the spectrum:

Top of the heap:

Golden State – 9 players (Davis, Richardson, Biedrins, Dunleavy, Diogu, Foyle, O’Bryant, Pietrus, Wagner)

Denver – 8 players (Anthony, Iverson, Camby, Hilario, Miller, Smith, Martin, Johnson)

Miami – 8 players (Wade, O’Neal, Williams, Mourning, Walker, Payton, Jones, Doleac)

All three teams made the playoffs, so talent does get you that far. Miami’s stockpiling of veteran lottery picks (and some kid named Wade) got them the title in 2006. It’s hard to say if the Nuggets’ motley crew of lottery picks will ever be able to play together as a team and really make some noise in the playoffs. Golden State’s big mid-season trade took away some of the lottery talent, but they had enough left over to shock Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

Bottom feeders:

Indiana – 2 players (Dunleavy, Diogu)

Milwaukee – 2 players (Bogut, Villanueva)

San Antonio – 3 players (Duncan, Horry, Ely)

Utah – 3 players (Williams, Harpring, Brewer)

Until their mid-season trade with Golden State, Indiana didn’t have any lottery picks on their team – and they suffered through a horrible season. Milwaukee also had a horrible year but at least their lottery talent is young still. The real interesting two are the Spurs and the Jazz, who battled in the Western Conference Finals this past season. These two teams proved it doesn’t matter what spot you draft a player at, rather it is more important to draft and/or trade smart. While having lottery picks Tim Duncan and Deron Williams on their rosters definitely help, it is the later picks that really make the difference for both teams – Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur.

While it is hard to draw a definitive conclusion from all of this, the main point that these numbers illustrates is that a pick in the lottery isn’t a guaranteed ticket to a championship. Unless that pick is named Duncan or O’Neal or probably Oden and/or Durant. So draft wisely NBA GMs, even those of you who aren’t in the lottery this year.

All-Time Draft Studs & Duds: Part Two

Jeff Fox — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:19:25 -0700

Part One of All-Time NBA Draft Studs & Duds contains Atlanta through Miami.

Milwaukee Bucks

Stud:

1969-#1- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Dud:

1988-#13- Jeff Grayer

Could have had: Dan Majerle, Rod Strickland, Anthony Mason

Minnesota Timberwolves

Stud:

1995-#5- Kevin Garnett

Dud:

1999-#6- Wally Szczerbiak

Could have had: Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest

New Jersey Nets

Stud:

1977-#7- Bernard King

Dud:

1987-#3- Dennis Hopson

Could have had: Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller

New Orleans Hornets

Stud:

1996-#13- Kobe Bryant

Dud:

1989-#5- J.R. Reid

Could have had: Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp

New York Knicks

Stud:

1964- 2^nd round - #10 overall - Willis Reed

Dud:

1962-#2- Duke Hogue

Could have had: Dave deBusschere, Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek

Orlando Magic

Stud:

1992-#1- Shaquille O’Neal

Dud:

2003-#13- Reece Gaines

Could have had: Josh Howard

Philadelphia 76ers

Stud:

1984-#5- Charles Barkley

Dud:

1997-#2- Keith Van Horn

Could have had: Tracy McGrady, Chauncey Billups

Phoenix Suns

Stud:

1996-#15- Steve Nash

Dud:

1987-#2- Armon Gilliam

Could have had: Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller

Portland Trailblazers

Stud:

1983-#14- Clyde Drexler

Dud:

1984-#2- Sam Bowie

Could have had: Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Charles Barkley

Sacramento Kings

Stud:

1970-#19- Tiny Archibald

Dud:

1956-#1- Si Green

Could have had: Bill Russell

San Antonio

Stud:

1999- 2^nd round - #57 overall – Manu Ginobli

Dud:

1984-#7- Alvin Robertson

Could have had: John Stockton

Seattle Sonics

Stud:

1987-#5- Scottie Pippen

Dud:

2001-#2- Vlad Radmanovic

Could have had: Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest

Toronto Raptors

Stud:

1997-#9- Tracy McGrady

Dud:

1999-#5- Jonathan Bender

Could have had: Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest

Utah Jazz

Stud:

1985-#13- Karl Malone

Dud:

1980-#2- Darrell Griffith

Could have had: Kevin McHale

Washington Wizards

Stud:

1968-#2- Wes Unseld

Dud:

1984-#6- Melvin Turpin

Could have had: John Stockton

Return to Part One of All-Time NBA Draft Studs & Duds

San Antonio Spurs: NBA Draft Team Needs

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 27 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700
NBA Draft: San Antonio Spurs

Record: 58-24, 2^nd Southwest

Draft Picks: 28, 33, 58

Team Needs: The Spurs could use some depth for their bench, preferably on the perimeter with guys like Robert Horry and Brent Barry in the twilight of their careers. Depending on how they feel about Jacque Vaughn and Beno Udrih, the Spurs could even look to shore up the backup point spot.

Who Should They Draft: G Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington)

Draft History Since 2000:

2006: Damir Markota (59)

2005 - Ian Mahinmi (28)

2004 - Beno Udrih (28), Romain Sato (52), Sergei Karaulov (57)

2003 - Leandro Barbosa (28)

2002 - John Salmons (26), Luis Scola (56), Randy Holcomb (57)

2001 - Tony Parker (28), Robertas Javtokas (56), Bryan Bracey (57)

2000 - Chris Carrawell (41)

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