San Antonio Spurs Draft Hassan Whiteside With 20th Pick In SB Nation's 2010 NBA Mock Draft
by Scott Schroeder on Jun 22, 2010 4:45 PM EDT
in NBA Draft 2010
15 comments
The 2010 SB Nation NBA Mock Draft is still(!) underway, with each SB Nation blogger making selections for their respective teams. BlaseE from Pounding the Rock, the San Antonio Spurs blog for SB Nation, checks in to make the twentieth overall selection in this year's mock draft.
With the twentieth overall pick in the 2010 SB Nation NBA Mock Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Hassan Whiteside, power forward-center, Marshall Thundering Herd.
BlaseE explains: I'm likely picking against what many Spurs fans want, but I don't care - I think I might have that in common with the Spurs front office.
So the first major criticism against my pick is that we need a Small forward to backup Richard Jefferson - or replace him. I don't have enough confidence in any small forwards remaining to impact the roster during the Duncan window while simultaneously helping our transition away from Duncan to warrant the selection. I don't see any of the small forwards helping us more than Malik Hairston, Alonzo Gee, Marcus Williams (Scott's Note: D-League Represent!) or a possible veteran pickup could unless Paul George or Luke Babbitt drop by some miracle like no ACL's. I believe in those guys we have invested time into. Remember Hairston was injured for the playoffs and Gee was the D-L RotY and a huge blunder by Washington (in that they let him go). Bogans could also always be back for another year of the veteran minimum.
Our other position of need is at the 5. I believe Tiago Splitter will come, but even with Splitter, we need depth. I recently looked at who our Summer League roster might be in Vegas, and my only thoughts on center were Ian Mahinmi (FA) and Luke Bonner (Mike Gansey's favorite 7-foot white rapper. Ever). We need some youth at the 5. If we get both Splitter and Whiteside, I'd like to see Whiteside balance his time in Austin for minutes and in SA for experience.
Whiteside is arguably the 'Best Player Available'. He is a shot blocker, leading the NCAA last year in blocks per game, per 40 possessions, and per 40 minutes. All Spurs fans agree that a shot-blocking big is something we want. He's a good rebounder and efficient scorer as well. His defense isn't great, but this draft pick is for depth, potential, athleticism, and the future. I guess the other two serious contenders for C are Daniel Orton and Larry Sanders. Most of our bigs are currently on the shorter side of 6'10" so I'd prefer 7'0" Whiteside to 6'9" Sanders. I'm picking Whiteside over Orton for his shot blocking. By the way, I would have taken Alabi over Whiteside.
I wrote some more and deleted it, but I'm more than happy to debate, discuss and explain some more in the comments. As sort of a disclaimer, I'm not a scout and am basing my BPA decision on what I've read about these players. I haven't seen much of any of them first hand. Hopefully, that is something I do not have in common with the Spurs front office.
Ridiculous Upside reacts: Another value pick considering Whiteside was considered a potential top-10 pick based on his college career.
The Spurs, a team that obviously knows how to use the NBA Development League, are a perfect spot for a possible project like Whiteside to land. It would be great to see him mature in the D-League for at least part of his rookie campaign.
Ridiculous Upside's Top 5 remaining prospects: 1 - Damion James, SF, Texas. 2 - Larry Sanders, PF/C, VCU. 3 - Daniel Orton, C, Kentucky. 4 - Stanley Robinson, F, Connecticut. 5 - Quincy Pondexter, F, Washington.
Sound off, SB Nation! What say you of Whiteside heading to the Spurs?
And please, remember to check out Pounding the Rock for everything you need to know about San Antonio.
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You know what, man? I like this pick… a lot. Didn’t realize he was still on the board, but he would be the perfect complement to Blair in our second unit.
Free Tiago Splitter!
His range with Blair’s inside presence could be huge. Then you add in that he covers for Blair’s lack of shot blocking, and that both are good rebounders. I definitely think they are a nice pair of 21 year old front court pieces. If you add Splitter to the mix going forward without Duncan, it’s a solid 3-man start to the frontcourt.
I’m overly talked into this pick.
I write about basketball players with Ridiculous Upside. I know you'll love it.
by Scott Schroeder on Jun 22, 2010 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions
The only redundant thing is that Blair is missing the summer league to specifically increase his range. It seems they want him to have a knockdown shot like Dice has from the top of the key. That makes me think they might want someone who has a bigger body to bang inside, or it might be that they want him to be able to play more with Duncan. It could also be that the FO knows Splitter is on his way and is definitely an inside presence. I guess it doesn’t hurt for a big to have a go to shot, especially when running the pick and roll with Manu. Ramble, ramble, ramble…..
Scott, is there a list anywhere online of who team’s interviewed at the combine?
I like it…I think. Odds that this guy might actually be there when we pick? I still don’t have a good feel for who might actually be there at 20.
Draft Express has him at 23 right now
For the most part, the guys that were available in this rendition will probably be the guys available Thursday night.
I write about basketball players with Ridiculous Upside. I know you'll love it.
by Scott Schroeder on Jun 22, 2010 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
How do the Spurs improve?
I was with you guys until I read that you’d pick Alabi over Whiteside. Alibi will be an end of the bench guy, Whiteside is a gamble that could bust, but there’s not much there at 20. Despite your assessment of Gee, I’d be tempted by Pondexter, or Stanley Robinson, but would gamble on this particular big center.
I had read of a rumored RJ to Golden State for Maggette, Turiaf, and Azubuike or Morrow. Giving us 4 key guys in addition to Splitter added to our top 6. No chance of that now but if the Warriors had traded with SA, they could have kept their 2nd rounder. Larry Riley is not the best. I’d be interested to read if you guys think there is a better move than that for the Spurs still possible? Maggette used to play pretty good D, but has had weak coaching since; he’s big, strong, and athletic. I don’t see much help at #20, and any other trades are gonna cost us valuable talent. BlaseE? Tim? Scott?
How much better can we reasonably expect to be next year? I don’t believe a trade for a top 5 is possible, without taking back Elton Brand which is a far too expensive. Maybe a sleeper at 6-10 is do-able, but you are hoping for a goldmine surprise return on a Monroe or a George. Aren’t we basically reduced to hoping to find youth for the future as Manu and Tim drop off, while admitting that extending our Championship era is unlikely?
Well, I don’t think the Spurs are that far off. Yes the sweep was embarrassing but it was four straight losses to the same team who we didn’t match up well with (and they won’t have Amare next year probably). Here is what makes the Spurs better next season:
1. Always the possibility of the big three remaining healthy through a season….especially with none of them playing this summer for once. Tony had slump after getting banged up in summer in international play. He was hardly right all year. He is on a contract year and not playing this summer, I think he is going to come back with some fire.
2. RJ fitting and having a year in the system and Pop a year to work they system to him. It goes both ways. If he bombs, his expiring contract is a gigantic insurance policy. If he is dragging us down, then his contract will be very attractive to next years Wizards, the team with high hopes to start the season that crash in a fiery mess.
3. Hill continuing to improve. He was the real MIP last year. Brooks just got a ton more minutes and usage on a non-playoff team.
4. Blair was a rookie. He is skipping summer league to work on his shot. He will be better.
5. Splitter would be a huge improvement at center and would start with Duncan without question if acquired.
6. Hairston was hurt for all of the playoffs.
7. The Spurs continue to invest in the Toros and those investments are paying off. Alonzo Gee and Marcus Williams both have very legitimate chances to make our team through Summer League play, training camp, and pre-season.
8. We were all impressed with what we saw from Temple. He is young and improving and will have more time within the system. In limited attempts, he shot the deep ball excellent. He might be our best hope of getting some more 3 point shooting. I’m not sure how many sharpshooters you can get for veteran minimums.
9 . 20th Pick, the highest since Duncan.
I don’t think the Spurs were that bad last year, and I think there is a lot to be optimistic about next season. The Spurs have a commitment to giving us a quality product to root for that will be competitive until and Duncan retires and after that.
I don’t think you want to count on draft picks to help you over the championship hump…
2009 Draft: Lakers took Chinemelu Elonu with the 59th pick
2008: Lakers took Joe Crawford with the 58th pick, but they traded for Pau
2007: Celtics take Gabe Pruitt at 32, Rondo in his second year is worth mentioning for their championship run and he was a 21st pick in 2006, but they traded for Garnett and Allen
2006: Spurs take Damir Makota with the 59th pick
2005: Miami takes Wayne Simien with the 29th pick, they sign Shaq and Wade goes crazy as Dallas melts down
2004: Spurs take Beno at 28, Viktor Sanikidze at 43, Romain Sato at 53, and Sergei Karaulov at 58
2003: Detroit took Darko Milicic at 2…..he played 14 total minutes on their championship run
The point is I wouldn’t count on a rookie for championship help. I’m not sure where I could look it up but it would be interesting to know what rookie has the highest usage in a finals series. I might look into this some more when I have more time.
I’d prefer 7’0" Whiteside to 6’9" Sanders.
I gotta call you on this one. Whiteside measured an inch taller with an inch higher standing reach than Sanders. Not saying he’s a bad pick, though.
At the combine, his standing vert reach was 2.5" higher than Sanders and his max vert reach was 4.5" higher. Whiteside and Favors were the only players I saw who broke 12’ on their max vert reaches.
Whiteside does jump higher, both no-step and max. Stanley Robinson touched 12’ 1", though, and he’s not a post player.
by doggydogworld on Jun 24, 2010 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
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