Enzo The Baker said:

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Raptors blew three 20+ leads night against the nuggets. They also just came off an over time loss. Playing pretty well considering they don't have 3 of their top 4 players. But looks like they will take over Memphis eventually for 6th worst. It'll be a close finish with them and Portland for 5th. Hoping they don't slide to 5th.

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I would rather get their pick next year. I didn't think this is a playoff team even when healthy

Totally agree. Having that core of Quickley/RJ/Barnes/Jak/Olynyk/Brown/Grady Dick back next year plus a top 6 pick is going to put them a step above the bottom-dwellers but probably still not good enough to be much more than a play-in. I'd rather take the swing on getting an extra top 10 pick next year.

I think it depends. You could make the argument that maximizing this year's pick (7th) could be better for team building. Drafting 2 players this year and 2-3 next year could better than 1 this year and 3-4 next year (I'm assuming that the Charlotte pick doesn't convey). This of course assumes no trades are made which probably isn't realistic. Would it lessen the value of our picks next year if teams think we are trying to trade out of the draft where we have 3-4 picks?

Going to game the tonight with my family. Is it worth getting there early if we want to try to get autographs? The last time we went (several years ago) they wouldn't let us get down close to try.

Listened to KOC's podcast and he said specifically that he put Reed Shepherd at 2, because he thinks that is the Spurs' pick there over the wings, because there are so many wings that will be available at the Toronto pick.

He called Reed a Fred Van Vleet that can shoot, because he is so disruptive on defense and is such a good leader on offense.

I think Sheppard is a great defender off the ball but is a well below average defender on it. Definitely think he will be a good player but I'd find it hard to believe he would crack the Top 10 in last years draft. That's how bad this one is at the top.

Sher Thing said:

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I think Sheppard is a great defender off the ball but is a well below average defender on it. Definitely think he will be a good player but I'd find it hard to believe he would crack the Top 10 in last years draft. That's how bad this one is at the top.

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I think he could have cracked the top 10 depending on team need. He is shooting is 53% from 3 on 4.4 attempts per game. He's an ELITE shooter when shooting is at a premium in the league. Add that to his IQ and quick hands on defense, it would have been possible.

Edit: I'll also add that the Kentucky guard cachet counts for something too. Calipari continuously pumps out great NBA guards.

If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

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I don't necessarily disagree with any of that, I've come around to the idea that he will be a Top 6 or so pick and carve himself out a Steve Kerr or better like career. I just don't believe that "think how good he would be if he was something other than what he is" is an argument to draft him.

LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

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I don't necessarily disagree with any of that, I've come around to the idea that he will be a Top 6 or so pick and carve himself out a Steve Kerr or better like career. I just don't believe that "think how good he would be if he was something other than what he is" is an argument to draft him.

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But I am not saying that he is something that he is not. I literally only took things that he is doing now and applied it to his game later. He's putting up 5apg in less than 30mpg on a team with two other probable lottery pick point guards (DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham.)

I'm not saying "if he was something other than what he is" - I am just using what he is right now, and applying it to their NBA career. I don't think it is unrealistic to think he would average slightly more assists in the NBA as a starter and primary PG than he is now while sharing duties three ways, and slightly fewer steals than he is now when playing against better competition.

I mean I like Sheppard's game and would be all for taking a flyer on him if we have that Toronto pick in the 7-9 range but taking a 6-3 white guy (probably even smaller) #2 overall in what should be our last chance to pair a top 5 talent with Wembanyama makes me a little depressed about this draft.

Saying that, I'm not really sitting here saying there's a bunch of better options out there. Just a weak draft overall it seems.

Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

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I don't necessarily disagree with any of that, I've come around to the idea that he will be a Top 6 or so pick and carve himself out a Steve Kerr or better like career. I just don't believe that "think how good he would be if he was something other than what he is" is an argument to draft him.

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But I am not saying that he is something that he is not. I literally only took things that he is doing now and applied it to his game later. He's putting up 5apg in less than 30mpg on a team with two other probable lottery pick point guards (DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham.)

I'm not saying "if he was something other than what he is" - I am just using what he is right now, and applying it to their NBA career. I don't think it is unrealistic to think he would average slightly more assists in the NBA as a starter and primary PG than he is now while sharing duties three ways, and slightly fewer steals than he is now when playing against better competition.

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OK, this is partly my fault, I read "6-7" as projecting his impact if he was 5 inches taller, so I apologize for that. Still not convinced he would be a great fit as a primary ball handler.

It's interesting that shooting ability rarely elevates a prospect into the upper echelon of the draft. The highest I can remember is Step Curry going 6th overall. And there were two other PGs picked right before him.

Personally, I think if a guy is an elite shooter you can justify taking him really high.

Ag Natural said:

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It's interesting that shooting ability rarely elevates a prospect into the upper echelon of the draft. The highest I can remember is Step Curry going 6th overall. And there were two other PGs picked right before him.

Personally, I think if a guy is an elite shooter you can justify taking him really high.

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That's a good question. I think there is the thought that if a guy has great court vision or wants to get down and dirty to mix things up (like Sochan/Rodman/Draymond) you can teach them to shoot a bit.


But Curry is head on. Steph was the 5th guard taken in the draft. Harde, Rubio, Flynn, and Tyreke Evans.

But then you also see them take freaks like Deandre Ayton and Ben Simmons who dont love basketball a the top of the draft. You can't teach that.

That Sochan run in the third was awesome to see

Vic would have an easy triple double if he had shooters on this team.

No one will ever be able to guard this.

pull up, SPLASH 🙌 pic.twitter.com/r0nS6lULGH

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 13, 2024

Sochan with a nice game. Bench continuing with the tank crusade, although I liked the Mamu activity. I'd be interested to know how many assists were left on the table for Victor.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Sochan with a nice game. Bench continuing with the tank crusade, although I liked the Mamu activity. I'd be interested to know how many assists were left on the table for Victor.

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No starters were negative. Branham was -15, Collins was -7, and Wesley and Barlow were -5.

Guitarsoup said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Sochan with a nice game. Bench continuing with the tank crusade, although I liked the Mamu activity. I'd be interested to know how many assists were left on the table for Victor.

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No starters were negative. Branham was -15, Collins was -7, and Wesley and Barlow were -5.

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Malaki just needs to stay in the gym all summer and shoot 3s. That's it. He's not going to be good on defense. He shouldn't have the ball in his hands to make plays. Just shoot the three well and nothing else. That's his only path to an nba career.

That lineup of Wemby, Graham, Champagnie, Branham, and Barlow plays atrocious basketball

AA said:

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That lineup of Wemby, Graham, Champagnie, Branham, and Barlow plays atrocious basketball

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Yea Victor with the second unit just does not work the ball well together.

Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

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I don't necessarily disagree with any of that, I've come around to the idea that he will be a Top 6 or so pick and carve himself out a Steve Kerr or better like career. I just don't believe that "think how good he would be if he was something other than what he is" is an argument to draft him.

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But I am not saying that he is something that he is not. I literally only took things that he is doing now and applied it to his game later. He's putting up 5apg in less than 30mpg on a team with two other probable lottery pick point guards (DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham.)

I'm not saying "if he was something other than what he is" - I am just using what he is right now, and applying it to their NBA career. I don't think it is unrealistic to think he would average slightly more assists in the NBA as a starter and primary PG than he is now while sharing duties three ways, and slightly fewer steals than he is now when playing against better competition.

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I've watched a lot of Kentucky games this year, and I also like to disagree with Guitar on his vision for the Spurs... but here I'm going to kind of agree. I can see Reed Shepard being a good to great NBA player.

Part of the reason is that yes, we can say he's a 6'3'' white guy and use that to insinuate that he lacks athleticism required to play in the NBA, but I've seen him rise high for some transition dunks this year with relative ease.



If you look at his high school highlights you can see him kind of struggling to dunk, which leads me to believe that athletically he may even be kind of a late bloomer with more potential there if he works on his explosiveness. Think Alex Caruso rim checking himself in college and then all of a sudden in the pros becoming the Carushow. Perhaps there are more hops for him in the future.

Also, as guitar mentions, the steals... they matter a lot when looking at his future. He's getting these with anticipation and fast twitch movements. The rate of deflections, steals and blocks that he has pegs him as an elite defender for his size.

All of this is without ever mentioning his shooting. I don't think he's going to shoot 50% from 3 in the NBA, but if he shoots 45% while being an elite defender and at least initiating the offense by getting the ball to Wemby, this is a good to great complimentary piece on the team.

I think you can win eventually with

Sheppard
Vassell
(top pick scoring wing that develops)
Sochan
Wemby

It might take time though because you are counting on developing 2 rookies into contributing pieces. That's why the trade route always remains a good option as well if you can find a way to find that scoring wing using future picks/assets.

AggieEP said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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LawHall88 said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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If Reed is a 6-7 APG guy with average on ball defense and good off-ball defense and hits 40-45% of his threes, he's a 10-15 year starter on a Finals-level team.

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And if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

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I'm not taking a guy all-defense, no offense guy like Dunn and saying that if he develops a shot he'll be great.


These are skills that Reed Shep has already demonstrated he has the skills I talked about here. He is putting up 54%/51%/88% shooting numbers with 2.5spg while starting and closing games at PG on one of the best teams and probably the best overall college basketball program in the nation.

We had Tony Parker who wasn't a good 3pt shooter and wasn't a good on ball defender lead us to 4 titles.

Even if Reed isn't a starting quality PG, there is no reason to believe he won't be a good NBA-level shooter, which is something we need.

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I don't necessarily disagree with any of that, I've come around to the idea that he will be a Top 6 or so pick and carve himself out a Steve Kerr or better like career. I just don't believe that "think how good he would be if he was something other than what he is" is an argument to draft him.

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But I am not saying that he is something that he is not. I literally only took things that he is doing now and applied it to his game later. He's putting up 5apg in less than 30mpg on a team with two other probable lottery pick point guards (DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham.)

I'm not saying "if he was something other than what he is" - I am just using what he is right now, and applying it to their NBA career. I don't think it is unrealistic to think he would average slightly more assists in the NBA as a starter and primary PG than he is now while sharing duties three ways, and slightly fewer steals than he is now when playing against better competition.

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I've watched a lot of Kentucky games this year, and I also like to disagree with Guitar on his vision for the Spurs... but here I'm going to kind of agree. I can see Reed Shepard being a good to great NBA player.

Part of the reason is that yes, we can say he's a 6'3'' white guy and use that to insinuate that he lacks athleticism required to play in the NBA, but I've seen him rise high for some transition dunks this year with relative ease.



If you look at his high school highlights you can see him kind of struggling to dunk, which leads me to believe that athletically he may even be kind of a late bloomer with more potential there if he works on his explosiveness. Think Alex Caruso rim checking himself in college and then all of a sudden in the pros becoming the Carushow. Perhaps there are more hops for him in the future.

Also, as guitar mentions, the steals... they matter a lot when looking at his future. He's getting these with anticipation and fast twitch movements. The rate of deflections, steals and blocks that he has pegs him as an elite defender for his size.

All of this is without ever mentioning his shooting. I don't think he's going to shoot 50% from 3 in the NBA, but if he shoots 45% while being an elite defender and at least initiating the offense by getting the ball to Wemby, this is a good to great complimentary piece on the team.

I think you can win eventually with

Sheppard
Vassell
(top pick scoring wing that develops)
Sochan
Wemby

It might take time though because you are counting on developing 2 rookies into contributing pieces. That's why the trade route always remains a good option as well if you can find a way to find that scoring wing using future picks/assets.

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My thought on Reed is that at the very worst, he becomes a 15-20mpg shooter off the bench and we need shooters. Maybe he becomes a Steve Kerr. Kerr never played a lot of minutes, but he was a 22-24mpg guy with the 94-98 Bulls and won 5 total rings, playing a role in all 5 playoff runs, but there is a place for a guy like that, right?

I liked KOC's comparison to a FVV with a good shot. That's probably his ceiling - and not a bad ceiling to have.




With Reed in a starting lineup, it could also move us closer to a Beautiful game/positionless lineup where all 5 starters are capable of 4+ assists in any given night. Devin and Wemby are pretty much there. Sochan is improving (3.5apg this year) and we need the starting SF.

Even that video insinuates a lack of athleticism, which I don't really think is true.

If anything is missing from his game that I typically see in other elite guard prospects, it's the ability to get a shot off whenever they want. Now the real question is whether Sheppard doesn't have that skill at all, or if he just doesn't use that skill because it's typically a bad basketball play to try and get a shot up even when closely defended.

When watching Dillingham, you'll see what I'm talking about, if Rob wants to shoot, he's going to get something up on the rim. At least at this point, Sheppard is going to move the ball and wait to shoot until he feels like he's got the space to let it fly.

I could profile him and say he's just a smarter player than Dillingham, looking for higher percentage shots, but I think it's also valid to say that in the NBA you really need this skill to make an impact on the court. Otherwise they are going to stick a guy with length on him and he won't get many shots up.

Steph Curry isn't Steph Curry without the ability to use the dribble to get himself space to shoot multiple times per game.

Quote:

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Even that video insinuates a lack of athleticism, which I don't really think is true.

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He doesn't have the high end athleticism that Collier or Scoot have, but I don't think that he not athletic enough to play the next level. He's probably fairly average as far as guys go.

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If anything is missing from his game that I typically see in other elite guard prospects, it's the ability to get a shot off whenever they want. Now the real question is whether Sheppard doesn't have that skill at all, or if he just doesn't use that skill because it's typically a bad basketball play to try and get a shot up even when closely defended.

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Yeah, and he is also a teenager. His skills will likely improve. And the thing he does has is clearly high BBIQ, which means he will likely be able to find the spot to be in the offense to get enough space to get an open shot.

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When watching Dillingham, you'll see what I'm talking about, if Rob wants to shoot, he's going to get something up on the rim. At least at this point, Sheppard is going to move the ball and wait to shoot until he feels like he's got the space to let it fly.

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Yeah, agree 100%. Dilly can create for himself much better.

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I could profile him and say he's just a smarter player than Dillingham, looking for higher percentage shots, but I think it's also valid to say that in the NBA you really need this skill to make an impact on the court. Otherwise they are going to stick a guy with length on him and he won't get many shots up.

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The problem there is that if you want to shut him down by putting a long wing on him, it means you need to put your smaller guard on someone else and it hurts your ability to double down on Wemby. That's why we need at least 3 shooters around Wemby. And everyone should be able to pass.

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Steph Curry isn't Steph Curry without the ability to use the dribble to get himself space to shoot multiple times per game.

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100%. His handles are elite.

Spurs need Derrick White back just for the HEB commercials.

Derrick White is becoming Boston legend! pic.twitter.com/2kGLaSp1mz

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 14, 2024

In kind of a continuation of the Reed Sheppard conversation, games like today is what make me question his ability to get his shot off.

Against us he was hot early, but then basically disappeared the rest of the game even though his team needed him. He had plenty of touches, but outside of when we played zone for 2 possessions, he was not able to even threaten us with getting a shot off. By comparison, Dillingham (although out of control at times) got 19 shots off including many that he created himself.

AggieEP said:

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In kind of a continuation of the Reed Sheppard conversation, games like today is what make me question his ability to get his shot off.

Against us he was hot early, but then basically disappeared the rest of the game even though his team needed him. He had plenty of touches, but outside of when we played zone for 2 possessions, he was not able to even threaten us with getting a shot off. By comparison, Dillingham (although out of control at times) got 19 shots off including many that he created himself.

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Yeah, it was odd. Huge first half, disappeared in the second half. Passed up a couple shots in the second half. Also one atrocious turnover late in the first half that caused Calipari to pull him.

This is one of those games that makes you wonder if Calipari really knows what he is doing. I think you put him out there 32 minutes and let him play.

But A&M is likely in the tourney now, so I'll take it.

Talking to Kentucky people - Dillingham is always able to get his shot off, but higher turnovers, worse shooter.

After watching tonight's spurs game, I want to take Sheppard with our first rounder because I'm confident he can find a wide open 7'5" player by the basket.

If our players weren't so inept, you would think they were sabotaging Victor tonight. He had so many chances to get going.