Spurs Draft Preview

The 2008 NBA Draft is tomorrow, and as a consequence of their continued success, the Spurs find themselves, once again, with dim prospects. The Spurs have three picks -- 26th, 45th and 57th overall -- and history tells us that there won't be much talent available this deep in the draft.

Or maybe there will be.

Consider these recent picks. In 2006, Jordan Farmar was picked 26th, Daniel Gibson 42nd, Paul Millsap 47th, and Leon Powe 49th. In 2005, Jason Maxiell was picked 26th, Linas Kleiza 27th, Salim Stoudamire 31st, Brandon Bass 33rd, C.J. Miles 34th, Ronny Turiaf 37th, Travis Diener 38th, Monta Ellis 40th, Andray Blatche 49th, and Ryan Gomes 50th. In 2004, Kevin Martin was picked 26th, Sasha Vujacic 27th, Beno Udrih 28th, Anderson Varejao 30th, Royal Ivey 37th, and Chris Duhon 38th. In 2003, Kendrick Perkins was picked 27th, Leandro Barbosa 28th, Josh Howard 29th, Jason Kopono 31st, Luke Walton 32nd, Steve Blake 38th, Keith Bogans 43rd, Matt Bonner 45th, and Kyle Korver 51st.

Ross Siler writes for The Salt Lake Tribune:

What does history say about late first-round picks? Over the last 10 years, 101 players have been drafted No. 20 or later. Sixty-seven were still in the NBA at season's end while four were playing overseas still waiting to arrive. Only three have become All-Stars - Parker, Howard and Kirilenko - while 17 were regular starters for their teams this season. Two of the starters on Boston's championship team - Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo - were drafted in the late first round.

At the same time, 19 of the late first-round picks in the past decade played three years or less in the NBA. The where-are-they-now list includes Frank Williams and Sam Jacobson, Roshown McLeod and Chris Jefferies.

But as jdenquist points out, Siler misses some noteworthy second round picks, including six All-Stars.

In fact, over the last 20 years, including all draft picks 23rd or later (including 2nd rounders), there have actually been 9 all-stars. Yes, AK-47, Tony Parker, and Josh Howard are in that group. But taken 23rd or later also includes Rashard Lewis (32nd pick), Gilbert Arenas (31st pick), current Jazz men Carlos Boozer (35th pick) and Memo Okur (38th pick), and the two real superstar gems, Michael Redd (43rd pick) and Manu Ginobili (57th pick). In fact, Manu Ginobili was nearly the equivalent of the NFL's Mr. Irrelevant who turned out to win multiple rings, a Sixth Man award, an Olympic gold medal, and multiple all-star teams.

The bottom line is that the draft matters. The Spurs have an opportunity to get some immediate help, whether its a rebounder, a defensive specialist to take the reins from Bruce Bowen, or a backup point guard...

Could one of these prospects fit the bill?


Serge Ibaka PF
19 years old
6-10, 228 lbs.
C.B. L’Hospitalet, Spain


Alexis Ajinca PF/C
20 years old
7-0, 220 lbs.
Hyeres-Toulon, France


Ryan Anderson PF
20 years old
6-10, 240 lbs.
California, Sophomore


Omer Asik C
21 years old
7-0, 255 lbs.
Fenerbache Ulker, Turkey


DeVon Hardin PF
21 years old
6-11, 235 lbs.
California, Senior


Darnell Jackson PF/C
22 years old
6-11, 250 lbs.
Kansas, Senior


Malik Hairston SF
21 years old
6-6, 200 lbs.
Oregon, Senior

Thank you

It's hard to believe that the San Antonio Spurs 2007-2008 season ended just six days ago. It didn't end where we thought it would, but it sure was one helluva ride. I'd like to thank my fellow contributors -- Michael, Brantley, Jake, Kevin and Rene -- for making this site a reality. More importantly, I'd like to thank you for reading and for joining us. We had over 100,000 readers this season, which is both amazing and humbling. Thank you. Muchas gracias.

The journey started October 30 in San Antonio with a ring ceremony and a win against Portland. It was obvious within a week's time that the team was firing on all cylinders. Manu Ginobili looked to be having an All-Star caliber season. By early December the Spurs were 17-3, in first place in the West and looked unstoppable on their quest for a fifth NBA title.

There were setbacks, of course. Tim missed four games in December. Without him, the team still managed to beat the Mavericks and the Jazz. Manu missed five games around New Years and three more in April. Tony Parker missed 13 games total in December and February due to a bone spur in his left heel.

The Spurs 17-3 start was followed by a tough 11-13 stretch in December and January that included losses to the two worst teams in the league -- Memphis and Seattle. After six weeks of .500 basketball, the Spurs didn't look destined to repeat.

In February, the Spurs made some changes to try and turn things around. Damon Stoudamire joined the team. We traded Francisco Elson and Brent Barry to Seattle for Kurt Thomas. The Spurs seemed rejuvenated and won 15 out of 16. In March, Brent Barry rejoined the team and while he recuperated the Spurs closed out the season on a 13-9 roll, including eight straight wins.

It didn't seem to matter too much at the time, but the Spurs finished third in the West. Just one game separated the Spurs from the Lakers, from having home court advantage in the Conference Semifinals against the Hornets or the Conference Finals against the Lakers. If the Spurs had only won two more games during the regular season...

Last Thursday's game five loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles felt a lot like the season as a whole -- an emotional rollercoaster that started with a bang and ended with a dull thud. The Spurs raced off to an early 17 point lead and then collapsed in the second half. As was true in the regular season, the Lakers ultimately won the West.

After having had a few days to let things sink in, I recall losing faith in this team gradually as the season progressed. Part of me lost faith back in December after that 11-13 stretch. Part of me lost faith when we finished third in the West. Part of me lost faith when we lost game one in New Orleans. And seeing the Spurs squander 20 and 17 points against the Lakers eliminated what little hope I had left. This just wasn't our year.

That being said, I'm optimistic about the team's prospects for next season. I don't believe that time has run out for the Duncan-era Spurs. The Spurs will make changes. The Spurs will have three picks in this month's draft. Maybe they'll add a solid backup point guard like Mario Chalmers (Kansas) or an extremely versatile defender like Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky). We have Ian Mahinmi to look forward to, who averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Toros last year. Tim, Tony and Manu will get some well-deserved rest. And Robert Horry will finally retire.

We'll be here this summer and again in the fall, to praise and critique our favorite team. We hope you'll join us. Thanks for reading.

Former Spur New Stanford Coach

Johnny Dawkins spent three seasons in San Antonio, from the fall of 1986 to the spring of 1989. Those were dark days for Spurs fans. Alvin Robertson couldn't carry the weight of being a franchise player. Mike Mitchell, Artis Gilmore and Johnny Moore were headed towards retirement, and there wasn't a lot of promise for the future to be found in players like Frank Brickowski and Kevin Duckworth. The Spurs finished 6th in the '86-'87 season and 5th in '88 under Bob Weiss and 5th in '89 under Larry Brown.

But Dawkins showed tremendous promise. He was averaging 16 points and 7 assists per game when an injury hampered him in his second season. He spent most of his third season in rehab before being traded away to the 76ers, the season before the Spurs acquired David Robinson in the draft.

I always liked Johnny Dawkins as a player and often thought the Spurs might have beaten the Blazers in the 1990 playoffs had Dawkins been in the backcourt with Rod Strickland, instead of Maurice Cheeks or Vernon Maxwell. He was a disciplined player, the kind of player that would fit in well with Pop's system today. I'm sure he'll bring that same discipline to Stanford as their new head coach.

Johnny Dawkins has taken a precise, if not speedy, route to his new appointment: head coach of Stanford basketball. It is his first head-coaching job, after 11 years on the staff at Duke, where he is in the Hall of Fame as a player.

When Dawkins was an NBA rookie with the San Antonio Spurs, he and crusty Spurs veteran Johnnie Moore were shooting around in preseason camp when Moore inexplicably took Dawkins' ball and flung it into the stands. The annoyed Dawkins knew nothing about Moore other than his old-school reputation but decided the best course of action was to grab Moore's ball and throw it out the door of the arena.

"He looked at me," Dawkins said, "and I thought, 'OK, it's going to be on now, one way or the other,' and then he goes, 'You're a crazy rookie.' And laughed. He took me under his wing after that."