San Antonio Spurs: 2017 NBA Draft grades

No. 59 — Jaron Blossomgame, F, Clemson

Jaron Blossomgame was an interesting prospect going into the draft. He has the prototypical size and athleticism you want in a wing/forward for today’s game (6’7″, 220 pounds, 41″ vertical) and has shown the versatility to guard multiple positions.

While he had a productive senior year at Clemson, averaging 17.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, he does not have one skill right now considered “NBA-ready.”

At 24 years old, Blossomgame is one of the oldest players to be drafted this year — not a quality GMs are in love with these days. He also shot a career 29.6 percent from three in his four years of college. Although he projects as a good defender, his fundamentals and motor will need some work to be effective in the Spurs’ system.

That sounds like a lot of negatives, which is common for a 59th pick in the draft. But Blossomgame has a lot of nice things about his game as well, otherwise the Spurs wouldn’t have picked him!

Jaron has the ability to put himself in position offensively to score when he doesn’t have the ball. He is a good cutter and finishes well at the rim, finishing on 62.7 percent of his attempts at the rim, according to Synergy. So despite not being a great shooter or shot creator, he should be able to score with a low usage-rate in the Spurs’ offense.

His 1.8 offensive rebounds per game are also a good sign for him, as every extra possession is vital to a team in the postseason. His willingness to mix it up in the paint will make him a favorite with the organization and fans (think, Malik Rose?). He does also have the potential to make threes. His junior year he made 1.5 of his 3.3 attempts per game, and as long as he’s taking open shots within an offense, his percentages can continue to be way up.

Next: 2017 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams

Defensively is where Blossomgame will make his mark for the Spurs, and that’s just how they like it. With his willingness to play D and his versatility, he can immediately come in and guard bigger guards/small forwards/smaller power forwards. But as he gets stronger, smarter and more disciplinedm he should be able to stretch that range to guarding 1-4. In today’s NBA, having a guy that can do that is so important.

Grade: B+