San Antonio Spurs: 2018 NBA Draft grades

No. 49: Chimezie Metu, USC

After taking a guard with their first round pick, it made a lot of sense for the Spurs to target a big man in the second round. As I wrote about previously, Metu was the best option at this stage in the draft if the Spurs wanted to get a center.

He was projected to go slightly higher than 49th, so the fact that he was available was certainly welcome news for the Spurs.

Metu will be a nice addition for a Spurs team that is sorely lacking in big man talent. Between Pau Gasol and Joffrey Lauvergne, the position really is a train wreck.

You could count LaMarcus Aldridge as a center, but the fact is, he is more of power forward. He also doesn’t excel at traditional big man tasks, such as rebounding and shot-blocking.

Metu, however, has shown he can be a force in both those categories, averaging 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in only 27 minutes per game at USC. No offense to LaMarcus, but I’d like to see him do something like this:

Metu’s game is still raw and he has to work on consistency and defense. These are common weaknesses in a rookie, though, and what better place to develop than San Antonio?

The Spurs have an impressive track record of developing their young players and head coach Gregg Popovich is known for getting the most potential out of the talent on his team. Coach Pop won’t stand for this kind of behavior though:

https://twitter.com/thefinalhornpod/status/1010006973423738882

On the whole, this was another very good pick for the Spurs. There were other good players on the board, but plugging the hole at the center position is a priority and Metu will help do exactly that. It will be interesting to see what Popovich can get out of this talented young big man in his rookie season.

Grade: A