The San Antonio Spurs had three chances to draft prospects that push them closer to their usual setting as title contenders. Here, we take a brief look at each of those selections, and how they could fit with the current roster.
For the San Antonio Spurs, the 2019 NBA Draft turned out about as Spurs-like as one might expect. Amidst rumors that the Spurs would orchestrate a trade to move up and fulfill a need, they stuck to a simple plan, and will have the opportunity to welcome three new players to the roster.
The organization came in with three selections — the 19th, 29th, and 49th picks — hoping to find sleeper prospects to bolster last year’s 48-34 roster that came within a few possessions of a trip to the Western Conference semifinals.
Per usual, the San Antonio Spurs’ roadmap to finding prospects remained unchanged. As reported by Jordan Howenstine, the Basketball Communications Coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs, the franchise entered its 23rd consecutive NBA Draft without a lottery selection.
Every single team in the NBA has picked in the lottery at least once since 2007, except the San Antonio Spurs - who haven’t had a lottery pick since 1997.
— Jordan Howenstine (@AirlessJordan) June 20, 2019
True to form, the Spurs stayed authentic in drafting Internationally with Luka Samanic – something they’ve done in over half their selections since the Tim Duncan era.
In between that, they managed to select Kentucky’s Keldon Johnson, a player whose slide surprised the NBA TV analysts on draft night.
The final selection came in the form of efficient Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, adding to what has become a backcourt where even the backups have backups.
Hindsight always works itself out, but for now, it appears the Spurs came away at least close to what they’d hoped to gather from Thursday night’s draft.
With that in mind, it’s time take a look at some grades on how the players should fit, draft positioning, and what one should expect from the triumvirate of prospects in the near future.