San Antonio Spurs

Spurs General Manager Brian Wright Discusses Draft Selections of Vassell and Jones

November 19, 2020

Spurs-Trade-Illustration — PSN illustration/Photos via Spurs

After the San Antonio Spurs made their two 2020 draft selections of Devin Vassell with the 11th pick in the first round and Tre Jones with the 41st pick in the second round, Spurs General Manager Brian Wright spoke with the media about the two draft selections.

“Both very high character guys,” said Wright of Vassell and Jones. “(They) won at every level. We think we added to our team on the court tonight, but in the community and locker room too.”

Wright said Vassell brings the “ability to create, ability to score from all three levels.”

He also mentioned Vassell can “impact the game on both ends of the floor.”

“When Devin was there, we knew we had a good player at 11.”

“I think really well,” said Wright of how Vassell and Jones will fit with the current team. “Both (are) really good basketball players, (with a) high IQ. I think both of them know how to fit around other players. I think they fit in well with our entire group.”

Over the last two weeks the Spurs had been linked to a few rumors regarding trading up or trading down in the draft, and after keeping both of their picks, Wright said they did explore all options.

“There’s always a bunch of things on the board, whether it’s move up or move back. We tried to understand the whole board.”

Finally, I asked Wright how much the influence of playing a small ball style like the team did in the NBA restart will impact how the roster is built for this season, and he said it will, because that’s where the league is headed.

“I think you just look at the way the game is being played throughout the NBA. Obviously throughout the bubble you saw a lot of contrasting styles. But one thing we know for sure is speed, length, and shooting ability all holds value, so we’ll continue to look for those things. But first and foremost, you’ve got to get guys that are high character, unselfish, know how to the play the game, and I think that’s where this group really stood out to us in the draft.”