Spurs Prospect Watch: Who Not to Watch Part III

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The San Antonio Spurs made some nice moves this summer with some signings and releases. While this is awesome and something to look forward to, we also need to be aware of potential draft implications. This likely means another late pick in 2018 as the Spurs are likely to win over 50 games this season. There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the NBA Draft in general, but don’t expect the Spurs to have an early pick unless some major trade goes down. So, to get it out of the system, this is the last part of a series of posts we’ll have on who you should expect to go early in the draft and why.

*This list is not in any order, but these players should be lottery or mid-first round guys out of reach for the Spurs*

Robert Williams – The kid right down the road for the Spurs — he plays for Texas A&M — will be a can’t-miss prospect. He was supposed to be a lottery pick last year, but came back for a sophomore season and led the Aggies to the top half of the SEC. The near 7-footer has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and he will get the chance to show that he can be an elite rim protector. He’ll also get a chance on offense to be an excellent half of a pick-and-roll as a good finisher. He’ll also have to show improved shooting from the perimeter.

Jaren Jackson – The Michigan State Spartan is only a freshman this season, but he’s supposed to be an absolute freak. He will have to get a little tougher, but playing under Head Coach Tom Izzo should certainly help that process along quickly. He has the potential to be a great rim protector and will have the opportunity to create a few shots for himself as an elite athletic 6-foot-11 and 225-pound big man.

Bruce Brown – The Miami Hurricane is only a sophomore, but his major knock against him is that he is already 21 and so he would easily be one of the older prospects in this upcoming draft. However, the 6-foot-5 guard is a lockdown defender, works hard at both ends of the court and will team up with Lonnie Walker to become the scoring punch this team needs in the ACC.

Trevon Duval – The Duke point guard will have a chance to prove he’s as special as the recruiting rankings had him. His major weakness is his ability to shoot the ball and that may stay hidden considering the talent he’ll have to pass the ball to all season. He’s likely playing with four or even other first-round talents so his job will be to control the offense to make sure everyone looks good. If he does that, he’ll end up looking pretty good himself.

Gary Trent Jr. – He could become the go-to scorer Duke needs as a freshman and has NBA bloodlines as his dad played in the league from 1995 to 2004 as well as a few years overseas. He’s got prototypical size as a shooting guard at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds. He will have to prove he can play some defense and he will have some help behind him so we may not see the strides we’re hoping for, but he will be picked because of his shooting ability.

You can read Who Not to Watch Part I and Who Not to Watch Part II by clicking on each of their links. 

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