Ballings7 wrote:Well, another 6'5"-ish, 200lbs-ish wing.. but hopefully has an above-average wingspan. But, nice, anyway, would say its a safe and good pick -- He sounds like another reliable and productive 2-way wing. Need to gather more familarity with him.
Most sites have him at 6'7", 6'10" wingspan, around 200lbs. Strong improvements from year one to two in college, and has a foundation for D&3 - so from the start, we've raised the floor. D let us down sorely last season. I think we tried going for O and teaching the D hoping it would come along and it didn't work. In the bubble, we saw that we could still score but with far better D (a lot went into the process that led us to play the guys we did. It wouldn't have worked as well at the beginning of the season. But that's for another thread). With Vassell and Jones, we improve 3 and playmaking while solidifying the D a lot.
He and Jones were both slotted higher than our picks, so that we didn't have to make a move to get them is a bonus. I was torn between Vassell and Haliburton when our selection was up, but after hearing that Haliburton and his agent reportedly told teams above SAC not to draft him because he wanted to go there, well that made the decision all the easier.
I thought that whoever got Haliburton would get a special player, and still do, but these kinds of maneuvers rub me the wrong way a bit. Perhaps providence stepped in and graced us with the guys who were meant to be with us, making the selection far more comfortable.
I can't wait to see teams trying to get past DJ, Derrick, Keldon, Lonnie, Devin, and Tre. Then being met by Jakob. It'll be a far more enjoyable season with some solid D back where it belongs in the Spurs identity.
