Open Thread: Sports Illustrated predict the Spurs will draft Kevin Huerter
Pundits apparently limiting the Silver & Black to redheaded prospects.
As the draft day approaches, every sports writer and his uncle attempt to guess the fate of 30 NBA teams and dozens of prospective players. At this point, some mock drafts cannot even predict who will be the first player drafted. Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley, Jaren Jackson Jr., Michael Porter, Trae Young, and Mo Bamba are all up in the top 10, but some surprisingly have Doncic leading the pack ahead of Ayton.
The middle group of 10 (where the Spurs hold the #18 pick) feature the names of players Kevin Knox, Robert Williams, Miles Bridges, Anfernee Simons, Mitchell Robinson, Lonnie Walker, Zhaire Smith, and Aaron Holiday. Where these perspectives land in the pecking order is even more difficult to assess, and with trades and other forms of Draft Day madness, it’s anybody’s guess how this will all go down.
With that, Sports Illustrated has thrown the name Kevin Huerter as the 18th pick going to the San Antonio Spurs.
An interesting choice as many other mock drafts didn’t feature Huerter as high in the rankings. Like DiVincenzo, Huerter seems to be an outlier in the draft. At the time of the combine, Huerter considered returning to Maryland for another year. SI has him ranked higher in the 2019 draft, but states that he may go this seasnon as “the quality of his showing may have forced the issue.”
The 6’7” Maryland wing averaged 14.8 points per game in his sophomore season, but he will probably not be scouted for his offense. Huerter had an impressive fifteen straight made threes during a combine drill, but it is his defense that will be most likely to pique PATFOs interest as a development into a 3&D player might be his best fit in San Antonio.
His quick release from beyond the arc paired with his size could be the necessary jolt coming off the bench in the absence of players who are not locked in for 2018-19:
By comparison, Sports Illustrated had Donte DiVincenzo heading to Minnesota as the 20th pick in the draft. And CBS doesn’t have Kevin Huerter going in the first round.
Note: I first reported CBS to have Donte DiVincenzo in the #18 spot, but another CBS mock draft has him at #20 trading places with Khyri Thomas of Creighton. Lots of fluidity in this discussion.
Tomorrow: Yet another angle on the mock draft predicting an offensive-minded combo-forward heading to San Antonio.
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Source: Pounding The Rock
