Spurs 2024 Draft grade: San Antonio selects Juan Nunez with the 36th pick
San Antonio trades down to take the Spanish guard.
After an eventful day-one of the 2024 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs still had work to do. With two selections in the second round, Brian Wright and the front office were once again looking to make moves. They made a deal with the Indiana Pacers, trading the 35th overall pick for the 36th selection and cash. The Pacers picked Kansas Freshman, Johnny Furphy with the 35th pick, and the Spurs took Spanish guard, Juan Nunez at 36.
Draft Grade: C
Juan Nunez, 6-foot-4 guard, Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
2023-2024 stats: 9.9 points, 4.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 47% FG, 31.9% 3PT, 60.7%
Nunez’s greatest strength is his passing ability in the pick and roll. Like many Spanish guards before him, Nunez plays with flair as a pass-first player. He’ll draw comparisons to Ricky Rubio given his nationality and play-style, but he isn’t nearly as quick as Rubio, and didn’t experience the same level of overseas success.
I’m excited to see where Juan Nunez gets drafted today. The 6’5 Spanish guard is arguably the best pick-and-roll playmaker in this class; an absolute magician with the ball who makes creative, decisive reads and picks apart defenses with spectacular vision and flair. pic.twitter.com/QeqQglJLiu
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 27, 2024
Nunez is a poor perimeter defender, and is very slow for a guard. To put it in perspective, he ran just .01 seconds faster than Purdue big man, Zach Edey, in the three-quarter court sprint at the NBA Draft combine. Despite being such a creative passer, he still struggles with turnovers, averaging 2.3 giveaways this past season. Nunez’s jump shot needs some work. He shoots just 31.9% from three and 60.7% from the free throw line. Much like Stephon Castle, Nunez showed some promise of hitting shots, but didn’t do it consistently enough to prove he’ll be a shooter at the next level.
Juan Nuñez had his best shooting performance of the season yesterday, going 4/5 from 3FG and 2/2 from the FT line en route to a 20 pt/5 assist/1 TO stat line vs Gottingen.
In his last 4 games, Nuñez is averaging 17 pts & 5 asts on 50% 3FG (7/14) & 78.9% FT (15/19). pic.twitter.com/qVCVtwQ6UX
— Jimmy Rhoades (@CoachJRhoades) March 10, 2024
It’s likely that Nunez is a draft-and-stash pick. San Antonio traded out of the eighth pick to gather assets and open cap space. It’s clear they want to maintain financial flexibility moving forward. Nunez could re-sign with Barca in Spain and continue to play in Europe until the Spurs want to bring him over. We will likely get more clarity on his contract situation in the coming days.
The Nunez pick is a bit hard to swallow. There was clear talent remaining on the board at 35, including Furphy, who is a better prospect than Nunez. They could have elected to pick the Serbian wing, Nikola Djurisic, who may have higher upside, and still likely stashed him. Clearly the Spurs value Nunez’s passing and floor vision at the point guard position to select him at this spot. The second round is always a crap shoot, and with the two-way contract, it’s become a game of who can team’s take that won’t hurt them financially or burn a roster spot.
Drafting Nunez is another long-term move, signaling that San Antonio is remaining patient in it’s rebuild. By selecting a draft-and-stash player, they keep the cap flexibility to acquire more assets this summer and beyond. The process makes sense, even if the prospect is less than perfect.
