2013 NBA Draft: Spurs Select Livio Jean-Charles

By John Diaz
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Jun 27, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; A general view of the arena during the 2013 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

With the 28th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select…Livio Jean-Charles from France!

Jean-Charles is a 19 year old, 6’9″ small forward, who actually plays for the French team, ASVEL Basket, that Tony Parker is part owner of. Here’s some information from DraftExpress on Jean-Charles:

Defensively, Jean-Charles did a terrific job containing dribble penetration and challenging shots around the rim. Not a freak athlete, the 19-year old has good speed, and combined with his length and motor, showed the ability to defend both forward positions. Blocking a couple of dunks over the course of the week and a few on game day, Jean-Charles is a smart defender who could become an even more versatile on that end of the floor as his frame improves.

Moving forward, there are three areas of his game that will dictate what kind of player Jean-Charles can be down the road and likely define his NBA position: his physical strength, range on his jumper, and ball-handling ability. Possessing passable size for a power forward and very good length, Jean-Charles has gained some weight in recent years, but at 217 pounds, will need to continue getting stronger to better defend the post at the NBA level. A very reliable midrange shooter, albeit with a very long, unorthodox release, and sound decision-maker, Jean-Charles’s ability to handle the ball and make a standstill 3-pointer will determine whether he can become as versatile on the offensive end as he is on the defensive end.

Alex Kennedy mentioned a Livio Jean-Charles climbing up draft boards two weeks ago, but reminds us that Livio is a draft-and-stash candidate, at least for a year. And given that Tony Parker owns a small part of Asvel, a buyout shouldn’t be too difficult.

As I reported two weeks ago, the San Antonio Spurs picked Livio Jean-Charles. They're expected to stash him overseas for at least one year.

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 28, 2013

We’ll have more to come on the Spurs pick and the entire NBA Draft much later.

So what do you think, Spurs fans? Like the pick or do you wish they would have gone a different route?

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