Second-Round Gems for the San Antonio Spurs to strike on at No. 41

As the San Antonio Spurs get ready for the 2020 NBA Draft, they can’t overlook their options for adding talent with the 41st pick.

With the 2020 NBA Draft sneaking up, the San Antonio Spurs are finalizing their draft boards and decision trees. There are rumblings that the Spurs front office is being active in trade talks in hopes of trading up from their current position holding the 11th pick. We will know soon enough what the Spurs have in store with their highest first-round pick since 1997.

The Spurs also hold the 41st overall pick in the second round and while the odds of landing an impact player with this late a pick are lower, the team cannot take the opportunity lightly.

There are a lot of moving parts, but for anyone who has participated in a fantasy sports draft (whether football, basketball, or baseball), you always have a list of target players who you hope to come away with.  Let’s take a look at several players who have been categorized as second-round picks who would be welcome additions to the Alamo City.  Note: Everyone and their mother does an NBA mock draft, although few websites do the full two-round mock draft.  We looked at players who were not listed as first-round options by the majority of mainstream websites.

Mar 7, 2020; Gainesville, Florida, USA; NBA Draft prospect Immanuel Quickley (5) walks to the bench as he gets fouled out against the Florida Gators during the second half at Exactech Arena. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky, 6’4″, 188 lbs, Ranked 22nd in 2018 HS class

A quick-footed combo guard who comes from a blue-chip program, Immanuel Quickley is a fantastic prospect. Quickley has the height to play either guard position and although he needs to put on weight, he has a 6’10” wingspan.  He took a backseat to Tyler Herro his freshman season and Tyrese Maxey his sophomore season, but still managed to show his skillset.

Multiple mock drafts have him as a solid second-round pick, going between 38th and 53rd picks. The expectations should be tempered as he would be joining a team with guard depth, but at No. 41, Spurs fans can expect a player with George Hill similarities.

Cassius Stanley, Duke, 6’6″, 193 lbs, Ranked 39 in 2019 HS class

If success in the NBA was simply a result of athleticism, Cassius Stanley would be a star.  He has mad hops, boasting a 44-inch vertical and good size. With the right development, Winston can fill a role every NBA team needs: 3-and-D wing.  Stanley will not be the Spurs’ starting small forward of the future, but he has the tools to be a solid contributor who can provide 48 minutes of hell for the opponent’s best offensive wing player.

Daniel Oturu, Minnesota, 6’10”, 240 lbs, Ranked 59 in 2018 HS class

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The last option was a difficult choice amongst Daniel Oturu and Udoka Azubuike — Two bigs who are projected to be available at #41 and could provide front-court depth for the Spurs.  In selecting Udoka, it would have been a bias of blue-blood college programs (Duke, Kentucky, Kansas), so I decided to go for the Golden Gopher.

For some reason, Oturu is widely pegged as a second-round draft pick, despite averaging 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game as a sophomore. The production is there and although he may be slightly undersized as an NBA big, Spurs fans remember the impact DeJuan Blair had.

Whoever the Spurs select in the first and second round, here’s hoping they will be quality impact players for the Silver & Black (or teal) for many years to come. What do you think? Do any of these potential second-round draft picks inspire excitement?

If you have other sleeper picks, please feel free to share them with me on social media.