San Antonio Spurs: Top 5 2021 first-round draft targets

These are the five players the San Antonio Spurs should be thinking about

San Antonio Spurs fans should be excited about the 2021 NBA Draft. Now that the NCAA regular season and March Madness are behind us, the speculation can finally begin about who they’ll be picking on July 29th.

Among early-season game cancellations due to COVID-19, injuries, and other inconsistencies, the 2020-21 regular season has been a challenging one for the Spurs, to say the least. The team is currently facing a harsh reality: they are hovering around .500 and are only barely managing to hang onto the 10th seed in the Western Conference.

To make matters worse, the upcoming schedule for the Spurs is brutal. The lottery is looking like an increasingly likely landing spot for the Spurs, but I urge fans not to be too disappointed about that.

The 2021 class is stacked to the point that it has already received comparisons to legendary drafts like LeBron James’s 2003 class. While the golden rule of the draft states always to pick the best player available, there are several caveats to this rule depending on draft position, fit, future upside, etc., especially in such a talented draft class. So who should the Spurs be targeting?

The most obvious position of need for the Spurs at this point is the power forward. While Jakob Poeltl has had a fantastic season as the Spurs starting center, one could argue that the Spurs also still need reliable bigs coming off the bench despite their recent pickup of Gorgui Dieng from the free agent market. Generally speaking, though, the Spurs need size, especially with players like Keldon Johnson and Demar DeRozan being a bit undersized for their positions.

In terms of what skills the Spurs need on the court, several things come to mind. While they have obviously had some shooting struggles this season, the Spurs also currently sit at 17th in the league in team assists per game and 19th in the league in total rebounds per game– two issues that are more challenging to fix in the modern NBA compared to shooting.

The Spurs have also had quite a bit of trouble defending the 3-point shot, so perimeter defense would be something else to look for in the draft. With all of that in mind, this list of potential prospects assumes that the Spurs will stick with their current lineup of guards and aim to draft a power forward or stretch five in the first round.

Primarily, I’m looking for well-balanced players on offense and defense with the potential to improve on either or both sides of the floor. Finally, I am looking for players who can help address at least two of the issues listed above, emphasizing rebounding and playmaking.

Next: Player #5

San Antonio Spurs Draft Prospect 5: Usman Garuba (Real Madrid)

Usman Garuba was featured on my way-too-early list of San Antonio Spurs draft prospects from this past January, and not too much has changed in my mind about him. Garuba is a 6’8, 230-pound combo forward/center who has played with Real Madrid since age 11.

After finishing in first place at the 2018-19 U18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament and playing two seasons with Real Madrid’s first team (both in the ACB and Euroleague), Garuba has proven himself worthy of being a first-round pick in the upcoming draft.

The regular season has made it abundantly clear that, despite the efforts of the Spurs’ best defenders in Jakob Poeltl, Dejounte Murray, and even Derrick White, the Spurs will need to add some defensive firepower to the roster.

While the addition of Gorgui Dieng was certainly a good start toward that goal, adding Garuba would be another step in the right direction. He is one of the more switchable players on the defensive end in this draft, having the length to contest shooters on the perimeter and block shots near the basket, particularly in the pick and roll. His athleticism and mobility for his size should complement the likes of Lonnie Walker and Murray very well on both sides of the floor.

The fifth spot on this list nearly went to one of either Scottie Barnes or Isaiah Jackson, but their offensive production is a big concern of mine, particularly with Barnes. Unfortunately, the same can be said about Garuba.

I was hopeful that he would show some sort of improvement in his scoring in his second full season with Real Madrid’s first team, but in fact, his production has only dropped lower than it already was. While he has some decent post moves and is more than capable of finishing at and above the rim, his shooting numbers are less than promising.

He has shot at about 29 percent from beyond the arc through 65 games and only shoots at about 55 percent from the free-throw line. That said, Garuba is playing only about 16 minutes per game and playing against much tougher competition in the ACB and Euroleague, where it is typically more difficult to score.

If the Spurs were to end up with a mid-to-late first-round pick and none of the other players on this list are available, Garuba would make a fantastic energetic and defensive addition at the very least, but the front office would be asking a lot from Chip Engelland in the developmental department.

That said, if his offense develops well, he could have the versatility to play the four or five on offense while helping the Spurs’ perimeter defense and rebounding needs on the defensive end.

Next: Player #4

San Antonio Spurs Draft Prospect 4: Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky)

Even though the Hilltoppers didn’t make an NCAA Tournament appearance, I am totally convinced that the San Antonio Spurs and Charles Bassey would be a match made in heaven. This 20-year-old big man is tremendously underrated as many mock drafts have him going well into the second round for reasons that are entirely bewildering to me.

Bassey stands at 6-11, weighs in at 235 pounds, and averaged 17.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game in his 28 games with the Hilltoppers this season. For more traditional big men, his motor, speed, and mobility went unmatched in the NCAA this past season, to the point that he may be the most athletic center coming into the 2021 draft.

What solidifies him as a first-round pick in my mind, though, is his shooting potential. He shoots nearly 76 percent from the free-throw line and gradually improved his 3-point shooting over the course of the regular season to 30 percent. These are indicators that he could potentially develop a reliable jump shot to help space the floor.

Generally speaking, I don’t have many negative things to say about Bassey. He can run the court with ease, he’s a defensive-minded player with offensive upside, and he gives off shades of Keldon Johnson in terms of his effort at the glass.

If I had to nitpick any part of his game, it would be his footwork. At times in the post, he would force awkward shots because of how he was moving his feet, and he tended to travel on attempted dribble drives. He is not the highest IQ player either but usually seemed very comfortable on the court despite missing the majority of the prior season. I don’t see this as a huge issue, though, especially if he were to work out those kinks with Tim Duncan.

The most significant concern about Bassey among NBA circles that’s preventing him from being a consensus first-round pick is his proneness to injury. He suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his leg that ended his sophomore season in Western Kentucky that also supposedly caused some damage to the cartilage in his knee.

While this understandably may have some teams worried, this should be far from being a dealbreaker for Bassey. Western Kentucky provided some insight into his recovery, with his head coach noting, “not many people would have worked as hard as Charles worked to get himself back.”

This, along with the fact that he intentionally chose a program like Western Kentucky over some Power Five schools in favor of development over media attention, has me very high on Bassey’s intangibles.

This is also not to mention that Bassey improved virtually every major statistical aspect of his game even after coming off such an awful injury. I do not have a shred of doubt in my mind that if Bassey had not been injured, and if he had chosen a school with a more recognized basketball program, he would have been a lottery pick in whichever draft he chose to enter. If he falls to the second round, let alone the late first round, he will be an automatic steal for whoever lands him.

Next: Player #3

San Antonio Spurs Draft Prospect 3: Kai Jones (Texas)

By all accounts, this was supposed to be the year of Greg Brown at the University of Texas, but lo and behold, Kai Jones had something to say about that. The 6-11, 218-pound sophomore has only played organized basketball for about five years but has come a long way, to say the least.

While they are very different players in terms of what they provide on the court, I see Kai Jones much in the same vein as Patrick Williams coming out of college: he’s a player with the tools to become an excellent NBA player that played most of his minutes in college coming off the bench.

In that way, looking at stats alone will not necessarily represent how good of a player Jones is now, and certainly not how good he could become in the NBA. Playing most of his minutes at the power forward position, Jones recorded an average of 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and nearly one block and steal per game.

Like some of the others on this list, Jones is a superb athlete that, at the next level, could at least be a rim-runner that’s a constant lob threat. Generally speaking, if he is anywhere near the other team’s basket, that other team is guaranteed to have a bad time. He’s also shown some promise as a potential stretch big, shooting about 69 percent from the free-throw line and a very respectable 38 percent from three (although only on 34 total attempts).

His ability to contort his body while remaining controlled is nearly super-human, which has allowed him to hit some tough contested jump shots and have some crazy-looking finishes at the rim. His potential on defense is just as interesting as his athleticism has allowed him to be a more-than-capable shot-blocker on the perimeter and in the paint during his time with the Longhorns.

On the occasions he’s had to switch onto smaller guards and wing players, his agility for his size has allowed him to guard them respectably well, even on highly skilled players like Cade Cunningham.

With all of that in mind, Jones’s potential on both sides of the floor is just that: potential. Of all the players featured on this list, Jones may have the biggest boom-or-bust potential. His IQ and decision-making are still largely a work-in-progress, and generally speaking, he is very raw.

At the same time, his two-way potential is sky-high. Because of this, by selecting Jones in the draft, the Spurs would be taking a bit of a gamble on his development. Personally, seeing how far he has been able to go in only five years of playing basketball, and considering how well he could fit within the Spurs young core, I would not mind this gamble at all, even if it takes a few years to pay off.

Next: Player #2

San Antonio Spurs Draft Prospect 2: Alperen Sengun (Besiktas J.K.)

I must admit that I was a big skeptic of Alperen Sengun only a couple of months ago despite the fact that he made my list of dark-horse draft candidates for the San Antonio Spurs. Since then, he’s become one of my favorite players in the entire draft class.

Upon first glance of Alperen Sengun, he may appear as a more or less rudimentary big man that is unathletic and lives in the post. While he is definitely the least athletic prospect on this list, limiting him to that kind of label would be a huge mistake for teams to make in the upcoming draft.

This was initially a concern of mine as well with Sengun, but after watching him play more and more, it has become abundantly clear that his lack of athleticism is overblown and that it may not even matter in the first place.

Sengun currently plays with Besiktas of the Turkish Super League (BSL), and through 26 games, has averaged 19.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. To see an 18-year-old having this kind of production in the Turkish Super League is incredibly uncommon, and he is well-deserving of more praise than he’s getting.

Outside of Liga ACB, the Turkish Super League is among the most challenging, if not the most challenging league in all of European basketball, and an 18-year-old is handily outplaying grown men on the court in more ways than one.

Sengun may just be the most highly skilled player on this list (perhaps besides the first pick on this list), and that is by far his biggest appeal. He is very fundamentally sound, particularly on the offensive end of the floor. He has impeccable footwork, can dish out some of the most impressive passes out of all the big men in his draft class, shoots nearly 79 percent from the free-throw line on about seven attempts per game, and seems to be decently comfortable with putting the ball on the floor in a variety of situations.

At the time of the writing of this article, he is in second place in total points, rebounds, and blocks out of all players in the entire Turkish Super League and stands a very good chance of winning league MVP. If that hasn’t convinced you, he is also currently leading the league in player efficiency rating at 35.8 and will be one of the youngest players entering the draft.

With all of these positives in mind, Sengun does come with some potential risks. He is reportedly standing at 6-10 with a supposed wingspan of about 7’0.5″, which for defending NBA centers, could be a bit undersized. Simultaneously, he may not be mobile enough to adequately defend the one through four positions in the NBA.

While Sengun has several offensive tools that could help to translate his game to the NBA, he would also need to develop a more reliable jump shot. However, his free throw efficiency is a good indicator that Chip Engelland would have something good to work with.

At worst, Sengun will provide the Spurs with some much-needed rebounding on both sides of the floor and an extra dose of playmaking ability on offense. At best, he could be the Spurs’ version of Domantas Sabonis with greater defensive upside. If the Spurs end up in the lottery, it would not surprise me in the least to hear Alperen Sengun’s name called on draft night.

Next: Player #1

San Antonio Spurs Draft Prospect 2: Evan Mobley (USC)

Let’s entertain for a moment that the San Antonio Spurs miraculously end up with a top-four pick in this year’s draft. If it is the first overall pick, it should be used on nobody other than Cade Cunningham, but that’s a different discussion. In the case that the Spurs have the second, third, or fourth pick (and assuming Cunningham is off the board), whether it be through a trade-up or him still being available, the Spurs need to consider going all-in on Evan Mobley.

Evan Mobley appears to be one of the players in this draft class with extremely high expectations coming into the NCAA season and fully met those expectations now that the season is over, being that he’s already being compared to former NBA stars like Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh.

That said, Mobley’s combination of size, mobility, and skills are too unique to make any meaningful comparisons. He is already elite at some of the skills one would expect with a seven-footer, like shot-blocking and finishing above the rim on offense. For his size, though, he is additionally an extremely impressive ball-handler and one of the best passers in his class regardless of position.

The 19-year-old is simply on a different stratosphere than the vast majority of prospects in his draft class and surely could have gone number one overall in a number of other drafts based on skillset alone, including this past year.

He isn’t called a unicorn for no reason. There has even been some debate about whether or not he should be the number one overall pick in this year’s draft, although I find it very hard to believe that any team would be willing to pass on Cunningham.

While Mobley isn’t the best of outside shooters just yet, he is still well above average for a big man with a lot of room to improve.

If I were forced to have any shred of a complaint about Mobley’s game, it would be his passiveness. Mobley was undoubtedly the most talented player on his team at USC this past season, and yet he was not afraid at all to share the ball with his teammates.

While this may sound like more of a compliment than something to complain about, there were a few times (mostly early on in the season) when he was passive almost to a fault, with USC’s loss to Oregon State in late January immediately coming to mind.

All things considered, though, considering his IQ, skillset, and athleticism, he would fit in seamlessly with the Spurs, and probably just about any other NBA team for that matter. If the front office believes that they will be in striking range of Evan Mobley come draft night, it would be a move well worth the potential cost.