San Antonio Spurs: 3 versatile big men the Spurs need to be watching

Isaiah Jackson would be a project player for the San Antonio Spurs

Isaiah Jackson is another big man who can impact the game who can impact the game on both ends of the floor. But he’s going to need more time to develop than both Mobley and Jones and doesn’t have as high of a ceiling.

What Jackson would give San Antonio right away is another elite defender to pair with Jakob Poeltl. A tremendous athlete with an intimidating 7-5 wingspan, Jackson has a scary blend of physical gifts that helped him be a real disruptor on the defensive end.

Jackson ranked 12th in the NCAA in total blocks, a feat made even more impressive when you consider that he was only playing around 20 minutes per game. His playing time fluctuated but Jackson made his moments count, blocking 12.7 of opponent two pointers when he was on the floor.

Any team that drafts Jackson will have to have a good plan in place to help grow his offensive game. He’s pretty raw on that end of the floor, his impact has mostly been limited to finishing off easy looks at the rim.

But he has shot 70 percent from the free-throw line and that’s historically been a strong indicator of a player’s ability to develop a jump shot in the NBA. If there is a team that can help bring that out of Jackson it’ll be the Spurs and their proven system of developing young talent in Austin.

Jackson is one of the youngest players in this draft class and it shows. He just turned 19 in January and even though he might physically be able to play in the NBA today it would likely be a while before he ever cracked Gregg Popovich’s rotation.

That would be a good thing though. The Spurs recently started a lineup full of players who had all gone back and forth between San Antonio and Austin at some point in their young careers. They know what they’re doing and it works. If you put Isaiah Jackson into that system I’d bet on him becoming a high-end role player at the very least.

We’ve still got a long way until the 2021 NBA Draft but these young bigs are all players that the San Antonio Spurs should be scouting as part of their draft prep.