Keldon Johnson's Tarris Reed Jr. review shows the Spurs still see what others miss

The Spurs may have done it again. Striking gold late in the draft is an art form, and San Antonio's front office knows their way around a canvas. Tarris Reed Jr.'s teammates have had nothing but good things to say about him since training camp began, and that trend continued after Sunday evening's open scrimmage.

"He's been tremendous; he's been crashing the glass. Really good offensive rebounder. I was really surprised how advanced he was offensively and his touch around the rim has been amazing for us... He's physical, he's tough, sets good screens. He's everything you could want in a big man." - Keldon Johnson

Tarris Reed Jr. is giving the Spurs exactly what they needed

KJ's words will sound like music to the ears of Spurs fans everywhere. The fan base isn't a monolith by any means, but most seemed to agree that the Silver and Black needed more beef in the front court. As talented as Victor Wembanyama is, his slender frame makes it difficult to free up his guards off his screens. It's not always easy to take and hold position in the lane either.

The Bon Jovi karaoke singer can do those things and, with the right work ethic, will do them at a high level. Finding that kind of contributor with at 26, a pick SA went out and traded for on draft night isn't easy, but it's also very Spurs-like.

The Spurs have a long history of finding gems late in the draft

The biggest and most obvious examples of that are two members of the Big 3. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili may be basketball legends now, but TP was taken 28th overall in 2001, while Manu waited 57 picks to hear his name in 1999. San Antonio didn't stop finding late-round gems there, though.

Tiago Splitter was drafted 28th in 2007 and ended up as a long-time starter who helped the Silver and Black secure their fifth franchise championship in 2014.

Dejounte Murray (2016), Derrick White (2017), and Keldon Johnson (2019) were all selected No. 29 overall. These are a couple of All-Defensive players, with one newly crowned Sixth Man of the Year. Murray even made an All-Star Team during his time in San Antonio (2022).

The list goes on, but the story is the same. The Spurs may not strike gold on every pick—nobody does—but their scouting department is top-notch, and they develop players with the best of them.

Tarris Reed Jr. is the next late first-rounder in line to make a name for himself, and it sounds like he's already making his presence felt. It's obviously far too early to know whether he'll become the next Spurs draft-day success story, but the early returns are encouraging.

If the Bear can turn his skill set into consistent production, San Antonio will have found another gem where few teams were looking.

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