Ranking 7 first-round prospects Spurs are rumored to be coveting

2. Anthony Black

Guards with good positional size that can also handle the rock and make plays for others have become increasingly more valuable over the past several drafts (see: Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels), and Arkansas freshman Anthony Black certainly fits that mold. Standing at just a hair under 6-foot-6 without shoes, Black is easily the biggest guard prospect in his class not named Thompson, and is one of the two best defenders featured on this shortlist.

Black is a fast-paced guard that succeeds by using his quick processing and playmaking talent to put his teammates in the best possible position to score. Despite relatively poor floor spacing at Arkansas in the absence of Trevon Brazile and Nick Smith Jr., Black was frequently able to put pressure on the rim, finish at a decently good clip, and create opportunities for others when he couldn't score. For a Spurs team that is in desperate need of advantage creation, what Black can do on offense makes quite a bit of sense for them.

With this in mind, though, I question how useful of an off-ball threat Black will be on offense. In a vacuum, I'm higher on Black than any other guard prospect on this list, but his poor jump shot gives me pause. The Spurs' goal will likely be to put the ball in Victor Wembanyama's hands as much as possible, and finding players whose strengths will be magnified by Wembanyama's gravity will be crucial moving forward. While NBA spacing could help Black look even better as a scoring threat at the rim and playmaker, if he can't hit shots outside of the paint, I wonder how long that impact will last.