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#38 pick - San Antonio Spurs
Having already selected Khaman Maluach and Cedric Coward -- no matter what -- I thought the Spurs could sneak through the draft once more with either Tyrese Proctor or Sion James, but the rest of the league has caught on. They're gone already, to Minnesota and Brooklyn. I could still pick a Duke or Duke-adjacent player who is draft eligible: there's Mason Gillis, Jeremy Roach, Henry Coleman III, Jaemyn Brakefield, and even Spencer Hubbard. None of those guys are crashing the Mock Drafts and Big Boards right now, so if they don't get drafted, I'll keep them in mind as undrafted free agents and offer them all Summer League contracts. Maybe that potential lineup will get Coach K to visit Las Vegas next month and attend a Spurs game, after he's watched Chelsea Gray and the Aces of the WNBA. (Wait, can I draft Chelsea Gray? She's the passer that Kasparas Jakučionis wants to be.)
I'm looking for a guard who can shoot and defend, and I'm flying a little blind here. Kam Jones and Chaz Lanier are projected to be second rounders, so I started with them. Both are aged 23, about the same listed height (6-5) and weight (205), and each averaged 18-19 points per game last season.
As late as last December, Jones was considered the third best player in college basketball, behind Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome, but he seemingly faded as Marquette began play in the Big East, and eventually fell to the All-America second team. In his senior year, he took over passing duties from the graduated Tyler Kolek, and his assist average shot up (from 2.4 to 5.9), while his scoring (17.2 to 19.2) and rebounding (2.9 to 4.5) also improved. As a shooter, however, he peaked as a junior. If you compare his last two seasons, he shot 2-pointers with more volume and about as well (59.6 percent to 58.6 percent), but was far less successful converting the same number of attempted outside shots (40.6 percent to 31.1 percent) and free throws (72.4 percent to 64.8 percent).
Lanier also slipped a bit as an outside shooter between his final season at North Florida and his lone season at Tennessee (44.0 percent to 39.5 percent), but that could be attributed to a higher level of competition, and it's still better than Jones' latest number. Lanier also measured better than Jones at the NBA Combine, slightly taller without shoes (6' 3.75" versus 6' 3.25") and a significantly longer wingspan (6' 9.00" versus 6' 6.00"). That better shooting and length comes at a cost, though, as Lanier is less of a passer and a defender at this stage.
I was leaning toward Lanier, but didn't love either choice, so I returned to the San Antonio River Mock to think about it some more. I encountered a man sitting on a sidewalk, and he looked up and said to me, unprompted, "The Spurs need to Show Me something. Why don't they just draft the Missouri guy?" I was taken aback, wondering how he knew I was thinking about basketball, and I reached into my pocket to give him some loose change. It was then that I realized three things:
1) It's 2025, and I don't carry loose change anymore;
2) There's a third Costner-esque note in my pocket (see below); AND
3) I think I've been wearing the same pair of pants all week.
By "the Missouri guy", he was referring to Tamar Bates, who is projected by some to go late in the second round. But he just might be a better version of Chaz Lanier, less publicized and heralded despite playing in the same conference, the almighty SEC. Bates is the same height without shoes (6' 3.75") but has an even longer wingspan (6' 10.25"). He's also 22, more than a year younger than Lanier, and happens to be a better shooter (39.7 percent outside, 50.8 percent from the field, 94.8 percent at the line). That's pretty close to a 40-50-90 season.
His pre-draft process was a rags-to-riches story, starting at the Portsmouth Invitational, continuing through the G League Elite Camp, then making it to the NBA Combine. He's not a great jumper, but has sufficient speed and has impressed in scrimmages. No Ceilings NBA did a recap of Portsmouth, and the writer thought Bates did enough to reinforce his expectation as a strong shooter and reconsider his reputation as a bad passer:
In the NBA, shooters don’t often get easy looks. While tough shot making can often be indicative of a player’s inability to generate clean looks, the bottom line is that NBA shooters don’t often get handed easy shots by NBA defenses. Bates’ knack for hitting deep, contested shots off movement bodes well for him. Plus, when he’s chased off the line, he has the bounce to finish above the rim. He’s tough through contact. Defensively, he’s a solid disruptor (2.9 STL%, 0.6 BLK%). His activity and rotations were on point. The fact that he came in with a 6’10” wingspan helps, too.
What I’d worried about with Bates was in terms of his passing feel. He posted paltry assist rates and had a negative [not really negative, but under 1.0] assist-to-turnover ratio last year. For older prospects who are under 6’8”, that’s usually a disqualifier (or at least a red flag). In Portsmouth, Bates looked like a different dude. He threw multiple accurate lob passes on the go and dishes out some slick deliveries to big men through the pocket in ball screens. Bates had seven assists in the week’s third game. For whatever reason, he seemed way more comfortable and in control this week. I’m hesitant to get too excited given the vast sample of prior performances, but if Bates can play like that all the time, there will be something real to work with.
TL, DR version: With the 38th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Tamar Bates, 6-5 guard, Missouri.
@FerryFor50 and the Toronto Raptors are next with the 39th pick.
Having already selected Khaman Maluach and Cedric Coward -- no matter what -- I thought the Spurs could sneak through the draft once more with either Tyrese Proctor or Sion James, but the rest of the league has caught on. They're gone already, to Minnesota and Brooklyn. I could still pick a Duke or Duke-adjacent player who is draft eligible: there's Mason Gillis, Jeremy Roach, Henry Coleman III, Jaemyn Brakefield, and even Spencer Hubbard. None of those guys are crashing the Mock Drafts and Big Boards right now, so if they don't get drafted, I'll keep them in mind as undrafted free agents and offer them all Summer League contracts. Maybe that potential lineup will get Coach K to visit Las Vegas next month and attend a Spurs game, after he's watched Chelsea Gray and the Aces of the WNBA. (Wait, can I draft Chelsea Gray? She's the passer that Kasparas Jakučionis wants to be.)
I'm looking for a guard who can shoot and defend, and I'm flying a little blind here. Kam Jones and Chaz Lanier are projected to be second rounders, so I started with them. Both are aged 23, about the same listed height (6-5) and weight (205), and each averaged 18-19 points per game last season.
As late as last December, Jones was considered the third best player in college basketball, behind Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome, but he seemingly faded as Marquette began play in the Big East, and eventually fell to the All-America second team. In his senior year, he took over passing duties from the graduated Tyler Kolek, and his assist average shot up (from 2.4 to 5.9), while his scoring (17.2 to 19.2) and rebounding (2.9 to 4.5) also improved. As a shooter, however, he peaked as a junior. If you compare his last two seasons, he shot 2-pointers with more volume and about as well (59.6 percent to 58.6 percent), but was far less successful converting the same number of attempted outside shots (40.6 percent to 31.1 percent) and free throws (72.4 percent to 64.8 percent).
Lanier also slipped a bit as an outside shooter between his final season at North Florida and his lone season at Tennessee (44.0 percent to 39.5 percent), but that could be attributed to a higher level of competition, and it's still better than Jones' latest number. Lanier also measured better than Jones at the NBA Combine, slightly taller without shoes (6' 3.75" versus 6' 3.25") and a significantly longer wingspan (6' 9.00" versus 6' 6.00"). That better shooting and length comes at a cost, though, as Lanier is less of a passer and a defender at this stage.
I was leaning toward Lanier, but didn't love either choice, so I returned to the San Antonio River Mock to think about it some more. I encountered a man sitting on a sidewalk, and he looked up and said to me, unprompted, "The Spurs need to Show Me something. Why don't they just draft the Missouri guy?" I was taken aback, wondering how he knew I was thinking about basketball, and I reached into my pocket to give him some loose change. It was then that I realized three things:
1) It's 2025, and I don't carry loose change anymore;
2) There's a third Costner-esque note in my pocket (see below); AND
3) I think I've been wearing the same pair of pants all week.
By "the Missouri guy", he was referring to Tamar Bates, who is projected by some to go late in the second round. But he just might be a better version of Chaz Lanier, less publicized and heralded despite playing in the same conference, the almighty SEC. Bates is the same height without shoes (6' 3.75") but has an even longer wingspan (6' 10.25"). He's also 22, more than a year younger than Lanier, and happens to be a better shooter (39.7 percent outside, 50.8 percent from the field, 94.8 percent at the line). That's pretty close to a 40-50-90 season.
His pre-draft process was a rags-to-riches story, starting at the Portsmouth Invitational, continuing through the G League Elite Camp, then making it to the NBA Combine. He's not a great jumper, but has sufficient speed and has impressed in scrimmages. No Ceilings NBA did a recap of Portsmouth, and the writer thought Bates did enough to reinforce his expectation as a strong shooter and reconsider his reputation as a bad passer:
In the NBA, shooters don’t often get easy looks. While tough shot making can often be indicative of a player’s inability to generate clean looks, the bottom line is that NBA shooters don’t often get handed easy shots by NBA defenses. Bates’ knack for hitting deep, contested shots off movement bodes well for him. Plus, when he’s chased off the line, he has the bounce to finish above the rim. He’s tough through contact. Defensively, he’s a solid disruptor (2.9 STL%, 0.6 BLK%). His activity and rotations were on point. The fact that he came in with a 6’10” wingspan helps, too.
What I’d worried about with Bates was in terms of his passing feel. He posted paltry assist rates and had a negative [not really negative, but under 1.0] assist-to-turnover ratio last year. For older prospects who are under 6’8”, that’s usually a disqualifier (or at least a red flag). In Portsmouth, Bates looked like a different dude. He threw multiple accurate lob passes on the go and dishes out some slick deliveries to big men through the pocket in ball screens. Bates had seven assists in the week’s third game. For whatever reason, he seemed way more comfortable and in control this week. I’m hesitant to get too excited given the vast sample of prior performances, but if Bates can play like that all the time, there will be something real to work with.
TL, DR version: With the 38th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Tamar Bates, 6-5 guard, Missouri.
@FerryFor50 and the Toronto Raptors are next with the 39th pick.
