As expected, the Spurs have assigned rookie Joshua Primo to their G League affiliate in Austin. According to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link), Primo isn’t expected to travel with the NBA club to Dallas, Milwaukee, and Indiana for its next three games and will instead remain in the G League during that time.
McDonald says it’s possible Primo will return to San Antonio after the Spurs’ road trip comes to an end next week, but it’s probably safe to assume the 18-year-old will spend plenty of time in Austin during his rookie year. Primo is the youngest player in the NBA, and the Spurs typically exercise plenty of patience with their top prospects.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Pelicans wing Josh Hart, who has missed the team’s last three games due to right quadriceps tendinosis, said on Wednesday that he felt soreness during the preseason, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Hart is getting closer to returning to action, but wants to be sure he’s back to 100% and expressed doubts about returning tonight.
- While the eventual return of Zion Williamson should help unlock the Pelicans‘ full offensive potential, the team probably needs to play slower and more deliberately as long as the former No. 1 pick remains sidelined, according to Scott Kushner of NOLA.com, who says New Orleans can’t afford to turn the ball over so much.
- In a discussion on Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast about the Mavericks‘ front office over the years, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon suggested that forward Chandler Parsons was the “primary voice in (team owner Mark) Cuban‘s ear” for a couple years back in 2014-15. “Chandler Parsons had significantly more control over personnel than Donnie Nelson did for two years,” MacMahon said, per Dan Feldman of NBC Sports. “That is simply a fact.”
I typically don’t have a big issue with what San Antonio does, because it usually works out well for them. But I think they made a big mistake drafting Primo. Or at least drafting him as high as they did. I think they could have picked him up by trading several spots and picked up an additional asset or two at the same time.
Selecting the youngest guy in the draft was the same excuse the Knicks gave for picking Kevin Knox, an he was an even better prospect than Primo. I didn’t read of anyone that Primo as a top 15 pick, let alone the 12 pick. Just a bad use of their asset.
Definitely, no way San Antonio warrants receiving the benefit of the doubt on prospect evaluation.
Not sure if serious
I initially was shocked by the pick. But as more information has come out. OKC was likely to grab him at 16. He has looked impressive in the summer league and the preseason. He also showed a nice touch in the limited minutes he’s played in regular seasons games. I think he has a shot at being a dynamic player, so I’m not upset at the pick now. Let’s give him a few years before criticizing the selection.
My point is not that he will end up a bad player. It’s just he was picked too early at 12. If OKC had picked him at 16, I would equally criticize them. Besides, just because someone else is willing to take someone too early doesn’t justify you taking them even earlier.
No one really knows how any of the drafted players will turn out in 3-5 years. Anyone that claims otherwise is just lying to themselves and to you. But draftees do have a perceived value which is really the best way to IMMEDIATELY determine how well a team drafted.
Of course, perception is not always correct and sometimes players drafted “too early” end up as the best players in the draft. I just feel SA could have moved down a few spots and still gotten their guy along with another asset. There were reports that the Warriors and others really liked Duarte who went at 13. Primo could be a nice player, but a comparable player along another asset or two would likely surpass that value.
I can’t remember a draft when there was as much reported trade up interest for late lottery picks like #12, and virtually none for picks in the high teens and early 20’s. So, a trade down for premium value (per the charts) appeared more than doable.
However, if I were drafting for an NBA team, I’d almost never do a trade down at that part of the draft (even for a premium haul via the charts) if I really like a player on the board, unless, of course, I pretty much know (95+%) that I can get the same player after the trade down. Conversely, if I don’t like anyone on the board when I pick, I’ll trade down for the best available offer in the market (even if its a discounted haul via the charts).
Chandler Parsons was the most important voice on the team? Sheesh
was wondering where players thinking they should have front office input came from.