Charlotte Bobcats and San Antonio Spurs: Best and Worst of the Draft

The draft isn’t all about getting the most talented players—it’s partly about that—but not all. The bigger part of the equation is who your team needs, who in the draft can meet those needs and which of those prospects does your team have a realistic shot of drafting?

When undertaking an analysis of a team’s draft day decisions, it’s about even more. Say a team has the first pick and they take a great player with it. They’re not getting many points. They had the first overall pick. They should have gotten a great player with it. Likewise, a team with the 60th pick in the draft doesn’t have a whole lot to work with, so they don’t get graded down for taking a player lacking in skill or potential.

But, consider a team with the 15th, 20th or even the 40th overall pick. Whole vistas of opportunity lay out before them, and they have more than a little wiggle room to make things happen. Some teams make the best of what they’ve been handed and others don’t.

Here’s a look at the best and worst draft days.

The Best Draft Day: Charlotte Bobcats

Acquisitions: No. 7 Bismack Biyombo, No. 10 Kemba Walker, Corey Maggette and No. 39 Jeremy Tyler

Losses: Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and No. 19 Tobias Harris

Coming into the draft, the Bobcats had picks No. 9, 19 and 39 and more than a few holes to fill with those picks.

In a three-way trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings the Bobcats gave up G Stephen Jackson, G Shaun Livingston and the rights to the No. 19 pick in order to acquire the rights to the No. 7 pick and F Corey Maggette.

Tobias Harris is a poor man’s version of Bismack Biyombo. Both are strong and athletic forwards who excel at defense (particularly blocking) and rebounding. The only difference is Biyombo is bigger, stronger and better. Tobias Harris was no loss at all.

The loss of Stephen Jackson hurts, but Kemba Walker is more than able to fill his shoes, and he comes with the star power the Bobcats have recently lacked yet desperately needed. Shaun Livingston was more of a role player than anything else, and while his loss leaves the Bobcats a bit thin at the guard position, it’s nothing the Bobcats won’t be able to easily address through free agency.

Kemba Walker and Corey Maggette make for a powerful scoring combination, which is the area the Bobcats have been most deficient in. The combination of Maggette and Biyombo is such a formidable and athletic dynamo of duo that it’s sure to have opposing teams pulling their hair in frustration as they try to concoct defensive schemes to deal with the Bobcats newfound physicality.

On the Bobcats' official website, they’re already calling Bismack and Kemba “Thunder and Lightning.” That seems appropriate. The odd way Biyombo’s words roll out sounds like the peel of distant thunder, and Walker moves like lightning.

Scoring, rebounding, blocking, offense, defense—you name it, and this draft day improved it. In fact, this draft alone makes the Charlotte Bobcats a force to be reckoned with.

The Worst Draft Day: San Antonio Spurs

Acquisitions: No. 15 Kawhi Leonard, No. 29 Cory Joseph, No. 42 Davis Bertans, No. 46 Erazem Lorbek, No. 59 Adam Hanga

Losses:  George Hill

It's been forcefully brought to my attention that there are more than a few die-hards out there who don't take kindly to any sort of criticism bestowed upon their beloved Spurs, so it behooves me to preface this section with an admission and a caveat.

First, the admission: R.C. Buford and the Spurs front office habitually conduct their business with competence and distinction, however (take a calming breath die-hards because here comes the caveat), they are not infallible. Even the Spurs make mistakes every now and again, and if you doubt it, just ask yourself whether Richard Jefferson is worth the $30 million he is owed over the next three years.

Phew. Glad we got that out of the way.

If sheer weight of numbers were the key to success on draft day, the Spurs would be sitting pretty. Unfortunately for them, there’s a bit more to it.

My contention is not that the Spurs made out horribly on draft day, but that they could have dealt much more deftly in both draft selections and trade options.

The Spurs’ big mistake was deciding to trade George Hill. Hill was a budding talent who many thought the Spurs were grooming to take over for Tony Parker when he retired, and the general assessment seemed to be that Hill was up to the job. Some regard Hill as an unembellished bucket man, but he was much more than that. Hill was a young a player the Spurs could have molded into a floor general, and he had the makings of a fine one at that.

The Spurs traded Hill away for No. 15 SF Kawhi Leonard and some paltry second-round prospects that few people have ever heard of.

Trade propositions were likely incited by the Spurs need to improve their defensive presence at the forward position, and Kawhi Leonard aids in that area, but the Spurs could have picked up someone with nearly the same ability to contribute defensively and an offensive style of play more consistent with their own at No. 29. More importantly, they could have done that without trading George Hill.

When the 29^th pick rolled around Jimmy Butler, Justin Harper, Trey Thompkins, and Tyler Honeycutt were still available, some of whom are better suited to the Spurs.

For example, Jimmy Butler is a smart player and a great defender--exactly the prototype the Spurs tend to go for. Justin Harper can stretch the floor and his ability to shoot the three ball and would have assimilated nicely into the Spurs style of offense.

Instead of using No. 29 to shore up their weaknesses, the Spurs used it to select Cory Joseph—ostensibly a replacement for George Hill. What’s worse is that the Spurs may have been able to wait around until their 59th pick to pick up Joseph if they were truly enamored with him, and if not then, certainly with the No. 42 or No. 46 (although these last two were gotten by way of the Hill trade).

In regards to San Antonio’s other acquisitions, Davis Bertans, whom they selected with the No. 42 pick, is the most promising.

Reports indicate that Bertans has a smooth jumper and elevates with ease but more often than not scouts have observed his shots careen off the rim in game type situations. He also has a penchant toward turnovers. The game scenario detractions are mitigated by athleticism, and a speculation that his smooth stroke could someday evolve from strident rim-rattling into the muffled sighs of swirling net.

There is no clear consensus on Bertans but it is certainly possible that he could develop into a solid player several years down the line, which is a time frame the Spurs are apparently betting on because Bertans is tied up in prior contract commitments that preclude an NBA debut for at least another couple of years.

More than anything, the lack of information on Bertans makes him a gamble.

Little is known about Erazem Lorbek and Adam Hanga, and unless either is the Spurs best kept secret, this was one big bust of a draft day for San Antonio.