San Antonio Spurs select Kyle Anderson, Point Forward From UCLA

by Trevor Zickgraf

With the 30th pick in the NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected Kyle Anderson out of UCLA. Anderson is a 6’9″ forward who actually ran point at UCLA the last couple of years. He averaged 14.6 points, 6.5 assists and 8.8 rebounds per game. He’s probably the smartest player in the draft, but also could be the least athletic.

Long story short, Anderson should be able to contribute to the Spurs almost immediately because of his intelligence and improved shooting ability. At 6’9″, he has a really high release on this jump shot which makes it hard to block. He didn’t shoot a ton of three-pointers last season, but made 48 percent of the ones he took. The court vision is his biggest strength, and he also has the ability to play multiple positions offensively. Anywhere from point guard to power forward in stretches.

Where the Spurs will need to figure some things out is defensively. Anderson just isn’t athletic enough to stay in front of the more athletic wings in the league. But, he’s smart enough he should be able to figure out angles and play passing lanes thanks to his monstrous 7’3″ wing span. He needs to get stronger to defend power forwards, but that’s something the Spurs staff will help him with. I wrote a lot more about Anderson earlier in the season when I watched him go head-to-head with Aaron Gordon and the rest of Arizona’s ultra athletic front line.

The other thing I like about Anderson is he understands his strengths and weaknesses. He doesn’t try to things he can’t athletically and uses his head when he’s on the court. He’s embraced his lack of athleticism to the point his nickname is Slo-Mo and he’s even made it his name on his Twitter bio.

The Spurs second round went exactly like you expect a Spurs second round to go. The Spurs had two picks due to a trade with the Clippers half a decade ago. They then traded both of those picks in exchange for a European prospect. That prospect is Nemanja Dangubic, a member of Mega Vizura, which is based in Belgrade, Serbia. Admittedly, I don’t know a ton about Dangubic, but according to DraftExpress, he’s a 21-year-old, 6’8″ shooting guard who is defensive minded, likes to attack the basket but needs to work on his shot and get bigger. The site also notes he grew two inches over the past year, so he’s obviously still growing into his body. Dangubic recently participated in the Adidas EuroCamp where he struggled as a primary ball handler and excelled off the ball. Still, he played well enough he picked up camp MVP honors. I haven’t figured out what his buyout situation is, but it’s safe to say he’s at least two years from coming to the NBA. Oh, and he can get up.

Dangubic was originally selected 54th by the Philadelphia 76ers and then traded to the Spurs for the 58th and 60th picks. The 60th pick was then flipped to Brooklyn.