Will the Spurs Draft Another International Player?
The NBA Draft is now less than two weeks away and many teams make their workouts public, the Spurs have chosen to keep their workouts tight lipped. This isn’t anything new, the only time we hear about their workouts is when prospects and their agents tweet it out or tell a reporter in another city where else they’ve worked out. Rest assured, the Spurs are just as busy as any NBA team is and just because they haven’t worked out your favorite prospect, doesn’t mean he’s not on their radar (see: Leonard, Kawhi).
Perhaps even harder than narrowing down which college players the Spurs are interested in is figuring which international talent they’ve scouted. It’s a safe bet to say “all of them” even if guys like Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Henzonja are clearly out of their range, but who they’re focusing on is a complete guessing game. We know they’ve interviewed Brazilian George Lucas de Paula but we really don’t know how much they’re interested in him. De Paula’s an interesting prospect. He’s gigantic for a point guard. He’s 6’6″ with a 7 foot wingspan and will have you thinking Rajon Rondo or Jrue Holiday when you see him. But he plays limited minutes for a Brazilian league team so there aren’t too many people who have a good handle on his game. One of those people who does is Lucas Pastore with Spurs Brasil. I reached out to him to find out the skinny on de Paula’s game.
Trevor: Where did de Paula come from? I know he doesn’t even turn 19 until next month. What league does he play in? Does he play major minutes?
Lucas: George de Paula (known as “Georginho” in Brazil, just like Leandro Barbosa is “Leandrinho”) is a prospect from the club “Pinheiros”, located in São Paulo. Pinheiros has one of Brazil’s best Olympic programs. This was the club where Bruno Caboclo was raised and the club where Leandro Barbosa played between his stints with the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns, while he was recovering from an injury. To mention another sports, gymnast Daiane dos Santos and swimmer Cesar Cielo also competed for Pinheiros.
In the 2014/2015, Pinheiros finished the season of the NBB (Novo Basquete Brasil, the Brazilian basketball league) with a record of 16-14, becoming the 7th seed for the playoffs. Ih this tournament, the first four seeds advance for the second round. So, Pinheiros faced Brasília, the 10th seed, in the first round, and lost (3 x 1).
Georginho played only six regular season games, averaging 2.5 points (50% FG, 75% 3 PT, 50% FT), 0.6 rebounds and 0.57 assists in 4.41 minutes per game. It’s really a small sample size.
Although, it was really possible to see his potential during the LDB, a Under 22 championship created by the Brazilian league so the prospects can earn playing time. Georginho played 19 games, and registered 13.5 points (48.5% FG, 30.4% 3 PT, 73.5% FT), 6.3 rebounds and 3.82 assists, with 29.95 minutes per game.
Georginho was also the Brazilian National Team’s standout player during the 2014 FIBA Americas u18 championship, where he registered 13.4 points (45,7% FG, 33,3% 3 PT, 80% FT), 4.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists, with 30.8 minutes per game. That’s where probably he became to be in NBA’s radar.
Trevor: His physical profile is really impressive. Reminds me of someone like Rajon Rondo or Jrue Holiday. How would you describe his game? Strengths? Weaknesses?
Lucas: Just like Bruno Caboclo last year, physical (attributes) is really Georginho’s strength. He is really explosive, athletic, has huge hands and wingspan and know how to use it all to attack the basket. His physical potential really allows him to someday be a defender like Rondo or Holiday. But, just like any other player of his age, he needs to understand better the game, especially for being a point guard. He needs to develop his basketball IQ, his court vision and his 3 PT shooting to become a NBA player.
For what it’s worth, de Paula’s explosiveness is questionable. He had good numbers at the Chicago Draft Combine and less good numbers at the Adidas Eurocamp, but either, it’s pretty clear de Paula would be a project and in a year where I think the Spurs might be looking to draft a first rounder who can contribute this year, I don’t know that de Paula is a realistic candidate. Here’s a video breakdown of his game courtesy of DraftExpress. But de Paula isn’t the only prospect worth taking a look.
Guillermo “Willy” Hernangomez: I have no idea if the Spurs have actually interviewed or worked out Hernangomez, a 6’11” center playing for Sevilla in Spain. This is the same team Porzingis plays for. It’s one of the worst teams in Spanish ACB, which is good for him because there’s plenty of playing time for the young guys, which isn’t always the case in Spain. Sam Meyerkopf of Hoops Like Drazen spent part of the Spring in Europe scouting and spent a month in Spain watching postseason play there. If you look at Willy’s stats they’re extremely impressive for a 21 year old (10.6 points, 53% shooting, 6.2 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game). He’s not the most athletic guy, but still someone that big and young seems like they should go higher than end of the first round/early second like Willy is projected. So I went to Meyerkopf to find out if he should be drafted higher.
Sam: He’s physically advanced and has a really smart game. So with the athleticism of the NBA and such, I think you can’t take production solely into account when evaluating Willy. He’s been great this season but also remember his team was one of the worst in the ACB, they almost got relegated, and Willy got a lot of opportunity to put up stats. But he did player super well. Late 1st/Early 2nd I think is fine for him. Honestly think his game fits better in Europe but after the first 15-20 picks this Draft kind of takes a nose dive so Willy is a safer bet.
Trevor: If a team did draft him in the first round could he contribute to a team next season? What’s his best attribute and what needs the most work?
Sam: I think Willy could possibly contribute next season. Asking any 21 year old, especially a big man, to contribute immediately is incredibly rare. Look at the rookies this season from a ‘loaded draft’ and you can barely put an All-Rookie 1st and 2nd team together. But he is further along this most his age no question. As I already mentioned he’s got older man strength and has great basketball IQ. Just reads the game super well, has solid footwork, and can play low or high post. His best attribute I’m not sure I can pinpoint one thing. He’s strong and smart. Unique combination. Very skilled offensively. Can pass and occasionally shoot from the high post. Is able to post up on the block. Can play pick and roll and rim run. Works hard and can get out on the fast break. I think defensively is where in the NBA people are worried and finishing in the paint against NBA level length and athleticism. Everyone wants a modern center to protect the rim on defense and finish above the rim on offense and that’s not Willy’s game.
So there you go. I still think it would be best for the Spurs to find a player that can fill a role next season, even if that means trading up 5-10 spots (if they can) to find that player. But Hernangomez might be the next best thing. He’s already shown he’s a smart player who’s really skilled. A year under Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter’s teaching could teach both how to finish over (or under) NBA athletes and how to rim protect without being much of a leaper. Again, I’ve seen absolutely nothing linking Hernangomez and the Spurs except a mock draft here and there, but they easily could’ve been watching him all season long in Europe and remember, just because we haven’t heard he’s on their radar doesn’t mean we should write him off. Here’s a look at Hernangomez’s lovely offensive game.
