Coke or Pepsi? Zach Snyder or James Gunn? Whataburger Ketchup or Whataburger Spicy Ketchup? Important questions require important answers. <\/p>\n
In a recent ESPN poll of NBA executives and scouts<\/a>, they answered some of the more intriguing questions about the newest crop of incoming players ahead of the season after summer league wrapped up. Optimistic Spurs fan should not find it surprising that league insiders were big fans of the Spurs\u2019 top two picks. <\/p>\n NBA Rookie of the Year<\/p>\n Number one overall pick Cooper Flagg unsurprisingly garnered the most votes for Rookie of the Year, but many of the voters qualified that pick with the prediction that while Flagg may not lead his rookie class in scoring, his impact on the court as a play maker and defensive presence will push him to be the favorite for the award. <\/p>\n \u201cI assume someone like Bailey or Johnson may outscore Cooper as a rookie, but Cooper will make more meaningful contributions that push Dallas into play-in range.\u201d Dylan Harper received the next most votes for RoTY (receiving 2 votes to Flagg\u2019s 17 out of 20 total polled). Harper\u2019s talent, pedigree, draft profile, and draft capital as the number two overall pick no doubt were the reasons that many thought Harper would have been the number one overall pick in this year\u2019s draft if Cooper Flagg was not in the draft as well. Harper, like Flagg, also \u201csuffers\u201d from being dropped into a solid, competent roster where he will not be asked to carry the scoring load. <\/p>\n The draft\u2019s best pick (other than Cooper Flagg)<\/p>\n Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe garnered the most votes (6 for Harper to Edgecombe\u2019s 10) in terms of best value behind the number one overall pick. Reading between the lines, it seems like execs and scouts really liked the top 3 players in this year\u2019s draft. Spurs fans are already salivating at the possibilities of Harper flying down the court alongside the last two rookie of the years Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama. <\/p>\n \u201c[Harper] has some [Manu] Ginobili to his offensive game. If the 3-point shot ever becomes a true weapon [for him], he makes Fox expendable and gives San Antonio a nice trade asset.\u201d While the Spurs definitely did not expect to land the number two overall pick at the end of the season, they do seem to have a logjam in the back court with De\u2019Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell also on the roster. Self-proclaimed overly optimistic Spurs fan would tend to think more is better, and depth is a good problem to have. Once the lottery ping pong balls bounced their way, the Spurs did not overthink their pick and simply chose the best player available. In an era of position-less basketball and injuries always being an unfortunate part of the game, the Spurs set themselves up well heading into the season by adding another foundational piece. <\/p>\n The draft\u2019s biggest steal<\/p>\n The top votes for biggest steal of the draft went to Carter Bryant with 5 votes. Bryant projected to go higher than 14, but he dropped and the Spurs scooped him up, adding to their other highly rated draft picks. <\/p>\n \u201c[Bryant] will turn into an impact wing defender that can make 3s and be a part of their core. We\u2019ll look back in several years while the Spurs are winning big, and people will mention them drafting Castle at 4 [in 2024] and Bryant at 14 to pair defensively with Victor as [draft] steals.\u201d Bryant\u2019s summer league clip of him locking down Cooper Flagg was a huge reason for the top votes, and it may prove to be this generation\u2019s Wembanyama v. Holmgren summer league highlight. <\/p>\n By stockpiling draft picks and grabbing value when it drops in your lap, the Spurs are taking a page out of Oklahoma Thunder General Manager Sam Presti\u2019s playbook, which is also a page out of the Spurs\u2019 playbook given Presti\u2019s roots as a former scout and assistant general manager for the Silver and Black. It\u2019s like Kobe Bryant using Michael Jordan\u2019s own moves against him, and Jordan using his own moves against Bryant and so on and so on until the sheer force creates a time loop, and the universe collapses on itself before George R.R. Martin gets to finish the last two books. <\/p>\n On that note, what do you think Pounders? Make your choice below\u2014preferably with Dr Pepper and fries with a gallon of Whataburger Spicy Ketchup. <\/p>\n Poll \n 40%\n <\/p>\n Cooper Flagg (Mavericks, no. 1)<\/p>\n (84 votes)<\/p>\n \n 49%\n <\/p>\n Dylan Harper (Spurs, no. 2)<\/p>\n (104 votes)<\/p>\n \n 10%\n <\/p>\n VJ Edgecombe (Sixers, no. 3)<\/p>\n (21 votes)<\/p>\n 209 votes total<\/p>\n Vote Now<\/a><\/p>\n Poll \n 93%\n <\/p>\n Dylan Harper (Spurs, no. 2)<\/p>\n (168 votes)<\/p>\n \n 6%\n <\/p>\n VJ Edgecombe (Sixers, no. 3)<\/p>\n (12 votes)<\/p>\n 180 votes total<\/p>\n
~ Anonymous Eastern Conference executive<\/p>\n
~ Anonymous Western Conference scout<\/p>\n
~ Anonymous Eastern Conference scout<\/p>\n
\n Who\u2019s your NBA Rookie of the Year pick?<\/p>\n
\n Which rookie \u2014 other than Flagg \u2014 will prove to be the draft\u2019s best pick?<\/p>\n