The San Antonio Spurs will receive this pick from the Toronto Raptors as part of the Kawhi Leonard deal.
Jalen McDaniels has tantalizing two-way potential. At 6′ 10″ with a 7′ wingspan, McDaniels can play any frontcourt position. He has displayed promising defensive instincts and could develop into a very valuable defender.
Offensively, McDaniels is more of a question mark. Last season, he had remarkable efficiency inside the arc connecting on 62.2% of his two-point attempts. That number has dwindled to 49.5% this season, but his attempts have more than doubled. This shouldn’t be too much a concern; McDaniels was only 0.1 points per game away from leading the Aztecs in scoring after coming off the bench in 12 games during the 2017-18 season.
Three-point shooting will be the main concern with McDaniels, but he has raised his percentage to 32% this season which is up from 21.1% in his previous season despite more than tripling his attempts. So, there is a reason to be optimistic.
In fact, the Blazers should definitely consider him with their first-round selection.
The Spurs could use some youth on the wing. Rudy Gay and Dante Cunningham are both veterans that are being counted on to be part of the rotation. McDaniels could be added to an underrated young core in San Antonio that includes Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl.
Last time the Spurs selected a forward from San Diego State, it worked out very well.