The San Antonio Spurs need shooting at the four and five something chronic. They have missed Davis Bertans so much this year, in the modern NBA you need to have spacing at the four and the five if possible.
Sadly for the Spurs this is the first year since the Tim Duncan draft 20 years ago that they will likely be picking in the lottery. The combo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan just isn’t doing it for this team. They need to modernize the roster ASAP.
Who better to do that with, than European stretch big, Aleksej Pokusevsi.
We know the Spurs love European prospects. And with Aldridge aging, they need more options at the big men positions.
Pokusevski is the perfect new age big man. He is seven-feet tall, he has a seven-foot-three wingspan, and though he has isn’t very strong his skill outweighs those negatives.
He currently plays in the second division in Greece. Don’t laugh though, Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted straight from this Greek second division.
Pokusevski is a do it all type of guy. Watching his tape, albeit at lower levels, this kid has serious NBA potential. He already has a great handle for his size, he can initiate offense in transition by grabbing live rebounds or stealing the ball.
He handles in transition, and can take it coast to coast. He has an array of offensive moves and can pull-up from three or spot up in the corners. He has the early signs of a post up and face up game, and seems to have nice touch around the rim. He is poised on the offensive end and looks to be in control when he has the ball in the post or the paint.
He may never be strong enough to play the five fulltime but when watching his tape from age 17 to age 18 it’s noticeable that he’s gained weight and he looks like his body type would be conducive to bulking up.
As a fulltime four in the NBA he would need to bulk up to be able to finish competently at the rim and in the paint. His shot as a seven-foot stretch four is probably his greatest asset. He obviously has a really high release, but his form looks to be good and he can get it off in different situations.
He already has some impressive passing highlights. He can pass out of the post and has some outlet passing ability, a la Kevin Love. He also uses his size well to manipulate the defense.
As a defender he already has surprising IQ for a big man. Lots of 18-year-old bigs foul like crazy, but he has great verticality and can absorb a hit and then block the shot. He has good timing and rotates well. His movements help him move to block the lane and impact shot attempts.
Adding weight will be important overall for Pokusevski. He can get overwhelmed in certain matchups and needs to be stronger so he can finish competently inside the arc.
There are more positives than negatives for this guy, and for the Spurs, they should take a punt on someone who can change the way this franchise plays.