Spurs, Mavs praised for guard picks
Analysts give San Antonio, Dallas high grades for taking White, Smith.
San Antonio Spurs management commands so much respect around the NBA that draft analysts almost instinctively give the organization high marks.
Two years ago, nobody knew who Derrick White was. Thursday night, after the Spurs chose the Colorado senior combo guard with the 29th pick, everyone from ESPN to CBS to Sports Illustrated to the Sporting News was praising the pick, grading it an A or A-.
The rebuilding Dallas Mavericks also were given an A by most experts for their lottery selection of North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., an explosive player who can re-energize a lagging offense.
The Houston Rockets had the quietest night of the Texas teams, winding up with just the second-round, draft-and-stash choice of European big man Isaiah Hartenstein.
White had to be consid- ered the longest of long shots to be a first-round pick when he was a spindly 6-foot, 150pound senior at Legend High School in Parker, Colo. He was unrated by recruiting services and had zero NCAA Division I offers.
“It’s crazy to be here now, part of the Spurs organization,” White said. “Coming up as I did, you have the doubters; you just put a lit- tle chip on your shoulder. It was humbling at times, but it made me work harder and never be satisfied. It drove me to keep getting better.”
He attended Division II Colorado-Colorado Springs, had a late growth spurt to reach 6-5 and saw his game take off, posting averages of 25.8 points, 7.3 rebounds
and 5.2 assists by his third year. He transferred to Col- orado for his senior season and averaged 18.1 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds while making the All-Pac-12 defensive team.
“He’s not really a point guard; he’s not really an offguard. He’s a guard and he can shoot the ball,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said.
“We think he can defend at a higher level than he has up until this point. When you have to do so much for the team like he did at Colorado, he couldn’t get in
foul trouble. He needed his energy to score.”
White’s stock continued to rise in postseason workouts and at the NBA combine. The American-Statesman rated him 28th overall. Scouts say he lacks elite athleticism but is a solid jump shooter and a creative scorer around the rim. White ranked in the top 10 among all Division I players this season with a 62.2 percent success rate finish- ing around the rim in half- court settings.
The Spurs took two of the oldest players in the draft, both 23-year-old college seniors. Clemson small forward Jaron Blossomgame, the second-round choice, averaged 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds last year.
“With older guys, I think they come in with a different level of maturity and under- standing of what it takes to be a pro,” Spurs assistant GM Brian Wright said.
How much White and Blos- somgame play for San Anto
nio, rather than the NBA-G League Austin Spurs, next season depends on free-agent decisions by Jonathon Simmons and Patty Mills, the possible retirement of Manu Ginobili and the potential trades of Texas ex LaMarcus Aldridge and Danny Green.
The Spurs want to make a run at All-Star point guard Chris Paul or Derrick Rose, but they need to clear salary-cap space to do it.
Smith’s an excellent fit for the Mavericks, who are desperate for a frenetic force to run the offense. Smith is aggressive, with quick hands and exceptional burst. Few 6-2 players will dunk more than he does. Smith can score off the dribble and collapse a defense with his penetration skills. On the flip side, his perimeter shooting is spotty, and he sometimes gets careless with the ball.
Some scouts dinged Smith for not being able to lead the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament.
The Rockets took the 7-foot Hartenstein, whose family moved from Oregon to Germany when he was 11. He’ll stay overseas for at least another year. They traded the 45th pick, Oregon small forward Dillon Brooks, to Memphis for a 2018 second-rounder.
Houston also is trying to land Indiana All-Star guard Paul George in a trade. At le ast a half-dozen other teams have the same goal.