The 2011 NBA Draft is next month and the San Antonio Spurs continue to look at various players leading up to the draft.
With pick number 29, the Spurs hope to find another late-draft gem as in past drafts.
According to Hoops Report, the Spurs have recently looked at a few more players in the lead up to the draft:
The San Antonio Spurs had a busy week with three draft workouts. First, they hosted Demetri McCamey and Jeremy Tyler on Monday, then they hosted Malcolm Thomas on Wednesday, then they brought in Chandler Parsons and Nikola Vucevic on Friday.
The Spurs will continue with another workout next Friday that will include Andrew Goudelock, Malcolm Lee and Lavoy Allen.
We already reported on Goudelock and Vucevic, but here is some information on the other players the Spurs worked out.
McCamey: point guard, Illinois, 6’3″, 205 lbs. Averaged 14.6 points, shot 45.2% from the field, shot 45.1% from three point line, shot 72.4% from free throw line, 3.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 33.4 minutes last season.
Outside the 3-point arc, McCamey demonstrated that he’s a top notch shooter at the point guard position, connecting on an excellent 45% of his 3-pointers this season. He’s comfortable shooting off the dribble or off the catch, and he has range well past the NBA 3-point line. This bodes well for him going forward, and should help to open up the floor for dribble penetration for himself and his teammates, especially if he needs to spend time playing off the ball, which is certainly a possibility at his size.
McCamey’s defense also looked to drop off this season. We’ve noted before that he’ll likely face questions about his lateral quickness, but he seemed to lack the focus and consistent energy level on the defensive end, leading to him getting caught out of position and beat off the dribble far too often.
These defensive struggles and lack of effort go hand-in-hand with the public feud between McCamey and Weber this season. McCamey’s poor conditioning level and inconsistent shooting throughout his career at Illinois have always raised concerns to his commitment and work ethic, and his struggles this season only further backup those concerns.
Tyler: power forward/center, Tokyo Apache, 6’11”, 260 lbs. Known for skipping his senior year of high scholl to play overseas with Israel and eventually in Tokyo.
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Thomas: forward, San Diego State, 6’9″, 225 lbs. Averaged 11.4 points, shot 53.6% from the field, 16.7% from the three point line, 64.2% from the free throw line, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, in 30.4 minutes last season.
Physically, Thomas has intriguing tools that mesh well with what he brought to the table on the college level. He’s a bit undersized for a NBA power forward at just 6’8, but his 7’2 wingspan made him a menacing shot blocker at SDSU and allows him to play a bit taller than he’s listed. While his 220 pound frame could still use additional muscle, Thomas is a good all-around athlete, running the floor well and looking exceptionally quick off his feet when pursuing rebounds.
Parsons: forward, Florida, 6’10”, 220 lbs. Averaged 11.3 points, shot 48% from the field, 36.8% from the
three point line, 55.7% from the free throw line, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 34.1 minutes last season.
Chandler Parsons has developed into an intriguing all-around player, being named SEC player of the year while leading the Florida Gators to a 26-7 record and a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament. While Parsons scoring output has not taken the jump many hoped for, his all-around game has continued to show signs of progression.
Offensively, Parsons continues to increase his proficiency from long range, now converting 38% of his 3-point attempts, a career best. He still has a fairly long release, but he gets good elevation on his shot and does a solid job of making shots with his feet set—a crucial part of his evaluation as a pro prospect.
Lee: guard, UCLA, 6’5″, 200 lbs. Averaged 13.1 points, shot 43.7% from the field, 29.5% from the three point line, 77.8% from the free throw line, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 33.1 minutes last season.
Lee is still far from a shooting specialist, but he has shown flashes of having the potential to be an adequate perimeter shooter at the NBA level, and has definitely made some nice strides in this part of his game. He’s shooting more 3-pointers this season and shooting 31% from behind the arc, which is up from the poor 25% he shot as a sophomore, but his mechanics look much better than when we wrote about him before.
Shot selection is probably what’s hurting him the most as a shooter this season. He’s shooting a solid 40% on catch and shoot opportunities, which is way up from the dismal 23% he shot last year. He’s also converting a terrible 17% on off the dribble jumpers though, mainly because he’s taking shots that he has no business shooting.
Allen: power forward, Temple, 6’9″, 225 lbs. Averaged 11.6 points, shot 48% from the field, 69.7 from the free throw line, 8.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks in 33.9 minutes.
His strengths, which are well documented include his size, mobility, soft touch around the basket, and rebounding ability. There are few defenders at the Atlantic 10 level capable of stopping him and he managed to produce in non-conference tests against Duke, Villanova, and Maryland.
While there is no doubt that Allen is a talented player, effort and consistency have been significant issues that have plagued him throughout his career and continued to limit his potential as a senior. As written in a previous evaluation, “it’s not a rare occurrence for Allen to go 10 minutes on the floor without a field goal attempt.” This is still the case and on film, it’s easy to see why.
Allen frequently establishes a scoring rhythm early in a game before he starts deferring to his teammates. As has been the case throughout his career, he is unselfish to the point of passivity, aided by tremendous court vision and exceptional passing ability for a big man. When Allen receives the ball in the high post, he immediately looks for players cutting to the basket. In the post, he looks to kick the ball out to open shooters.
Well there you have it Spurs fans. Seems the Spurs are looking to add size and still looking at the guard position. What are your thoughts? Like these players the Spurs have looked at?
(player information: draftexpress.com)
(photos: daylife.com)
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