San Antonio continued its recent trend of selecting talent from established teams in powerhouse conferences – nabbing getting Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Tennessee and Maliq Brown from Duke. Meanwhile, there were eyeball-popping amounts of trade activity again around the Spurs’ draft picks.

42nd selection: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) – 6’0″ 182 lb.
44th selection: Maliq Brown (Duke) – 6’8″ 217 lb.

Below is a review of the entire second round, but first, a few quick observations:

The pre-drafting show segment tonight went longer than last night’s lead-up into the first pick. This could have been for the longer explanations about the importance of these second round picks (featuring 2-way contracts) in the new ‘3-2-1’ drafting world.
It was really pleasant to hear the applause across the board for Mark Tatum as he walked up to announce each pick.
The names repeated as second round found gold ranged from Jalen Brunson to Nikola Jokic to our own Manu Ginobili (forever knighted as “E-man-yoo-el Gee-noh-bee-lee“) (other luminaries: Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green)
Way more cooler names in the second round, including: Baba Miller, Trevon Brazile (who went from San Antonio to Denver), Otega Oweh, Vsevolod Ishchenko, and Narcisse Ngoy.
Denver scuttled Isaiah Stewart to memphis for only three future second round picks. He would have been an upgrade for the Spurs’ bench.

And now onto the picks!

31. Houston Rockets (via New York)

PLAYER: Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)

OBSERVATION: When I first heard his voice from the other browser tab, I immediately thought ‘Dennis Rodman!‘

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Chauncey Billups / Spurs: Thicc DeMar DeRozan

32. Memphis Grizzlies

PLAYER: Richie Saunders (BYU)
OBSERVATION: An heir to the tater tot kingdom is a winner in my eyes.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: what Warriors fans want Brandin Podziemski to be / Spurs: 2002-2003 Stephen Jackson

33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Brooklyn)

PLAYER: Isaiah Evans (Duke)

OBSERVATION: The nickname “Showtime Slim” is quite exemplary.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Wiggins / Spurs: early 90s Dale Ellis

34. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Sacramento)

PLAYER: Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)

OBSERVATION: He looks deceptively quick.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: poor man’s Bradley Beal / Spurs: Gary Neal in a pinch

35. Denver Nuggets (from San Antonio)

PLAYER: Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)

OBSERVATION: He looks like a no-nonsense big that has a nice motor.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Willey Cauley-Stein / Spurs: 2007 Francisco Elson

36. Los Angeles Clippers

PLAYER: Baba Miller (Cincinnati)

OBSERVATION: He had a very blingy ‘B’ necklace to complete his draft day fit. Loved it.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Amare Stoudemire (squinting heavily) / Spurs: would’ve chewed up and spit out Zach Collins in practice

37. Miami Heat (from Oklahoma City)

PLAYER: Ryan Conwell (Louisville)

OBSERVATION: This pick immediately went to Miami – who just need to fill out their roster at this point.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Devin Booker / Spurs: a more compact Danny Green

38. Indiana Pacers (from Chicago)

PLAYER: Braden Smith (Purdue)

OBSERVATION: Heady point guard going to Indiana? Of course.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: TJ McConnell with pizzazz / Spurs: Speedy Claxton if we could have kept him beyond 2003

39. New York Knicks (from Houston)

PLAYER: Jack Kayil (Germany)

OBSERVATION: Maybe an understudy for Jalen Brunson. This seems like the type of draft-and-stash San Antonio used to make.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Deron Williams / Spurs: A fully-formed Blake Wesley

40. Boston Celtics

PLAYER: Dillon Mitchell (St. John’s)

OBSERVATION: Didn’t hear too much about him with most of the analysts’ attention on Zuby Ejiofor.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Nesmith / Spurs: (way back machine) Monty Williams

41. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami)

PLAYER: Otega Oweh (Kentucky)

OBSERVATION: Looks like a defensive lineman masquerading as a basketball wingman.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: less-dirty Lu Dort / Spurs: 2nd year Carter Bryant

42. San Antonio Spurs

PLAYER: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee)

OBSERVATION: The highlight plays seemed to come easy for him.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jose Alvarado / Spurs: Gary Neal with handles

43. Brooklyn Nets

PLAYER: Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA)

OBSERVATION: The shooting stroke looks smooth, but he’ll need to contribute on the defensive end.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Adam Morrison / Spurs: 2002 Steve Smith

44. San Antonio Spurs

PLAYER: Maliq Brown (Duke)

OBSERVATION: He looks like a potential upgrade for Julian Champagnie or a platoon partner – particularly while leading his teams with deflections and steals.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jalen Williams / Spurs: Champagnie

45. Sacramento Kings (from New York)

PLAYER: Emanuel Sharp (Houston)

OBSERVATION: Their salary cap seems harder to manager than a grad school economics course.

UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jae’Sean Tate / Spurs: Lonnie Walker IV

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