Yahoo! Sports
Jul 3, 6:27 am EDT

Getting Inside

There were few surprises at the top of the NBA draft this year. But there certainly were at least three upsets on picks 26 and below.


The Spurs made three selections and didn’t take a single foreign player? Unheard of.


And get this: Instead of talking about how many years it would be before their picks would even come to America, Spurs decision-makers spent much of draft night gushing about an unknown guard from an unknown college who basically has been handed a coveted roster spot.


Welcome to San Antonio, George Hill. You’re already being penciled in as Tony Parker’s backup next season.


“He’s a solid player at both ends of the court,” coach Gregg Popovich said of the 6-foot-2 standout from IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis). “I honestly believe he will make our team better right off the bat.”


Uh, that’s not good news for Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire, who were Parker’s chief backups last season. Hill, a 45 percent shooter from college 3-point range last year, is said to offer more defensive resistance than either.


The Spurs also picked up Oregon swingman Malik Hairston and Maryland power forward James Gist in the second round. Both, like Hill, were four-year collegians.


“The people we hoped to be there at all of our picks were there,” Popovich insisted.


Season Highlight: The 2006-07 champs appeared on the fast track to their first successful defense in franchise history when, on Dec. 7, they beat playoff rival Utah 104-98 to improve to 17-3. The most impressive aspect of the win was the variety with which it occurred. Manu Ginobili poured in 37 points off the bench, and you’d hardly have known that Tim Duncan (ankle injury) wasn’t playing with Fabricio Oberto (11 rebounds) and Matt Bonner (13 points) more than adequately taking up the slack. Things were looking great … until Duncan’s injury got contagious. Soon thereafter, Ginobili and Tony Parker took stints on the sidelines, and 14 weeks after being atop the world at 17-3, the Spurs were coming off a 27-20 stretch that pushed them toward the bottom of the Pacific Division playoff pack. They would eventually rally to gain the No. 3 playoff seeding, but that extra energy exerted would take its toll in the postseason.


Turning Point: Let’s be honest: If Joey Crawford calls a foul on Derek Fisher, Brent Barry makes two free throws, the Spurs go on to win Game 4 over the Lakers in overtime and, duplicating their feat two weeks earlier, the defending champs survive a Game 7 in Los Angeles, San Antonio is back in the Finals and the season is considered a success. But one non-call—which was later criticized by the NBA—changed everything. Forty-eight minutes later, the Spurs were no longer the reigning champs, having been knocked off in a title defense for the fourth time in nine years.


Notes, Quotes

• Spurs draftee George Hill, 22, was the Player of the Year in the Summit League last season, averaging 21.5 points on 54.5 percent shooting. He is the first player in IUPUI history ever to be drafted into the NBA.


• Despite making a name for himself at the NBA’s predraft camp in Orlando, Hill nonetheless was not among the 50 or so prospects whose bios were published for media use at the draft.


• For the first time since 1997, the Spurs drafted an American-born player in the first round.


• The Spurs swung a deal to land Malik Hairston. They traded Slovenian guard Goran Dragic, whom they selected for Phoenix at No. 45, to the Suns for Hairston (the 48th pick) and a second-round pick (from Golden State) next year.


• Hairston finished his college career at the sixth-leading scorer in Oregon history.


• James Gist was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team defender last season, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game.


Quote To Note: “I was hoping I’d land a spot in San Antonio. I feel like that’s the perfect fit for me.”—George Hill, the Spurs’ first-round pick (No. 26 overall) in the NBA draft.


Roster Report

Draft Picks:


George Hill, G, 6-2, IUPUI—The Summit League Player of the Year is considered equally talented at both ends of the floor. The 22-year-old stood out at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando.


Malik Hairston, F, 6-6, Oregon—The run-and-gun Ducks were known for their offense, and Hairston (sixth-leading scorer in school history) provided his fair share. But he also was considered the club’s best defensive player.


James Gist, F, 6-9, Maryland—A powerful interior presence who made the Atlantic Coast Conference’s all-defensive first team.


Most Valuable Player: Tim Duncan. Manu Ginobili earned the hardware (Sixth Man Award) and Tony Parker got national attention when he dominated Steve Nash in the playoffs, but the Spurs’ world revolves around Duncan. You could argue that Ginobili’s value was demonstrated when the team was unable to handle the Lakers in the Western finals while he was off his game. Then again, that’s what makes Duncan so valuable. He’s almost never off his game.


Most Disappointing Player: Michael Finley. The veteran guard’s disappointment isn’t necessarily shown in his scoring average (10.1), but rather in the fact Spurs coach Gregg Popovich felt it necessary to move chief bench asset Manu Ginobili into Finley’s starting spot in almost one-third of San Antonio’s games. Finley seemed to get older by the day and was at his worst at postseason’s end, when he failed to score in double figures in any of the club’s final eight games. He twice went scoreless in that stretch and totaled two points on three other occasions.


Biggest Needs: The Spurs have managed to add key veteran pieces despite a lack of salary-cap space in recent seasons, and they’d like to work that magic again. If they choose to re-sign Kurt Thomas, their primary need would be a midsized player with more athleticism than ancient Robert Horry and Brent Barry, who has opted out of his contract and become a free agent. They will have only the league’s mid-level exception (expected to be around $5.8 million) with which to work.


Free Agent Focus: The Spurs have four key free agents: Kurt Thomas, Robert Horry, Michael Finley and Damon Stoudamire. Following the draft, Stoudamire now rates alongside the 38-year-old Horry, who is pondering retirement, as the least likely to return.


Player Notes:


• Tony Parker spent draft night with the Spurs’ decision-makers, hoping to learn a few tricks of the front-office trade. Then he was off on vacation, even though he already had traveled to New York, France, Italy and Russia in the month immediately following the club’s elimination from the playoffs.


• Jacque Vaughn, who now must compete with first-round pick George Hill for the backup point guard position, has one year and $1.3 million remaining on his contract. He contributed 4.1 points and 2.1 assists in 15.4 minutes per game last season but shot poorly (42.8 percent) and was no threat (just 3-for-10 all season) from behind the 3-point arc.


• Tiago Splitter and Marcus Williams, last year’s two draft picks by the Spurs, are not with the club one year later. Splitter recently signed a four-year extension with Tau Ceramica that will keep him in Europe into the next decade. Williams, waived by the Spurs after appearing in one game, finished the 2007-08 season with the Clippers.

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