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More Spurs NewsSo, who does San Antonio want to select tonight with their 26th selection? Johnny Ludden of the San Antonio Express-News reports: "We want our next center," Spurs assistant general manager R.C. Buford said laughing, "to be as good as our last center." Unfortunately for the Spurs, drafting a lean, athletic, muscle-bound, 7-foot-1 future Hall of Famer isn't as easy as it was 15 years ago. Armed with the top pick in 1987, the Spurs took David Robinson, patiently waited two years for him to serve his Naval commitment, then watched him develop into the franchise's cornerstone. With Robinson retiring at the end of next season, the team's search for a replacement likely will extend well beyond tonight. With only the 26th, 56th and 57th picks at their disposal, the Spurs will draft more on potential than production. UCLA's Dan Gadzuric and 18-year-old Yugoslavian Nenad Krstic, both 6-foot-11 centers, are among the players the Spurs are considering taking in the first round. The Spurs are still discussing ways to trade for a pick in the 17-24 range, dangling, among other things, the rights to Gordan Giricek, a 6-6 Croatian guard they drafted in the second round in 1999. Both Gadzuric and Krstic could be gone by No. 26. Luis Scola, a 6-9 power forward from Argentina; Jamal Sampson, a 19-year-old 6-11 forward/center who played just one season at California; David Andersen, a 7-foot Australian forward; and Lazaros Papadopoulos, a 6-11 forward/center on the Greek national team, have also worked out for the Spurs and are expected to be available near the bottom of the first round. |
