Spurs Select Jeremy Sochan Using No. 9 Overall Pick in 2022 NBA Draft
The San Antonio Spurs finished the 2021-22 season with a 34-48 record and lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. A losing season netted them the No. 9 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
With the No. 9 pick, the Spurs selected Jeremy Sochan out of Baylor. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward is coming off a freshman season with averages of 9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.
The Spurs have made selections in the NBA Draft lottery in three consecutive years. The two previous picks they made include Devin Vassell with the No. 11 pick in 2020 followed by Joshua Primo at No. 12 overall in 2021.
There was a wide-range of possibilities for the Spurs based on reporting from NBA Draft insiders. Multiple had reported San Antonio's intention to prioritize a traditional big man while others emphasized their desire to trade up to select Keegan Murray.
On Wednesday, Spurs GM Brian Wright made it clear that going with the best player available is going to be the strategy the team deploys. Using such a philosophy ensures the long-term future is the focus.
"We're always going into the draft trying to find the best possible prospect for the long term of the organization," Spurs GM Brian Wright said during a pre-draft Zoom conference call.
The approach of taking the best player available is one that Wright explained as being appropriate and used the playoffs as a reference. The need for diverse skill-sets based on matchups that can chance from "series-to-series or game-to-game" make taking the best player available the preferred option.
"I think what you've seen throughout the league this year it's skills and how they complement each other," Wright said. "It's not just positions and size. Especially watching the playoffs. You see teams playing all guards, all wings, one big, it changes from series-to-series or game-to-game. So what we would hope to have is versatility."
Much focus surrounding the Spurs was placed on the emerging storyline of their willingness to discuss trades centered around franchise-cornerstone Dejounte Murray. Given he's the lone All-Star talent on the roster, such a move would begin a long-term rebuilding process.
The Spurs entered draft night with three total first-round picks with the No. 9 selection being their first. Stay tuned to find out what San Antonio ends up doing with their other first-round selections (No. 20 & 25).
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