DeJuan Blair the exception, not the rule

July 4, 10:31 AMSan Antonio Spurs ExaminerMichael Chartier

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Rubio not expected to play in Vegas (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

As the Express News profiles second round pick Jack McClinton, temper your excitement.

“I'm not going to tell you my grudge list,” McClinton said at his press conference, “but I've got some teams that passed on me that I'd like to show they passed on a diamond in the rough.”

Add me to the list, Jack.

Frankly, there is nothing to suggest that McClinton will have any impact in the NBA, let alone in San Antonio. But Miami Hurricanes’ basketball wasn’t exactly Must See TV, either.

Maybe the Spurs see in McClinton what I saw in a sharpshooting lefty from Ohio State back in 2000. I watched that draft with great anticipation seeing team after team bypass my target player, Michael Redd. Instead, San Antonio selected Chris Carrawell two spots before Redd eventually went to Milwaukee.

The Spurs are exactly one for their franchise history on second round picks and that one is Manu Ginobili. If DeJuan Blair’s knees aren’t a problem, expect their percentage to improve.

Asking for two second round picks to make it from the same draft? Let's not get greedy.

Only two other second picks made by San Antonio have had an impact in the NBA. Kevin Duckworth did it in Portland and Luis Scola is doing it in Houston.

Forward Gene Banks had a serviceable 6-year NBA career between San Antonio and Chicago in the 80s and Tyrone Corbin spent 16 journeyman seasons in the NBA collecting 1065 games but only 47 with the Spurs.

San Antonio entered the NBA after the ABA/NBA merger in 1976. Here is a complete list of Spurs’ 2nd round selections since their inception in the NBA. In years missing, San Antonio did not have a second round selection.

(Notable names that followed or went undrafted)

1977 – Jeff Wilkins (Robert Reid, T.R. Dunn, James Edwards, Eddie Johnson)

1980 – Michael Wiley (Kurt Rambis, Rory Sparrow)

1981 – Gene Banks, Ed Rains (Danny Ainge, Tony Gwynn, Kenny Easley)

Yes, that’s Tony Gwynn the baseball Hall of Famer and hard hitting safety from the Seattle Seahawks, Kenny Easley.

1982 – Oliver Robinson (Rod Higgins, Derek Smith, Craig Hodges, Mark Eaton)

1983 – Darrell Lockhart, Kevin Williams (Craig Ehlo, Bobby Hansen, Manute Bol, Sedale Threatt)

1985 – Mike Brittain, Tyrone Corbin (John “Hot Rod’ Williams, Gerald Wilkins, Arvydas Sabonis, Spud Webb, Mario Elie)

1986 – Kevin Duckworth (Jeff Hornacek, Drazen Petrovic)

1987 – Nate Blackwell (Vincent Askew, Donald Royal, Kevin Gamble, Chris Dudley, Sarunas Marciulionis)

1988 – Shelton Jones (Andrew Lang, Vinny Del Negro, Vernon Maxwell, Steve Kerr, Anthony Mason)

1990 – Tony Massenburg, Sean Higgins (Antonio Davis, Cedric Ceballos)

1991 – Greg Sutton (Darrell Armstrong, Robert Pack)

1992 – Henry Williams (None)

1993 – Chris Whitney (Bruce Bowen, Bo Outlaw, David Wesley, Aaron Williams)

1998 – Derrick Dial (Earl Boykins, Brad Miller)

1999 – Manu Ginobili (Chris Andersen, Raja Bell)

2000 – Chris Carrawell (Michael Redd, Brian Cardinal, Yakhouba Diawara, Ime Udoka)

2001 – Robertas Javtokas, Bryan Bracey (Carlos Arroyo, Charlie Bell, Maurice Evans, Jamario Moon, Andres Nocioni)

2002 – Luis Scola, Randy Holcomb (D.J. Mbenga, Devin Brown, Udonis Haslem, Jannero Pargo)

2004 – Romain Sato, Sergei Karaulov (Jackie Butler, Damien Wilkins)

2006 – Damir Markota (J.J. Barea, Jorge Garbajosa, Walter Hermann)

2007 – Marcus Williams, Giorgos Printezis (Glen Davis, Marc Gasol, Ramon Sessions)

2008 – Goran Dragic, James Gist (Mario Chalmers, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Douglas-Roberts)

2009 – DeJuan Blair, Jack McClinton, Nando de Colo (DaJuan Summers, Sam Young, Chase Budinger, Chinemelu Elonu, Jerel McNeal, Josh Heytvelt, A.J. Abrams)

The NBA isn’t about Cinderella stories, not even when it comes to players. Unlike Major League Baseball and the National Football League, it would be hard to make a living outside of first round draft picks.

Second round picks rarely make the team, let alone enjoy long NBA careers and therefore, it’s too soon to evaluate the last two seasons. However, included are names targeted from the second round or beyond, regardless of position selected.

For Blair, McClinton and de Colo, they’re no locks to have NBA success but that’s part of why they went in the second round. While most considered this a weak draft, there was a lot of value in the second round with numerous successful collegiate players, including Blair and McClinton.

The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas starts July 10th, the opportunity to prove the Spurs right and their critics wrong, begins there.

San Antonio Spurs Las Vegas Summer League Roster:

1 Malik Hairston G 6-6 215 2/23/87 Oregon 1
3 George Hill G 6-2 190 5/4/86 IUPUI 1
10 James Gist F 6-9 235 10/26/86 Maryland R
13 Nando De Colo G 6-5 200 6/23/87 France R
14 Donnell Taylor G 6-5 193 7/26/82 Alabama-Birmingham 2
16 Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson G 5-10 180 1/28/83 Alabama-Birmingham R
18 Eric Dawson F/C 6-9 235 7/7/84 Midwestern State R
17 Antonio Anderson G 6-6 215 6/5/85 Memphis R
19 Marcus Vinicius F 6-9 235 5/31/84 Brazil 2
23 Romel Beck G/F 6-7 185 5/29/82 UNLV R
28 Ian Mahinmi C 6-11 250 11/5/86 France 1
33 Jack McClinton G 6-1 185 1/19/85 Miami R
35 Alonzo Gee G 6-6 219 5/29/87 Alabama R
45 DeJuan Blair F 6-7 265 4/22/89 Pittsburgh R

HEAD COACH: Don Newman
ASSISTANT COACHES: James Borrego, Patrick Spurgin, Quin Snyder, Marcelo Nikola, Darryl Hardy, Darko Rajakovic, Henry Duque
TRAINERS: Nixon Dorvilien, Daisuke Yamaguchi