Welcome to the Open Thread. Throughout the month of June, we’re speaking NBA Draft. As we lead as much as the 2025 NBA Draft on June twenty fifth, we’re revisiting the Spurs draft selections. At present we bear in mind the 2002 NBA Draft.
In 2002, the Spurs picked John Salmons twenty sixth and Randy Holcomb 57th respectively, however traded Salmon and the rights to Holcomb together with Mark Bryant who’d performed with the Spurs in 30 video games the earlier season to the Philadelphia 76ers for Speedy Claxton.
Salmons performed 13 seasons within the NBA for six NBA groups earlier than retiring in 2015. Holcomb grew to become an entrepreneur centered on athletic media work. Bryant presently serves as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks.
Speedy Claxton gained an NBA Championship with the Spurs in 2003. He’s presently the pinnacle coach at Hofstra College the place he performed school ball. His Hofstra #10 jersey was retired by the college.
Luis Scola was drafted 56th by the Spurs. This was the second of the 2 draft picks acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers by the Cory Hightower commerce dealt in 2000. Although the Spurs drafted Scola in 2002, they didn’t try to deliver him stateside till 2005. After unsuccessful negotiations to buyout his Baskonia contract, the Spurs signed Fabricio Oberto and left Scola with Baskonia.
In July of 2007 the Spurs traded their rights to Scola together with Jackie Butler to the Houston Rockets for Vassilis Spanoulis, a second-round draft decide within the 2009 draft and money incentives. The Spurs launched Spanoulis 5 weeks later at his request to return to Greece.
Spanoulis continued taking part in till 2021 in Greece the place he has celebrated a number of EuroLeague Championships. He moved into teaching and is presently the pinnacle coach of AS Monaco.
So, in spite of everything of that, Speedy Claxton was the one individual to spend any time with San Antonio, and he wasn’t drafted by the Spurs in any respect.
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