Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images The 4th player on the court is still important, but it’s getting harder to find good fits. The Spurs have a well-earned reputation for being great drafters. From superstars to elite role players, San Antonio has traditionally gotten contributors even without high picks in the Gregg Popovich era. The question is, just how deep is the talent pool, really? The PtR staff set out to find the answer. Jacob Douglas, Jesus Gomez, J.R. Wilco and I participated in a snake draft to build teams from the pool of Spurs’ first-round draft picks of the Pop era — maybe it’s too overly-specific but you’ve got to start somewhere. (And if we have a lot of fun — hint, we are — maybe we’ll do it again with a much wider pool to choose from.) The pool begins with Tim Duncan through Stephon Castle for a total of 22 players, including draft night acquisition Kawhi Leonard but not picks who never played for the Spurs. Below are the players drafted so far: Team Jacob Dejounte Murray, PG (29th, 2016) Kyle Anderson, SF (30th, 2014) Victor Wembanyama, C (1st, 2023) Team J.R. George Hill, PG (26th, 2008) Tim Duncan, PF (1st, 1997) Tiago Splitter, C (28th, 2007) Team Marilyn Tony Parker, PG (28th, 2001) Derrick White, SG (29th, 2017) Jeremy Sochan, PF (9th, 2022) Team Jesus Devin Vassell, SG (11th, 2020) Keldon Johnson, SF (29th, 2019) Kawhi Leonard, PF (15th, 2011) And here are the players still waiting to be drafted: Beno Udrih, PG (28th, 2004) Ian Mahinmi, C (28th, 2005) James Anderson, SG (20th, 2009) Cory Joseph, PG (29th, 2011) Lonnie Walker, SG (18th, 2018) Luka Samanic, PF (19th, 2019) Josh Primo, PG (12th, 2021) Malaki Branham, SG (20th, 2022) Blake Wesley, SG (24th, 2022) Stephon Castle, PG (4th, 2024) This is getting harder as the talent (and availability) pool is waning, and now it’s more a matter of finding players without too many weaknesses who complement your current team the most. The strengths of your top few players are important, but so is what the fourth and fifth players on the court can do when the others are attracting all the defensive attention. It’s make or break time with round 4! (Reminder, because this is a snake draft, the order of choosing is the reverse of the previous round.) 13. Jesus Gomez: Ian Mahinmi (28th, 2005) It’s time to get some size and interior defense. The Spurs have not drafted a lot of big men in the Tim Duncan era, so the field was not strong to begin with, but now the only center available is our old pal Yawn, and he’ll do. Mahinmi was not great during his time in San Antonio but had a 12-year career in the NBA and started 71 games for a Pacers team that won 45 games in 2015/16, so he wasn’t a scrub. On defense, his size and athleticism made him a good rim protector and he had some mobility. The biggest issues with him were his obvious limitations on offense and his fouling on defense, but if he can be disciplined and play off our scorers, he could be the low-usage center the team needs. 14. Marilyn Dubinski: Lonnie Walker (18th, 2018) Uh...Jesus just nabbed the last “big man” on the board, and I am suddenly in panic mode while realizing Sochan might actually have to be my center. About the only thing I can do now is embrace the small-ball, run-and-gun team approach more than ever. I also desperately need more reliable outside shooting since Parker and Sochan can be sagged off of on most nights, so the best option I have left is Lonnie Walker, who was inconsistent from three with the Spurs but has been more steady in his two seasons with the Lakers and Nets. I just have to hope that I get this version of Lonnie more often than not. If nothing else, at least this team will be fast and be able to push the ball in transition if they can get stops and rebounds. 15. J.R. Wilco: Cory Joseph (29th, 2011) I’ve always been a Cory Joseph fan, so I’m very glad to take him here. A complete unknown when selected the same night as Kawhi Leonard, Joseph has been steady if unspectacular for every team he’s played for. An efficient shooter that doesn’t turn it over and knows how contribute in every phase of the game, he’ll fit great next to Hill in the backcourt and have no problems knocking down his shots when teams swarm Timmy as they’ll have to. Solid production without sacrificing much beyond size is just what I needed this round since I already have more size than probably necessary. 16. Jacob Douglas: Stephon Castle (4th, 2024) I’m grabbing one more shiny new toy before my final selection. Despite not playing an NBA game yet, Castle should be an impact role player on this squad. I like Castle’s versatility to play both guard positions and a little bit on the wing. He’s going to guard like crazy and provide enough ball-handling and cutting to make up for his offensive inefficiency. I am aware that my squad might lack some floor spacing at the moment, but I didn’t feel great about the other three-point shooters available. I’ll take a bet on this top-5 pick instead.