San Antonio Spurs projected to draft Nikola Topic again, this time at No. 8

Topic as a target makes sense at either pick for the Spurs.

KK Crvena Zvezda point guard Nikola Topic has been a popular selection by NBA draft analysts to be taken by the San Antonio Spurs, though most of the mocks so doing have him going to the Spurs at No. 4 overall. As San Antonio’s front office looks to find the right players to surround star French forward Victor Wembanyama, point guard is indeed a position of need.

So Topic as a target makes sense at either pick for the Spurs, and Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey has San Antonio going eighth overall, assuming the Spurs don’t go the trade route to fill the position.

A 6-foot-6 floor general “who pressures opponents off the dribble and either finishes drives himself or feeds teammates with dump-downs, wraparounds or corner kicks,” the Serbian guard will “never hold onto the ball longer than he should,” per Bailey.

“When he sniffs out a passing lane, he’ll zip the ball through it, often threading needles like an experienced tailor,” he adds. “His jumper is a bit of a work in progress, though simply cranking up his perimeter volume would go a long way toward easing that concern.”

“The bigger worry is a lack of athleticism that could pose problems with his self-sufficient scoring and anything related to defense. Still, this would be good value for San Antonio, considering it isn’t hard to find mocks with Topic inside the top five.”

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