No, I don't think DeJuan Blair counts as a "draft gem". He's more of a "WTF??? I can't believe THIS guy, who everyone in the country knows about, is still on the board! We'd be stupid not to pick this kid" sort of pick.
George Hill is a very good back up PG. Not sure why you call him mediocre. Excellent ball handling skills, is able to create for others, can get into the paint and finish and has some long arms with excellent defensive skills. Popovich is very high on George and I certainly can understand why.
He's not a good passer(1.8 assists/g) in 16 minutes a game and a 1.8 ast/to ratio for his career. He has a decent 41% FG, but that's not good or bad. It's just ok. Good defensive skills. He's just not great and he doesn't totally suck. He's just mediocre at this point.
The all not excercised team: J. Crittenton (19/2007) - Wizards S. Williams (17/2007) - Nets A. Tucker (29/2007) - Suns I. Mahinmi (28/2005) - Spurs A. Law (11/2007) - Warriors J. Alexander (8/2008) - Bucks JR Giddens (30/2008) - Celtics O. Pecherov (18/2006) - Timberwolves DD
Hill is probably the best back up point guard or going to be the best back up to tony parker in the league his defense is great his shot got way better and he looks more confident with his pg skills, and he helps not put roger mason as point guard anymore because roger started sucking last year when they moved him to point guard and he looked uncomfortable shooting But a big possibility of another late round steal of george hill
Great draft recap. However George Hill isn't mediocre, he's actually turning into a pretty good player. Think Will Conroy but more athletic and much better defense. Pop said he's his favorite player. He's joking, but jokes are half meant, and I doubt he's say something like that without basis.
I don't think there's any reason for disbelief, everybody knows Blair dropped because of his health issues. Its a risk the Spurs took and that no one else was willing to make, and if it pays off good for them they just got a double double machine on the cheap. If not...well who cares, it was just a 2nd round pick anyway. I think what will be interesting is how much the Spurs will pay him when his rookie contract is over.
