Welcome to the Open Thread. During the month of June, we are talking NBA Draft. As we lead up to the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25th, we will be revisiting the Spurs draft choices. Today we remember the 2015 NBA Draft.

Well after back-to-back trip to the Finals, the Spurs were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in a nail-biter of a series against Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers. The post season brought the regularly nagging questions: was this the end of the era? Would Tim Duncan retire? Would Manu Ginobili return? And what was to become of Pop if the Big 3 were no more?

The Spurs put all of the energy into the free agency market sending Tiago Splitter to Atlanta to clear cap space for LaMarcus Aldridge, the most coveted free agent of the summer.

In the meantime, PATFO used the draft as a bit of safety net. If Duncan retired, Splitter went East, and LaMarcus landed somewhere else, a need for a big man would be more imminent.

As the 26th pick of the draft, Nikola Milutinov brought height and athleticism. Unfortunately for the 7-footer, the positions were all filled. Milutinov has garnered honors on multiple levels overseas including a 2021 VTB United League champion, 2023 VTB United League MVP, Serbian League Championships, and Greek League Championships, just to name a few.

In the same vein, the Spurs drafted Cady Lalanne in the second round as the 55th pick. Before heading overseas, Lalanne played with the Spurs in the NBA Summer League Championship in 2015. He also played with the D-League affiliate Austin Spurs in 2015 where he was named an All-Star before returning to Summer League action in 2016. He has played in fourteen different teams all over the globe.

Instead of playing either draftee, the Spurs signed Serbian center Boban Marjanović and D-League Cinderella story Jonathon Simmons in the summer and catapulted the careers of both, watching them pack up and head out for multi-million dollar contracts after one season.

Although Milutinov and Lalanne have shown they have basketball chops, neither has yet to make it to the NBA. In 2021, the Spurs sent Milutinov’s draft rights to the Brooklyn Nets. Likewise, the Spurs traded the draft rights to Lalanne to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Marquese Chriss and cash considerations.

Happy Father’s Day to all you men out there raising the next generation of Spurs fans.

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