By Tom Orsborn, Sports reporter | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-05-12 16:34:24
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准
2024 年 5 月 12 日星期日，在芝加哥举行的选秀乐透中，NBA 篮球选秀新秀凯尔·菲利普斯基在选秀乐透顺序前独自拍摄视频。
芝加哥——母亲节为马刺队带来了大量的选择，因为他们在 NBA 选秀乐透中获得了两个前十选秀权。
马刺队未能像去年那样赢得状元签，去年他们获得了选中文班亚马的权利。但在法国现象新人赛季的历史性表现之后获得了更多优质的选秀资产之后，管理合伙人彼得·J·霍尔特、首席执行官 R.C. 布福德和总经理布赖恩·赖特在星期天都笑逐颜开。
“我们对今天的结果感到非常、非常兴奋，”霍尔特说。
马刺队在他们梦寐以求的情况下，带着第四顺位和第八顺位离开麦考密克广场会展中心，这些收获可以带来更多年轻的天赋，或用于通过交易获得一名老将。
“你总是研究如何建立一支球队，如何通过任何机制获得足够多的机会，两个乐透选秀权给了我们一个绝佳的机会，我们可以为我们的年轻核心增添两名年轻球员，或者看看还有哪些其他的球员，”赖特说，“像我们做的一切一样，我们将评估所有选择。”
多亏了 2023 年交易中将中锋雅各布·珀尔特尔送到猛龙队的交易，马刺队从多伦多得到了第八顺位。如果猛龙队的选位进入前六的话，他们会保留自己的选位，但马刺队著名的选秀运气——除了文班亚马之外，他们还在 1987 年（大卫·罗宾逊）和 1997 年（蒂姆·邓肯）赢得了乐透——支撑了下来。
连续第二年以 22-60 的战绩结束赛季后，马刺队以第五好的几率（10.5%）获得了状元签。他们有 42.1% 的几率获得前四顺位，54.2% 的几率获得第二个乐透选位。
上个赛季马刺队赢得了乐透大奖，当时他们与底特律活塞队和休斯顿火箭队以最佳几率（14%）持平。他们将那次巨大的好运变成了对文班亚马的选择，他是 NBA 历史上最受吹捧的新秀之一。在超越了预期之后，这位身高 7 英尺 3 英寸的中锋以联盟最佳新秀的身份<a href=“https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/out-of-this-world-wembanyama-celebrates-rookie-19451707.php”>在星期六获得了威尔特·张伯伦奖</a>。
“文班亚马就是一个了不起的人，我认为这就是我们如此兴奋的原因，”霍尔特说，“他专注于在各个方面产生积极影响——在场内外、社区、家庭、文化、他自己——所以我们对他感到无比自豪，并为他与我们同队而兴奋不已。”
在 NBA 副总裁马克·塔图姆在 ABC 的广播中公布乐透结果时，赖特在代表马刺队登上舞台时没有表现出任何情绪。
即使球队接近连续第二年赢得状元签，马刺队的会议室代表、篮球战略和法律事务高级经理布兰登·莱布索恩也克制住了自己的情绪。
抽出的前三个乒乓球编号为 6、10 和 14。马刺队需要第三位数字是 3，但出现了 13，在几率仅为 3% 的情况下，将头奖给了亚特兰大老鹰队。
在离开圣安东尼奥之前寻找一个幸运符，莱布索恩决定在 2018 年面试马刺队高管时所戴的 Polo 皮带。在为一家菲尼克斯的家族律师事务所工作过一段时间后，那次试镜为他赢得了一份实习工作。
“这是房子周围唯一与那天有关的东西，”他谈到星期日穿的带银扣的黑皮带，“布赖恩和 R.C. 和其他人给了我这个机会真是太棒了。我真的很感激。”
虽然球探认为这只是一群弱新秀时，但还没有明确的前十选秀权，但赖特从一个更加积极的角度看待这一届。
“我总是这样说，每届选秀都会有球员，你只需要做好功课，尽力评估谁适合你的球队，谁适合你身边的球员，并做出最好的决定，”他说，“我们没有得到状元签，所以那是别人的决定，但我们确实认为这届选秀有一些可以帮助我们的好球员。”
尽管马刺队使用最佳球员的理念仍在继续，但赖特说找到与文班亚马互补的球员是当务之急。
“你肯定要考虑到这一点，因为你想建立一支团结一致、能够共同成长的球队，”赖特说。
马刺队可以利用一名控球后卫来将球传给 7 英尺 3 英寸的文班亚马。他们还在寻找射手，为他打开低位空间。
据说马刺队关注的球员中包括罗布·迪林厄姆，他在本赛季作为肯塔基大学的新生投出了 44.4% 的三分球命中率，以及斯特芬·卡斯尔，这位大一新生在本赛季有着 1.9 的助攻/失误比，帮助康涅狄格州蝉联全国冠军。
马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇一再强调，球队在本赛季过去五年都未能进入季后赛后，不想“跳过任何步骤”。尽管球迷们渴望结束这项运动历史上最糟糕的干旱，但霍尔特相信球队的智囊团走上了正确的轨道，他们将充分利用星期天获得的选秀资产。
“我只想说，我们对上个赛季的方式感到非常自豪，竞争力和所展现出的文化与我们的年轻核心一起奠定了良好的基础，”霍尔特说，“我想与布赖恩、R.C. 和波波合作，我相信没有任何人能比他们构建一个美好的未来。”
原文如下：
Spurs brain trust all smiles after lottery yields pair of top-10 picks
[Image] NBA basketball draft prospect Kyle Filipowski takes video by himself in front of the draft lottery order before the draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 12, 2024.
CHICAGO – Mother’s Day yielded a mother lode of options for the Spurs after they bagged a pair of top-10 picks at the NBA draft lottery.
The Spurs failed to win the No. 1 overall pick like they did last year when they came away with the rights to select Victor Wembanyama. But after landing more quality draft assets following the French phenom’s historic rookie-of-the-year season, managing partner Peter J. Holt, CEO R.C. Buford and general manager Brian Wright were all smiles Sunday.
“We are really, really excited about where we sit today,” Holt said.
In a scenario they coveted, the Spurs left the McCormick Place Convention Center with the No. 4 and No. 8 overall picks, a haul that could yield more young talent or be used to land a veteran via a trade.
“You are always looking at how you build a team and how do you get enough bites at the apple with whatever mechanism, and two lottery picks gives us a great opportunity to add two young players to our young core or also see what else is out there,” Wright said. “Like we do everything, we will evaluate all options.”
The Spurs gained the eighth pick from Toronto thanks to the 2023 trade that sent center Jakob Poeltl to the Raptors. Toronto would have kept their pick had it landed in the top six, but the Spurs famed lottery luck – in addition to Wembanyama, they won lotteries in 1987 (David Robinson) and in 1997 (Tim Duncan) – held up.
The Spurs arrived in Chicago with the the fifth-best odds (10.5%) of getting the No. 1 pick after finishing 22-60 for the second year in a row. They had a 42.1% chance of landing a top-four pick and a 54.2% chance of gaining a second lottery selection.
The Spurs hit the lottery jackpot last season when they were tied with the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets for the best odds (14%). They parlayed that massive stroke of good luck into the selection of Wembanyama, one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history. After exceeding expectations, the 7-foot-3 center <a href=“https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/out-of-this-world-wembanyama-celebrates-rookie-19451707.php”>received the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy on Saturday as the league’s top rookie</a>.
“Victor is just an amazing human being, and I think that’s what we are so excited about,” Holt said. “He is focused on having a positive impact in every aspect – on the court, off the court, community, family, culture, himself – and so we just couldn’t be more proud of him and excited to be on the same team as him.”
Wright showed no emotion while representing the Spurs on the stage as NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum revealed the results of the lottery during ABC’s broadcast.
The Spurs representative in the drawing room, senior manager of basketball strategy and legal affairs Brandon Leibsohn also kept his emotions in check even as the team came close to winning the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row.
The first three ping-pong balls drawn were numbered 6, 10 and 14. The Spurs needed the third digit to be 3 but 13 popped up, giving the Atlanta Hawks the top prize after they came in with just 3% odds.
Searching for a good luck charm before he left San Antonio, Leibsohn settled on the Polo belt he wore to his 2018 interview with Spurs executives. The audition landed him an internship after a stint working for a family law firm in Phoenix.
“It was the only thing around the house that was from that day,” he said of the black belt with a silver buckle he wore Sunday. “Brian and R.C. and everyone have been incredible in giving me this opportunity. I’m really grateful.”
While there is no clear-cut top pick in what is considered by scouts to be a weak pool of prospects, Wright views the class through a more positive lense.
“I say this all the time, there are players in every draft, and you just got to do your homework, try your best to evaluate who fits your organization, who fits the players you have around and make the best decision you can,” he said. “We don’t have the number one pick, so that is someone else’s decision there, but we do think there are good players in this draft who can help us.”
Although the Spurs’ philosophy of taking the best players available continues to be in place, Wright said finding pieces to complement Wembanyama is a priority.
“You definitely take that into consideration because you want to build a team that is cohesive and can grow together,” Wright said.
The Spurs could use a point guard to distribute the ball to the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama. They are also in the market for shooters to open space for him down low.
Among the players said to be on the Spurs’ radar are guards Rob Dillingham, who shot 44.4% from 3-point range as a freshman at Kentucky this season, and Stephon Castle, a freshman who had an impressive 1.9 assist/turnover ratio this season while helping Connecticut repeat as national champions.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has stressed repeatedly that the franchise doesn’t want to “skip any steps” in its rebuild after missing the playoffs the past five years. Although fans are eager for that franchise-worst drought to end, Holt is confident the team’s brain trust is on the right track and that it will make the most of the draft assets they gained Sunday.
“I would just say we are really proud of the way this last season went and the competitiveness and the culture shown is a great foundation with the young core we have,” Holt said. “And I think with Brian and R.C. and Pop, I wouldn’t trust anybody else to build an amazing future.”
By Tom Orsborn, Sports reporter , via San Antonio Express-News