Spurs Mock Draft: Brandon Miller vs. Amen Thompson?

Brandon Miller and Amen Thompson could both be options for the San Antonio Spurs should they end up with the No. 3 pick.

Jeremy Brener | May 3, 2023

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San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs will find out their fate for the draft at the lottery in just under two weeks' time.

The Spurs will have their decision made for them if they pick No. 1 (Victor Wembanyama) or No. 2 (Scoot Henderson), but the team who picks No. 3 will actually begin the draft.

Alabama forward Brandon Miller, the best prospect in the NCAA this past season, is projected to be the No. 3 overall pick, but Yardbarker doesn't necessarily believe that to be true. In its latest mock draft, the Spurs pass on Miller and take Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson instead.

"Amen Thompson over Brandon Miller might seem like a bit of a surprise, given that Miller appears to be in the mix for the No. 2 pick, but Amen has just as high of a ceiling as Miller and seems like a San Antonio Spurs kind of player," Yardbarker writes. "Amen, whose brother Ausar will also be selected in the early lottery, is a 6-foot-7 point guard who will enter the NBA as one of the best athletes in the league. Although he took an unconventional route to the league through the Overtime Elite program and didn't face the level of competition some of the other top prospects did, it doesn't take much to envision him being a special rim-attacker in the NBA. Add in his playmaking ability and the Spurs could have a foundational piece for the next decade."

There has been speculation that the Spurs wouldn't take Miller due to his connection to the murder of 23-year-old Jamea Harris where he allegedly supplied the gun that his teammate Darius Miles used to shoot her. The Spurs could also decide that they would simply prefer to have a point guard with Tre Jones entering unrestricted free agency and power forward Keldon Johnson starting his four-year extension.

However, the Spurs should simply be looking for talent rather than fit, because if they draft a player as high as No. 3, he instantly becomes the player with the highest ceiling in San Antonio and the team should look to build around him.

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Published May 3, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.