Luka Samanic has been faced with nearly impossible expectations from the instant the San Antonio Spurs selected him 19th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. A scrawny 19-year-old forward out of Croatia, he has the skills, speed and body type to be a promising NBA player — in the future. The problem is “future potential” is not what Spurs fans were hoping for with that particular pick.
The Spurs knew Samanic wasn’t NBA ready when they drafted him and didn’t expect him to be, but fans have higher expectations for higher draft picks, especially from a class that has ended up being so deep.