SAN ANTONIO — With the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected forward Jeremy Sochan out of Baylor.
He is the team's highest draft pick since Tim Duncan and many feel it was a slam dunk pick by the Spurs.
Sochan is a solid defender at all positions, young, and can become a big part of the team's rebuild.
However, Spurs 1999 NBA champions and former guard, Avery Johnson, was a bit surprised San Antonio selected Sochan, and believes he won't be making an impact for the Spurs in the near future.
Moments after Sochan was selected, Johnson mentioned how surprised he was with the Spurs pick and believes he will be stashed away in the G League for one or two years.
"I'm a little bit surprised," Johnson said to CBS Sports. "I think this is a situation where this kid spends a lot of his first year or two in the G League. I think this is a pick where they [Spurs] are projecting him in three years."
"He's not going to come in and be a rotation player," Johnson said.
Johnson did salute the Spurs scouting department and heaped praise on the organization for drafting well. He even poked fun of himself for the Spurs finding him.
But is Johnson right? Will Sochan be stashed in the G League for one or two years?
One can expect him to be in an Austin Spurs uniform during his initial steps in the NBA.
He is just 19-years-old, now playing professionally, and will have to learn the team system.
What better place to do that than Austin.
But for a season or two is questionable. Looking at the paths for Keldon Johnson, and more recently Josh Primo, but saw G League action for a few months before landing on the Spurs' bench.
This could be the path for Sochan as well and could see himself in a San Antonio uniform for most of next season after a stint with Austin.
What do you say, Spurs fans? Do you agree with the former Spur? Let us know on Twitter at @KENS5 and at @JeffGSpursKENS5.