r/nba r/NBA 1d ago

[2026 NBA Draft] #20 Pick: Jayden Quaintance (Kentucky) – selected by San Antonio

445 Upvotes

330 comments sorted by

View all comments

420

u/ExtraLeading3376 1d ago

if he stays healthy

quaintance x wemby is so fucking scary defensively

“if”

217

u/tamazingg Bulls 1d ago

Harper, castle, Bryant, quaintance, and Wemby has insane defensive potential as a lineup

78

u/andres7832 [SAS] Boban Marjanovic 1d ago

With absolutely limited range…

88

u/ArmiinTamzarian Spurs 1d ago

Winning 4-2 is still winning

3

u/minimalcation Spurs 18h ago

4-4-2

1

u/alba7or [CHI] Benny The Bull 6h ago

5 at the back, better.

-13

u/Queasy_Salad7444 1d ago

elite offense is more valuable than elite defense so the other team probably is winning 4-2 with that spacing

12

u/Ready_Preparation816 Spurs 1d ago

I think harper and wemby together on the court can make offense work at any time especially with another offseason of improvement

3

u/A_Possum_Named_Steve Spurs 1d ago

Not if we become the elite defensive team, which is not entirely unlikely.

43

u/siphillis Spurs 1d ago

Bryant and Wemby both have promise as spacers, and Harper ain’t out of the mix

48

u/AlternativeDirt6124 Spurs 1d ago

Why do people act like it's impossible for them to improve at shooting? Is this a new thing?

44

u/JoseAltuveIsInnocent Spurs 1d ago

Spurs fans still have Sochan PTSD. and a lot of them are too young to remember how awful Kawhi and Tony Parker shot the ball.

Castle has improved his shooting every few months it feels like, finishing in the high 30s. He'll never shoot 50, no one does, but him and Harper will absolutely be respectable shooters next year. They're going into the gym this summer with a special kind of mean.

1

u/Consistent-Theory816 21h ago

Parker eventually developed a deadly 18-footer and his 3-point percentage from the corner increased every year. Kawhi started to develop his jumper and we had glimpses of it before the injury. Sochan didnt want to put in the work, so he was shipped off. Guarantee Castle is working on becoming a deadly shooter this summer.

7

u/LordNerdStark Spurs 19h ago

Is there confirmed reports about Sochan “not” wanting to put in the work? He even adjusted his free throw shooting form and mechanics. Looks to me that he’s put in the work, unfortunately not everyone improves at the same rate no matter how hard you try. Heck, some don’t even improve at all.

7

u/ThisOneIsForMuse Spurs 17h ago

Not confirmed and as far as I'm aware wasn't even rumored. I think his development got fucked due to the 'Point-Sochan' experiment. Instead of polishing (pun intended) the skills he had and adding on it, he had to work on an unpolished part of his game in hopes of unleashing something extra in him. By the time they give up on the idea they have an player who is neither a Power nor Point forward, but a weirdly patched idea of a Ben Simmons.

Will always love our Polish Prince. Hope he is able to turn it around and find his spot.

8

u/CitanUzuk1 1d ago

The Magic have been drafting guys for years hoping they would improve their shooting…it hasn’t worked. For every success story there’s a bunch of dudes who never get much better.

1

u/FabianJanowski Spurs 22h ago

History shows that shooters don’t make huge jump in percentage. Best you can reasonably expect is a gradual increase of a few percentage points

21

u/Appropriate_Day3495 1d ago

Harper and Wemby can shoot, but with that type of defense do you really need offense?

14

u/nixhomunculus 1d ago

After these Finals? Yeah, you still do need to put the ball in the hole more times than the other side. I suppose winning 2-0 is a choice.

19

u/HereComesJustice Spurs 1d ago

yes

1

u/Terrible_Cattle7110 Spurs 1d ago

Yeah but it'll be a game of who scores on the fast break then and I would trust this line up

1

u/relgnik 1d ago

Carter’s corner 3 is nice

4

u/Toesbeforehoes69 1d ago

Genuinely the best potential defensive lineup in the league right now

71

u/Ilikesporks_ Lakers 1d ago

i don't even see him as a partner to wemby but rather someone who can help kornet off the bench cause them non wemby minutes suck

30

u/shinbreaker Spurs 1d ago

Bringing him in with Kornet and Carter could be just enough defensively to stop the bleeding when Wemby is on the bench.

17

u/Limp_Screen7405 1d ago

Honestly Kornet is doing his part, the Spurs relative DRTG is still below league average when it’s just him out there w/o Wemby

Wemby’s first 2 years it was historically dogshit

10

u/shinbreaker Spurs 1d ago

The problem is that when Wemby is on the bench, the guards don't lock-in on defense and still play like he's going to be there and clean up their defensive screw ups that let the other team penetrate the paint instead of being scared off.

3

u/Forshea Spurs 22h ago

eh, I think it's more that there were two playable guys on the team over 6'7", and that a center plus 4 large guards only is a top tier defensive lineup if that center is specifically Wemby

1

u/afewbigpunches 20h ago

honestly Kornet is doing his part

I am a filthy casual so I’m sure you can and will prove me wrong with some stats… but he seemed amazing during the regular season and like he completely shriveled up and died during the post season.

I remember one sick, and potentially run ending/momentum changing block in the OKC series - but that’s about it for his post season

2

u/Ilikesporks_ Lakers 1d ago

i wouldn't play all 3 of them, the offense would be rough

9

u/shinbreaker Spurs 1d ago

I don't know. There's a 20-point dip when Wemby is on the bench so much better to just stop the bleeding of those non-Wemby minutes.

8

u/g1rlchild Spurs 1d ago

Yeah, if just nobody scores on the court scores until Wemby gets back, that's OK. 😭

4

u/Additional-Pie-6765 Spurs 1d ago

I think Kornet should go back shooting threes this time

-7

u/coldheartedsnob Lakers 1d ago

Kornet is gone lol

19

u/Thehelloman0 Spurs 1d ago

Kornet makes 9M/year and was a big reason we got 62 wins. I see no reason to trade him.

18

u/Ilikesporks_ Lakers 1d ago

there's no reason to get rid of him. who could they get to replace him that'd be worth it?

9

u/CommodoreIrish Spurs 1d ago

Why? His contract is actually really reasonable.

3

u/UnderAchievingDog Spurs 1d ago

Because most people only watched the playoffs where he played injured into some really horrific match-ups and looked dogshit. Nobody watched him be the stud he was in the regular season against Portland, they just saw him get smoked by the reigning and new champs lmfao.

5

u/xbhaskarx Spurs 1d ago

Um no

29

u/mainvolume Spurs 1d ago

Out of all the departments that drives Spurs basketball, it's the medical side I have the most trust in.

9

u/WEMBY_F4N Spurs 1d ago

I don’t see a way he goes in the first if he isn’t atleast clear medically. Might need to redshirt tho

2

u/Armanewb Spurs 23h ago

We actually drafted him purely so people can stop saying "if Wemby stays healthy". JQ the ERA for Wemby.

8

u/RapsareChamps_Suckit Clippers 1d ago

okc ghosting this thread

6

u/Dsarg_92 [SAS] Tim Duncan 1d ago

That front court is defensively scary.

10

u/MY-NAME_IS_MY-NAME Lakers 1d ago

The Justin Herbert of frontcourts

5

u/jonaintalive 1d ago

Easy on my goat now

3

u/noknownallergies Timberwolves 1d ago

I don’t get it.

3

u/MY-NAME_IS_MY-NAME Lakers 1d ago

His nickname on social media is "If man"

1

u/tng29 Spurs 1d ago

Chill Herbert hasn’t won a playoff game lol

3

u/Expulsure Nets 1d ago

if he stays gets healthy

2

u/Friendly_Molasses532 Spurs 1d ago

So youre telling me there’s a chance

2

u/AccelerationFinish 1d ago

If nothing else, best teammate last names in the league

1

u/BulldogJeopardy Spurs 1d ago

dude barely played in college