The differential talent and the showy way of expressing basketball of Juan Nunez has entered the NBA through the eyes and not through anyone’s eyes: those of the San Antonio Spurswho have just recruited the cunning and far-sighted base of 20 years at number 36. Nunez was originally selected by the Pacers, who traded him to San Antonio after exchanging the picks 35 and 36. The base of the Ratiopharm Ulm German becomes the first Spanish player selected in the draft in three years, as those of Santi Aldama and Usman Garuba in 2021 they were the last precedents.
The Spurs, the best dynasty of the 21st century along with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, are prepared to begin another era of dominance with Victor Wembanyama As a cornerstone and the diamond forged in Real Madrid -with Barça on the horizon to continue polishing-, he looks to San Antonio to be part of the foundations that the master’s team Gregg Popovich is just starting to set.
Having confirmed his potential in his last two seasons at Ulm, Núñez sees his promising path fork as the uncertainty surrounding his future next season intensifies.
Barça has a closed agreement for the next season with the Spanish international, now focused on helping Spain to get the ticket for the Olympic Games. However, and after the expected selection of Núñez in the NBA draft, we must see what approach both the Spurs and the player himself take.
Being selected in the first round would have guaranteed a guaranteed contract for the Real Madrid youth player. In this context, San Antonio could opt to leave the point guard in Europe for another year so that he could continue to develop, as the Charlotte Hornets already did with James Nnaji last year or the New York Knicks with Rocks Jokubaitis in 2021.
However, it would not be unreasonable to think that the Texas team will recruit Juan Núñez from the start in the context of a team that is looking for a point guard that fits with Wembanyama on a roster in which everyone is transferable except for the French unicorn and Devin Vassell. Núñez would meet the Spurs with two other Spaniards, Xavi Schelling and Carlos Sosa. Schelling is San Antonio’s director of performance and wellness and Sosa serves as a physical trainer.
Núñez communicated his desire to return to the ACB and in this entire equation we must also take into account the real Madridwith the right of first refusal on the part of the white club.
If the decision to stay or cross the pond depends on Núñez himself, the point guard may find himself in a dilemma, although the Madrid native is already seasoned in making complicated decisions after deciding to leave Real Madrid in 2022 for Germany in search of minutes to continue. growing. Time has not taken long to prove the point guard right and his good performance in the Bundesliga and the EuroCup They have catapulted him to the senior Spanish team.
Wembanyama, Rookie of the Year, beat Nikola Jokic in one of the last regular season games last year
Eric Gay / Ap-LaPresse
The casualties of Ricky Rubio and Lorenzo Brown In the last World Cup they increased their responsibilities to the point of taking the reins of the team as a starter. Núñez’s accelerated maturity and fleeting capacity for learning left Sergio Scariolo amazed and the Italian did not hesitate to call the point guard again.
Juan Núñez has been part of the abundant successes of the lower categories of the Spanish team in recent years, for example winning gold in the 2022 Eurobasket under-20 held in Montenegro and of which he was MVP.
The point guard, Bundesliga champion with Ulm in 2023, makes the difference with his clear reading of the pick and roll thanks to his diversity of executions, with a gifted passing ability and capable of generating his shots with a good variety of finishes. He does not aim to be a prolific scorer like most current NBA point guards, but he is not exactly what the Spurs and Popovich are looking for, as he values players with a high basketball IQ like the Spaniard has.
Núñez, against Laprovittola, in the 2022 ACB finals between Barcelona and Real Madrid
ZIPI ARAGON / EFE
The Spanish international averaged 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 22 minutes last season in the German league with 45.7% in field goals and 28.6% in three-pointers -his main area for improvement-, while his numbers in the EuroCup were 11 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 25 minutes with 50% in shots and 35% from the perimeter.
After resigning from the draft Izan Almansa, Núñez emerges as another option for Santi Aldama does not remain as the only Spanish representative in the NBA in the Memphis Grizzlies after the departures last year of the two Hernangómez brothers, Ricky Rubio and Serge Ibaka. For its part, Usman Garuba He is waiting to know if the Warriors offer him a new contract. In any case, there is hope for Spanish basketball in the best league in the world with Juan Nunez.
