In the second round, it was his turn. Juan Núñez has been selected this Thursday by the Indiana Pacers in the draft in the NBA in 36th place, but the team immediately exchanged the player with the Australian Johnny Furphy, who had been selected in 35th place by Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs. The San Antonio team, therefore, retains the NBA rights of the Ratiopharm Ulm player and the Spanish basketball team, but it is not yet entirely clear that he will join next season. He has been seen as a candidate to continue for another year in European basketball, with Barcelona as a suitor with whom he had negotiated a pre-agreement.
The first round of selection of new players resulted in the selection of Frenchmen Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr as number one and number two in the draft, chosen by the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards, respectively. The French repeated first place, after last year Wembanyama was chosen. As if that were not enough, fellow Frenchman Tidjane Salaün was chosen in sixth place by the Charlotte Hornets.
In the midst of the French invasion, most of the Spaniards who initially had the chance to enter the best basketball league in the world took a step back. A few weeks before the appointed day, Izan Almansa decided to retire and save himself for the draft next year when he saw that his chances of getting a prominent position were slim. Aday Mara and Baba Miller had previously decided to wait for the same reasons. The next candidate was Juan Núñez.
This year, the draft It has been held as a novelty in two successive days and in the first round, this Wednesday, Núñez was not among those selected. His chance came this Thursday. The surprising thing was that the Indiana Pacers chose him, a team that has the point guard position very well covered, with its star Haliburton, supported by the Canadian Andrew Nembhard. Both sometimes take turns with TJ McConnell, who also performed at a high level last season.
At the Spurs, a team that is growing around its French star, he would have the opportunity to enjoy more minutes. He has to decide whether to opt for that or to stay one more year in Europe, presumably at Barcelona. Although the Spanish point guard gives meaning and rhythm to the attack, has great vision and a very good pass, but his outside shot can be improved and he also needs to evolve physically in order to succeed in the NBA.
Trained in the Real Madrid youth academy, he was the MVP of the Junior Euroleague in 2020, which opened the doors to the first team for him. However, he left in search of more prominence at the German Ratiopharm Ulm. The team won the League in the first season and in the second they finished fourth, behind Bayern, Alba and Chemnitz. Núñez played 35 games (24 as a starter), averaging 22 minutes and 9.4 points and 4.7 assists per game.
He draft It is a system established to balance the competition in the long term in which the weaker teams have priority, although there is an element of chance to prevent teams from competing to finish last.
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