SAS - Minnesota

[ReggiesKnicks]

Randle does not fit here. He is also pretty injury prone and will be 31 in November. No thanks, we're fine with Fox. It seems like only fans of other teams seem to think we need to dump Fox for some reason

Who thinks you need to dump Fox?

Come on man, you post on this board frequently. Ever since SA won the #2 pick, a number of threads have been started with trade scenarios involving the Spurs trading Fox. Like the one you're posting in now

Oh I don't consider this a dump. They get a comparable player in terms of "goodness" in Randle, a very good bench guard in DDV, and #17 in the draft.

This is good asset management, but I understand the allure of Fox for the San Antonio fan base.

At the end of the day, there are a few key points for San Antonio.
1) We don't know how healthy Wemby will be, so moving all-in doesn't make sense until he proves otherwise.
2) Fox was acquired to be the Point Guard for the foreseeable future. Lucking into the #2 draft pick doesn't change this calculus.
3) San Antonio should upgrade their wing position, but not break the bank to do so.

San Antonio has an opportunity to add two lottery picks in a draft flush with talent out to around 14-16, depending on who you ask. It will likely be a quiet off-season for the Spurs with the biggest news break being what number Fox extends for.

[tcheco]

yeah Randle has some flaws, but he's played for what 4 teams now? And on all of them he's been a very good regular season player who has been a total professional with no reports of drama or selfishness.

I think too often people look at a player's game, decide they don't like the style and assign personality traits based on assumptions. We see this with DeRozan all the time too. Another guy who has played in a bunch of spots, been super productive in the regular season, and shows up and plays hard every night.

Randle would absolutely help the Spurs with what should be a goal of making the playoffs. Not telling them to make this trade, but Randle would be a positive addition towards that end absolutely.

Agree 100% with this.

DDR, with all his flaws, never hides, he won a game by himself against the bucks in 2022 when Bulls should have been swept, had little help from Lavine and Vuc

Randle had 2 bad games against the Thunder, but same can be said about Ant too. He can handle the ball, rebound, create his own shot... Sure he cant be the main option of a team, but playing close to Wemby, a much improved Gobert on offense and defense, specially given the added spacing would be fun to see. I can assume Randle might be cheaper than Fox in the next contract too, could make sense. That being said, cant see Spurs trading Fox 6 months after trading for him

But that would open up Spurs possibilities. Having picks 2, 14, 17 in this draft helps upgrading other positions, Id love to see the Spurs turning Vassel into Bane honestly, but hard to predict

[SkyHook]

Spurs have not even got a real look at what the Fox/Wemby duo looks like, they're not going to just ship him out because they won the #2 pick. And I like DDV but I want no part of diva Randle in San Antonio, he is an empty calories player that shrinks when it really matters

Ironic, given how Fox closed out the only playoff series he's ever played in. If that's not shrinking from a challenge, then I don't know what is. Clutch-POY voting that year looked hilarious in retrospect.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202304300SAC.html

Fox is... fine.

That is fair, he had a bad closeout game for sure. But that was also his first trip to the playoffs. Pretty much every star player has had a bad closeout game at some point in their career. This was against the defending champs too.

He had a couple poor shooting games that series that brought his average down but he still put up 27.4/7.7 with 2 steals in his first playoff series. But yeah let's ignore all context and focus only on the final game

Not intending to ignore context with Fox, just pursuing the line of thinking that you initiated here with "when it really matters". (And one might say that you're ignoring any context around Randle.)

[williambh3]

Spurs already have a pretty full roster, I could see them flipping #14 for a future pick as is, this makes it worse. If they do split fox into multiple pieces, I think it’s for vet PG who can bridge to the youth, shooting upgrades on the group Chuck mentioned, and future picks, IMO.

[Bornstellar]

Who thinks you need to dump Fox?

Come on man, you post on this board frequently. Ever since SA won the #2 pick, a number of threads have been started with trade scenarios involving the Spurs trading Fox. Like the one you're posting in now

Oh I don't consider this a dump. They get a comparable player in terms of "goodness" in Randle, a very good bench guard in DDV, and #17 in the draft.

This is good asset management, but I understand the allure of Fox for the San Antonio fan base.

At the end of the day, there are a few key points for San Antonio.
1) We don't know how healthy Wemby will be, so moving all-in doesn't make sense until he proves otherwise.
2) Fox was acquired to be the Point Guard for the foreseeable future. Lucking into the #2 draft pick doesn't change this calculus.
3) San Antonio should upgrade their wing position, but not break the bank to do so.

San Antonio has an opportunity to add two lottery picks in a draft flush with talent out to around 14-16, depending on who you ask. It will likely be a quiet off-season for the Spurs with the biggest news break being what number Fox extends for.

I guess I should rephrase since the term dump has a more negative connotation - a lot of people seem to think the Spurs winning the #2 pick means they need to move off Fox or that they will move on from him. Regardless of how true the fit issue may be going forward, I can 100% guarantee the Spurs won't trade Fox before giving him and Wemby a real shot.

Not worried about Wemby's long term health. All reports we've gotten are that he's fine now and is expected back for the start of the season without issue, he is already working out now.

As far as the allure of Fox - Fox's game reminds me a lot of prime TP. I don't think he is necessarily the PG forever for us but considering what our PG rotation has looked like since we traded Murray/White, we are happy to have an actual competent guard rotation regardless of some of his shortcomings.

I think most of us understand that the Spurs do not operate like a Danny Ainge run team, they don't just trade players willy nilly and will always try to do right by their guys. So with that in mind, that is one reason I scoff at any Fox trade like this because the Spurs just aren't going to do it, period. It's not about us being in love with Fox per se, it's just how the franchise operates

[shrink]

yeah Randle has some flaws, but he's played for what 4 teams now? And on all of them he's been a very good regular season player who has been a total professional with no reports of drama or selfishness.

I think too often people look at a player's game, decide they don't like the style and assign personality traits based on assumptions. We see this with DeRozan all the time too. Another guy who has played in a bunch of spots, been super productive in the regular season, and shows up and plays hard every night.

Great post, and I will admit, I had that same incorrect presumption about Randle’s character when the MIN trade took place.

I don’t know what he was like in all his previous spots, but in Minnesota he was workmanlike and seemed to truly appreciate Ant taking the spotlight off him.