Rebuilding the Spurs

[Rustyman]

I thought that exploring the options for the Spurs to get better, we should start with the current team and work forward, so here goes my attempt:

Tier 1:
- Wemby. The future. Enough said.

Tier 2:
- Vassell. Expected to be the 2/3rd option now and in the future. Needs to improve availability and efficiency
- Sohan. Expected to develop into a third option, capable of defending 1-4. Target is Aaron Gordon and might be higher if he lifts his shooting efficiency with continuing defensive improvement. Re-evaluate after his 3rd year as the Spurs have to make a decision to pay him or move on.

Tier 3:
- Tre Young Tre Jones. Needs to improve his shooting efficiency. Especially with the 3-ball. However, if he does, I don't know whether the Spurs can pay him. If he can shoot 37% on 3's, he will get MLE sized offers next off-season. Keep him this year as insurance against the drafted PG's not being up to scratch.
- Champagnie. Keep him hoping he improves his shooting. with 47/37/80 splits, he will be another we may not be able to afford next year. As he is cheaper I think they will keep him rather than Cedi but they are interchangeable pieces and only one is kept.
- Keldon. I like him however he is not good enough to beat out Vassell at SG and he is not big/versatile enough to play SF. Also, it seems he wants to start so trading him is one of the priority off-season objectives as he is not without value.
- Collins. I think it was a good idea to keep him as a shield to Wemby before the season however this year it proved that he and Wemby are not a good fit so I think you trade him for shooting or playmaking if possible.

Tier 4:
- Cedi. I liked what he did this year but he is a free agent and I think he gets $10m+ offers which is too rich for the Spurs
- Malaki. Put up or shut up year. He was sold as on his shooting, his stats need to start showing that.
- Mamu. At the end of the year, showed he could play with Wemby and want to see if this is sustainable. Would like to see him get a 3 year deal at 5m per.


Tier 5:
For the guys in this category, it is all about this being a year to prove it or will be trade fodder/deep bench depth.
- Barlow. Need to see if he can reproduce what he did at the end of his first year.
- Wesley. Same as Malaki. Show you can shoot and be a combo guard or reckon on being replaced.
- Sidy. Needs to start showing he can shoot by the end of coming season or he is in the same boat as Wesley and Malaki.
- Graham. He will be cut or traded. No chance he is on the team in 24/25.

Perfect off-season for me is package one or both of Keldon/Collins for veterans and draft a wing and a PG and then see where that takes the Spurs. I am expecting 35+ wins in 24/25.

[G R E Y]

I thought that exploring the options for the Spurs to get better, we should start with the current team and work forward, so here goes my attempt:

Tier 1:
- Wemby. The future. Enough said.

Tier 2:
- Vassell. Expected to be the 2/3rd option now and in the future. Needs to improve availability and efficiency
- Sohan. Expected to develop into a third option, capable of defending 1-4. Target is Aaron Gordon and might be higher if he lifts his shooting efficiency with continuing defensive improvement. Re-evaluate after his 3rd year as the Spurs have to make a decision to pay him or move on.

Tier 3:
- Tre Young. Needs to improve his shooting efficiency. Especially with the 3-ball. However, if he does, I don't know whether the Spurs can pay him. If he can shoot 37% on 3's, he will get MLE sized offers next off-season. Keep him this year as insurance against the drafted PG's not being up to scratch.
- Champagnie. Keep him hoping he improves his shooting. with 47/37/80 splits, he will be another we may not be able to afford next year. As he is cheaper I think they will keep him rather than Cedi but they are interchangeable pieces and only one is kept.
- Keldon. I like him however he is not good enough to beat out Vassell at SG and he is not big/versatile enough to play SF. Also, it seems he wants to start so trading him is one of the priority off-season objectives as he is not without value.
- Collins. I think it was a good idea to keep him as a shield to Wemby before the season however this year it proved that he and Wemby are not a good fit so I think you trade him for shooting or playmaking if possible.

Tier 4:
- Cedi. I liked what he did this year but he is a free agent and I think he gets $10m+ offers which is too rich for the Spurs
- Malaki. Put up or shut up year. He was sold as on his shooting, his stats need to start showing that.
- Mamu. At the end of the year, showed he could play with Wemby and want to see if this is sustainable. Would like to see him get a 3 year deal at 5m per.


Tier 5:
For the guys in this category, it is all about this being a year to prove it or will be trade fodder/deep bench depth.
- Barlow. Need to see if he can reproduce what he did at the end of his first year.
- Wesley. Same as Malaki. Show you can shoot and be a combo guard or reckon on being replaced.
- Sidy. Needs to start showing he can shoot by the end of coming season or he is in the same boat as Wesley and Malaki.
- Graham. He will be cut or traded. No chance he is on the team in 24/25.

Perfect off-season for me is package one or both of Keldon/Collins for veterans and draft a wing and a PG and then see where that takes the Spurs. I am expecting 35+ wins in 24/25.

Hmm tiers 1 and 2 agree with completely.

Tier 3 - after all those lovey dovey social media posts, word has gone out that we're not that into pairing Trae with Wemby. Maybe that just means at whatever the price is, but the point stands. We need a guy with a semblance of D and willingness to play off ball some. For a steep price these are issues that would get passed along to us that we'd always be having to work around. Trend is toward bigger two way PGs now. But it's less about following a trend than it is prudent to think of best guy at his position to guard and score against opponents.

But it just occurred to me you probably mean Tre Jones. Agree about what he needs to improve and that he's at the top of tier 3. Not indispensable, but would be very hard to part with. Hope we keep him long term.

Had to run my eyes seeing Julian in this tier lol It's not his fault he was starting but my goodness do we EVER need an upgrade here. Keldon being moved in favour of a less ball dominant, more D oriented guy is the idea, but the practical experience is that Julian went on disappearing and low efficiency stretches. It was hard to watch. And that's from someone who's been more positive about the rebuild than many.

He went on good stretches of games to end each of the last two seasons, but woof he's not a starter. Back up role he may be able to cook in now. But yeah he's about as interchangeable as it gets. It's good to have a guy on the cheap familiar with our system always working to prove himself but yeah that grow in your guaranteed role phase has to be done. Tier 5.

Keldon's been our 4 then 3 for a while now and don't recall him at the 2 so crossover with Devin is not the issue. Ball dominance and fit with Wemby, as well as spotty D, are. Credit to him for going from #1 option to 6th man bench guy, and I get why he wants a bigger role/to start.

Whispers of his availability in a trade are growing louder and while I love the character and the bully ball game, if we can use him in a trade to pounce for a position or need that's a better fit, and he gets to give more of his game, great. Tier 3.

Collins has been playing out of Tier 4 and I to Tier 3 for much of the season. I get again why he'd by disappointed not starting, but at least he lost his spot to Wemby, not Julian. He said he wanted to play with Wemby more but I agree it was a clunky fit. Maybe it was not enough reps but his confidence also needed boosting, not just in his shot which started to come around but also in his hard nosed style of play. Don't blame him for protecting his body, but his lift was largely gone as was his quickness and ability to impact. Played smaller than his size in enough games that it stood out. Hopefully he gets back to his old self.

I think we do with him what we did with Jakob. Find a cheaper alternative up and coming option, bring him along, then trade Collins to a contender with his back up then getting more minutes. Hopefully Tier 3 still.

Cedi to me is Tier 3. We were able to offload Doug because Cedi does what Doug did offball but also can defend better. Great locker room vet. Recent interview with Turkish media gave me the impression that he may not return but I hope he does.

Agree about Branham, his tier, and his put up or shut up season.

Mamu played himself into Tier 3 range. Great with Wemby, high BBIQ, high energy, and as RFA, I hope we retain him. He recently capped a report stating he's going to one of two Euro teams. Nice guy. Funny. Grateful.

I am very high on Sidy. Very young, very coachable, tree trunks for legs, defensive menace, good passing vision and touch. Agree he has to be more assertive shooting. Imagine Devin coming off and oh here you go, meet Sidy, go on try and get by him, good luck.

Blake found consistent minutes with a hard hat approach and staunch commitment to D. If he can just find his shot and touch... Still raw running a team...

Graham. I like him and wish he could have played more but then we probably would not have the 4 and 8 picks now. We know what he can do. We needed to see how other grew. Seems like players who are more of a 'known' were moved in roles to give other lesser knows a chance. Also, fit with Wemby. Graham can fit nearly anywhere as he can run P&R and hit a 3. I hope he lands ina place where he contributes meaningful minutes. Denver sure knows he's got it in him. Watch him end up there lol

I like your off-season plans and the players involved. 1 and 3 upgrades are no secret. Just hope we don't overpay for either. We don't need a supermax player at either position right now and it won't take that much to upgrade the 3. Vet PG while drafting and incorporating a rookie PG is a good off-season. A bright up and coming 3 is big on my wish list. An Avdia/Bridges type...

We also need to address back up C at some point, too.

Spacing, defense, shooting, back up big.

Yeah at least a 10-15 game improvement is a good marker.

[Rustyman]

Tier 3 - after all those lovey dovey social media posts, word has gone out that we're not that into pairing Trae with Wemby. Maybe that just means at whatever the price is, but the point stands. We need a guy with a semblance of D and willingness to play off ball some. For a steep price these are issues that would get passed along to us that we'd always be having to work around. Trend is toward bigger two way PGs now. But it's less about following a trend than it is prudent to think of best guy at his position to guard and score against opponents.

But it just occurred to me you probably mean Tre Jones. Agree about what he needs to improve and that he's at the top of tier 3. Not indispensable, but would be very hard to part with. Hope we keep him long term.

Yep. Meant Tre Jones but that happens when you post an essay. I agree, I would like to keep him but can the Spurs offer him a MLE if he improves next year? In my opinion, even if he slightly improves, he is value for $10m per.

[Rustyman]

Had to run my eyes seeing Julian in this tier lol It's not his fault he was starting but my goodness do we EVER need an upgrade here. Keldon being moved in favour of a less ball dominant, more D oriented guy is the idea, but the practical experience is that Julian went on disappearing and low efficiency stretches. It was hard to watch. And that's from someone who's been more positive about the rebuild than many.

He went on good stretches of games to end each of the last two seasons, but woof he's not a starter. Back up role he may be able to cook in now. But yeah he's about as interchangeable as it gets. It's good to have a guy on the cheap familiar with our system always working to prove himself but yeah that grow in your guaranteed role phase has to be done. Tier 5.

My problem is that I like Julian. He is exactly the type of player we need in the SF role. However, he is not good enough (currently?) to be our starter in that role. For me he should be the backup and our draftee this year should be the eventual starter. I still think he can be more than a disposable piece though. Until we get both a primary and backup SF better than Julian, I think we keep him as his defense has also surprised me.

While I do also like Keldon, I just don't think that he fits well into the current makeup of the team and I completely understand why a young player like him with potential wants to explore alternative options to start. Keldon as a backup is fine but I think it does both him and the team a disservice to have a backup earning $20m/per

[Rustyman]

Collins has been playing out of Tier 4 and I to Tier 3 for much of the season. I get again why he'd by disappointed not starting, but at least he lost his spot to Wemby, not Julian. He said he wanted to play with Wemby more but I agree it was a clunky fit. Maybe it was not enough reps but his confidence also needed boosting, not just in his shot which started to come around but also in his hard nosed style of play. Don't blame him for protecting his body, but his lift was largely gone as was his quickness and ability to impact. Played smaller than his size in enough games that it stood out. Hopefully he gets back to his old self.

I think we do with him what we did with Jakob. Find a cheaper alternative up and coming option, bring him along, then trade Collins to a contender with his back up then getting more minutes. Hopefully Tier 3 still.

This is one of my problems. The Spurs have a lot of likeable guys and Collins is one of them. His perfect role should be as a backup on a contender or a starter for teams who lack front court shooting. However, his lack of mobility and defensive shortcomings means that he needs to be surrounded by other bigs who do that work for him.

My perfect solution for Collins is to trade him for any one of an athletic defensive big / 3&D SF / scoring guard. He is too good to not play 20+ minutes somewhere.

[Rustyman]

Cedi to me is Tier 3. We were able to offload Doug because Cedi does what Doug did offball but also can defend better. Great locker room vet. Recent interview with Turkish media gave me the impression that he may not return but I hope he does.

Agree about Branham, his tier, and his put up or shut up season.

Mamu played himself into Tier 3 range. Great with Wemby, high BBIQ, high energy, and as RFA, I hope we retain him. He recently capped a report stating he's going to one of two Euro teams. Nice guy. Funny. Grateful.

I am very high on Sidy. Very young, very coachable, tree trunks for legs, defensive menace, good passing vision and touch. Agree he has to be more assertive shooting. Imagine Devin coming off and oh here you go, meet Sidy, go on try and get by him, good luck.

Blake found consistent minutes with a hard hat approach and staunch commitment to D. If he can just find his shot and touch... Still raw running a team...

Cedi I would like to keep but as I said, I expect him to get better offers than the $7m he earnt this past season.

Mamu, I think everyone likes but I need to see if what we saw at the end of last season was a mirage or not.

Sidy I think has the most raw potential out of Malaki, Blake and himself but without finding a shot, he is destined to be a minimum level player.

Blake unfortunately is a combo scoring guard who cannot score, I would like to see him get better but I doubt it.

[G R E Y]

Had to run my eyes seeing Julian in this tier lol It's not his fault he was starting but my goodness do we EVER need an upgrade here. Keldon being moved in favour of a less ball dominant, more D oriented guy is the idea, but the practical experience is that Julian went on disappearing and low efficiency stretches. It was hard to watch. And that's from someone who's been more positive about the rebuild than many.

He went on good stretches of games to end each of the last two seasons, but woof he's not a starter. Back up role he may be able to cook in now. But yeah he's about as interchangeable as it gets. It's good to have a guy on the cheap familiar with our system always working to prove himself but yeah that grow in your guaranteed role phase has to be done. Tier 5.

My problem is that I like Julian. He is exactly the type of player we need in the SF role. However, he is not good enough (currently?) to be our starter in that role. For me he should be the backup and our draftee this year should be the eventual starter. I still think he can be more than a disposable piece though. Until we get both a primary and backup SF better than Julian, I think we keep him as his defense has also surprised me.

While I do also like Keldon, I just don't think that he fits well into the current makeup of the team and I completely understand why a young player like him with potential wants to explore alternative options to start. Keldon as a backup is fine but I think it does both him and the team a disservice to have a backup earning $20m/per

Agree that Julian is the type of player we need there over Keldon. There's only so much ball to go around and so a more prototypical 3&D, off ball, floor spacing player is the way to go.

But two things stand out with JC in particular. One is that it seemed at times like he had a case of the guaranteed starter minutes safety net-itis. Not sure how much he leveled up skills and competitive -wise in that situation. But how much could we expect an undrafted player to? I'm conflicted by at once accepting that there's a reason someone goes undrafted. But then again, once you're in the league, it's your job to essentially keep your job. And once JC got the starting role, there wasn't really any competition for it.

On the other hand, it was instructive to see how he handled the role, how he grew into it or how much there was left to fill in the role. I think it was both too big for him and he wasn't pushed for his spot. Sometimes it's good for a guy to know he can play though mistakes; sometimes it's good for a guy to know there's someone hungry for his spot.

JC averaged about 5% less in efficiency. The 3s dipping from an encouraging 40% to a still decent 36% is one thing. But overall efficiency dipping to 40.8% is another. He had a case of Lonnie-itis in that he was worse closer to the basket. All those dunk attempts only to repeatedly get blocked by the rim. He's 6'8"!

Just an average player, not a super competitive one at that, with flaws we've seen before. We can easily replace 6ppg though I agree that he can be serviceable as a floor spacing back up 3 in spot minutes. Just disagree about the tier I guess.

Agree about Keldon fit and paying a backup 3 $20M.

Everyone talks about our PG upgrade needs but even if we returned with Tre et al there, we could manage it.
It's our 3 that is at least as glaring. Something clearly has to be figured out there. I have a hard time seeing us start two rookies next season so I expect a trade of some sort for either 1 or 3.

[Rustyman]

I agree, SF is our biggest need and PG can be filled with the lower pick or other means as Tre Jones is adequate at present at PG. That is why I am a fervent supporter of drafting as SF first and I might even be convinced to trade up for Risacher although I am not a great believer in trading up.

Despite my liking Julian, I think you are completely right and he needs competition and that is why I am not above the team drafting two players at SF. I am not wedded to Julian at the SF but I want better options before moving on. If the team cannot get Risacher, I am fine with double dipping at SF in the second round, even with both picks.

[Rustyman]

The 5 year Plan - Year 1 (2022/23)

On February 10, 2022, the San Antonio Spurs decided to trade Derek White to the Celtics for a pick in the 22/23 draft and a pick swap in 2028 together with some salary ballast. This could simply be seen as a roster move as the Spurs received a couple of picks and White wasn't a starter for the Spurs, however, in light of what came afterwards, it was the moment when an internal decision was made to start tanking.

With the picks in the draft that year on June 23 2022, the Spurs at 9 (Spurs pick) selected Sochan, at 20 (from Raptors for taking on Goran Drajic's salary) they selected Branham and at 25 (from Boston in the White trade) they selected Wesley. None of these players were regarded as going to be productive in year one. All three were gambles on upside, there was no expectation that they would significant improve the Spurs on the court.

The official announcement of the tank however came on 30 June 22 when, the Spurs decided to trade Dejounte Murray for 2 unprotected picks from the Hawks, 1 pick swap and the right to Charlotte's pick (protected 1-14) in 2025. With the trade of Murray, the Spurs essentially announced to the rest of the NBA that they were going to tank.

These result of these moves was that in season 2022/23 the Spurs ended a record of 22-60. Their worse record since 1996/97 which led to the drafting of Tim Duncan.

At the end of that season, the key holdovers for the Spurs were Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones and the 3 rookies. (Primo having been waived earlier that season).

[Rustyman]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 2 (2023/24)

The Spurs tanked hard the previous season as the prize was something that could change the trajectory of the franchise, namely Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs tank and the sacrifice/prayers resulted in the big payoff and on draft night, Wemby was in the bag.
The only other pick the Spurs had in the 2023 draft was Cissoko who was an absolute flyer on a guy who had no shot, however, they gave him a guaranteed contract which implies they were higher on him than the regular 2nd rounder,

Now the next question, what do do to surround Wemby with the necessary resources to maximize his outcome. The problem being that the Spurs did not know how Victor's game was going to translate to the NBA. Was he a forward or a centre? Could he shoot from outside? Did his slim body mean that he could not compete at the 5? Did he need to put on weight or should he aim for the Durant trajectory? All these questions but no definitive answers so the Spurs decided to roll the dice with the current squad to determine in which direction the rebuild should take place.

The Spurs made no significant transactions during the 2023/24 season other than giving teams salary cap relief in return for 2nd round picks and washed up players. The only potential keeper they traded for was Cedy Osman and the swap for the Dallas 1st rounder in 2030. The Spurs were all in on evaluating Wemby and then determining what direction to take in future years.

The results for the Spurs were variable to start the season. The started Sochan at the PG to see if that could address their PG size issues, however, Sochan was not and will never be a PG. He may in the future become a playmaking forward but the potential they saw in his playmaking ability was too early to attempt to realise and after 20+ games they reverted to Tre Jones as a more traditional PG.

Wemby's role was also uncertain. Initially the Spurs started him at the PF (maybe part of the reason they started Sochan at PG in an attempt to have their best players on the floor at all times) but Collins, who played C next to him did not live up to his promise of a sharpshooter so he simply occupied space that Wemby wanted to occupy at the same time. At the All Star break, the questions were still out on Wemby and Holmgren was favourite for the ROY. However, then things changed.

Wemby went on a tear in the second half of the season playing at center. He was short-listed at Defensive Player of the year and won ROY in a landslide. Now the Spurs knew better what they had in Wemby and the real part of building a team around him began.

To be honest, Wemby was too good now for a 5 year rebuilding process yet the development of the team was very focussed on youth development. The direction the Spurs take will be obvious once the 2024 draft is over and potential trades for proven players and the rookies to be retained is determined.

[Rustyman]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 3 (2024/25) - Part 1

Despite all the hype and understandable optimism around Wemby, the Spurs still ended the previous season with a 22-60 season. The strides Wemby made throughout the season does however mean that (1) the expectations are that the Spurs will get better quickly and (2) the Spurs will make an effort to surround Wemby with better talent.

With the 4 and 8, the Spurs can draft two valuable contributors but the question is how quickly will they contribute to winning. In my opinion, neither pick will be making significant contributions to winning this coming season. This means that the improvement has to come internally from the younger players and the Spurs probably will make some trades, whether these trades are simply for a couple of veterans or a star.

The draft is a tricky business to depend on for immediate improvement, the Spurs having about a 50% success rate (Wemby, Vassell, Keldon, White, Murray) and some abject failures (Primo, Semanic, Lonnie, Milutinov) in the first round in the past 10 years with the 2023 draft class being too early to call. Even then, any significant success is only likely after the first couple of years.

It is therefore imperative that the Spurs trade for one or more veterans who can help to mentor the youngsters as well as providing valuable on-court contributions. I am not against trading for a star (Tre Young, Garland, Markkanen, etc.) but my preference would be for a savvy veteran (Paul, Jones, McConnell, etc.) primarily because we still are not sure which among the young players are keepers and the cost for a star will cost SIGNIFICANT assets with no guarantee of success.

My preference prior to the draft would be organic growth with some sprinkling of veteran experience to speed the process of development.

[Rustyman]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 3 (2024/25) - Part 2

Okay, had some time away from looking at the NBA and draft and here are my final thoughts prior to the draft.

Firstly I should say that I have absolutely NO idea what the Spurs are going to do on draft night. These are my thoughts only.

On trades, I have come to the conclusion that at trade for Tre Young or Darius Garland, while very seductive, would probably cost the Spurs more than they should pay. If we can get either for a pick this year, a pick next year, some second rounders and a combination of players, then we should do it. If it takes more than that, then I would pass.

Now on to the draft. I have come up with the following draft approach based on my view that getting a wing is the no.1 requirement for the Spurs this year as there are a number of veteran PG's who are available this year that could fill the need.

So, at no.4, I would chose whichever of these players were available based on the order in which they are named: Risacher, Sarr, Salaun, Dillingham. Risacher as I think he is the best fit, Sarr as I think he as the most potential and Salaun as a clear swing on what he potentially can become. Dillingham if those are not available as I think he could score from day one off the bench.

At no.8. If we managed to snag one of the 3 wings, I would go for a PG in Dillingham, Sheppard, Castle or if we chose Dillingham at 4 then it would be Knecht, Keyshawn George, Williams. You will note that I don't really care what draft analysts say about rankings or value as there are no clear home runs in this draft.

For me the best outcome would be Risacher/Dillingham, the worse would be Salaun/Castle as both can't shoot reliably at this stage.

Then I would sign a veteran PG at 2/20m like Chris Paul or Tyus Jones. The reason for the veteran guard is that the Spurs have many young guards, all of whom we should look at first. I want to see if Wesley or Branham will amount to anything and this is their prove it year. I want to see if Sissoko, Champagnie or Barlow can turn into anything at the forward position. Next year we may have 3 or 4 first rounders and whoever does not fight their way to a rotation spot should be dropped.

[Colbinii]

I think the Spurs should be as good as possible under realistic terms next year.

1) Don't trade high-lottery picks (Like #4 and #8)
2) Limit Free Agents contracts to 3 years.
3) Focus on fit around Wemby over Raw-Talent
4) Allow Wemby to continue to explore the studio space

I think the Spurs will be a 40-ish win team next year (when healthy). They desperately need to upgrade their playmaking/passing and shooting. This can be done by upgrading Tre Jones or adding versatile offensive players on the Wing.

[Rustyman]

I think the Spurs should be as good as possible under realistic terms next year.

1) Don't trade high-lottery picks (Like #4 and #8)
2) Limit Free Agents contracts to 3 years.
3) Focus on fit around Wemby over Raw-Talent
4) Allow Wemby to continue to explore the studio space

I think the Spurs will be a 40-ish win team next year (when healthy). They desperately need to upgrade their playmaking/passing and shooting. This can be done by upgrading Tre Jones or adding versatile offensive players on the Wing.

1) Absolutely agree with you. Don't trade the picks this year unless the offer absolutely blows the Spurs out of the water.
2) Agree as well. We have to pay Wemby in 3 years time and that will change the dynamic of the franchise. That is why I want the
Spurs to continue to gather picks for when we have to really pay Wemby, we are getting rookies on cheap contracts for 4 years.
3) Gather cheap talent is a must. However, I am not against any trades which make the Spurs better but not at the cost of the medium to long-term future.
4) Yes. Wemby is not yet the finished article. He needs to develop his body and game over the next 2-3 years although I think we can still win during this period.
5) I expect 35-40 wins in the upcoming season. Less than that we have to examine our roster more closely.
6) I actually believe that Tre Jones is not far from being an average NBA PG starter. I want to add more but I view wing as a much bigger role as Julian's best outcome is that of a backup 3&D player and he was starting for us for most of the season.

I want shooting and playmaking from the current draft with upside. Now we are probably going to have to choose 2 out of 3 of those qualities for our picks and I am fine with that. I want at least 1 shooter and with the other, we can go in many directions but shooting is the one quality we need to come out of this draft with.

[Rustyman]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 3 (2024/25) - Part 3 - Post Draft

Apologies for not being so active on this board over the past couple of months but work commitments in foreign places meant I couldn't post as much as I wanted.

Now lets revisit the draft after things have settled and Summer League is over. As stated my board in order of preference was Risacher, Sarr, Salaun, Dillingham then a wing or a PG dependent on who was chosen at 4.

Now Risacher and Sarr were gone at 4 and the Spurs chose Castle, a potential PG but not one today. Of the PG's my preference was for Dillingham as I thought he would at least be a sparkplug off the bench this coming year and I thought he was a more developed playmaker than any of the other 3-4 PG's in this draft.

The Spurs chose Castle because he fit their profile of big, athletic PG potentials like Josh Primo and Dejounte Murray above what I thought was the proven skills of the (much smaller) Dillingham. It also crossed my mind that Castle (because of his defensive skills) was chosen to be a direct counter to the existing great scoring guards in the Western conference like Luka, SGA, Ant, Murray (x2), Steph, Devin, etc. So the Spurs approach is that instead of matching that scoring output, they would be looking to mute it instead.

While Castle wasn't my first choice, I understood the rationale and there were lots of people who were much higher on Castle than I was. The problem, which manifested itself at the 8th pick was the opportunity cost the Spurs sacrificed to take Castle. They missed the chance to take Salaun at 4 and then whichever guard was available at 8 as I felt there was not much separating any of them.

The fact that the Spurs traded the 8th pick once Charlotte selected Salaun at 6 indicated that they shared my view that all the real talent was at the top of the draft.

That they drafted and then traded Dillingham is a much longer discussion on the General Board, suffice to say that the end result will only be determined in around 10 years.

[G R E Y]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 3 (2024/25) - Part 3 - Post Draft

Apologies for not being so active on this board over the past couple of months but work commitments in foreign places meant I couldn't post as much as I wanted.

Now lets revisit the draft after things have settled and Summer League is over. As stated my board in order of preference was Risacher, Sarr, Salaun, Dillingham then a wing or a PG dependent on who was chosen at 4.

Now Risacher and Sarr were gone at 4 and the Spurs chose Castle, a potential PG but not one today. Of the PG's my preference was for Dillingham as I thought he would at least be a sparkplug off the bench this coming year and I thought he was a more developed playmaker than any of the other 3-4 PG's in this draft.

The Spurs chose Castle because he fit their profile of big, athletic PG potentials like Josh Primo and Dejounte Murray above what I thought was the proven skills of the (much smaller) Dillingham. It also crossed my mind that Castle (because of his defensive skills) was chosen to be a direct counter to the existing great scoring guards in the Western conference like Luka, SGA, Ant, Murray (x2), Steph, Devin, etc. So the Spurs approach is that instead of matching that scoring output, they would be looking to mute it instead.

While Castle wasn't my first choice, I understood the rationale and there were lots of people who were much higher on Castle than I was. The problem, which manifested itself at the 8th pick was the opportunity cost the Spurs sacrificed to take Castle. They missed the chance to take Salaun at 4 and then whichever guard was available at 8 as I felt there was not much separating any of them.

The fact that the Spurs traded the 8th pick once Charlotte selected Salaun at 6 indicated that they shared my view that all the real talent was at the top of the draft.

That they drafted and then traded Dillingham is a much longer discussion on the General Board, suffice to say that the end result will only be determined in around 10 years.

Feels like we valued Castle over Salaun. I also suspect Hornets would have taken Castle as insurance for Melo had we taken Salaun. We have to remember that team mocks are often quite different than what draft sites list.

Castle can fill in the 1 2 or 3 and I think he impressed at the 1 in SL. I agree we did want to get bigger. We also drafted Harrison who is a chunk, Sidy is, too, then we got Barnes as well.

Dilly had a lot of hype and he is an electric player but goodness the D... And his size is a concern. So that's one thing he could never overcome and another that is not likely to get to a point that it would be at least a neutral point. Even with a dogged defender like Tre his size was an issue. It is what it is. It's why we got bigger at PG, plus defense. It's probably why in part we targeted Salaun.

Long term thinking is crucial with the new CBA and the ridiculous contracts coming up are an issue for long term te building and sustainable success. I think this makes picks currency all the more important. Having lots of picks works short term in using them in trades and long term in having draft capital of other teams, assuming our picks will be on the lower end. We will need an infusion of talent on the cheap.

I just think Castle is a much higher quality and ceiling prospect, a better fit, not with Klutch lol, and Dilly despite his scoring prowess is a bit redundant for us. Minny paid a steep price to fill a bench need or even if he fills in as starter.

We will benefit from this deal one way or another, ie/trade or draft.

Salaun is a talent but super raw, the kind of prospect that needs a good development program, the kind whose trajectory of improvement could be more affected either positively or negatively by the quality of said program. It'll be interesting to see how he progresses in Charlotte.

This season will also be about tracking the progress or regression of teams whose picks we have for 2025. I'm super happy we didn't give up any of those picks. We did well in the draft and in filling needs this summer.

[Rustyman]

Feels like we valued Castle over Salaun. I also suspect Hornets would have taken Castle as insurance for Melo had we taken Salaun. We have to remember that team mocks are often quite different than what draft sites list.

Castle can fill in the 1 2 or 3 and I think he impressed at the 1 in SL. I agree we did want to get bigger. We also drafted Harrison who is a chunk, Sidy is, too, then we got Barnes as well.

Agree. Size was a consideration for the Spurs as they are not a very big team outside Wemby. In fact, I feel they still need another quality big. They now have some size at the 2-3 but unless Castle turns into a 1, I still think they are lacking both height and bulk.

[Rustyman]

Dilly had a lot of hype and he is an electric player but goodness the D... And his size is a concern. So that's one thing he could never overcome and another that is not likely to get to a point that it would be at least a neutral point. Even with a dogged defender like Tre his size was an issue. It is what it is. It's why we got bigger at PG, plus defense. It's probably why in part we targeted Salaun.

While I preferred Dillingham, I am at peace with the decision to go with Castle. It is simply that the Spurs had a different mentality and size was a priority with them. With Salaun and Sochan at the 3-4, I think the starting 5 would be better have a better balance so I understand the desire for size.

Also, once the Hornets selected Salaun, I think the Spurs believe that they did not have enough space for another development 1-3 as they have to make some big decisions this year with Branham, Wesley, Tre, Julian, Keldon. I think only two of these 5 make it after this year as the Spurs could have 2-4 first round picks next year.

[Rustyman]

Long term thinking is crucial with the new CBA and the ridiculous contracts coming up are an issue for long term te building and sustainable success. I think this makes picks currency all the more important. Having lots of picks works short term in using them in trades and long term in having draft capital of other teams, assuming our picks will be on the lower end. We will need an infusion of talent on the cheap.

This season will also be about tracking the progress or regression of teams whose picks we have for 2025. I'm super happy we didn't give up any of those picks. We did well in the draft and in filling needs this summer.

In the end, this is one of the reasons why I am not disappointed that they did not take another 1-3 development project in 2024.

Last year, no one knew what Wemby would be. We had our hopes but there was no guarantees. Now that the Spurs have a much better idea of what Wemby is, we need to make decisions about which of the current roster fits with him long term as Wemby is just too good too soon. We cannot rebuild over 3-5 years. By year 3, we need to be contending and hopefully making the conference semis/finals.

This is also why I think the Spurs end up with no more than 2 first rounders in the 2025 draft. Those players that fit stick, those that don't are moved on and I think around draft time 2025, the Spurs have 4-5 roster spots to fill. At least half or maybe even the majority need to be proven (youngish) veterans.

Going forward, I think the optimum team composition will be a maximum of 2 maximum salaries, 2-3 mid-range salaries (20-35m) and the rest, players on their first contracts or cheaper role playing veterans.

With the draft picks the Spurs have in the bank, I think they will have 3-5 players on their rookie salaries to around 2035.

[Rustyman]

The 5 Year Plan - Year 3 (2024/25) - Part 4 - Post Draft

After the explosive decisions of the first round, the Spurs acted much as we have come to expect the Spurs to act in the second.

The took Juan Nunez with the 36th pick and stashed him. This is a player I actually predicted the Spurs would take as after this year, and some extra seasoning with another year in Europe, he may be ready for a backup PG role with at least Chris Paul and Blake Wesley unlikely to still be around.

With the 48th pick, they chose someone who will compete with Cissoko/Champagnie for the backup 3/4 role. If either of these decisions work out, the Spurs would have had a successful 2nd round.

The Spurs then went out and acquired Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, a great move in my opinion. After a year, the Spurs now have a better idea of what is likely to fit around Wemby and the bring in some experience to help the Spurs through their late game woes which were largely caused by inexperience.

I do have some slight regrets saying goodby to Cedy and Barlow but the Spurs replaced Cedy with Harrison however, I still feel the team is currently too guard heavy and need a big PF which Barlow could have grown into is still needed. I expect they believe that Mamu will largely play the 4 in the coming season.