2025 SPURS OFF-SEASON NEWS THREAD - WHISPERS, RUMBLINGS, REACTIONS

[imagump1313]

Stiff.

Tons of better Cs this draft. And you certainly don't waste s lotto pick, a high one at that, on a non 3s shooting, so so FTs shooting 23 year old back up.

We'd have whiffed on a far better player, the one who earned all the accolades, congrats again, Steph.

C's that are first team all rookies?

We wasted that pick on drafting a nobody for Minnesota when we could have had 2/5 all rookies and filled one of our largest holes in our lineup and been free to not worry about that position this draft.

Not to mention Memphis became instantly better than us by drafting him.

That traded pick was part of a package for Fox. So, older back up big with no 3s and meh FTs and a back up undersized PG with no D, or... Fox. Come on...

He got played off the court in the POs. Started all 4 games, averaged 27mpg and a whopping 6 points, 7 boards. Very solid 2.5 blocks per game. 71%FTs. 0 3s.

Memphis was instantly better because they already had Ja, Bane, JJJ, etc. A back up big was not some huge difference maker. Else he'd have made a difference when it counted.

You don't waste lotto picks on back ups with huge deficiencies in their games.

We had other assets to get Fox. Sacramento basically had no choice but to take what they could get.

23 is old now? He can play at a high level for another 10 years. Wemby will be thirty by then.

Everyone has holes in their game. Edey isnt a starter but he would have been a nice backup who could start if necessary.

[G R E Y]

C's that are first team all rookies?

We wasted that pick on drafting a nobody for Minnesota when we could have had 2/5 all rookies and filled one of our largest holes in our lineup and been free to not worry about that position this draft.

Not to mention Memphis became instantly better than us by drafting him.

That traded pick was part of a package for Fox. So, older back up big with no 3s and meh FTs and a back up undersized PG with no D, or... Fox. Come on...

He got played off the court in the POs. Started all 4 games, averaged 27mpg and a whopping 6 points, 7 boards. Very solid 2.5 blocks per game. 71%FTs. 0 3s.

Memphis was instantly better because they already had Ja, Bane, JJJ, etc. A back up big was not some huge difference maker. Else he'd have made a difference when it counted.

You don't waste lotto picks on back ups with huge deficiencies in their games.

We had other assets to get Fox. Sacramento basically had no choice but to take what they could get.

23 is old now? He can play at a high level for another 10 years. Wemby will be thirty by then.

Everyone has holes in their game. Edey isnt a starter but he would have been a nice backup who could start if necessary.

I truly don't get your fascination with some hump of a back up C with serious flaws in his game, ones that got exposed and taken advantage of in the POs.

In a post in which our rookie, younger, very good defender, can create his own shot and is in unique company already:

Read on Twitter

So we'll see how good he is in a couple of years, the age at which Humpey is now.

We can address back up C in a variety of ways, via draft, trade FA ie/Humpey's teammate Santi Aldama.

Have you looked at the Cs in this draft?

And yes we could have used other assets to get Fox, but again that trade allowed us to use a lotto pick to get FOX not a back up C.

[Rustyman]

While I am a big fan of Edey, he made no sense on the Spurs last year at #8. Edey at the Spurs would be a backup. He would get 12-18 mins a game but the ability to play him and Wemby together is extremely questionable.

While I am happy for Edey and his relative success in Memphis, he would never have achieved the same outcome with the Spurs. My choice in last year's draft was Salaun and despite his poor rookie season, I still stick by the option that Saluan would have been much better if he had come to the Spurs. He has the right intangibles and measurables but no one to teach him how to play.

Just look at the difference in Castle between the beginning and the end of the year. Not just numbers, but in the way he plays and his confidence. Saluan could have had that with the Spurs, now he is likely to just be a backup by the end of his rookie contract and the Spurs are still going to look for that type of player in the upcoming draft.

[imagump1313]

That traded pick was part of a package for Fox. So, older back up big with no 3s and meh FTs and a back up undersized PG with no D, or... Fox. Come on...

He got played off the court in the POs. Started all 4 games, averaged 27mpg and a whopping 6 points, 7 boards. Very solid 2.5 blocks per game. 71%FTs. 0 3s.

Memphis was instantly better because they already had Ja, Bane, JJJ, etc. A back up big was not some huge difference maker. Else he'd have made a difference when it counted.

You don't waste lotto picks on back ups with huge deficiencies in their games.

We had other assets to get Fox. Sacramento basically had no choice but to take what they could get.

23 is old now? He can play at a high level for another 10 years. Wemby will be thirty by then.

Everyone has holes in their game. Edey isnt a starter but he would have been a nice backup who could start if necessary.

I truly don't get your fascination with some hump of a back up C with serious flaws in his game, ones that got exposed and taken advantage of in the POs.

In a post in which our rookie, younger, very good defender, can create his own shot and is in unique company already:

Read on Twitter

So we'll see how good he is in a couple of years, the age at which Humpey is now.

We can address back up C in a variety of ways, via draft, trade FA ie/Humpey's teammate Santi Aldama.

Have you looked at the Cs in this draft?

And yes we could have used other assets to get Fox, but again that trade allowed us to use a lotto pick to get FOX not a back up C.

I believe you think I'm comparing Castle to Edey. It has nothing to do with Castle.

I'm simply saying I didn't like wasting a draft pick for literally nothing when Edey would have helped us. We still could have drafted a center in this draft also if we wanted but it wouldnt be as much of an emergency as it is now. Edey, despite all these so-called flaws you're talking about would have been a better option than anyone we had this season coming off the bench in that role.

The guy was a rookie and came pretty close to rookie of the year. Seems like we have all this patience with our own stiffs who never amount to anything and blow it off as "oh, he's just a rookie" but then condem Edey for being a rookie that didn't play like an all-star for 5 games. That guy can play and is fundamentally sound. He's never going to be a star but he's a solid player and we could have had him for nothing.

[G R E Y]

We had other assets to get Fox. Sacramento basically had no choice but to take what they could get.

23 is old now? He can play at a high level for another 10 years. Wemby will be thirty by then.

Everyone has holes in their game. Edey isnt a starter but he would have been a nice backup who could start if necessary.

I truly don't get your fascination with some hump of a back up C with serious flaws in his game, ones that got exposed and taken advantage of in the POs.

In a post in which our rookie, younger, very good defender, can create his own shot and is in unique company already:

Read on Twitter

So we'll see how good he is in a couple of years, the age at which Humpey is now.

We can address back up C in a variety of ways, via draft, trade FA ie/Humpey's teammate Santi Aldama.

Have you looked at the Cs in this draft?

And yes we could have used other assets to get Fox, but again that trade allowed us to use a lotto pick to get FOX not a back up C.

I believe you think I'm comparing Castle to Edey. It has nothing to do with Castle.

I'm simply saying I didn't like wasting a draft pick for literally nothing when Edey would have helped us. We still could have drafted a center in this draft also if we wanted but it wouldnt be as much of an emergency as it is now. Edey, despite all these so-called flaws you're talking about would have been a better option than anyone we had this season coming off the bench in that role.

The guy was a rookie and came pretty close to rookie of the year. Seems like we have all this patience with our own stiffs who never amount to anything and blow it off as "oh, he's just a rookie" but then condem Edey for being a rookie that didn't play like an all-star for 5 games. That guy can play and is fundamentally sound. He's never going to be a star but he's a solid player and we could have had him for nothing.

Fair points about rookie development. For the record, I outlined in another post how we have a less than spotty record in drafting outside of the lottery and the end of the first round. We need to draft better in between.

But in a post about yet another earned accolade for Castle, the quoted response was about how we whiffed on Edey.

Edey came close to ROY? 0 first place votes, 1 second place vote, 7 third place votes for a total of 10 points. Castle got a total of 482 votes; Risacher, 245; Wells, 123.

Again, using a lotto pick on a back up, be it Edey or Dillingham, is a *huge waste of an asset*.

If there was a draft in which to flip a pick to kick it down the line, it was this one. We turned a ceiling of 8 into an unprotected pick which helped turn into Fox while not giving up any core assets.

So it's Castle + Fox or Castle + paying back ups lotto level money. Fox has proven skills and will be paid accordingly. Castle has lived up his pick slot. There's a plethora of options for a big back up C, a position of need for us, which should almost never be drafted for over BPA, and who have a broader skill set already via draft or FA or trade. Lots of time to fill out the roster. Lots of work to be done.

[G R E Y]

Hmm...

Read on Twitter

[Rustyman]

At this stage, I am looking to fit the gaps in the Spurs, namely shooting and size. To me Nembhart does not meet any of those immediate needs or at least enough of it to justify the 14th pick or someone like Sochan.

[Rustyman]

The reason I have moved so firmly to keeping the draft picks is a simple matter of economics and the salary cap.

The #2 pick will earn around $12.5m in the first year and the #14 pick around $5m.

This is about $3m over the MLE. Do we think that if the Spurs sign a player to the MLE that player will be worth more to the team in terms of production than the #2 and #14pick? I do not think so as even if Harper registers 14 points and 4 assists per game and our #14 pick registers 10 points and 5 boards (I am assuming we pick a big), those numbers are likely to be significantly better than anything and MLE level player would give the team.

When we consider that we have to pay our own players to round out the roster, I think we keep our picks unless we can get Giannis for a reasonable deal.

[G R E Y]

At this stage, I am looking to fit the gaps in the Spurs, namely shooting and size. To me Nembhart does not meet any of those immediate needs or at least enough of it to justify the 14th pick or someone like Sochan.

It depends. Like when we got Fox for essentially around the edges guys in Collins,Tre, and i think Sidy with a bunch of picks, that move clearly rose our floor and ceiling while trimming the roster of sometimes unplayable guys.

We still have a glut of guards with Blake and Branham needing to be addressed. While I think each has a specific talent, and would be a terrific player if you put them together, well enter Nembhard.

We need guys around Wemby who could get him the ball. That's Andrew per stat above.

So if this is another combining of assets for upgrade in a key position , great. Depth in POs is proving crucial. Would we rather have either of the Bs or Nembhard coming off the bench? His 3s this season dipped but he was at 35% the previous two seasons. And that P&R stat.... We already had a hard time finding the Bs minutes and now Harper is coming on board.

I agree that parting with 14 or Sochan in this deal is a non-starter, and that we have specific needs to address. But making consolidation deals like this is smart and necessary practice, too.

[Rustyman]

The question is, who is going to trade us anything decent for Blake and Branham. For anyone like Nembhart, teams would be looking for real assets.

I agree that a consolidation trade would be nice but if we are combining anything other than 2nds for this trade, it probably is not worth it for the Spurs.

[G R E Y]

The question is, who is going to trade us anything decent for Blake and Branham. For anyone like Nembhart, teams would be looking for real assets.

I agree that a consolidation trade would be nice but if we are combining anything other than 2nds for this trade, it probably is not worth it for the Spurs.

If I told you we would get Fox for Collins, Tre, and I think Sidy plus a package of attractive picks, would you believe me before the trade? I wouldn't believe it myself. Of course it required a third team but still, it cost us what it did.

So yeah you never know how other teams perceive potential, especially on rookie contracts, which given the cap situations now, is stronger currency (and we'll be adding a couple soon).

Blake and Branham are still on rookie contracts next season then RFAs the season after. Nembhard's extension starts next season at $18M+ and ascends each of the two seasons after that. So we'd have to figure out matching financials. That's *IF* Pacers are willing to move him, especially in order to keep their core together longer.

They have a late 1st and late 2nd in this draft. Next season Nembhard will jump from a basement bargain third lowest in salary to fourth highest just behind Turner (who by recent reports Indy is willing to push their cap to retain).

I'm not saying Indy would flip B&B for AN. Just saying there are ways to consolidate assets like we did for getting Fox, ways to take advantage of a given team's situation, even if the context of Fox wanting out and wanting us was a different exploit.

The other snag is that Nembhard is repped by Todd Ramasar (Primo uuugh, and Barlow, though we still have David Duke Jr. on the roster repped by him). There may be some residual sourness but we are a great situation that more players want to be a part of and it's an agent's job to put his client first and into best spots.

But I like the addition if we can swing it and afford it.

[imagump1313]

Looks like Paul is out. I'm surprised as I dont think he is going to get another 10 million from someone else. He did a great job here though.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/report_chris_paul_not_expected_to_be_back_with_spurs/s1_17038_42245973

[Rustyman]

Lets look at the bottom of the Spurs roster to see how the team can build strength in depth. At the moment, the bottom 6 players on the Spurs roster plus the two ways looks as follows:

Blake Wesley - Should be retained as the 3rd PG but can be traded if anything worthwhile comes up.
Malakai Branham - Seems to have learnt nothing in his 3 years with the Spurs. Trade fodder.
Jordan McLaughlan - Ballast. Will not be renewed.
Charles Bassey - Injury prone. Cannot be relied on as a 3rd big. Hopefully he catches on elsewhere but his Spurs days are numbered
Bismack Biyombo - Injury replacement for Bassey. Will not be resigned.
Sandro Mamukelashvilli - Should be retained if the price is right but I think he may bet a $7-$10m deal which prices him out of the Spurs.

David Duke Jr. - Hasn't shown anything in his time as a 2way. Time for him to go.
Riley Minix - There might be something there. Keep on the 2nd year of a 2way.
Harrison Ingram - Spurs tend to keep their 2nd rounders for 2 years so he is likely to stay.

[Rustyman]

When I look at the end of the bench and 2 way guys I look for 2 things:

1. Can they play an 8-10 minute role in a playoff game, i.e. do they have a definite NBA skill which is translatable. Mamu can as he can shoot, bring energy as a bench big. This is also why I liked Sidy as if he did nothing else, he could serve as a wing defender when your key guys are in foul trouble.

2. Do they have the potential to be a rotation player which justifies keeping them. This is how Champagnie got his rotation role

So for me the Spurs, on the assumption they keep Mamu at a reasonable price and Minix and Ingram as 2 ways, have to potentially fill 5 rotation spots (3 if we cannot trade Branham/Wesley) and 1 2 way slot. We have 3 draft picks and the MLE to get a vet or two so what do we need.

[Rustyman]

Needs for end of bench:

1. Blake Wesley or his replacement as the third PG.
2. Backup and 3rd string big.
3. 3 point shooting.
4. Big wing.

Now with 3 draft picks and the MLE we should be able to fill these gaps but I doubt we get a significant upgrade although anything would be better than last year.

[G R E Y]

Looks like Paul is out. I'm surprised as I dont think he is going to get another 10 million from someone else. He did a great job here though.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/report_chris_paul_not_expected_to_be_back_with_spurs/s1_17038_42245973

There may not be room in our back court but there is an open spot on the coaching bench...

[G R E Y]

Needs for end of bench:

1. Blake Wesley or his replacement as the third PG.
2. Backup and 3rd string big.
3. 3 point shooting.
4. Big wing.

Now with 3 draft picks and the MLE we should be able to fill these gaps but I doubt we get a significant upgrade although anything would be better than last year.

For 2, isn't that Bassey?

For 4, isn't that Barnes?

Blake has apparently been working with CP this offseason which is good to hear. He's still under contract and a consistent layup away from solidifying himself that role.

As to 3. Yeah. More and more and more. It's why Sochan got benched for Barnes. We just can't afford anything but shooters and scorers around Wemby.

[Rustyman]

For 2, isn't that Bassey?

For 4, isn't that Barnes?

As to 3. Yeah. More and more and more. It's why Sochan got benched for Barnes. We just can't afford anything but shooters and scorers around Wemby.

I am assuming Bassey is gone (too injury prone) and I think that even with Barnes, we need another big wing.

[imagump1313]

For 2, isn't that Bassey?

For 4, isn't that Barnes?

As to 3. Yeah. More and more and more. It's why Sochan got benched for Barnes. We just can't afford anything but shooters and scorers around Wemby.

I am assuming Bassey is gone (too injury prone) and I think that even with Barnes, we need another big wing.

We could have had Edey for this and not have to worry about it now

[Rustyman]

We could have had Edey for this and not have to worry about it now

You don't spend the #8 pick on a backup. As I have said elsewhere, I am an Edey fan and I am happy for his success but he could never succeed with Wemby on the court at the same time. The big I am looking for is a stretch big with enough wiggle not only play drop coverage.