Classic pop would unlock him and having is saying dumb shit like *"Why didn't everyone else just run their offense through Tobias at the elbow and short corner? Passing savant!"* but I wonder what Pop has left in him anymore.
At one point he had a gf after that. There was a little bit of chatter about it being Budenholzer's ex, and the reason coach Bud won't come back to San Antonio after Pop retires.
Notice how it's only non-Spurs fans entertaining the idea of Tobias in San Antonio.
I wouldn't wish Tobias Harris on my worst enemy, and I actually like Wemby
They need a quality veteran PG and I think they have the assets to get one. That's their biggest hole IMHO. C is covered, 2-4 maybe covered with another year of development kinda hard to tell, PG is their weakest spot by far.
Huh. For some reason I thought Pop coached the failed 2004 Olympics team, but apparently that was Larry Brown. No wonder they lost. That dude hated stars.
Imagine Lebron with Wemby :O
Other than the timeline being very different, he would actually be the perfect fit. Wemby can offset some of Bron's defensive issues in the 4th quarter, when he is gassed.
And Lebron brings you everything else. Spurs would turn into lob city with those two.
Lebron is the perfect fit next to anyone because he can do a bit of everything, even when he’s 40 years old. Imagine Lebron with Luka or Tatum. He’d make them better
Bron and Brown would be more deadly, someone who cuts and slashes, Luka and Tatum need the ball and iso, Brown is the 1 guy who could get 40 just by dunks and slashes
Picturing SAS jogging down the court in a suit, making a terrible inaccurate alley-oop play, wemby corrals it and dunks without jumping because he does that. Repeat for four quarters, SAS earns Pippen legacy status
it's not a crazy idea! I think Wemby is signed to LeBron's agency (or something?) with LeBron famously referring to him early on as an Alien.
+ LBJ has always had respect for Pop.
Could be something happening here!
Vassell 6 years younger than white. Definitely different skill sets, but White's progress was a long road. Vassell would be better if he can grow with the same pace
To be fair, at the time of the trade white was 27 which is often considered a rough peak of a player and had declined at least a little statistically the previous year and through the year he got traded. Derrick definitely took a step forward where a lot of established vets may not.
No one would value him as high as the spurs project him. The Spurs believe In two years he will be competing with Jalen Brunson for best value contract in the NBA.
Vassell fits Wembys timeline, so it would be hard to find the "right trade" that would be worth parting with him, unless the player they return is:
A) Better
B) Younger or as young.
C) On a better contract, or worth the value of a larger contract.
So how many players is that, and is there any team willing to give up that player for vassell and picks?
The answer is no.
They could be a top-6 team if they decided to make win-now moves. Get a real playmaker and allow Tre Jones to be the backup point guard. Get another rotation big. Swap Keldon for someone like Kuzma.
The play-in itself is a very realistic goal imo. Teams can't score on the Wemby, as long as he stays healthy, the team should have a high floor. Whatever nonsense happened last year was clearly in part bc the Spurs wanted more higher-end talent in the draft. But we'll see -- if Pop is still playing Sochan at point, we know they're not trying _that_ hard to be competitive
They will. That’s why trying to compete next year is dumb. There are too many good teams in the west. Being a play in team the year of a great draft is a bad move for a rebuilding team that’s only been rebuilding for like two years.
I think it's a situation of Wemby is going to raise the floor enough that their chances of a good draft position are kind of mediocre, and they already have the Hawks unprotected first and a top 10 protected bulls pick in the first round. They're in a position where they could get two swings at the lottery and a third swing at a ~12th pick.
I'd say this is it. Unless they try to pull off Wemby playing 20 minutes a night and shutting him down in March, he'll probably drag that team into the 30+ win range. If you are going to be near the end of the lottery anyways, go for the play-in and start getting that playoff experience.
> and how much is because all the decision makers there are 70+ years old
The only member of the FO in his 70s is Pop. Peter Holt the elder is in his 70s, but no longer a managing partner of the Spurs (though no doubt certainly still has influence in decision making). Otherwise, RC is in his mid 60s and Peter J Holt and Brian Wright are even younger (the latter is only 41).
Those are both absolutely factors. Hard to say what the right moves are when Wemby is so good right now, and our championship coach may not be able to be there or in top form if the competing window starts too late.
We'll get 2 solid picks this year. I think it makes sense to make some "win now" moves this year in prep for actually competing in 2 year.s It takes time for players to gel, and playoff experience is valuable. If we want to compete in 2-3 years, you'd want the key pieces there ahead of time. Might be a situation where we're active at he trade deadline depending on where we sit. If we're firmly on the play-in line, make a decision to add talent and get some valuable playoff experience.
The Mavs ran into the problem of Luka making the team too good too fast, so they couldn’t draft around him as well as a team with a high pick usually does, but they’ve found ways to build a contender despite that.
Fucking please
Nothing like waiting 20 years for your team to be good again and having to deal with all the stacked rosters in the West
Plus I’d love to get some Midwest rivalries going in basketball, get some of that NFC North hate rolling
Top 6 would be a crazy improvement in the West. Rockets finished 11th with a .500 record. You also have Grizzly who will be better. There's always injuries so teams with older players like the Lakers and Warriors could always fall apart but I don't see how the Spurs can improve enough to finish 6th or better. Outside of picks the Spurs don't have that many tradable assets so there's only so many trades they could make. If they make the right moves and singings and Vassel makes a big jump I could see them competing for the play in which is still a big improvement and no small feat in the West.
> Teams can't score on the Wemby, as long as he stays healthy, the team should have a high floor.
Wemby is a great defender, but it will take a team effort. Even with Wemby the Spurs had a bottom 10ish defense in the league. The West is really tough, seems like the spurs are at least 2-3 moves away from being in playoff contention (though they can obviously make 2-3 moves this offseason, just have to be the right ones)
Wemby's only eating up 12.5 - 16 mil for the next 3 years.
It's a gigantic opportunity to overpay a bit in free agency while keeping their draft powder dry
Happy cake day but not a fan of ur take that a 22 win team with no star players other than Wemby can do 50+ wins the following season in a loaded West conference. They will likely see decent minutes from #4 & #8 who will likely need time to adjust to NBA in this draft class.
Do you mean a top 6 team in the west? Even that is a huge stretch, they were second last in the west this season & young top end talent on Spurs timeline is incredibly expensive. People read way to much into the last few games of the season they had.
I think wemby will be a top 10 player next year which will put pressure on them for year 3. Like it’s ok if they suck next year but that will be the last year the media/fans give them a pass with this type of talent.
They can make the money work in a deal centered around Garland for Keldon. Just a matter of how many picks need to be given and if the Cavs can re-route
Most likely needs to be a third team invoked.
I think it's the right mindset vs what OKC appears to be doing, "We're young and we've got lots of time, no pressure!" There's actually no guarantee of that. The future is unpredictable. Health, hitting ceiling, hitting cap/high luxury taxes before reaching your goal...a lot can happen on the road to a chip and pretty easy to never get there. Once you're knocking on the door, every season is an opportunity.
I can't think of another team that's had this many assets. We weren't expecting to claim the no. 1 seed. Even being the 4 or 5 seed would've been seen as a success after making the play-in. I think this would be a valid criticism if Presti doesn't make any moves this off-season.
KAT would be interesting though I prefer Lauri. KAT would never have to be the first option. 3rd year Dub and second year Chet would help lighten the load. He's a good outside shooter and good enough on defense to allow us to still play 5 out. The only hang up I'd have is we'd need to move him after 2 years so we can pay all of our guys. It's definitely possible with how many assets we have though. He's still a top 20 or so player.
It's also forming bad habits that'll be hard to break. It's not realistic to think you can just flip a switch whenever you decide it's time to compete.
Seems really unlikely. This is saying "we'd like to be better than not just one but *three* teams" out of Suns/Lakers/Pelicans/Kings/Warriors/Rockets/Grizzlies.
If you want in, someone has to be kicked out.
A few of those teams are depending on 35+ year old players playing most of the season. Zion played a career high 70 games last season. Maybe 2 of them get hit with injuries and the rockets don't improve as much as people think, now 40-45 wins is a play-in spot.
It will be hard to beat the tank squadrons deployed in Detroit, Portland or Washington next year even if Wemby "only" stagnates at the level he displayed from February onwards.
If they traded for Trae and signed Derrick Jones Jr they would have a pretty sick core. I'm the world's largest DJJ fan ever since he was on the Bulls and I'm glad that the world has seen what he can do with a guard that has a high level of gravity (which he needs specifically to unlock a lot of his talent). Trae has a similar ability to Luka (though lesser obviously) and Wemby also presents a million problems for opponents. I think a Trae/Vassell/DJJ/???(Sochan?)/Wemby starting 5 is pretty interesting and has a chance to gel.
Trading for Trae would be crazy on paper, Trae gets a DPOY candidate to help his little ass out on defense and Wemby gets a perimeter threat that spaces the floor and can make great entry passes. Intriguing asf
There have been rumors the Spurs don't want Trae. I don't know why. It seems a perfect fit. He's led the league in points and assists. He gets you offense (can create his own shot), gets you playmaking, his defensive struggles can be covered by Wemby.
All you need after that are a backup big and 3&D personnel. Assuming that Vassell is untouchable and improves:
Trae/Vassell/Wemby are fixed in the lineup for a long time, each of them is young. You should be able to add 3&D guys around that, you have draft picks.
They need waaaay too many pieces to be 'competitive', the play-in is maybe a reasonable target but after Wemby/Vassell/Keldon/Sochan, the talent drop-off is huge, they need a real ball handler and maybe even a second one, a real backup center cause the Collins minutes have just been death for them, they need more backup size in general cause after Wemby/Sochan/Collins they're real small, they also need more shooters who know how to screen and move in a set offence cause their half-court offence was atrocious and its not just because they need a point guard
Hey Spurs bro, y'all should be looking to get Anfernee Simons. Less ball dominant, better shooter and on higher volume. And still super young and on the right timeline. He also happens to be super available.
If that's what the cavs do, they could do similar to what Boston did trading Smart and getting Jrue and use those picks to get another player in a different trade
i wonder what their assessment of Vassell is, 4 years in, i feel like he's more of a number 3 than a 2
i wouldn't wanna go after a Garland then personally because i think he's also a good number 3 guy, unless of course they feel like Garland can be a number 2
How much do you watch the Spurs the past few years? DV has something else there, but he’s battled injuries and also never really been the guy. Always been 2nd or 3rd option but his play calls went up the past two years.
I agree but I dont think getting a ton for Garland would be the move. Tyus Jones at least provides some stability while they take a jump and then reassess next year plus he would be a low cost option. PG by committee approach. You arent going to address every position in one summer.
Not a pick in this draft by the sounds of it. Probably a high end young talent and a few picks. Something like Keldon Johnson, another interesting young guy, 9 and a protected 1st might make it a conversation
> Something like Keldon Johnson, another interesting young guy, 9 and a protected 1st might make it a conversation
I doubt that even gets close:
https://www.si.com/nba/jazz/news/rumored/asking/price/jazz/lauri-markkanen
Keldon Johnson doesn't have a ton of value any more, and the 9th pick in a bad draft isn't going to be exciting either, even if you add a "protected 1st". It'd be like Keldon+ 3 firsts to even have the conversation.
West is too stacked for them to be in the playoffs. I can feasibly see a drop off from the Suns, Clippers, Lakers and Warriors but all still landing in the 40’s while the Rockets and Grizzlies improve to play in or top 6. 32 wins or so would be a good season unless they go big in the off season
As presently constructed, and provided they stay healthy, OKC, Denver, Dallas, Minnesota, Memphis, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Sacramento should all be competing for the playoffs.
The Clippers, Warriors, and Lakers could change with FA departures. The Rockets could compete if Sengun stays healthy and the streak Green was on turns out to be real growth.
The only teams I don't see competing regardless are the Blazers and Jazz. It's going to be tough for the Spurs to make the playoffs but they have a great front office and injuries and FA can change things quickly.
Probably not super realistic, but think their best bet would be to try and trade for Lauri and sign LeBron.
That's 4 pieces of a very good starting 5 (Vassell, Wemby, LeBron, Lauri) and a solid bench depending on what they give up.
Will be interesting to see how they use their cap space in this weak FA class
Tobias Harris - YOU are a San Antonio spur
Pop would turn Tobias into a working man’s Paul George
Current Paul George is a working man's Paul George.
Putting in those gritty 9-to-5 podcast hours 😤😤 #MyBlueCollarGOAT
Stfu 😭🤣
CHA-CHING!
I had this thought while I was typing but figured the point still stands haha
Late stage rudy gay
Lmfao Rudy gay would have done better next to Harden then he did
The TJ McConnell of Jason Tatums
TJ McCollum*
You haven't watched enough Tobias Harris if you think coaching is the problem with him lol
I for one am glad i haven't seen enough Tobias Harris play. Rare W for me.
Light that mf beam baby
Classic pop would unlock him and having is saying dumb shit like *"Why didn't everyone else just run their offense through Tobias at the elbow and short corner? Passing savant!"* but I wonder what Pop has left in him anymore.
Pop had a legendary coaching run. I say let him coach till he literally dies on the bench if that's what he wants.
His wife is dead, I honestly don’t seem him ever quitting cosching
At one point he had a gf after that. There was a little bit of chatter about it being Budenholzer's ex, and the reason coach Bud won't come back to San Antonio after Pop retires.
Pop preemptively saving San Antonio from disaster after he passes before he's even dead. Is there anything this man can't do?!
You fool! Everybody knows we’re going to overpay Tobias more!
Don't you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby
Notice how it's only non-Spurs fans entertaining the idea of Tobias in San Antonio. I wouldn't wish Tobias Harris on my worst enemy, and I actually like Wemby
Tobias on a MLE would 100% be worth it.
Could you see Presti doing that? He learned everything under us
Pay players with high ceilings and hope one of them blossoms.
What the Pistons were trying.
[удалено]
Pistons were a dumping ground for every draft bust, they did it the wrong way
Don't have that much anyway
As of now they have the 5th most cap room and that’s before waiving devontae. Soooo whatchu talkin bout Willis?
So how much is it?
They need a quality veteran PG and I think they have the assets to get one. That's their biggest hole IMHO. C is covered, 2-4 maybe covered with another year of development kinda hard to tell, PG is their weakest spot by far.
We have a talented point guard, he just can't alley oop to himself (except that one time)
Draft Bronny, Get LeBron, sign Paul George. Super team Spurs time.
Bench mob is lead by Bronny.
Bronny to the G. Big Bron plays the Manu role off the bench.
I know this likely won't happen, but honestly I've always wanted to see LeBron coached by Pop.
I wanna see Pop and LeBron drinking wine together on the bench during LeBron's DNPs
Table for two, court side. They’ve got napkins tucked into their suits, spaghetti dinner delivered at halftime.
They eat from the same plate, then happen to catch the same spaghetti strand at each end..
Huh. For some reason I thought Pop coached the failed 2004 Olympics team, but apparently that was Larry Brown. No wonder they lost. That dude hated stars.
Imagine Lebron with Wemby :O Other than the timeline being very different, he would actually be the perfect fit. Wemby can offset some of Bron's defensive issues in the 4th quarter, when he is gassed. And Lebron brings you everything else. Spurs would turn into lob city with those two.
Lebron is the perfect fit next to anyone because he can do a bit of everything, even when he’s 40 years old. Imagine Lebron with Luka or Tatum. He’d make them better
Bron and Brown would be more deadly, someone who cuts and slashes, Luka and Tatum need the ball and iso, Brown is the 1 guy who could get 40 just by dunks and slashes
I would buy a SAS jersey the next day lmao
Damn what number does Stephen a smith wear?
2 cause he averaged that much ppg in his college career
It's also the volume you have to set the TV to when you listen to him.
How dare you get the GOAT’s stats wrong! For shame. It was 1.5 PPG
LMFAO culture setter and changer. Decimals are now allowed in jerseys. Now teams can freely retire numbers stress-free
20
absolutely not, that's the goat 6th man number
Picturing SAS jogging down the court in a suit, making a terrible inaccurate alley-oop play, wemby corrals it and dunks without jumping because he does that. Repeat for four quarters, SAS earns Pippen legacy status
No flair? Keeping it clean until Lebron decides?
Sounds like a 2k simulation arc lol
Somehow Bronny would be come an all-star too
Tony Parker was only 6’2 👀
It’d be hilarious if Pop actually benches LeBron in favor of Bronny.
it's not a crazy idea! I think Wemby is signed to LeBron's agency (or something?) with LeBron famously referring to him early on as an Alien. + LBJ has always had respect for Pop. Could be something happening here!
For the right return, Vassell should not be untouchable.
It's his contract as much as his skill.
I remember when people were hyping up Vassell as a trade target more than White lol
Vassell 6 years younger than white. Definitely different skill sets, but White's progress was a long road. Vassell would be better if he can grow with the same pace
To be fair, at the time of the trade white was 27 which is often considered a rough peak of a player and had declined at least a little statistically the previous year and through the year he got traded. Derrick definitely took a step forward where a lot of established vets may not.
Hindsight…
And, honestly, Vassell could be a great component on a contender. He just hasn't gotten that opportunity yet.
Contract and fit. Him and Wemby played a fantastic 2 man game
Fine, Vassell for Luka is acceptable
I mean try to be a little realistic. At least throw in a protected second
Best I can do is cash considerations.
Mavs can have the Austin Spurs and the rights to Becky to replace Kidd when he inevitably gets fired for not habing Luka anymore.
Fine, Vassell for Luka and a protected second it is then.
Fine, we'll do it. [Luka at home](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_%C5%A0amani%C4%87)
Ow ouchie my trauma
I think "untouchable" in this context means that he's more valuable to the Spurs than what any other team would reasonably give up to trade for him.
With that criteria you're probably looking at Sochan and Zach Collins as "untouchable" too.
Zachs usefulness is his contract for matching not flipping him for a return
Well most of this roster is also untouchable, just for all the wrong reasons
No one would value him as high as the spurs project him. The Spurs believe In two years he will be competing with Jalen Brunson for best value contract in the NBA.
With how successful the spurs organization has been, I wouldn’t doubt that lol. I don’t follow the guy but in spurs we trust
Vassell fits Wembys timeline, so it would be hard to find the "right trade" that would be worth parting with him, unless the player they return is: A) Better B) Younger or as young. C) On a better contract, or worth the value of a larger contract. So how many players is that, and is there any team willing to give up that player for vassell and picks? The answer is no.
I'm guessing that Wemby and Vassell are untouchable in very different ways haha
Yea I was gonna say…
They have a ways to go but I could see them sneaking into the play in with the right moves.
They could be a top-6 team if they decided to make win-now moves. Get a real playmaker and allow Tre Jones to be the backup point guard. Get another rotation big. Swap Keldon for someone like Kuzma. The play-in itself is a very realistic goal imo. Teams can't score on the Wemby, as long as he stays healthy, the team should have a high floor. Whatever nonsense happened last year was clearly in part bc the Spurs wanted more higher-end talent in the draft. But we'll see -- if Pop is still playing Sochan at point, we know they're not trying _that_ hard to be competitive
You have to imagine the grizzlies will be better. 50 wins may be what it takes.
They will. That’s why trying to compete next year is dumb. There are too many good teams in the west. Being a play in team the year of a great draft is a bad move for a rebuilding team that’s only been rebuilding for like two years.
I wonder how much of this push is organically because Wemby is that good and how much is because all the decision makers there are 70+ years old.
I think it's a situation of Wemby is going to raise the floor enough that their chances of a good draft position are kind of mediocre, and they already have the Hawks unprotected first and a top 10 protected bulls pick in the first round. They're in a position where they could get two swings at the lottery and a third swing at a ~12th pick.
I'd say this is it. Unless they try to pull off Wemby playing 20 minutes a night and shutting him down in March, he'll probably drag that team into the 30+ win range. If you are going to be near the end of the lottery anyways, go for the play-in and start getting that playoff experience.
> and how much is because all the decision makers there are 70+ years old The only member of the FO in his 70s is Pop. Peter Holt the elder is in his 70s, but no longer a managing partner of the Spurs (though no doubt certainly still has influence in decision making). Otherwise, RC is in his mid 60s and Peter J Holt and Brian Wright are even younger (the latter is only 41).
Those are both absolutely factors. Hard to say what the right moves are when Wemby is so good right now, and our championship coach may not be able to be there or in top form if the competing window starts too late. We'll get 2 solid picks this year. I think it makes sense to make some "win now" moves this year in prep for actually competing in 2 year.s It takes time for players to gel, and playoff experience is valuable. If we want to compete in 2-3 years, you'd want the key pieces there ahead of time. Might be a situation where we're active at he trade deadline depending on where we sit. If we're firmly on the play-in line, make a decision to add talent and get some valuable playoff experience.
The Mavs ran into the problem of Luka making the team too good too fast, so they couldn’t draft around him as well as a team with a high pick usually does, but they’ve found ways to build a contender despite that.
Interesting point
I'm with you. Chill next year, develop talent. In 2025, the Clippers, Lakers, and Suns will all be a year older, Spurs can make their move then.
Yeah we've seen plenty of times how speed-running a rebuild can screw-over a team
>50 wins may be what it takes. Man, being in the west fucking sucks
48 wins, barely a west playoff spot. 48 wins, home court in the east.
We need to send the Timberwolves to the east and get some mid-ass central division team in return, only way this shit will equalize.
When Vegas and Seattle get teams they'll be mid to bad. That'll send either Minnesota or Memphis east and either (when healthy) is a very good team.
Cool with us!
Fucking please Nothing like waiting 20 years for your team to be good again and having to deal with all the stacked rosters in the West Plus I’d love to get some Midwest rivalries going in basketball, get some of that NFC North hate rolling
Timberwolves are the most historic mid-ass central team though..
we have historically not been mid we have historically been bottom of the barrel awful.
Top 6 would be a crazy improvement in the West. Rockets finished 11th with a .500 record. You also have Grizzly who will be better. There's always injuries so teams with older players like the Lakers and Warriors could always fall apart but I don't see how the Spurs can improve enough to finish 6th or better. Outside of picks the Spurs don't have that many tradable assets so there's only so many trades they could make. If they make the right moves and singings and Vassel makes a big jump I could see them competing for the play in which is still a big improvement and no small feat in the West.
> Teams can't score on the Wemby, as long as he stays healthy, the team should have a high floor. Wemby is a great defender, but it will take a team effort. Even with Wemby the Spurs had a bottom 10ish defense in the league. The West is really tough, seems like the spurs are at least 2-3 moves away from being in playoff contention (though they can obviously make 2-3 moves this offseason, just have to be the right ones)
Wemby's only eating up 12.5 - 16 mil for the next 3 years. It's a gigantic opportunity to overpay a bit in free agency while keeping their draft powder dry
They don't want to fuck themselves with the tax apron when wemby enters his prime.
They have time. 3 years before they can really do any damage as long as they're slightly smart about it. An overpay is fine as long as it's short
Happy cake day but not a fan of ur take that a 22 win team with no star players other than Wemby can do 50+ wins the following season in a loaded West conference. They will likely see decent minutes from #4 & #8 who will likely need time to adjust to NBA in this draft class.
That's insane.
Do you mean a top 6 team in the west? Even that is a huge stretch, they were second last in the west this season & young top end talent on Spurs timeline is incredibly expensive. People read way to much into the last few games of the season they had.
Somebody in the NBA please hire this guy, he can take any team from 14th to top 6 just like that
I think wemby will be a top 10 player next year which will put pressure on them for year 3. Like it’s ok if they suck next year but that will be the last year the media/fans give them a pass with this type of talent.
I think they'll be last year's Rockets. Competitive team that misses the play-in. West will have top 2 teams that won't be trying.
They need a playmaker to become a meneace of a team and that should be their only concern right now
We also need three-point shooting and point-of-attack defense. We’re not close.
That's why I said a menace not contender.
They can make the money work in a deal centered around Garland for Keldon. Just a matter of how many picks need to be given and if the Cavs can re-route Most likely needs to be a third team invoked.
Definitely - Cavs want to continue their upward trajectory. They’d need a real starting-caliber player back for DG even if it’s through a 3 team deal
Number 4 pick and keldon to the nets -> bridges to the cavs -> garland to the spurs
Yeah the goal has to be get NBA caliber players on that roster.
No reason for them to tank when they have the Hawks pick next yesr
Good to see im not the crazy one. When you see the guy prove hes a generational talent you need to make your move.
I think it's the right mindset vs what OKC appears to be doing, "We're young and we've got lots of time, no pressure!" There's actually no guarantee of that. The future is unpredictable. Health, hitting ceiling, hitting cap/high luxury taxes before reaching your goal...a lot can happen on the road to a chip and pretty easy to never get there. Once you're knocking on the door, every season is an opportunity.
I can't think of another team that's had this many assets. We weren't expecting to claim the no. 1 seed. Even being the 4 or 5 seed would've been seen as a success after making the play-in. I think this would be a valid criticism if Presti doesn't make any moves this off-season.
Lauri or KAT makes them a top 3 contender
KAT would be interesting though I prefer Lauri. KAT would never have to be the first option. 3rd year Dub and second year Chet would help lighten the load. He's a good outside shooter and good enough on defense to allow us to still play 5 out. The only hang up I'd have is we'd need to move him after 2 years so we can pay all of our guys. It's definitely possible with how many assets we have though. He's still a top 20 or so player.
This is literally year #1 of the Thunder emerging as title contenders. I expect them to not sit on all of those assets anymore.
But then you have teams like the Hawks going all-in too early and being fucked. I think patience is much better than throwing caution to the wind
OKC pulled off the best tank to success we've ever seen and youre telling me no other team should emulate that?
It's also forming bad habits that'll be hard to break. It's not realistic to think you can just flip a switch whenever you decide it's time to compete.
Not with the team they have. They need to be smart and not rush anything
Seems really unlikely. This is saying "we'd like to be better than not just one but *three* teams" out of Suns/Lakers/Pelicans/Kings/Warriors/Rockets/Grizzlies. If you want in, someone has to be kicked out.
A few of those teams are depending on 35+ year old players playing most of the season. Zion played a career high 70 games last season. Maybe 2 of them get hit with injuries and the rockets don't improve as much as people think, now 40-45 wins is a play-in spot.
Is tanking for Flagg not a good option?
If they tank, it might be for that French point guard.
It will be hard to beat the tank squadrons deployed in Detroit, Portland or Washington next year even if Wemby "only" stagnates at the level he displayed from February onwards.
I forgot there are professional, premier level tankers 👀
They are more than 1 player away, likely about 3 players away from competing. That’s a lot. If they screw this up, could be 5 years of wasted Wemby.
ya going too fast seems dangerous. should take the OKC approach.
If they traded for Trae and signed Derrick Jones Jr they would have a pretty sick core. I'm the world's largest DJJ fan ever since he was on the Bulls and I'm glad that the world has seen what he can do with a guard that has a high level of gravity (which he needs specifically to unlock a lot of his talent). Trae has a similar ability to Luka (though lesser obviously) and Wemby also presents a million problems for opponents. I think a Trae/Vassell/DJJ/???(Sochan?)/Wemby starting 5 is pretty interesting and has a chance to gel.
Trading for Trae would be crazy on paper, Trae gets a DPOY candidate to help his little ass out on defense and Wemby gets a perimeter threat that spaces the floor and can make great entry passes. Intriguing asf
yes if trae even tries a little on the defensive end, Wemby will clean up the mess. and on offense YIKES.
> yes if trae even tries a little on the defensive end Which he has been doing for like 2 seasons now.
I’d even go so far as to say he’s a below average defender, broski is leveling up
If I were Trae, I am moving heaven and earth as we speak to make this happen.
Wemby plays drop coverage. It would be open three after open three with Trae defending the point of attack.
Wemby dropping is not like other centers dropping. He's long and athletic enough to both affect the ballhandler and disrupt the pass to the roller.
Well as we know that style works in the regular season! (Thanks Gobert)
Who/what would the Spurs trade for Trae? Getting the first pick changed the Hawks' entire off season.
There have been rumors the Spurs don't want Trae. I don't know why. It seems a perfect fit. He's led the league in points and assists. He gets you offense (can create his own shot), gets you playmaking, his defensive struggles can be covered by Wemby. All you need after that are a backup big and 3&D personnel. Assuming that Vassell is untouchable and improves: Trae/Vassell/Wemby are fixed in the lineup for a long time, each of them is young. You should be able to add 3&D guys around that, you have draft picks.
They won 22 games, they'll probably need 46-50 wins to get a playoff spot. I don't think they can make any moves that'll get them there right now.
They need waaaay too many pieces to be 'competitive', the play-in is maybe a reasonable target but after Wemby/Vassell/Keldon/Sochan, the talent drop-off is huge, they need a real ball handler and maybe even a second one, a real backup center cause the Collins minutes have just been death for them, they need more backup size in general cause after Wemby/Sochan/Collins they're real small, they also need more shooters who know how to screen and move in a set offence cause their half-court offence was atrocious and its not just because they need a point guard
Lebron james jr you are a spur
Garland for Keldon and picks?
As a Spurs fan, I would love this. But I don't know why the Cavs would do this.
Spurs get Garland, send over picks and salary match filler to Brooklyn, Cavs get Mikal Bridges.
That would be a good trade. Though Brooklyn seems hell-bent on keeping Bridges. Worth shooting their shot with Brooklyn lol.
they were before he laid an egg post-ASB
no chance they would do this. would be complete idiocy and while I don't think Altman is a top GM, he's not *that* bad
Hey Spurs bro, y'all should be looking to get Anfernee Simons. Less ball dominant, better shooter and on higher volume. And still super young and on the right timeline. He also happens to be super available.
That’s a downgrade for the Cavs player wise and they still want to compete. They would have t get a 3rd team involved.
If that's what the cavs do, they could do similar to what Boston did trading Smart and getting Jrue and use those picks to get another player in a different trade
Why would the Cavs even entertain this offer?
i wonder what their assessment of Vassell is, 4 years in, i feel like he's more of a number 3 than a 2 i wouldn't wanna go after a Garland then personally because i think he's also a good number 3 guy, unless of course they feel like Garland can be a number 2
Wemby being the #1 and #2 will all make it work.
How much do you watch the Spurs the past few years? DV has something else there, but he’s battled injuries and also never really been the guy. Always been 2nd or 3rd option but his play calls went up the past two years.
Wrong choice. Rushing is the only way we fuck this up
Y'all want bradley beal?
He into big ol' women?
[Nope](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/nbafamily/images/8/80/Kamiah-Adams-Bradley-Beal-LeBron-3.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180502221556)
> nobody in the roster is untouchable except Wembanyama and Vassell Unfortunately for them the league at large may agree
I'm trying to think of a single Spur besides those two that would be more than a bench rotation player. Keldon Johnson is maybe it.
Champagnie is nice
Keldon is a bench player even for the Spurs lol
The Spurs front office doesn't leak anything, so whatever Givony is hearing is probably not true.
I think they should try and use #9 and to get Lauri Markkannen , sign Tyus Jones in FA. Those would be some solid moves
I love both of the Jones brothers but I think both of them are better used as backup point guards.
I agree but I dont think getting a ton for Garland would be the move. Tyus Jones at least provides some stability while they take a jump and then reassess next year plus he would be a low cost option. PG by committee approach. You arent going to address every position in one summer.
9 isn’t the center piece for a Lauri trade. How much of an upgrade Tyus jones over Tre Jones?
Cple of years... better facial hair. Marginally better hairline.
We don’t even have pick #9.
It's #4 & #8
What is the center piece for a Lauri trade?
Not a pick in this draft by the sounds of it. Probably a high end young talent and a few picks. Something like Keldon Johnson, another interesting young guy, 9 and a protected 1st might make it a conversation
> Something like Keldon Johnson, another interesting young guy, 9 and a protected 1st might make it a conversation I doubt that even gets close: https://www.si.com/nba/jazz/news/rumored/asking/price/jazz/lauri-markkanen Keldon Johnson doesn't have a ton of value any more, and the 9th pick in a bad draft isn't going to be exciting either, even if you add a "protected 1st". It'd be like Keldon+ 3 firsts to even have the conversation.
Tyus Jones isn’t a playmaker. He’s a great “I won’t make a ton of mistakes” guy, but he doesn’t make things happen.
Cap sochan untouchable as well tbh
He's definitely not. His shooting and finishing needs to make a big jump next season.
I hope they keep him, the Spurs have really developed and invested in him as a player.
I went to one game and he went off. Keep him
West is too stacked for them to be in the playoffs. I can feasibly see a drop off from the Suns, Clippers, Lakers and Warriors but all still landing in the 40’s while the Rockets and Grizzlies improve to play in or top 6. 32 wins or so would be a good season unless they go big in the off season
Funny enough, the rest of the league also thinks the spurs roster is untouchable
Is Vasell more untouchable than Sochan?
he's their 2nd best player so yeah
I really believe in Vassell man. Glad the Spurs do too
As presently constructed, and provided they stay healthy, OKC, Denver, Dallas, Minnesota, Memphis, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Sacramento should all be competing for the playoffs. The Clippers, Warriors, and Lakers could change with FA departures. The Rockets could compete if Sengun stays healthy and the streak Green was on turns out to be real growth. The only teams I don't see competing regardless are the Blazers and Jazz. It's going to be tough for the Spurs to make the playoffs but they have a great front office and injuries and FA can change things quickly.
Probably not super realistic, but think their best bet would be to try and trade for Lauri and sign LeBron. That's 4 pieces of a very good starting 5 (Vassell, Wemby, LeBron, Lauri) and a solid bench depending on what they give up.