What are you most excited about for this upcoming season?

[Dejounte]

Things to be excited about next season:

1) Keldon in a featured role
2) Vassell's impact as a rookie
3) Samanic's development (if any)
4) White's consistency as one of the team's best players
5) Lonnie's new skill as an electrifying passer--he was the only one giving great passes to Poetl in the bubble. I sense great chemistry between these two.

If I missed any, please feel free to post in this thread.

[illusioNtEk]

Non of that will happen with Pop at the wheel.

We will see plenty of Forbes, Mills, hog all the minuets

[Dejounte]

Non of that will happen with Pop at the wheel.

We will see plenty of Forbes, Mills, hog all the minuets

So weird. I was still finishing up the poll when you posted.

[slick'81]

Mills expiring

[Dhbsr555]

By featured role you mean playing behind dd at 8 mpg

[Robz4000]

No more fucking Forms and Beli.

[Spursfanfromafar]

All of the above. Youth and talent development for the win.

[Dejounte]

No more fucking Forms and Beli.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ViciousUncomfortableJunebug-size_restricted.gif

[Dejounte]

All of the above. Youth and talent development for the win.

The thing is... How many young players is too many young players before your development resources are exhausted? We have five promising young players. Do people really want the whole team to be comprised of all young players? At what point does having too many actually have a negative impact on the team itself? If there were too few vets, would the locker room be able to contain itself? Or would there be Bobby Portis incidents? Hmm...

[Spursfanfromafar]

The thing is... How many young players is too many young players before your development resources are exhausted? We have five promising young players. Do people really want the whole team to be comprised of all young players? At what point does having too many actually have a negative impact on the team itself? If there were too few vets, would the locker room be able to contain itself? Or would there be Bobby Portis incidents? Hmm...

If they retain two of Patty/Rudy/DDR/LMA, the culture issue is sorted (ideally Patty & Gay). The current core is also a set of humble/ hardworking young dudes in Murray, White, Keldon, Lonnie, Poeltl plus Vassell and Tre Jones by all indications. The task is now to get a star out of one or two of these. My bets are on Keldon & Walker and solid starters/ role players among the rest.

[Dejounte]

If they retain two of Patty/Rudy/DDR/LMA, the culture issue is sorted (ideally Patty & Gay). The current core is also a set of humble/ hardworking young dudes in Murray, White, Keldon, Lonnie, Poeltl plus Vassell and Tre Jones by all indications. The task is now to get a star out of one or two of these. My bets are on Keldon & Walker and solid starters/ role players among the rest.

Is it though?

Leadership roles in its most effective form consists of building good relationships.

How do you build good relationships? By giving your time and being intentional about it.

Usually leaders really have time to handle two-ish trainees.

If you only have two leaders/ vets on this team, that's six trainees per vet. How can you really dedicate your time building a relationship with six people?

[Dhbsr555]

Rebuild is not in fo vocabulary it’s obvious we should rebuild but do says nope another year or mills Aldridge gay and dd

[Light]

Looking forward to seeing Luka's development. Assuming this is the last year of DDR and LMA, we could go into next offseason with a projected SL of:

Murray
White
Keldon
Luka
Poeltl

IF Luka shows signs of being our future 4, I don't think we'll need to target any one position in the draft (lottery??) and FA. Just collect talent and make upgrades where possible.

[Dhbsr555]

Looking forward to seeing Luka's development. Assuming this is the last year of DDR and LMA, we could go into next offseason with a projected SL of:

Murray
White
Keldon
Luka
Poeltl

IF Luka shows signs of being our future 4, I don't think we'll need to target any one position in the draft (lottery??) and FA. Just collect talent and make upgrades where possible.
I hope so too but Luka is buried at the bottom of the depth chart

[John B]

Playing without Forbes/Beli/Mills combination. I don’t know how it took almost the entire season to realize that the experiment wouldn’t work. It took playing in the bubble and some injuries, to realize that we have young athletic core who plays better and could ho toe to toe with the best in the league. Now to have everybody healthy back, seeing the duo of White and Murray, Vassell’s defensive impact as legitimate 3 and D, this team could be so much better imo.

[Dejounte]

I hope so too but Luka is buried at the bottom of the depth chart

Luka just needs to compete with Lyles and Gay.
-Lyles gets playing time because he knows his rotations and the game plan to the T, not because he's super talented.
-Father time is coming for Gay, so we might definitely see Luka at least replace him by the end of the season as a bench PF or by next season.

This is how I see the minutes distribution to be:

Murray (28)/ Lonnie (24)/ Tre
White (28)/ Vassell (20)/ Mills or Q
DeMar (28)/ Keldon (26)/ Q
Lyles (20)/ Gay (18)/ Samanic
Aldridge (26)/ Poetl (22)/ Eubanks

-On Vassell: for reference, Nephew received 24 minutes of playing time in his rookie year.
-DJ, Lonnie, Poetl, and White all see +4 mins increase in playing time from last year
-DeMar and LMA see -6 mins decrease in playing time from last year
-Keldon sees +8mins increase in playing time from last year

[Dejounte]

The more I think about it, the more I see that Devin is the PERFECT teammate for Samanic. Devin is known as a supportive teammate, and became really close with Patrick Williams. Luka's spots and role are very similar to Pat with FSU. Pat is known as the shy, passive type who needs confidence and I believe Luka is a similar type. There's opportunity there for great chemistry.

[spurspl]

My fav moments in upcoming season: 8th seed, 1rnd exit, late pick in a draft, lma&ddr gone for nothing, using cap space to overpay old vets. CANT WAIT. IM SO EXCITED THAT I JUST CANT HIDE IT.

[Dejounte]

Luka has taken a sabbatical from social media for about a month now. He's going to surprise people.

[talkspurs]

You Missed Forbes being gone.
I also and looking to DJM resurgence to being a good player.

[Ocotillo]

If Murray is not shipped out, I will be watching to see if/how he has progressed. I am on the Keldon bandwagon.

[FvckMavs]

Spurs get the No.1 pick in 202!

[TimDunkem]

Spurs get the No.1 pick in 202!

Hell yeah! Time travel!

[R. DeMurre]

It was a small sample size, but KJ and White really seemed to jell in the bubble. I hope that continues to grows as other compatible pairings emerge-- maybe Walker/Vassell, or Samanic/KJ. I'm still worried that Pop will play DDR 34 mpg. If that's not the case, I think it'll make a big difference, both for wins and development.

[Thomas82]

My fav moments in upcoming season: 8th seed, 1rnd exit, late pick in a draft, lma&ddr gone for nothing, using cap space to overpay old vets. CANT WAIT. IM SO EXCITED THAT I JUST CANT HIDE IT.

That seems like the direction we're heading in.

[Darius Bieber]

The 2021 Draft

[baseline bum]

Nothing based on how this team is constructed. I want them to tank. I'd rather just buyout Aldridge and DeRozan than roll with them next season since the Spurs couldn't find a draft day trade for them. It's retarded to try to win 35 games and fuck up lottery positioning, especially in a season where you're not going to be able to have fans attending anyways. So having a dogshit team this year isn't going to fuck attendance up any more than having a pretty shitty team will.

[Mugen]

If Forbes, Belli, and hopefully Patty are really gone then I guess that'll be a nice improvement. But you'll still have old vets like DD/LMA/Gay to take away touches from the young guys which sucks...

Also, Pop's coaching the last few years has been soul sucking to say the least, legit one of the worst coaches in all of sports since Nephew left tbh.

[Thomas82]

Nothing based on how this team is constructed. I want them to tank. I'd rather just buyout Aldridge and DeRozan than roll with them next season since the Spurs couldn't find a draft day trade for them. It's retarded to try to win 35 games and fuck up lottery positioning, especially in a season where you're not going to be able to have fans attending anyways. So having a dogshit team this year isn't going to fuck attendance up any more than having a pretty shitty team will.

[BackHome]

Yeah Pop is not going to restrict LMA and DEROZZ minutes as they are VETS and it’s there contract year so he will let them get there 30+ minutes of TV time every game. And you know I am cool with cause I think that should put us around a 5 - 10 draft pick. I am hoping they start the season off terrible cause I think the season will only last a month so teams draft will be off that month.

[Leetonidas]

Hoping Johnson and Vassel turn out to be beasts otherwise there is really nothing to look forward to

[offset formation]

Luka. If Luka takes off, we have an entirely different team. We know what most of the rest of the positions are going to give us. We know that Vassell will bring better D than we had and any offensive efficiency he brings will be icing on the cake. But we don't know shit about the underperforming PF spot held by Lyles and Luka.

[Prime BEEF]

My fav moments in upcoming season: 8th seed, 1rnd exit, late pick in a draft, lma&ddr gone for nothing, using cap space to overpay old vets. CANT WAIT. IM SO EXCITED THAT I JUST CANT HIDE IT.
You are way to optimistic. This team isn’t making the playoffs

[Prime BEEF]

Being another year closer to pop leaving

[spurspl]

You are way to optimistic. This team isn’t making the playoffs

i wish spurs aint make PO in upcoming season and have a top5 pick. but unfortunately theres a chance. spurs were pretty close this year and next year will probably be with healthy LMA, with more minutes for white/keldon/lonnie etc and without forbes/belli which should improve spurs game a little.

[RC_Drunkford]

Flopovich retiring after it’s done

[Prime BEEF]

i wish spurs aint make PO in upcoming season and have a top5 pick. but unfortunately theres a chance. spurs were pretty close this year and next year will probably be with healthy LMA, with more minutes for white/keldon/lonnie etc and without forbes/belli which should improve spurs game a little.
LMA will not remain healthy.

The FO in their infinite wisdom has decided to stack up thousands of guards. I am not a LMA fan and want him traded but this team relies way to much on LMA to carry all of the front court load. And he has no real replacement or backup (lol at Poetl, Eubanks, Lyles, Gay). He’s old and will be relied upon even more this next season. A reasonable observer can easily see a LMA injury coming.

The LMA injury will give the pop apologists a scape goat for the bad season. Just for the record, I don’t think we make the playoffs with a healthy LMA much less an injured LMA.

[BackHome]

One question I have is with LMA heart issue is do you see him playing before he gets the Vaccine shot? If I am him I don’t know if I suit up until I get that shot since he might be able to get in a month or two.

[DPG21920]

Excited about the youth in general but mostly excited about what is hopefully a rapid improvement in defense.

[GAustex]

Being another year closer to pop leaving

[Prime BEEF]

One question I have is with LMA heart issue is do you see him playing before he gets the Vaccine shot? If I am him I don’t know if I suit up until I get that shot since he might be able to get in a month or two.
Good question. Hard to say how each player will handle the COVID issues. I’d lean toward him playing though. He’s never seemed to be one to bitch out of games like kawhitter

[Joseph Kony]

Mostly excited to watch the young guys, and (hopefully) not have to watch Forbes or Marco. Spurs defense should increase tenfold just by way of them not playing.


i would not be happy at all if Spurs stood pat with the 4 older high paid players on the roster. But if they kept all of them, i do believe at the very least SA has a shot to make the playoffs. but that's assuming Pop learned from what he saw in the bubble and plays lineups that make sense. with Klay's injury, houston imploding, and OKC blowing it up, Spurs have a shot to sneak in as an 7th-8th seed. a small shot though, admittedly

[RC_Drunkford]

Mostly excited to watch the young guys, and (hopefully) not have to watch Forbes or Marco. Spurs defense should increase tenfold just by way of them not playing.


i would not be happy at all if Spurs stood pat with the 4 older high paid players on the roster. But if they kept all of them, i do believe at the very least SA has a shot to make the playoffs. but that's assuming Pop learned from what he saw in the bubble and plays lineups that make sense. with Klay's injury, houston imploding, and OKC blowing it up, Spurs have a shot to sneak in as an 7th-8th seed. a small shot though, admittedly

If that's the route they want to take they should at least sign a starting caliber PF. But they are sitting around doing nothing as usual

[Joseph Kony]

If that's the route they want to take they should at least sign a starting caliber PF. But they are sitting around doing nothing as usual

agree. i'm holding out hope for crowder but based on the deals we're seeing so far i dont think the MLE will be enough. not sure who else is even out there. spurs may be better of looking at overseas talent tbh

[Prime BEEF]

my prediction...assuming harden gets traded to nets or sixers

1-LAL
2-Denver
3-Utah
4-LAC
5-NOLA
6-Dallas
7-Suns
8-GS
———-
9-Portland
10-Memphis
11-SAS

[offset formation]

One question I have is with LMA heart issue is do you see him playing before he gets the Vaccine shot? If I am him I don’t know if I suit up until I get that shot since he might be able to get in a month or two.

Good fucking question. I kinda think that's the primary reason he had the surgery and stayed out of the restart last year (uh, in August). Oh well, guess we'll see.

[offset formation]

my prediction...assuming harden gets traded to nets or sixers

1-LAL
2-Denver
3-Utah
4-LAC
5-NOLA
6-Dallas
7-Suns
8-GS
———-
9-Portland
10-Memphis
11-SAS

With better perimeter D, and a more uptempo flow from the get go, I think you'll be surprised at how much better this team looks. I could see them being only behind LAL, Denver, LAC, and maybe NOLA or Phoenix. I think a 5 seed is imminently doable, if healthy, and if we get something out of the PF spot. If not, they'll be right around the 8 seed.

[mexicanjunior]

Our lottery pick next year...

[slick'81]

Spurs failed to make the playoffs with basically this same squad and ran it back:cry.....lot of pressure on these young guys to make signifigant strides this season.

[RC_Drunkford]

agree. i'm holding out hope for crowder but based on the deals we're seeing so far i dont think the MLE will be enough. not sure who else is even out there. spurs may be better of looking at overseas talent tbh

there's no way he leaves Miami unless the Spurs overpay him significantly. I don't see that happening. I think other than that all good PFs are gone

[baseline bum]

One question I have is with LMA heart issue is do you see him playing before he gets the Vaccine shot? If I am him I don’t know if I suit up until I get that shot since he might be able to get in a month or two.

A month or two is maybe when frontline healthcare workers get the vaccine. If LMA gets priority as a healthy 35 year-old people should be rioting in the streets, this should go only to healthcare workers and people 65+ for a long time since they're the ones mostly dying from this. And when you get the vaccine aren't you still not fully protected until around 45 days after?

[wildbill2u]

Things to be excited about next season:

1) Keldon in a featured role
2) Vassell's impact as a rookie
3) Samanic's development (if any)
4) White's consistency as one of the team's best players
5) Lonnie's new skill as an electrifying passer--he was the only one giving great passes to Poetl in the bubble. I sense great chemistry between these two.

If I missed any, please feel free to post in this thread.

All of the above. I almost didn't vote because I want all of them to occur

[exstatic]

agree. i'm holding out hope for crowder but based on the deals we're seeing so far i dont think the MLE will be enough. not sure who else is even out there. spurs may be better of looking at overseas talent tbh

Spurs are right up against the tax bringing back a team that missed the playoffs. They’re not signing anyone else, except maybe one minimum contract for roster spot 15. It would have to be bare minimum, like maybe offering an NBA deal to Tre Jones, someone cheap.

[paperboy77]

Non of that will happen with Pop at the wheel.

We will see plenty of Forbes, Mills, hog all the minuets

Man if that turns out to be the case I will explode. It’s just crazy that the obvious thing to do just escapes pop-a-Biden.

[paperboy77]

Excited about the youth in general but mostly excited about what is hopefully a rapid improvement in defense.

If Pop allows it!

[PhantomDashCam]

Young players to be able to learn on the job without fear of significant reprisal. It’s OK to lose and develop, it’s not OK to lose with vets at the helm who impede said progress. Just now Jeff G has put on Twitter an analytics model that suggests Patty was the best perimeter defender on the team last year. That kind of BS needs to stop.

[TDMVPDPOY]

standards are a bit high there fellas

how come none for the scrub starting pg dm

[tim_duncan_fan]

Here's a question:

If only ONE of the poll options could occur, which one would you pick?

[slick'81]

Here's a question:

If only ONE of the poll options could occur, which one would you pick?


Def luka for me. We need a pf and if luka can develop it would help a position of need.white,keldon,lonnie and vassell are rednundant playing the same position. Derozan and mills need to be moved to clear minutes for those young wings to blossom

[Dejounte]

Def luka for me. We need a pf and if luka can develop it would help a position of need.white,keldon,lonnie and vassell are rednundant playing the same position. Derozan and mills need to be moved to clear minutes for those young wings to blossom

This. Luka being good would be a game changer. It would make our future from good to great. PF is the weakest link, so strengthening that position would make us solid across all positions.

[JuneJive]

But how much worse would the team be without LMA / DMDR?

I say not much. A difference in 4-5 draft spots, imho.

[tim_duncan_fan]

I think if Keldon doesn't solidify into our top guy, we are screwed until we draft a top 5 guy. That's the important thing for me over anything else; seeing continued growth from Keldon.

I worry that White and Lonnie don't have the mentality to push us where we need to go.

[SPURt]

Nothing should’ve been an option, but luckily these ass seasons will be shortened due to covid

[Dejounte]

But how much worse would the team be without LMA / DMDR?

I say not much. A difference in 4-5 draft spots, imho.

Wasn't there a stretch of 5-10 games where DeMar was out and we lost all the games?

[Dejounte]

I think if Keldon doesn't solidify into our top guy, we are screwed until we draft a top 5 guy. That's the important thing for me over anything else; seeing continued growth from Keldon.

I worry that White and Lonnie don't have the mentality to push us where we need to go.

This is true, too.

[TDMVPDPOY]

vassell
keldon
white

if white isnt aggressive on offense, he should switch to pg fulltime...which leaves dj on the trading block in return

just need young bigs...wouldnt mind miles turner or the nets starting centre shotblocker whatever hsi name is..

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1330539383762640896?s=19


CH5fBw_jT5V

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO. Keldon looks huge.

[JuneJive]

Everything about them is exciting.

They all should come in better than last year.
Luka is an X-factor.

[r0drig0lac]

Murray/White/Keldon/Walker

[Drom John]

Improved team defense without Forbes and Belinelli.

[timvp]

Might be an unpopular opinion but I'm excited to see what Dejounte Murray can do without a minutes restriction and without stupidly having to compete against Derrick White for minutes instead of playing next to him. And, obviously, no more Forbes, no more Belinelli, the ascension of Keldon, Vassell's defense, what Walker can do with a true opportinuty, etc, etc.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Might be an unpopular opinion but I'm excited to see what Dejounte Murray can do without a minutes restriction and without stupidly having to compete against Derrick White for minutes instead of playing next to him. And, obviously, no more Forbes, no more Belinelli, the ascension of Keldon, Vassell's defense, what Walker can do with a true opportinuty, etc, etc.



Heeeeyyy... that wasn't a choice on the poll. :D

[Dejounte]

Heeeeyyy... that wasn't a choice on the poll. :D

I thought that shitbag had already reached his ceiling, so didn't think there was anything left exciting for him. But I'll be glad to be proven wrong!

[TD 21]

Getting a better gauge on Johnson. I feel like I more or less have a handle on the level the rest of the youth top out at and if/where they'd slot on a good team. He's the one it feels like has a non zero chance of being a star.

The other thing is, will they realize they collectively need to up their 3 point volume to make up for the departures of Forbes/Belinelli? Specifically, can Murray/Johnson shoot it at a high enough percentage/volume to garner some respect from defenses?

If so, they could have the necessary 3 and D to maximize an Aldridge/DeRozan core.

[TheCerebral1]

Winning the lottery next year. This team will be trash! :)

[PhantomDashCam]

Getting a better gauge on Johnson. I feel like I more or less have a handle on the level the rest of the youth top out at and if/where they'd slot on a good team. He's the one it feels like has a non zero chance of being a star.

The other thing is, will they realize they collectively need to up their 3 point volume to make up for the departures of Forbes/Belinelli? Specifically, can Murray/Johnson shoot it at a high enough percentage/volume to garner some respect from defenses?

If so, they could have the necessary 3 and D to maximize an Aldridge/DeRozan core.

It's a great point along (hopefully) with D. White's continued ascendancy as a pull up, high volume/high % 3PT threat.

[tmtcsc]

I’m looking forward to the Spurs benching or trading Murray. As for KJ, he’s already better than Lonnie and Dejounte. He’s fun to watch. White & Johnson should be the leaders of the team. Don’t kid yourselves about Samanic. He’ll be in Austin again most likely. He hasn’t shown any grit & will dry up soon.

[Rummpd]

Not going to be excited till Pop, the greatest coach the Spurs ever had but has had his day, is gone. Nothing of significance developing players these motley players will happen under his watch.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

I feel like Lonnie Walker is the forgotten man on this site. Here's a quick reminder of how much insane potential that kid has.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XznGg9w0XZQ

[RC_Drunkford]

I feel like Lonnie Walker is the forgotten man on this site. Here's a quick reminder of how much insane potential that kid has.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XznGg9w0XZQ

he got the highest ceiling out of all the prospects. Legit superstar potential, he just needs to put it all together

[Rummpd]

Actually nothing to be excited about, have two stars wanting to be moved and the FO does nothing but pick up or recycle just ok parts. Plus Coach should have taken his HOF cred and step aside.

[Sugus]

I feel like Lonnie Walker is the forgotten man on this site. Here's a quick reminder of how much insane potential that kid has.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XznGg9w0XZQ

Hell yeah, man. Lonnie is my dark horse for next season. Of course I'm excited for Keldon, Luka, White et al, but Lonnie might be my favorite out of all the young players in this current Spurs squad. He's poised to make some strides next season, having worked a lot on his body and game (that is, if he's given the chance...). Can't wait to see him dunking on some fools.

[SAGirl]

Team effort, development, finding a combination that wins games, individual player development, the youngins are all interesting though I have fatigue with Murray. He’s the one I expect to come back the same but we’ll see. If he’s going to improve it has to show this season, a year removed from the injury and plenty of time to work on his game. The same fir everyone else. Vassell, and Samanic hopefully getting some time, just seeing if the bubble play is sustainable. I do worry about injuries. Seeing who is going to come out with a confident shot because whoever it is he’s going to get playing time.

[spurs10]

Team effort, development, finding a combination that wins games, individual player development, the youngins are all interesting though I have fatigue with Murray. He’s the one I expect to come back the same but we’ll see. If he’s going to improve it has to show this season, a year removed from the injury and plenty of time to work on his game. The same fir everyone else. Vassell, and Samanic hopefully getting some time, just seeing if the bubble play is sustainable. I do worry about injuries. Seeing who is going to come out with a confident shot because whoever it is he’s going to get playing time. Feel about the same. Should be fun and the bubble was encouraging.

[San Antonio Slayer]

I am happy with Forbes move. I hope we will stick to the offensive scheme we had in the bubble with LMA at center and Jacob as his back up. I hope we have enough young talent and it will force PATFO to trade Mills and Gay for someone young, athletic and still promising.

[cd021]

Luka just needs to compete with Lyles and Gay.
-Lyles gets playing time because he knows his rotations and the game plan to the T, not because he's super talented.
-Father time is coming for Gay, so we might definitely see Luka at least replace him by the end of the season as a bench PF or by next season.

This is how I see the minutes distribution to be:

Murray (28)/ Lonnie (24)/ Tre
White (28)/ Vassell (20)/ Mills or Q
DeMar (28)/ Keldon (26)/ Q
Lyles (20)/ Gay (18)/ Samanic
Aldridge (26)/ Poetl (22)/ Eubanks

-On Vassell: for reference, Nephew received 24 minutes of playing time in his rookie year.
-DJ, Lonnie, Poetl, and White all see +4 mins increase in playing time from last year
-DeMar and LMA see -6 mins decrease in playing time from last year
-Keldon sees +8mins increase in playing time from last year

-I think your rotations are mostly how I see them. I don't see them playing Walker at the one and sitting Mills down for the bulk of the season. If that was there plan, then why not trade him? If they couldn't then why no release him or buy him out? That seems weird, then again that's been PATFO's M.O. for a while now.

-Walker playing the 1 is actually kinda interesting. He did show some play making ability and it would allow for Vassell to play consistently.

Still, I don't think that would be a good idea. Minnesota did that with LaVine to try and teach him the game but I think the Spurs would go about it differently. Maybe have him run some p&r's over the course of games with the goal of trying to make him a secondary ball handler going forward.

-I think Pop will play Murray and Walker over 30 mpg. He's never really unleased them before and this will be Murray's 5 season and White's 4th. They'll going to have to play big minutes at some point. If its the starting backcourt of the future, they need to see how it looks.

-I expect Lyles to be a nominal starter, ala DeJuan Blair. Maybe 18 mpg, and 18 mpg for Gay too. The other 10 minutes would likely go to DeRozan or even Luka in random 5 minute stretches of play.

-DeRozan and Aldridge playing less is something I hadn't considered. It would be sort of splitting the difference between trading them and tanking and keeping them and trying to compete. At least the players behind them could rack up more minutes.

-I could see DDR playing around 30 mpg and Aldridge playing closer to 27 mpg. Spurs will likely assess where they are ahead of the deadline and consider making moves then to get rid of Aldridge/Gay/ DeRozan Mills and open up playing time for the young guns.

[Dejounte]

I thought it would be easy to convince Aldridge to play less, since it's what we did with Tim. You just have to tell him that it will extend his career like it did with Tim. cd021

[Ocotillo]

I thought it would be easy to convince Aldridge to play less, since it's what we did with Tim. You just have to tell him that it will extend his career like it did with Tim. cd021

Aldridge may go for that. I bet DD doesn't want to limit his minutes. It's a contract year afterall.

[cd021]

I thought it would be easy to convince Aldridge to play less, since it's what we did with Tim. You just have to tell him that it will extend his career like it did with Tim. cd021 (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=36264)

I mean, he'll be 36 this season so maybe he'd be willing to see his minutes decrease. Going from around 32 mpg to around 27 mpg might extend his career.
Then again, Aldridge has hinted that he doesn't plan to play for that much longer, gor all we know this might be his final season.

Maybe the Spurs gave Poeltl some assurances that he'd play more this season and then would be the starter going forward, so its possible that Aldridge does play significantly less.

DDR playing slightly less seems likely, same for Gay. Mills is interesting. If PATFO knew that he wouldn't be playing much this season, then why bring him back? He's not the type to pout but having him chill on the bench while other teams want him seems odd.

[tbdog]

I don't like Lyles starting. I rather have DD at PF against most teams and Poeltl hasn't double bigs.

[CGD]

I don't like Lyles starting. I rather have DD at PF against most teams and Poeltl hasn't double bigs.

Agree, move DDR to the 4. Roll with White, Lonnie, Keldon at 1, 2, 3.

[Dejounte]

So far, we're seeing #1, #2, and #4.

Exciting season, Spurs fans. :clap

[Dejounte]

Luka just needs to compete with Lyles and Gay.
-Lyles gets playing time because he knows his rotations and the game plan to the T, not because he's super talented.
-Father time is coming for Gay, so we might definitely see Luka at least replace him by the end of the season as a bench PF or by next season.

This is how I see the minutes distribution to be:

Murray (28)/ Lonnie (24)/ Tre
White (28)/ Vassell (20)/ Mills or Q
DeMar (28)/ Keldon (26)/ Q
Lyles (20)/ Gay (18)/ Samanic
Aldridge (26)/ Poetl (22)/ Eubanks

-On Vassell: for reference, Nephew received 24 minutes of playing time in his rookie year.
-DJ, Lonnie, Poetl, and White all see +4 mins increase in playing time from last year
-DeMar and LMA see -6 mins decrease in playing time from last year
-Keldon sees +8mins increase in playing time from last year

I predicted 26 mpg for Keldon.... he's getting 30 mpg (holy shit)

Predicted 24 mpg for Lonnie... he's getting 29 mpg

28 mpg for Murray... he's getting 31 mpg

Best of all... I predicted 20 mpg for Lyles... he's getting 10 mpg HAHA

[Dejounte]

We having it all this season, boys

[R. DeMurre]

It was a small sample size, but KJ and White really seemed to jell in the bubble. I hope that continues to grow as other compatible pairings emerge-- maybe Walker/Vassell, or Samanic/KJ. I'm still worried that Pop will play DDR 34 mpg. If that's not the case, I think it'll make a big difference, both for wins and development.

Yep.