Spurs depth chart

[jhfenton]

Counting Cissoko, the Spurs have 18 guys on or promised big team deals, so 3 have to go. Assuming Birch and Stevens are 2 of those, they still have one guy to waive or trade.

Rice and, presumably, Barlow, will be one two-way deals, with one two-way spot open.

[Obstructed_View]

Khem and Lamar are the obvious candidates if it comes down to the waiver wire. Dominick may have to do what Bassey had to do last year and hang out on a 2way for a while until a roster spot clears later in the year. I remember many shit fits being had here about that.
I'm not sure he lasts that long. Someone is gonna throw him a real contract.

[Mr. Body]

Kind of hope to keep Stevens, but he probably doesn't get any playing time. As for Cedi and Bullock my guess is Cedi stays, despite the difference in contract.

Didn't look at Miami's roster, but that Lowry consolidation move is interesting -- gives them more, needed depth and gives us a player that can help, who can be swung to a contender or as a salary dump near deadline.

[Seventyniner]

The Spurs are not done dealing yet. They can combine several smaller expirings to take on a bad contract and draft capital, or take back Lowry as part of the Heat/Blazers trade, etc.

[spurraider21]

Kind of hope to keep Stevens, but he probably doesn't get any playing time. As for Cedi and Bullock my guess is Cedi stays, despite the difference in contract.

Didn't look at Miami's roster, but that Lowry consolidation move is interesting -- gives them more, needed depth and gives us a player that can help, who can be swung to a contender or as a salary dump near deadline.
dont see how stevens possibly hangs around given the numbers game at hand. especially if we are earmarking a roster spot for Cissoko. and thats even assuming we keep barlow on a 2 way. stevens is good as gone imo

[spurraider21]

The Spurs are not done dealing yet. They can combine several smaller expirings to take on a bad contract and draft capital, or take back Lowry as part of the Heat/Blazers trade, etc.
the appeal of having the spurs including in a deal involving lowry was that we could simply absorb the cap hit. if we're going to be sending back matching salaries it kinda defeats the purpose, no?

[Seventyniner]

the appeal of having the spurs including in a deal involving lowry was that we could simply absorb the cap hit. if we're going to be sending back matching salaries it kinda defeats the purpose, no?

Kind of. The Spurs might value Lowry enough that they wouldn't insist on getting draft capital in addition, and the Spurs have enough cap space to absorb some salary so they can take Lowry's $30M while only sending out something like $15M.

I get that number (Spurs have $15M cap space left) from this article, you'd have to scroll down or search for Spurs.

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-paul-george-rj-barrett-immanuel-quickley-obi-toppin-mavericks-bucks-celtics/

[DAF86]

So, what are we thinking?

CP3, Fox, Vassell/Castle(?), Barnes, Wemby

Castle/Vassell(?), Champ, Keldon, Sochan

Since we're at it, might as well go all in and see if we can transform Keldon into Cam Johnson, tbh.

[scott]

So, what are we thinking?

CP3, Fox, Vassell/Castle(?), Barnes, Wemby

Castle/Vassell(?), Champ, Keldon, Sochan

Since we're at it, might as well go all in and see if we can transform Keldon into Cam Johnson, tbh.

I feel like we aren't done. Roster is completely unbalanced. I think Sad Keldon is still gonna be sad.

[024]

Time for Spurs to do the funniest thing: play Fox for 10 games, then make him get surgery on his hand and go for that 20-30% chance of landing a top 4 pick.

[ffadicted]

We just need a solid backup Center and we're tooled for this season, with more to come in the offseason. Who could we flip Keldon and assets for?

[DAF86]

We just need a solid backup Center and we're tooled for this season, with more to come in the offseason. Who could we flip Keldon and assets for?

Cam Johnson. Besides a backup center, we need more shooting.

[Mr. Body]

I'm less interested in getting a backup big at this point unless some value pop up. My big question right now is Chris Paul.

[CGD]

I'm less interested in getting a backup big at this point unless some value pop up. My big question right now is Chris Paul.

Agreed, he deserves to have a say but his is also a nice expiring contract that can be combo'd with Malaki and/or Blake to fetch a 17M player.

[Davidicus]

I think the message to CP3 is it’s time for us to play our best, so do you want to chill with us or we trade you somewhere for more PT / chance to ring. We’d love to have you, even transitioning to assistant coach in a few years if you’re interested.

After that convo, my ideal is below, adjusting for matchups:

PG: Fox - CP3 - Blake
SG: Castle - Champ - Branham
SF: Vassell - Keldon
PF: Barnes - Sochan
C: Wemby - Bassey / Mamu

Castle and Sochan aren’t both on the court (for too long). Wemby (most mins) Sochan Bassey Mamu could rotate to where Bassey Sochan never see each other.

1st unit is extremely dangerous. 2nd unit is much better but too reliant on KJ to initiate. Maybe stagger Fox / Castle later to help 2nd unit, aka 2nd unit starts small with Bassey/Mamu odd man out.

[thOOdee]

After that convo, my ideal is below, adjusting for matchups:

PG: Fox - CP3 - Blake
SG: Castle - Champ - Branham
SF: Vassell - Keldon
PF: Barnes - Sochan
C: Wemby - Bassey / Mamu

Castle and Sochan aren’t both on the court (for too long). Wemby (most mins) Sochan Bassey Mamu could rotate to where Bassey Sochan never see each other.

1st unit is extremely dangerous. 2nd unit is much better but too reliant on KJ to initiate. Maybe stagger Fox / Castle later to help 2nd unit, aka 2nd unit starts small with Bassey/Mamu odd man out.

agree but would swap barnes and sochan. W/ fox providing a more scoring punch in the first unit, think sochan wont be as much of a liability on offense. Plus cp3 orchestrating dishes to either barnes, kj, or champagnie is pretty scary and legit 3 point threats.

[DAF86]

agree but would swap barnes and sochan. W/ fox providing a more scoring punch in the first unit, think sochan wont be as much of a liability on offense. Plus cp3 orchestrating dishes to either barnes, kj, or champagnie is pretty scary and legit 3 point threats.

If you swap CP3 for Fox and Barnes for Sochan, the lineup would have atrocious spacing, tbh.

[spurraider21]

i would think Fox/Vassell/Castle/Barnes/Wemby makes the most sense. they probably asks paul if hes fine being a backup the rest of way or if he'd prefer to get traded out. not sure what contending team would call for CP3 though. Dallas?

[BackHome]

Spurs won’t force CP3 out he will get his minutes and a good teacher for Fox

[SpursGenius]

Cam Johnson. Besides a backup center, we need more shooting.
Cam has two years left at 21 million per after this season. What would Brooklyn want from us in addition to Keldon ? likely another first atleast.

[DAF86]

Cam has two years left at 21 million per after this season. What would Brooklyn want from us in addition to Keldon ? likely another first atleast.

A top 20 protected first round pick seems fair. Maybe add some 2nd rounders. Nothing more than that, tbh.

[scott]

If roster remains unchanged I think the following is the best lineup for right now:

CP3/Castle
Fox/Vassell
Vassell/Champ/Keldon
Sochan/Barnes
Wemby/Bassey

I'd run a 3-man guard rotation with CP3/Fox/Castle and have Devin pick up an additional 5-10 mpg at SG to fill in the gaps. Sochan has to be in the starting lineup if you start CP3/Fox/Vassell otherwise we get absolutely hammersmashed on defense. Keldon and Champ share minutes like they are currently doing.

What I don't like about this lineup is that it deprioritizes Castle while we still should be investing in his development as a future Big 3 piece (in my opinion).

Alternatively, you move swap Castle and Barnes in for Dev and Sochan in the starting lineup and go with a quick hook on CP3 in the rotation for Devin and get some Fox/Castle/Dev minutes and then Castle subs out for Jeremy and then Keldon or Champ in for Barnes a little later.

Lots of flexibility in the potential guard pairings, but wing gets a little messy at times. I think a consolidation and upgrade trade among some combination of Devin/Keldon/Sochan/Barnes/Champ is in order, but it's not an ultra high priority. I'd rather still try and add something better behind Wemby, as I am not interested in any more Sochan C minutes.

Despite my feelings on Vassell, I like the 3-man guard rotations of Fox/Castle/Devin if Castle can continue to develop his ball handler skills. Right now he's best as a secondary ball handler, which works with Fox but may get a little messy next to Devin.

[SpursGenius]

A top 20 protected first round pick seems fair. Maybe add some 2nd rounders. Nothing more than that, tbh.
well hell lets give them Keldon and our 28 first rounder. Assuming he would take a three year extension from us as well

[DAF86]

well hell lets give them Keldon and our 28 first rounder. Assuming he would take a three year extension from us as well

Apparently, the Nets are looking for 2 first rounders for Johnson.

[jesterbobman]

I think CP3 will start, but move to the bench earlier so that PG minutes are handled by him or Fox - always have 1 good PG on the floor.

Some, something like Fox has 5 - 10 minutes at SG, 25 or so at PG, with CP3 playing about 25 mpg.
A bunch of Castle / Vassell / Keldon / Champ / Barnes / Sochan (and spot Mamu) wing minutes at 2 -3- 4.
Wemby 33mpg, Bassey / Sochan fill in the rest at C.

We're going to have spacing issues, especially with Wemby on the bench. But, genuine talent upgrade, just makes adding shooters clear as a priority, now that there's a clear #1 ball handler who puts pressure on defences.

[RC_Drunkford]

I think the message to CP3 is it’s time for us to play our best, so do you want to chill with us or we trade you somewhere for more PT / chance to ring. We’d love to have you, even transitioning to assistant coach in a few years if you’re interested.

After that convo, my ideal is below, adjusting for matchups:

PG: Fox - CP3 - Blake
SG: Castle - Champ - Branham
SF: Vassell - Keldon
PF: Barnes - Sochan
C: Wemby - Bassey / Mamu

Castle and Sochan aren’t both on the court (for too long). Wemby (most mins) Sochan Bassey Mamu could rotate to where Bassey Sochan never see each other.

1st unit is extremely dangerous. 2nd unit is much better but too reliant on KJ to initiate. Maybe stagger Fox / Castle later to help 2nd unit, aka 2nd unit starts small with Bassey/Mamu odd man out.

I'm pretty sure we'll stagger Wemby and Fox, so one of them is on the floor at all times. Also it was reported that CP3 been wanting to play together with Fox for a while now.

It's either

Fox/CP3
Castle/Champagnie
Vassell/Keldon
Barnes/Sochan
Wemby/Bassey

or

Fox/CP3
Vassell/Castle
Barnes/Champagnie
Sochan/Keldon
Wemby/Bassey

[fafo]

CP3 turns 40 this year, surely he can be realistic about coming off the bench for Fox. Maybe two starting PGs can work but I don't see any other team who is in a better position to contend and needs him as a starting point guard. The best teams I can see with holes at PG are Miami and Minnesota. Is it really better joining a different team midseason than continuing to play with Wemby and now having Fox to ease the pressure of being the only playmaker in the backcourt? He's been surprisingly healthy and I honestly think the roster as is, frontcourt lack of depth and all, can make a realistic run to the playoffs now.

[cutewizard]

Without Keldon Johnson, the revised best starting five for the San Antonio Spurs would be: w-full table-auto border, width: 1"]

Position
Player


break-normal"]Point Guard
break-normal"]De’Aaron Fox


break-normal"]Shooting Guard
break-normal"]Devin Vassell


break-normal"]Small Forward
break-normal"]Stephon Castle


break-normal"]Power Forward
break-normal"]Jeremy Sochan


break-normal"]Center
break-normal"]Victor Wembanyama



Reasoning:

Stephon Castle steps in at small forward, offering size, defense, and shooting potential.
The rest of the lineup remains intact, maintaining a strong balance of playmaking (Fox), scoring (Vassell), defense (Sochan), and dominance in the paint (Wembanyama).

​According to Perplexity AI

[Mr. Body]

Massive question and I'm sure if there are no more big moves they will try lots of things out. To me, CP as a starter is the goal. Unless he wants to come off the bench, you don't force it. His value as a teacher at this point is still extremely needed, even if the roster doesn't fit.

If, then:

Wembanyama
Barnes
Sochan
Fox
Paul

I would almost try this. I think you need size and defense to help cover for the short guards and Fox's iffiness on defense, and you just can't have Sochan and Castle both coming off the bench. Try Castle in that unit instead, but one of him or Sochan is what I try in the first unit. And to me Barnes is just as important in the starters as Paul, or almost.

[TimDunkem]

^Awful take, per usual from Mr.Fat Body.

[NASpurs]

Once we get Kevin Tran situated, the sky is the limit for this team.

[Arguendo]

Without Keldon Johnson, the revised best starting five for the San Antonio Spurs would be:

Position
Player


Point Guard
De’Aaron Fox


Shooting Guard
Devin Vassell


Small Forward
Stephon Castle


Power Forward
Jeremy Sochan


Center
Victor Wembanyama



Reasoning:



Stephon Castle steps in at small forward, offering size, defense, and shooting potential.
The rest of the lineup remains intact, maintaining a strong balance of playmaking (Fox), scoring (Vassell), defense (Sochan), and dominance in the paint (Wembanyama).

​According to Perplexity AI
Castle needs to start, but him and Sochan are bad together, need to minimize those minutes. Barnes at the 4 and I like it.

[TD 21]

Starters: Barnes, Vassell, Wembanyama, Castle, Fox

Bench/rotation: Paul*, Sochan, Johnson, Champagnie

Spot minutes/deep bench: Bassey, Mamukelashvili, Branham, Wesley, McLaughlin

G-League/two-way: Duke Jr., Ingram, Minix

* Not convinced he's staying yet. Can't start or else the unit would lack a POA defender and if he's looking at a 20ish mpg backup role, why not go to the Thunder, Mavericks, Timberwolves (probably too far from family)?

[scott]

We do have an open roster spot. PATFO has made some big scrap heap pickups in Champ, Bassey and Mamu. Maybe there is another one of those out there.

[Davidicus]

Mitch was asked pregame just now about playing CP3 and Fox together in SL. Replied that they’ve played with combos all season and will continue to experiment ala “rubiks cube” to find combinations that work.

[Gandalf]

I honestly don’t know if this ‘defensive field goal percentage’ is actually a useful stat (I see some criticize it), but if it is and we play:

Fox
Castle
Vassel
Sochan
Wemby

That’s three of the top seven for that stat in the NBA - and the other two are Castle and Vassel.

https://x.com/statdefender/status/1855250428340080895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1855250428340080895%7Ctwgr% 5E4b613d72580eebcf67fbab5531081524147104b0%7Ctwcon %5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnba%2Fkings%2Fs acramento-kings-news%2Fkings-deaaron-fox-leads-nba-key-defensive-stat-01jcc3tmp6y2

[DAF86]

So, assuming we are drafting Dylan Harper, what's the roster looking like? I'm not 100% sure who's still under contract and who isn't, so make any correction that needs to be made.

Fox / Castle / Wesley
Harper / Champagnie / Branham
Vassell / Keldon / Ingram
Barnes / Sochan / Minix
Wemby / Bassey

Clearly not good enough, what do yall think the roster is missing? Imho, 2 shooting forwards and a backup Center.

[spurraider21]

So, assuming we are drafting Dylan Harper, what's the roster looking like? I'm not 100% sure who's still under contract and who isn't, so make any correction that needs to be made.

Fox / Castle / Wesley
Harper / Champagnie / Branham
Vassell / Keldon / Ingram
Barnes / Sochan / Minix
Wemby / Bassey

Clearly not good enough, what do yall think the roster is missing? Imho, 2 shooting forwards and a backup Center.
if i had to guess, Harper would come off the bench and Fox/Castle would start. while castle can run point, he's a combo guy who can even play some 3, while Harper basically just plays like a point, though i think his catch and shoot figures and length are good enough where he can play some off-ball with Fox

and yeah, they still have a hole at forward and backup center. they have the #14 pick, full MLE (worth 14 mil), and BAE (worth ~5mil) to do their best to fill those slots.

[Mal]

So, assuming we are drafting Dylan Harper, what's the roster looking like? I'm not 100% sure who's still under contract and who isn't, so make any correction that needs to be made.

Fox / Castle / Wesley
Harper / Champagnie / Branham
Vassell / Keldon / Ingram
Barnes / Sochan / Minix
Wemby / Bassey

Clearly not good enough, what do yall think the roster is missing? Imho, 2 shooting forwards and a backup Center.

They are missing tall PF. Barnes and Sochan are more like tweeners, but with very different skillset. They need PF/C who can play next to Wemby and next to Sochan/Barnes when Wemby sits. Myles Turner would be perfect

[SpursGenius]

Sandro will be resigned with Bassey. Both young and cheap. They will draft center with 38 or move up. They also have mle and 5 milly spot to get backup center and another 3D

[rascal]

So, assuming we are drafting Dylan Harper, what's the roster looking like? I'm not 100% sure who's still under contract and who isn't, so make any correction that needs to be made.

Fox / Castle / Wesley
Harper / Champagnie / Branham
Vassell / Keldon / Ingram
Barnes / Sochan / Minix
Wemby / Bassey

Clearly not good enough, what do yall think the roster is missing? Imho, 2 shooting forwards and a backup Center.

This won't be the final team. Spurs have some work to do to round out the roster.

[TD 21]

They are missing tall PF. Barnes and Sochan are more like tweeners, but with very different skillset. They need PF/C who can play next to Wemby and next to Sochan/Barnes when Wemby sits. Myles Turner would be perfect

A floor spacer would be perfect for the roster in general, but not for Wembanyama specifically.

The actualized version of Sorber is more so the ideal archetype to backup/occasionally play alongside him.

[Limguogolo]

With a good defender in the racket to replace Victor, the second team can do damage. Golden State was winning its games in the third quarter, perhaps the Spurs should look to win their game in the two quarter tilts with the second team.

With the first team, everything would revolve around Fox-Wemby picks and rolls. And with the second team, Castle-Harper-Vassell, the second team would torment the opposing second teams on fast play, on physical guards offense and on defense. Enough to considerably improve the team's +/- when Victor is not on the floor and make the difference against average teams before the last five minutes.

[BackHome]

Regarding CP it was nice to have him but no way should he be getting minutes from Harper as the backup PG you could even make the point with Castle. If he wants to be a bench coach then OK but I think he would want more minutes lets say the Mavs.

[scott]

Only way CP3 returns should be as Assistant Coach

[DAF86]

This won't be the final team. Spurs have some work to do to round out the roster.

That goes without saying. The first move I would make is getting rid of Keldon once and for all.

[DAF86]

Fox - Harper - Wesley
Castle - Champagnie - Branham
Vassel - Keldon - Bryant
Barnes - Sochan - ????
Wemby - ????? - Bassey

Two spots to fill, what are we thinking?

I would like to sign Brook Lopez on free agency and trade Keldon for (or to make room for) a shooting wing.

[DAF86]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Jones-García
Vassell / Keldon / Bryant
Barnes / Sochan / ???
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Am I missing someone? How do you think we can round up the roster? Minix seems like an obvious choice.

[bluebellmaniac]

We staaaaaaccckkkkkkked!

[SpursGenius]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Jones-García
Vassell / Keldon / Bryant
Barnes / Sochan / ???
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk



Am I missing someone? How do yMinix seems like an obvious choice.


figure Minix and Ingram get the two other 2 way deals. They probably go get another big like Bassey

[Obstructed_View]

Champagnie seems like a three to me, and it seems like it should be his job to lose this season.

[DAF86]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Waters
Vassell / Keldon / Jones-García
Barnes / Sochan / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Roster seems a little light on bigmen, tbh.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Champagnie seems like a three to me, and it seems like it should be his job to lose this season.

I think Champagnie has shown that he can be a quality rotation player. The Spurs should extend him this year. If they could sign him for 3 years for $20 to $25 million it would be a great value. Especially if they then decline his 4th year and spread the total out over 4 year on a level or declining basis they would have a quality bench player locked up for the next 5 years on team friendly basis.

[cutewizard]

The Spurs In-House Three Point Shooting Contest is getting better and better..........!

-------------------------------------------------

Wemby
Barnes
Fox
Champagne
Vassell
Cornet
Olynyk
Jones-Garcia
Waters

---------------------------

And the winner is ??????

[LeBowen]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Waters
Vassell / Keldon / Jones-García
Barnes / Sochan / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Roster seems a little light on bigmen, tbh.

Why? It's obvious that Spurs are building a 4+1 roster that won't feature two big lineups unless in some specific situations.
We have two competent backups for Wemby, more than enough.

[heyheymymy]

Fox/Harper/McLaughlin
Castle/Vassell
Champ/Barnes/Johnson
Olynyk/Sochan/Bryant
Wemby/Kornet

[Limguogolo]

Fox/Harper
Castle/Vassell
Bryant/Johnson/Champagnie
Barnes/Olynyk/Sochan
Wemby/Kornet

Starting linup: Fox, Castle, Bryant, Barnes, Wemby
then: Fox, Castle, Vassell, Olynyk, Wemby
then: Harper, Vassell, Johnson, Olynyk, Kornet
then: Harper, Champagnie, Barnes, Sochan, Kornet
then: Fox, Castle, Barnes, Sochan, Wemby
money time : Fox, Castle, Barnes, Olynyk, Wemby
alternative : Fox, Castle, Harper, Wemby, Kornet

[DAF86]

Why? It's obvious that Spurs are building a 4+1 roster that won't feature two big lineups unless in some specific situations.
We have two competent backups for Wemby, more than enough.

I realize that, and I'm completely on board with playing "4+1", but you still need to plan for eventualities. One injury to one of your bigmen and suddenly you are playing a game praying one of your other bigmen doesn't get hurt too. I know you can sign guys in those cases, but it's not the same.

You have 17 roster spots, using only 3 of those in bigmen, even if you plan to play "4+1" all season, is risky.

[tbdog]

Why isn't anyone considering starting Harper as the SG. If he comes into camp fit and healthy, you all don't think he'll be clearly the better player than Castle. Running nba offenses is the real issue for rookie pgs. But starting next to Fox, then slowly get more and more pg duties on Fox's breaks and injuries?

[tbdog]

I realize that, and I'm completely on board with playing "4+1", but you still need to plan for eventualities. One injury to one of your bigmen and suddenly you are playing a game praying one of your other bigmen doesn't get hurt too. I know you can sign guys in those cases, but it's not the same.

You have 17 roster spots, using only 3 of those in bigmen, even if you plan to play "4+1" all season, is risky.

Yeah agree. A vet center would be nice. Not a vet PF.

[clampi]

I just realised that with one more player to make it 15, we will have replaced 8/15 players in a 1 year span

CP3 by Fox
Tre by Harper
Collins by Kornet
Mamu by Olynyk
Sidy by Bryant
Branham by Waters
Wesley by McLaughlin
Bassey by ??

We got obviously lucky at the lottery but there is no denying Wright has done an A job

[cutewizard]

I just realised that with one more player to make it 15, we will have replaced 8/15 players in a 1 year span

CP3 by Fox
Tre by Harper
Collins by Kornet
Mamu by Olynyk
Sidy by Bryant
Branham by Waters
Wesley by McLaughlin
Bassey by ??

We got obviously lucky at the lottery but there is no denying Wright has done an A job

-------------------------------------------------

TRUE

[WaywardTexan]

I just realised that with one more player to make it 15, we will have replaced 8/15 players in a 1 year span

CP3 by Fox
Tre by Harper
Collins by Kornet
Mamu by Olynyk
Sidy by Bryant
Branham by Waters
Wesley by McLaughlin
Bassey by ??

We got obviously lucky at the lottery but there is no denying Wright has done an A job

Agreed. Looking at it this way, you see that each substitution (with the possible exception of McLaughlin over Wesley being closer to a wash, and the uncertain assumption that Olynyk stays healthy) being a meaningful upgrade.

For the 15th spot, assuming we go with a C, do we want a vet like Biyombo or a prospect? Or maybe Dallas waives Flagg by accident and we pick him up.

[rogcl1]

Why isn't anyone considering starting Harper as the SG. If he comes into camp fit and healthy, you all don't think he'll be clearly the better player than Castle. Running nba offenses is the real issue for rookie pgs. But starting next to Fox, then slowly get more and more pg duties on Fox's breaks and injuries?

How about letting him come into camp and let him compete , see where he fits and let him earn whatever position he ends up with.

[024]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Waters
Vassell / Keldon / Jones-García
Barnes / Sochan / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Roster seems a little light on bigmen, tbh.
Kind of odd the Spurs signed so many third string/end of bench guards. Would have at least thought that the Spurs would sign another big. Especially because of how small the PFs are.

[Mr. Body]

I just realised that with one more player to make it 15, we will have replaced 8/15 players in a 1 year span

CP3 by Fox
Tre by Harper
Collins by Kornet
Mamu by Olynyk
Sidy by Bryant
Branham by Waters
Wesley by McLaughlin
Bassey by ??

We got obviously lucky at the lottery but there is no denying Wright has done an A job

This is what the FO told us they would do. Take the time to see what worked with Wemby, then start making moves to surround him with the right players. They're not quite there yet, but these are all the plan.

[KobesAchilles]

Why isn't anyone considering starting Harper as the SG. If he comes into camp fit and healthy, you all don't think he'll be clearly the better player than Castle. Running nba offenses is the real issue for rookie pgs. But starting next to Fox, then slowly get more and more pg duties on Fox's breaks and injuries?
Spurs are a cluster fuck at the guard position. We went from zero all-star caliber guards to potentially 3. Tbh you have to start Castle over Harper. He’s the one the team has invested in. He’s the one who has shown he can ball out. He has shown the work ethic over the summer. And really he’s already decorated.

I have a funny feeling that both Harper and Castle will be our starters by all star break. I’m not sure that’s due to an injury from Fox or we trade Vassell or bench Vassell but at some point Harper is going to start. I see Harper as this dawg that’s going to Jimmy Butler our starters during practice. He’s going to embarrass Vassell in practice. He’s going to play balls to the wall in the 20 minutes a game he’s going to play to start out the season and he’s going to push Mitch to actually man up and make a real decision moving forward.

I also see Carter Bryant getting KJs minutes as the year progresses. He’s going to learn quickly how he can get on the court. He already knows that they need defense and shooting. If he stays the course and plays defense like a maniac in Austin and works on his shot the rest of the summer and training camp, he’s going to get some playing time by January.

[scott]

Spurs are a cluster fuck at the guard position. We went from zero all-star caliber guards to potentially 3. Tbh you have to start Castle over Harper. He’s the one the team has invested in. He’s the one who has shown he can ball out. He has shown the work ethic over the summer. And really he’s already decorated.

I have a funny feeling that both Harper and Castle will be our starters by all star break. I’m not sure that’s due to an injury from Fox or we trade Vassell or bench Vassell but at some point Harper is going to start. I see Harper as this dawg that’s going to Jimmy Butler our starters during practice. He’s going to embarrass Vassell in practice. He’s going to play balls to the wall in the 20 minutes a game he’s going to play to start out the season and he’s going to push Mitch to actually man up and make a real decision moving forward.

I also see Carter Bryant getting KJs minutes as the year progresses. He’s going to learn quickly how he can get on the court. He already knows that they need defense and shooting. If he stays the course and plays defense like a maniac in Austin and works on his shot the rest of the summer and training camp, he’s going to get some playing time by January.

Of all the things I hope to see from Mitch, you are hinting on the one I want to see most: letting the playing time be dictated by performance on the court and not playing favorites with seniority. I think we started to see a little bit of that last year with Sochan heading to the bench, even after Wemby was out (I believe Sochan only started something like 4 of the his last 31 games after he came back from injury on Jan 23 (which was exactly the midpoint of the season). On the flip side, we did see Julian get benched when Devin came back and was still struggling, disrupting the nice stretch Julian was on and the team was playing well.

[ginobilized]

Spurs are a cluster fuck at the guard position. We went from zero all-star caliber guards to potentially 3. Tbh you have to start Castle over Harper. He’s the one the team has invested in. He’s the one who has shown he can ball out. He has shown the work ethic over the summer. And really he’s already decorated.

I have a funny feeling that both Harper and Castle will be our starters by all star break. I’m not sure that’s due to an injury from Fox or we trade Vassell or bench Vassell but at some point Harper is going to start. I see Harper as this dawg that’s going to Jimmy Butler our starters during practice. He’s going to embarrass Vassell in practice. He’s going to play balls to the wall in the 20 minutes a game he’s going to play to start out the season and he’s going to push Mitch to actually man up and make a real decision moving forward.

I also see Carter Bryant getting KJs minutes as the year progresses. He’s going to learn quickly how he can get on the court. He already knows that they need defense and shooting. If he stays the course and plays defense like a maniac in Austin and works on his shot the rest of the summer and training camp, he’s going to get some playing time by January.

Yep!

I see Vassell as the competition for Harper, not Castle as much. I imagine that the starting spot is Vassell's to lose and that he will by the ASG.

It remains to be seen what offensive schemes the coaches are going to employ. The truly great news is that our options have increased exponentially. We will be able to matchup with more teams and dictate the matchups in more cases than in recent years.

My hope is that there is a continuity of culture AND an evolution toward some more modern concepts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we might actually defend 3-point shooters this season. That and our increase in talent could account for a good number of wins.

[ginobilized]

Spurs are a cluster fuck at the guard position. We went from zero all-star caliber guards to potentially 3. Tbh you have to start Castle over Harper. He’s the one the team has invested in. He’s the one who has shown he can ball out. He has shown the work ethic over the summer. And really he’s already decorated.

I have a funny feeling that both Harper and Castle will be our starters by all star break. I’m not sure that’s due to an injury from Fox or we trade Vassell or bench Vassell but at some point Harper is going to start. I see Harper as this dawg that’s going to Jimmy Butler our starters during practice. He’s going to embarrass Vassell in practice. He’s going to play balls to the wall in the 20 minutes a game he’s going to play to start out the season and he’s going to push Mitch to actually man up and make a real decision moving forward.

I also see Carter Bryant getting KJs minutes as the year progresses. He’s going to learn quickly how he can get on the court. He already knows that they need defense and shooting. If he stays the course and plays defense like a maniac in Austin and works on his shot the rest of the summer and training camp, he’s going to get some playing time by January.

Yep!

I see Vassell as the competition for Harper, not Castle as much. I imagine that the starting spot is Vassell's to lose and that he will by the ASG.

It remains to be seen what offensive schemes the coaches are going to employ. The truly great news is that our options have increased exponentially. We will be able to matchup with more teams and dictate the matchups in more cases than in recent years.

My hope is that there is a continuity of culture AND an evolution toward some more modern concepts. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we might actually defend 3-point shooters this season. That and our increase in talent could account for a good number of wins.

[Guru of Nothing]

Ngl, I want to see what a Wemby-Sochan-Castle-Harper-Fox lineup can do, flaws be damned.

[jjspur]

This is what the FO told us they would do. Take the time to see what worked with Wemby, then start making moves to surround him with the right players. They're not quite there yet, but these are all the plan.

Agree. What no one can deny is that we are way way better now than we were at the end of last season. Gone are a couple of knuckle heads, a couple of guys that were big in effort but not so much in talent and a HOF coach whose time had finally come to step aside. We're not a championship team yet, but the plan is set and some real good pieces are there. Just a a bit more time and the plan will be complete.

[sfernald]

Ngl, I want to see what a Wemby-Sochan-Castle-Harper-Fox lineup can do, flaws be damned.

Im looking forward to the inevitable harper / castle / bryant / sochan / wemby lineup that will bring us a championship in 3-5 years!

[cutewizard]

Was trying to think of this five and bench
Interested to listen to your comments

SL

Wemby
Barnes
Olynyk
Fox
Castle


Bench
Kornet
Sochan
Keldon
Harper
Vassell

[exstatic]

Was trying to think of this five and bench
Interested to listen to your comments

SL

Wemby
Barnes
Olynyk
Fox
Castle


Bench
Kornet
Sochan
Keldon
Harper
Vassell

Any decent forward will eat the Barnes/olynik combination alive.

[DAF86]

Fox / Harper / McLaughling
Castle / Champagnie / Waters
Vassell / Keldon / Jones-García / Ingram
Barnes / Sochan / Bryant / Minix
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

One more roster spot available, right?

[Gagnrath]

Why isn't anyone considering starting Harper as the SG. If he comes into camp fit and healthy, you all don't think he'll be clearly the better player than Castle. Running nba offenses is the real issue for rookie pgs. But starting next to Fox, then slowly get more and more pg duties on Fox's breaks and injuries?

I really see both Harper and Castle playing with each other and fox. You can also slot castle and to a lesser extent harper as a "3" or in the spurs system Wing. I'm curious as to how much Castles 3 ball has improved if he and/or harper can hit 30% + from 3 you can put them on the floor together or with fox. I see the idea being a beautiful game variation. Probe with any of our guards and if the defense closes hard hit the open man for 3 if that doesn't seem to be paying off Wemby to the lob spot and see who all follows him. Young team lots of active players it's going to be pretty fast-paced.

[jhfenton]

Not limiting players to a single position, I see it like this:

Fox / Harper / McLaughlin
Vassell / Castle / Harper / Waters / Jones-García / Ingram
Castle / Champagnie / Keldon / Bryant / Minix
Barnes / Sochan / Olynyk / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Thoughts:

1. Castle is more of a 3 than Vassell.
2. I bolded 12 players I'd consider potential rotation players, with just Waters, McLaughlin, and the two-way players as depth options. Having 12 legit NBA rotation players is quite the evolution from recent years.
3. Putting some players in multiple positions, it's hard to justify a rotation spot for Keldon. Especially after Bryant gets a bit of seasoning. It's easy to see him as the odd man out as an undersized 3 with poor defense.

[ginobilized]

Not limiting players to a single position, I see it like this:

Fox / Harper / McLaughlin
Vassell / Castle / Harper / Waters / Jones-García / Ingram
Castle / Champagnie / Keldon / Bryant / Minix
Barnes / Sochan / Olynyk / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Thoughts:

1. Castle is more of a 3 than Vassell.
2. I bolded 12 players I'd consider potential rotation players, with just Waters, McLaughlin, and the two-way players as depth options. Having 12 legit NBA rotation players is quite the evolution from recent years.
3. Putting some players in multiple positions, it's hard to justify a rotation spot for Keldon. Especially after Bryant gets a bit of seasoning. It's easy to see him as the odd man out as an undersized 3 with poor defense.

I see this similarly, but, think that Minix matches up with 4's more than 3's in his limited action. Waters might be more of a 3 in the Spurs system, too.
Any way you slice it, this team would murder last year's squad in a scrimmage.

[R. DeMurre]

Not limiting players to a single position, I see it like this:

Fox / Harper / McLaughlin
Vassell / Castle / Harper / Waters / Jones-García / Ingram
Castle / Champagnie / Keldon / Bryant / Minix
Barnes / Sochan / Olynyk / Bryant
Wemby / Kornet / Olynyk

Thoughts:

1. Castle is more of a 3 than Vassell.
2. I bolded 12 players I'd consider potential rotation players, with just Waters, McLaughlin, and the two-way players as depth options. Having 12 legit NBA rotation players is quite the evolution from recent years.
3. Putting some players in multiple positions, it's hard to justify a rotation spot for Keldon. Especially after Bryant gets a bit of seasoning. It's easy to see him as the odd man out as an undersized 3 with poor defense.

At this point, it's hard for me to view KJ as anything but a salary matching number in trade scenarios. From the time when he was the team's leading scorer and Draymond Green declared him a future all star to now there's been a pretty large decline in his value unfortunately.

[The Truth #6]

A casualty of the tanking years, perhaps. But he's super loyal. If they trade him, I'm guessing it won't be to a crappy situation.

[LeBowen]

Way too early rotation prediction based on guaranteed minutes.
I'll take C position out of the equation because it's obvious Spurs are going to play 4+1 and we won't see Olynyk+Wemby together unless it's a specific matchup and we're getting bullied.
Once again, this is my opinion on minimum minutes each player can get, that's why there's wiggle room.

Big:
Wemby 33 / Kornet 10
I can see Olynyk getting minutes against some bench lineups if we need the spacing or if Kornet is underperforming for some reason. But it should be 33+15 in most games.
5 minutes that could be redistributed. I obviously expect Wemby to play 35+ in some close games.

Primary ballhandler:
Fox 33 / Harper 15
0 minutes available.
I don't expect McLaughlin to feature if both Fox and Harper are playing.
Not much to say, one should be on the floor at all times. I can't see Harper getting DNPs.

Secondary ballhandler:
Castle 25 / Harper 10
13 minutes available.
Obviously it would be ideal if they both consistently deliver, which isn't a given with young players. But they'll both surely get at least 25mpg.
I don't think the odds of both Harper and Castle playing bad are high, meaning at least one will get 30+ minutes in each game and those few leftover minutes could go to Vassell, Waters or DJG.

Off the ball wings:
Vassell 25 / Keldon 10 / Champagnie 5
Barnes 20 / Jeremy 10
Vassell and Barnes should be guarantees and could get up to 30mpg if they play well on that given night. I really don't see the purpose of Keldon, but he'll get his charity minutes, with Champagnie getting the short end of the stick, as per usual. Jeremy is an issue in most of lineups. We don't want him burdening Wemby with his negative spacing, but then again having both him and Kornet on the floor would mean we need three good shooters meaning that Castle and possibly Harper can't be on the floor. We're still hoping we can get some value from Jeremy, but at this point gifting both him and Keldon away for nothing would be addition by subtraction. Bryant will spend the first few months in Austin mostly because of those two.
26 minutes available.

Overall, I think minutes are going to be distributed based on which rotation member is playing better, I can't see any of the third stringers other than Olynyk getting relevant playtime if everyone's healthy.
Mitch's biggest test will be if he has the authority to DNP Keldon and Jeremy when they inevitably start stinking the place up.
Hopefully Devin has a solid season so we can ship him out for solid value.

[dn0774]

A casualty of the tanking years, perhaps. But he's super loyal. If they trade him, I'm guessing it won't be to a crappy situation.

I'd argue the Spurs repaid that loyalty with $80 million. As a thought exercise, which winning situation is a fit? He is certainly not a Derrick White type who can be amazing on-ball or off-ball on offense and is also an awesome defender. I'm just genuinely curious what his trade market would look like.

Playing Keldon in a meaningful role just feels like giving up a lot on the defensive side for a mostly meh offensive player, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. He is a lot of fun to watch when he gets on a heater, though.

[BSfromTX]

I don't see Castle at the 3 unless Harper and Fox are on the floor too.

[The Truth #6]

I'd argue the Spurs repaid that loyalty with $80 million. As a thought exercise, which winning situation is a fit? He is certainly not a Derrick White type who can be amazing on-ball or off-ball on offense and is also an awesome defender. I'm just genuinely curious what his trade market would look like.

Playing Keldon in a meaningful role just feels like giving up a lot on the defensive side for a mostly meh offensive player, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. He is a lot of fun to watch when he gets on a heater, though.

All true. And with 3 lead guard types who all excel at getting to the rim, he better be shooting well this year.

[jhfenton]

I don't see Castle at the 3 unless Harper and Fox are on the floor too.

Castle has better size than Vassell. All else being equal Castle would be the more likely of the two to guard the opposing 3. In reality, he'd probably guard the better of the opposing team's 2 and 3 (or even the opposing PG), but I think it makes more sense to list Castle as the 3 when he's playing with Fox and Vassell.

[TD 21]

Fifth starter comes down to Castle and Sochan and could easily change throughout the season, so even though I'm not sold it'll be the former, for the purposes of brevity/clarity and because it's consensus, I'll go with him anyway . . .

Starters: Barnes, Vassell, Wembanyama, Castle, Fox

Bench: Harper, Sochan, Johnson, Champagnie, Kornet, Olynyk

Deep bench/G-League: McLaughlin, Waters III (PG), Bryant, Jones-Garcia (TW), Minix (TW), Ingram (TW)

Final standard contract presumably goes to a big.



Castle has better size than Vassell. All else being equal Castle would be the more likely of the two to guard the opposing 3. In reality, he'd probably guard the better of the opposing team's 2 and 3 (or even the opposing PG), but I think it makes more sense to list Castle as the 3 when he's playing with Fox and Vassell.

Castle: 6'5.5'' barefoot, 6'9'' wingspan, 215
Vassell: 6'5.5'' barefoot, 6'10'' wingspan, 205

If Castle starts over Sochan, he'll obviously defend the lead creator 1-3, but I'd consider Vassell the nominal SF because he's more wing and Castle is more combo guard.

[cutewizard]

https://youtu.be/mtkQvqErQOk?si=nqDZt-ePXY8iqQ44

[ginobilized]

https://youtu.be/mtkQvqErQOk?si=nqDZt-ePXY8iqQ44

The Ken Burns effect in that video was making me feel seasick. Good to know that Tim Martin and Wemby have a strong connection for the past 5 years. This coaching staff will look like the real deal. Last season was so weird with such a small staff.

Mitch Johnson, Sweeney, Williamson, Nielsen, Martin, King, Lewis and I'm probably leaving someone out. Not too shabby.

[thOOdee]

unpopular opinion, but it's sink or swim time for Sochan. Think he needs to be inserted into the starting lineup. Barnes is the better fit, but is more fluid for 1st and second unit, and really isn't in the longterm plans anyway. Probably highly likely shooting will take a hit, but rather spurs take this short term hit but have an answer as to whether the spurs should pay or prepare the escape hatch.

[LeBowen]

unpopular opinion, but it's sink or swim time for Sochan. Think he needs to be inserted into the starting lineup. Barnes is the better fit, but is more fluid for 1st and second unit, and really isn't in the longterm plans anyway. Probably highly likely shooting will take a hit, but rather spurs take this short term hit but have an answer as to whether the spurs should pay or prepare the escape hatch.

We can't take any more hits, not even short term.
We traded for Fox, gave him the max and it's Wemby's third season.
No more charity case lineups, it's all about winning from now on.
It's like Sochan is a rookie or sophmore, he's had 3 full years to make his case as a core piece and he failed.
If he makes a leap this season - great, if not we need to move on.

Also, why would we take a hit with Sochan when we can take it with Bryant who already has a functional jumpshot and looked great defensively in the Summer League?

[cutewizard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=605KRVwXSkA

[baseline bum]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=605KRVwXSkA

If they were gonna trade for Trey Murphy they would have done it at the draft. Vassell, Harper, and a pick would have probably gotten it done.

[baseline bum]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=605KRVwXSkA

If they were gonna trade for Trey Murphy they would have done it at the draft. Vassell, Harper, and a pick would have probably gotten it done.

[ismael-robert]

Yikes he's not worth 3 pieces...id only give one of those 3

[cutewizard]

https://youtu.be/jOB8VDcA7UQ?si=5LUxv5W2kgoMN4_N

[spurraider21]

If they were gonna trade for Trey Murphy they would have done it at the draft. Vassell, Harper, and a pick would have probably gotten it done.
harper? jfc

[dbestpro]

So, is the weekspot PF or will Sochan surprise us all?

[emmo]

Dead forum. Sad after all of these years to let it come to this. Guess it’s baselinebums.com from here on out.

[venitian navigator]

Frankly im disappoited that After all these years body Is writing here anymore...however back to topic Bismarck Is not a bad choice 4 complete the roster...

[benefactor]

Frankly im disappoited that After all these years body Is writing here anymore...however back to topic Bismarck Is not a bad choice 4 complete the roster...
I think all of us were disappointed. But we can't just hang around here waiting for some hack who keeps promising to fix things to not fix things. LJ and Kori walked away. It was a great run but it's over. Time to take some of the old and put it into something new and reinvent ourselves

[cutewizard]

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

[dbestpro]

The Spurs feel to be as deep as they have been over the past 10 years.

[manufan10]

Frankly im disappoited that After all these years body Is writing here anymore...however back to topic Bismarck Is not a bad choice 4 complete the roster...

You should be disappointed with whoever manages this site. They let it die. They refused to update it even with several promises of doing so. This site is constantly being bombarded with bots with no end in sight. Then it went offline for almost a whole month before anyone who manages it noticed. It's a terrible way of running things, and this is with several members saying they could help financially and on the tech side of things. It's sad, because there were a ton of memories here... but no fault of the posters here.

[cutewizard]

https://youtu.be/AarFppjuYsw?si=qW4SOyb-EQmnkX9s

[cutewizard]

Pasted the wrong video

[Ariel]

You should be disappointed with whoever manages this site. They let it die. They refused to update it even with several promises of doing so. This site is constantly being bombarded with bots with no end in sight. Then it went offline for almost a whole month before anyone who manages it noticed. It's a terrible way of running things, and this is with several members saying they could help financially and on the tech side of things. It's sad, because there were a ton of memories here... but no fault of the posters here.
TBH, the complete lack of care was as bad, if not worse, than the site malfunction. It took BaselineBums.com like 90 minutes to achieve full season funding from members of the community and fundraiser was closed before most of us could even chip in, site is being configured and managed by members of the community and it's already way ahead in terms of looks and functionality.

People pitch in with suggestions and offers of every kind, and these are the same people who offered (almost desperately) financial and technical help for almost two years, discussed these issues and possible solutions here in the open for everyone to see (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=305094), wrote emails and PM'd to every person/account they knew of, every communication channel supposedly available with owners/admins they could think of, offered to buy the site or run it. You can now know for a fact everyone here meant every word they said, every offer they made, they just... were ghosted. Not a one liner reply, other than a random post every couple of year from an account that seems to speak for the owners but isn't backed by them through words or action, might as well assume it's a troll job for all we know. An updated platform can't undo any of that.

All in all, I'm grateful for all the years SpursTalk provided an awesome space for Spurs discussion but at this point I can only assume either timvp / KoriEllis don't own this site anymore or don't care / moved on. It was a free service, and no one is forced to provide a free service if they don't want to, the same way people can leave if they feel ghosted / neglected. Just wish things had been handled differently.