Now that the starting lineup has been decided, what should the bench unit be?

[Dex]

On Wednesday, Pop confirmed that the starting cast to begin the 2023-2024 season will be Sochan / Vassell / Johnson / Wemby / Collins. We will see how the Sochan PG experiment goes, and I'm a little surprised KJ is getting the nod over Tre Jones but I do think that Jones looks like a better fit coming off the bench.

That said, what do you think the bench unit will be and, more importantly, what would you like for it to be?

Personally, I think the relievers should be Jones / Branham / Osman / Barlow / Bassey.

Jones has natural point guard skills to run the second unit along with a blossoming offense. Branham is proving to be a polished scorer. Osman has impressed as a glue guy who plays hard and does a bit of everything, I think he is an easy upgrade over McDermott. Barlow has good length, a solid jumper, and has impressed in his limited time in preseason. Bassey is still raw but brings physicality and his athleticism seem to have returned following his knee injury last season.


Regarding Doug McD, he has looked slow and sloppy and I would prefer him to only be used in niche situations (basically break glass in case of emergency like Steve Kerr in 2003). Somehow, I feel like Pop is going to find a way to force him onto the floor though.

Wesley has shown flashes but still seems very raw and needs some work. Third string for him barring injuries. I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting some burn in Austin.

Champ looked like he was contending for a rotation spot in Summer League, and has erased that with what has frankly been a terrible performance in preseason. Will be interesting to see where he winds up.

Mamu brings a lot of interesting things to the table, but not sure really where he fits. Still, it's fun just to say MAMUUUUUUUU!



Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

[Dejounte]

Tre
Branham
Champ
Cedi
Bassey

[Mr. Body]

Tre
Branham
Champ
Cedi
Bassey

Yeah, pretty much. I believe Popovich wants to get Champagnie in for McBuckets, although Dougie Fresh will get a good amount of run early on and perhaps throughout the season. His movement is really attractive and Pop wants that from his wings.

I disagree with OP about Champ. We get fixated on whether shots go down. Sure, he's been way off but we need to account for what else he's been doing. My feeling is that he gets messy on defense at times but largely good, he's rebounding hard especially when we're needing it, and he recognizes how to be effective with drives when his shot isn't falling. He moves the ball around. He's not been terrible to me at all, just struggling.

[onechance87]

not giving up on champ... A 6,8 who can shoot 3s and a decent rebounder and still young at 22....Hopefully he gets out of this funk...
Because we gonna need shooters on this team....Would also like to see more of barlow get some playing time

[CGD]

My depth chart after the starters goes:

Tre
Branham
Cedi
Mamu
Bassey

[mudyez]

Well...everyone that doesn't start...and it will massively depend on what is needed at that given night.

Tre will for sure be one of the first guys...with Sochan switching to the wing or even inside.
Bassey might backup Zollins straight up.
And Branham will spark KJ and Vassell.

[duncan2150]

Tre, Malaki, Cedi and Bassey are locks. The last one is not evident. Will be between Doug and Julian imo.

Personnaly i like Dex's lineup Jones / Branham / Osman / Barlow / Bassey and i could go with that depends on the matchups.

[MultiTroll]

Regarding Doug McD, he has looked slow and sloppy and I would prefer him to only be used in niche situations (basically break glass in case of emergency like Steve Kerr in 2003). Somehow, I feel like Pop is going to find a way to force him onto the floor though.


Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
Like Timmy Duncs, Wemby will have to overcome incompetent strategy to obtain Chips. It's just how good he'll have to be. Like Duncan.
No doubt.

Also Kerr >>>>>>>>>> Pet McDoughie

[JPB]

Tre, Malaki, Cedi and Bassey are locks. The last one is not evident. Will be between Doug and Julian imo.



Tre, Malaki, Cedi, Doug, Bassey should be part of the main rotation but that lacks size and strengh so Pop should mix that with some Collins and Barlow. Champagnie should be Doug's back up and shouldn't expect too much valuable PT as long as McBuckets does the job. Julian really will have to knock down his first 3s if he wants to stay on the court, Pop certainly prioritizing Doug's experience and leadership.

[alex40214]

My guess is:
Bassey/Doug/Osman/Branham/Tre
Tre is gonna play big minutes as our sixth man.
Sochan would probably be playing major half of his mins at the 4. Doug / Osman / Branham would split the shoot and cutting wingman position
Barlow/Mamu would get their chances when Collins/Wemby sit out B2Bs

[The Truth #6]

I'm cool with either Champ or Cedi over Doug because they play better defense.

[KingKev]

Outside of Tre Jones and maybe Branham the entire bench will be battling for time as the season goes on. It’ll ebb and flow.

[Leetonidas]

I feel like Osman should start in place of Keldon so he can be the microwave off the bench. Osman has more versatility on O and Keldon looked invisible with the starters last night, albeit it's only been one game. Still, I think he'd be best utilized as an energy guy off the bench wreaking havoc against the other teams bench

[rankingtear]

Barlow should never play the 4 again. There are just a million people better than him at that spot.

[RC_Drunkford]

pretty sure it will be Tre Jones/Branham/McDermott/Osman/Bassey tbh.

McDermott probably gets shopped by the deadline so Champagnie can enter the regular rotation. Osman is expiring, so I could see Barlow play PF off the bench next season. He's still on a 2-way contract and can't play more than 50 games.

Also it's preseason, so I don't think McBuckets gives 100% in those games.

[Chinook]

I do hope Pop plays a nine- or 10-man rotation and not and not 11-plus. The main guys need minutes together, and there will likely be a fair amount of missed games to give the deep bench a chance to prove its worth.

[itzsoweezee]

I don’t think there’s any chance McD isn’t one of the first players off the bench. That’s not Pop’s MO.

[Mugen]

Tre/Branham/Cedi/Dom/Bassey w/ Champ getting some spot minutes here and there to see if he's shooting the 3 well.

Dom deserves a chance for meaningful mins and adds some good size to the bench unit.

Dougie will get his mins obv but i hope he can be packaged along with Graham for another difference maker before the deadline, especially if the Spurs are sniffing a play-in spot.

[Mugen]

On Wednesday, Pop confirmed that the starting cast to begin the 2023-2024 season will be Sochan / Vassell / Johnson / Wemby / Collins. We will see how the Sochan PG experiment goes, and I'm a little surprised KJ is getting the nod over Tre Jones but I do think that Jones looks like a better fit coming off the bench.

That said, what do you think the bench unit will be and, more importantly, what would you like for it to be?

Personally, I think the relievers should be Jones / Branham / Osman / Barlow / Bassey.

Jones has natural point guard skills to run the second unit along with a blossoming offense. Branham is proving to be a polished scorer. Osman has impressed as a glue guy who plays hard and does a bit of everything, I think he is an easy upgrade over McDermott. Barlow has good length, a solid jumper, and has impressed in his limited time in preseason. Bassey is still raw but brings physicality and his athleticism seem to have returned following his knee injury last season.


Regarding Doug McD, he has looked slow and sloppy and I would prefer him to only be used in niche situations (basically break glass in case of emergency like Steve Kerr in 2003). Somehow, I feel like Pop is going to find a way to force him onto the floor though.
Wesley has shown flashes but still seems very raw and needs some work. Third string for him barring injuries. I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting some burn in Austin.
Champ looked like he was contending for a rotation spot in Summer League, and has erased that with what has frankly been a terrible performance in preseason. Will be interesting to see where he winds up.
Mamu brings a lot of interesting things to the table, but not sure really where he fits. Still, it's fun just to say MAMUUUUUUUU!


Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Same page, Dex. Same page. Dirty Dom should get minutes.

[Spurs Homer]

Don't care - and as soon as injuries happen it wont matter much anyway...

[Dex]

Also Kerr >>>>>>>>>> Pet McDoughie

Not trying to compare in terms of talent, just usage. Kerr is obviously far superior as a 5-time champion.

I'd be fine with McD coming in if the Spurs need a last second three or if half the team falls off a cliff, but I don't want him to be our next Bryn Forbes soaking up disappointing minutes.

[couchman]

I expect Tre and Branham to be the first two guys off the bench.
Cedi and Bassey are after that.

Julian, McB and Barlow are capable of earning minutes ahead of Cedi or Bassey
Everyone else is deep bench, although Blake may get PT just because we need to make decisions about him.

[PrimeMinister]

willing to give him a little bit of slack because he's a seasoned vet and its preseason but looking at the roster doug feels like a vestige from a previous era

there's a role for him as a floor spacer but with his defensive shortcomings and status as an expiring contract I think you try to play him situationally and move on at the deadline depending on how the team as a whole looks at that point

agree with couch, tre and malaki are your first guys off the bench. One of Bassey or Collins is going to be on the floor for the bulk of the minutes. so really the big question going in is how do the minutes at that 3/4 spot shake out. Do we lean on the veteran Doug as the first guy at that position or let Cedi build on what he's shown in camp and preseason. Barlow is also going to be head and shoulders above the competition in the Gleague so I expect he forces the issue of getting a real contract and role with the real team.

[CGD]

I expect Tre and Branham to be the first two guys off the bench.
Cedi and Bassey are after that.

Julian, McB and Barlow are capable of earning minutes ahead of Cedi or Bassey
Everyone else is deep bench, although Blake may get PT just because we need to make decisions about him.

Depends on the big man rotations. Could be Bassey is first or second off, unless they slide Sochan to the 4 once Tre enters the game.

[spurraider21]

as long as we stagger the minutes of the starters it should be fine. but if pop wants to do his hockey shift changes then imo one of collins or keldon should move to the bench

[spurs10]

I'm still uncertain about the bench as Barlow and Mamu look pretty good out there. Yes on Tre, Malaki, Osman, Bassey.

[TD 21]

The current unit makes sense, with Champagnie pushing Osman for minutes. At some point, if the former shows more of the promise he had prior to preseason, they need to bench/trade either McDermott or Osman to make permanent room (unless injury has already done so).


Barlow should never play the 4 again. There are just a million people better than him at that spot.

Yeah, anyone thinking he is or should be a viable candidate alongside Bassey is out to lunch.

[Raven]

whoever can make a bucket.

[PrimeMinister]

motherfucker who on this roster has barlows length and shooting touch at the 4 position aside from the alien

[sfernald]

So can I talk about the starting lineup on this thread too?

I absolutely love it! Making Sochan PG is making the best of a shit situation, but lets give him 20 games and see how he does. I noticed things were a bit better even in just the last game, so there's a chance he gets good fast.

Also, I love the defensive mismatches it creates. Spurs are really tall good defenders. I like that.

Hopefully we get out to a good start. Has anyone looked at their first 10 games? I mean it's looking really rough to start, mostly playoff teams. But I'm really hoping they can surprise some teams and go 5-5 to start!

[BillMc]

SO Blake is going to be in the G-League a lot this season? He seems off most rotations here?

[John B]

Tre/Wesley
Brahnam/Graham
Champagnie/McD
Cedi/Mamu
Bassey/Barlow

I expect McD and Graham getting showcased for possible SRP’s come trade deadline

And agree Wesley will see some Austin duties as much

[RC_Drunkford]

Tre/Wesley
Brahnam/Graham
Champagnie/McD
Cedi/Mamu
Bassey/Barlow

I expect McD and Barlow getting showcased for possible SRP’s come trade deadline

And agree Wesley will see some Austin duties as much

no way the Spurs are trading Barlow for a 2nd rounder. They will try to lock him up on a cheap long term deal like Champ and Bassey

[John B]

no way the Spurs are trading Barlow for a 2nd rounder. They will try to lock him up on a cheap long term deal like Champ and Bassey

Sorry I meant Graham :lol:lol. Typing on cellphone at late night :lol:sleep

[jjspur]

Tre/Wesley
Brahnam/Graham
Champagnie/McD
Cedi/Mamu
Bassey/Barlow

I expect McD and Barlow getting showcased for possible SRP’s come trade deadline

And agree Wesley will see some Austin duties as much

Agree, McNuggets was probably signed as a stopgap so its a good possibility he gets traded for 2 2nd round picks (which we don't exactly need) at the trade deadline. Barlow has progressed nicely and probably worth a 2nd rounder now that he shows some real promise, although I don't think the spurs would want to trade him. They'll try to resign him much like they did Champ. Unless Wesley gets reasonably better real soon , I don't expect his contract to be picked up for next year.

[John B]

Agree, McNuggets was probably signed as a stopgap so its a good possibility he gets traded for 2 2nd round picks (which we don't exactly need) at the trade deadline. Barlow has progressed nicely and probably worth a 2nd rounder now that he shows some real promise, although I don't think the spurs would want to trade him. They'll try to resign him much like they did Champ. Unless Wesley gets reasonably better real soon , I don't expect his contract to be picked up for next year.

Nah I meant Graham not Barlow. I wouldn’t want Spurs to trade Barlow. He is progressing very well.