Grades: Spurs vs. Blazers - Jan. 26, 2024

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/2024-spurs-blazers-grades-45/

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

When your rookie gets you 23 and 12, while shutting down attacking the rim by his mere presence and gets a B- lol

Not saying it’s wrong , just pointing out he’s already being evaluated on the superstar scale only half a season in. Love it.

[baseline bum]

https://www.spurstalk.com/2024-spurs-blazers-grades-45/

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?

[Dhbsr555]

When your rookie gets you 23 and 12, while shutting down attacking the rim by his mere presence and gets a B- lol

Not saying it’s wrong , just pointing out he’s already being evaluated on the superstar scale only half a season in. Love it.

yep the expectations are nuts

[tbdog]

Collins looks beaten up. The 82 season grind is getting to him.

[John B]

Thanks Timvp. Is Wemby off minutes-restriction with 29 mins tonight? I thought Wemby got more blocks tbh. But also he needs to clean those 7 TO’s. A lot of it is just getting NBA stronger and not easily getting stripped in traffic, or getting pushed off position, more familiarity with plays and with teammates. There was that play when Vassell dribble penetration and Wemby was on the same lane. I’m sure the coaching staff are taking notes and showing films with Wemby.

I like the aggressiveness of Sochan. He is attacking the basket more, dribble penetration. His 3-ball is fast becoming reliable ala Bruce. His handling, defense, good stuff.

Blake is one of my favorite players. Too bad for Malaki, but Blake’s tenacious defense is earning him minutes. His speed and explosiveness is pushing his defender on their toes. His dribble penetration and kicking to an open guy. I wish he made those two layups. I will continue rooting this kid. If he could learn lob-passes to Wemby and consistent shooting, he could be Spur’s starting PG. Already he’s the Spurs best on POA defender.

[Dejounte]

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?

Don’t They Have To Let Go Someone Since Their 15 Man Roster Is Full?

[Dex]

Would love to see Mamu get a chance, if only to try to light a fire under Collins' ass. Zach has seemingly been regressing over the course of the season, and looks even worse coming back from injury.

For a guy known for this "toughness", he gets bullied in the paint an awful lot and has to resort to fouling instead of playing stout defense.

And 29% shooting from three on 3.4 attempts per game, ugh....I just cover my eyes when he starts to rise up. Mamu seriously couldn't be much worse.

[Das Texan]

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?

the worse part is that at least Charles Smith was a legit viable player at one time before it all fell apart.


Collins was a marginal player and we are where we are.


Still not a situation that one wants to remember!

[Mugen]

Free Dom, Freedom tbh.

[Das Texan]

Might be time for Collins to suffer some type of injury (real or made up) to get him off the court.

[Mugen]

Would love to see Mamu get a chance, if only to try to light a fire under Collins' ass. Zach has seemingly been regressing over the course of the season, and looks even worse coming back from injury.

For a guy known for this "toughness", he gets bullied in the paint an awful lot and has to resort to fouling instead of playing stout defense.

And 29% shooting from three on 3.4 attempts per game, ugh....I just cover my eyes when he starts to rise up. Mamu seriously couldn't be much worse.

Don't even need to make the jump to Mamu, Barlow looked like a much better backup C when Collins was out tbh.

[spurraider21]

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?
The exception just gives cap relief, not a roster spot

[rjv]

Collins had one nice assist and that’s all. He’s just so bad right now. Nice to see Keldon bounce back from that awful OKC outing.

[BacktoBasics]

You can see some of the benefits from the experiment with Sochan emerging.

I like what I see from Blake, the way he moves around the court is so much better than last year. I think finishing around the rim is something that is likely to improve as the season goes on. He's earning those minutes.

[DPG21920]

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?

It’s circumstances. It’s not a terrible deal and he’s not a terrible player but moving Wemby to Center and him being all nba level so fast at Center hurts Collins.

Way too much money now for a back up Center that can’t shift positions and play next to Wemby. He needs to be moved to a team that needs big man help and that money spent else where for Sa

[DPG21920]

Funny how development and natural physical abilities happen.

Before this season it looked like Branham was a more sure thing to blossom and that Blake was written off as a bust. Fast forward and Branham looks like he should not be in the nba and Wesley development is starting to match his physical abilities more.

Funny thing ain’t it

[BackHome]

Collins is on a 2 year deal made with for us tanking for this year and next year. I don’t care about a backup Center more concerned with getting a starting PG and a SF. I am confident that will get our stating PG or SF with this draft and next draft is really looking good for SG and SF

[Seventyniner]

Funny how development and natural physical abilities happen.

Before this season it looked like Branham was a more sure thing to blossom and that Blake was written off as a bust. Fast forward and Branham looks like he should not be in the nba and Wesley development is starting to match his physical abilities more.

Funny thing ain’t it

And it's possible that by next year both will look like real NBA players. If Wesley can improve so much from last season to this season, why can't Branham from now to next season?

I'm not saying that Branham necessarily will be a rotation level player in the future, just that it's too soon to write him off completely. He's still on a cheap rookie deal so cutting him doesn't make sense.

[DPG21920]

And it's possible that by next year both will look like real NBA players. If Wesley can improve so much from last season to this season, why can't Branham from now to next season?

I'm not saying that Branham necessarily will be a rotation level player in the future, just that it's too soon to write him off completely. He's still on a cheap rookie deal so cutting him doesn't make sense.

Agree. It wasn’t a knock on Branham as much as it was a commentary on how development is a spectrum and things can change fast even though fans get impatient etc.

But also things may move fast with Wemby and trying to win soon so may not have long leash on development tails to see it all through.

[Mr. Body]

This may blow some minds, but Branham is still developing.

[get_mills_out]

psst

hey kid

the spurs are clearly better when Sochan takes the reigns as the 2nd option rather than waiting around to see if Vassell has it that night

[Tyronn Lue]

Might be time for Collins to suffer some type of injury (real or made up) to get him off the court.
Can someone get a pic of him with a gun?

[Ariel]

That Collins contract is looking so awful right now, like late 1990s Charles Smith level bad. Can't they upgrade Barlow from a two-way to a full contract and make him the full time backup 5 using the exception they got from Bassey's injury?
It's not that bad. For starters, he can't be traded until the offseason. Then it's 2 more years, the first one we'll have to swallow, but then he becomes expiring and for sure the Spurs will have to do some consolidation trade of sorts by then, if he rehabilitates his value it won't be hard to trade, and even if he doesn't he'll be salary ballast. 3+ years it would have been much, much worse.
As for Barlow, my guess is there will be trades coming (McDermott, Osman, Graham) and if we get back one expiring vet who can be useful to some other team, he'll be bought out (like Bullock and Payne) and that roster spot will be used to give Barlow a Champagnie style contract, probably slightly more guaranteed.

[Ariel]

This may blow some minds, but Branham is still developing.
Sure, but at this point he's looking the least improved of the 2022 draft class (Sochan, Wesley, Barlow and him). At the very least I was expecting improvements in 3 point shooting and playmaking, and he hasn't done much at all. If he still hasn't shown improvements by this time next year, he probably gets moved as sallary ballast in a larger trade, the Spurs have plenty of incoming picks and you should be able to show SOME improvement by year 3 (not saying finished product, but progress like Wesley, who has addressed a lot of the issues that made him unplayable -playing out of control, turnovers, shot selection, etc)

[Mr. Body]

Sure, but at this point he's looking the least improved of the 2022 draft class (Sochan, Wesley, Barlow and him). At the very least I was expecting improvements in 3 point shooting and playmaking, and he hasn't done much at all. If he still hasn't shown improvements by this time next year, he probably gets moved as sallary ballast in a larger trade, the Spurs have plenty of incoming picks and you should be able to show SOME improvement by year 3 (not saying finished product, but progress like Wesley, who has addressed a lot of the issues that made him unplayable -playing out of control, turnovers, shot selection, etc)

Don't take this the wrong way, and I mean this very general for this board especially, but you guys are blithering idiots.

[Mr. Body]

This is the thought process of SpursTalk:

1. Blake Wesley is awful. Cut him immediately, make room for Cam Payne. He's a joke. Get rid of him for nothing.

2. Blake Wesley is pretty good, wow, who could have imagined he's really improved.

3. Malaki Branham is awful. Cut him immediately, trade him for nothing. He's a joke.

Does this shit make sense to anybody? I truly think ST is filled with some of the stupidest people on the planet, or maybe rationality and logic has completely disappeared from American life, I dunno.

[Spurminator]

Maybe it's because you're taking select opinions from a variety of individuals and positioning them as though they are contradictory opinions given by a single person.

[Ariel]

Don't take this the wrong way, and I mean this very general for this board especially, but you guys are blithering idiots.

This is the thought process of SpursTalk:

1. Blake Wesley is awful. Cut him immediately, make room for Cam Payne. He's a joke. Get rid of him for nothing.

2. Blake Wesley is pretty good, wow, who could have imagined he's really improved.

3. Malaki Branham is awful. Cut him immediately, trade him for nothing. He's a joke.

Does this shit make sense to anybody? I truly think ST is filled with some of the stupidest people on the planet, or maybe rationality and logic has completely disappeared from American life, I dunno.
Spurminator beat me to it:

Maybe it's because you're taking select opinions from a variety of individuals and positioning them as though they are contradictory opinions given by a single person.
This is exactly what happens. I don't know if he has memory issues that he conflates everyone's opinion, but there's a pattern of attributing to everyone else what some said. I was never in the camp of dumping any of these guys or not picking up their 3rd year option (there was a thread to that effect in the offseason but I can't find it because using the search feature returns en error), yet somehow I'm supposed to be accountable for what somebody else said? :lol

[z0sa]

psst

hey kid

the spurs are clearly better when Sochan takes the reigns as the 2nd option rather than waiting around to see if Vassell has it that night

I actually noticed this during the Bucks (?) game, IIRC. It was like Manu and Timmy, only Wemby with Sochan handling -- and it actually looked half-decent. It was only like 1-2 plays I think, but I really liked the vibe.

Sochan has definite upside if he ain't forced into PG and/or is playing with a real PG. He's gotta quicken up his 3 point release, but he's got years to improve.

[spurs10]

Thanks for the grades. Great night for Sochan and KJ. Wasn't always pretty with Wemby, but he got it done. I hope Zach plays better tonight and works harder.

GSG!

[KobesAchilles]

The problem with guys like Branham and those who are critical of the criticism is that we have a boatload of FRPs coming up. So Branham himself isn’t in a position where he can develop nice and slow. Him and Wesley need to pick up the pace or else they might not get any playing time going forward.

For instance if this summer we draft Dilly (Topic, whomever at point) and then get Risacher then when are they going to find playing time? Especially if we sign some vets coming up. So we don’t have to cut them but their window to showcase any opportunity has a natural closing time

[baseline bum]

It's not that bad. For starters, he can't be traded until the offseason. Then it's 2 more years, the first one we'll have to swallow, but then he becomes expiring and for sure the Spurs will have to do some consolidation trade of sorts by then, if he rehabilitates his value it won't be hard to trade, and even if he doesn't he'll be salary ballast. 3+ years it would have been much, much worse.
As for Barlow, my guess is there will be trades coming (McDermott, Osman, Graham) and if we get back one expiring vet who can be useful to some other team, he'll be bought out (like Bullock and Payne) and that roster spot will be used to give Barlow a Champagnie style contract, probably slightly more guaranteed.

It's bad because it costs the Spurs cap space in 2025. Costs it in 2024 too but that's a garbage FA class anyways with Anunoby and Quickley gone.

[baseline bum]

Funny how development and natural physical abilities happen.

Before this season it looked like Branham was a more sure thing to blossom and that Blake was written off as a bust. Fast forward and Branham looks like he should not be in the nba and Wesley development is starting to match his physical abilities more.

Funny thing ain’t it

Wesley is still pretty bad but he's infinitely better than Branham since he plays defense while Branham's defensive game is a perfect match for his trash offensive game.

[Ariel]

It's bad because it costs the Spurs cap space in 2025. Costs it in 2024 too but that's a garbage FA class anyways with Anunoby and Quickley gone.
No one is saying it isn't bad, I'm saying it isn't THAT bad. This offseason his salary slot wouldn't be used in free agency, next offseason is more realistic but by then the Spurs will have almost 2 max slots available even with Collins ('22 rookie class extensions would kick in in '26) and in any case he'd be an expiring at about MLE, worst case scenario you can probably move him with 3 2nd round picks. We've seen far worse than this.

[tbdog]

Wesley is still pretty bad but he's infinitely better than Branham since he plays defense while Branham's defensive game is a perfect match for his trash offensive game.

It's interesting that ST were ready to waive Wesley and now the sides have switched. Brehnam last 20 or so games in the 2023 season was much better than Wesley has shown. But it is concerning that brehnam has regressed.