9 Thoughts After the Harrison Barnes Trade

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/harrison-barnes-spurs-trade-thoughts/

[DAF86]

Might as well go all in and get Markkanen too. (add Branham/Wesley on the move).

CP3, Vassell, Sochan, Markkanen, Wemby

Tre, Castle, Champagnie, Barnes, Collins

[LeBowen]

Good article.
I personally wanted Barnes for months now, he's a perfect wing veteran.

As someone said somewhere, I lost track :spin, the most important thing is that Barnes is a fundamentally good defender and knows how to defend, even if he lost a step.
All he needs to do is not get completely cooked and force players towards Wemby. Very few wings look good defensively with Sabonis behind them "protecting" the rim.

I'll stay optimistic when it comes to his offense because Kings had a lot of mouths to feed, with him and Huerter sharing the 5th/6th option role.
I never take it against players when they dissapear from a game if they're just doing cardio for 5 minutes and are then expected to take a shot. Got to share the ball and keep everyone involved.

Four starters look to be set. CP3, Devin, Barnes and Wemby.
That's four positive floor spacers and hopefully four at least neutral defenders, I think two veterans will find it easy enough to not get torched with Wemby in the paint.
Three players can create for themselves and others.
Then it's between two bad shooters. Jeremy probably gets the advantage early in the season, even though I'd like to see Castle start.
Either way, one of them should be be the POA defender.

Most important thing is that the lineup and rotation is starting to look functional.

CP3/Tre should be mutually exclusive.
Devin/Branham should be the same, Branham needs to earn more minutes, he's lucky he'll get another chance.

Then we have Jeremy, Barnes, Keldon, Castle and maybe Champagnie if he survives the cut for two forward positions.
Any combination except Jeremy and Castle together works.
Castle should also get some minutes at point when CP3 sits.

Collins remains the biggest concern. I'm still hopeful we can move him for someone who's not a traffic cone. Anyone.

I really like the veteran role player additions and other than taking a flyer on someone, I'm fine with the perimeter rotation being as it is...while we wait for Markkanen situation to unfold.
More role players wouldn't bring us much, we just need young guys to take a leap.

Hopefully Castle will be ready to play the point before the deadline so one of CP3/Tre gets moved, we don't need two point guards on expiring deals.

[heyheymymy]

Can't help but wonder if the money and role seem quite similar to Keldon Johnson

Both shooting SF/PF types

KJ $19, $17.5, $17.5

HB: $19.8, $20.8, UFA

So you get the third year trimmed off Keldon and replace him with another mentor role who probably matches the shooting from 3 and now is 6'8 like we always wished 6'5 Keldon was. I like KJ and hope he stays. He's good cheap scoring that seems willing to accept a bench role. KJ and Barnes certainly fit if you kept both especially as SA likely will play Barnes at PF but can't help but wonder if this trade is duplicating KJ somewhat to move on or trade away. Barnes would be a good interim stopgap in the parting ways with KJ if so.

Would not be surprised if Spurs were done with moves and this is it. Pretty pleased so far with the two vets and a brilliant rookie plus whatever progression we get in house. Not expecting much but that August Markkanen deadline looms and could spark additional moves that this may be positioning for. Works out both ways so the flexibility is there.

[Dejounte]

This is as good as it gets if the goal of the offseason was to add good vets and talented youth, IMO. They can take this a step further and turn the offseason grade from A to A+++ if they make that one move for a player whose name starts with an L…

[heyheymymy]

I think Barnes has always seemed a little disinterested and half effort. Especially at SAC where he seemed pretty burned out.

Wonder what a change of scenery and locker room culture might do but I'm not expecting much. Bring back Patty for the coffee crew bonding sesh lol

[heyheymymy]

Yeah super thrilled with the offseason so far! Nice work SAS FO

FAs CP3 and Barnes plus first round rookie Castle is a really exciting group onboarding. Was pretty surprised to see after last summers Bullock tier moves lol

[LeBowen]

I think Barnes has always seemed a little disinterested and half effort. Especially at SAC where he seemed pretty burned out.

Wonder what a change of scenery and locker room culture might do but I'm not expecting much. Bring back Patty for the coffee crew bonding sesh lol

Imo, best case scenario would be that he finds a lifeline here and decides to fully commit to being a long-term veteran contributor.
Let's hope he becomes a Finley and not a Richard Jefferson.
32 isn't old for someone as healthy as him, he could take cheap deals after this one ends and stay here for like 5 seasons in hope to win a ring or two.
Not likely to happen, but still. A lot of players had late resurgences in good enviroments.


This is as good as it gets if the goal of the offseason was to add good vets and talented youth, IMO. They can take this a step further and turn the offseason grade from A to A+++ if they make that one move for a player whose name starts with an L…

The most intruging thing for me is CP3/Tre situation.
Last night we saw Castle is surely going to be a point guard. If not right away, then very soon.

If we're at around .500 at the deadline, does CP3 stay? What are their plans with Tre? Would be dumb to let him walk and get nothing in return, but I can see CP3 playing for two more years and if Spurs are doing well, he'll probably want to stay.
Keldon will surely be moved when a big trade happens, same goes for Collins without saying.
Jeremy needs to take a big leap and show everyone he can actually be something more than a glue guy on a playoff roster.

I don't have any hope for Branham and Wesley, I'd rather get rid of Wesley than Champagnie.

[Dejounte]

Yes, Keldon needs to go. I’d rather let go Branham and/or Wesley before we let go Tre because of Tre’s value as a leader on the team though. But if Tre is the one player an opposing GM wants to finalize a trade, by all means, go for it.

We finally have a player who can create his own shot in Castle. That’s an easy jersey purchase for me, tbh. A player with a superior handle with an ability to draw fouls in the paint AND having elite vision… man, the Spurs did it. They found their #2.

[Uriel]

Barnes, who recently turned 32, is a good fit on the court for the Spurs. He’s a combo forward who shoots well from three-point range, rarely turns the ball over, doesn’t need a lot of touches and has become a very efficient player in recent years.
The Spurs got Risacher after all. :lol


I know that a number of Spurs fans are still upset about trading the No. 8 pick but this trade couldn’t have happened without the extra cap room generated by trading that pick.
Hey timvp (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8), did you ever get intel on who the Spurs intended to select at #8 had Minnesota not come calling?

[heyheymymy]

Love the Finley similarities good call. Also agree with this range of Horry to Rudy Gay. Could totally see similar results and buy in assimilation into the team. Lol def walks the fine line between Fin and HWSNBN

This move has tons of potential and classic low key Spurs style. Spurs have done well on some of these reclaim projects and if you can dust off the cobwebs and get the engine running again you got a value. He's only 32 and has a low impact outside shooting skill. I was hoping to get Batum this offseason and was disappointed to see him go to LAC. This is along those same lines and really fits that PF gap in the roster favorably.

[heyheymymy]

Also agree SA has a PG problem. They ran Castle as the PG last night in SAC SL. He's going to be the PG. I think we are wrong to put him at SF in threads although I bet he does play there some mins or situationally at SF and SG surely.

I'm just guessing that Castle is going to play primarily PG and start there asap. Pop may initially bring Castle off the bench but I bet he starts as soon as they can get away with it if not day 1. So what do you do cause Jones is kinda non shooting and I think Castle will shoot better than expected and learn fast but might not want to mix those so you are either pairing Castle offball with Paul at point with Jones off the bench or pushing Paul or Jones to third string PG which is absurdly wasteful of skill unless Paul has some staggering physical decline and really is more mentor than player?

Maybe we are overestimating Paul starting and it's Castle with Jones off the bench and Paul towel waving and time out teaching or getting only 10min and a heating pad? Or maybe Jones is being traded hence the move for Paul in preparation just like Barnes is in preparation to possibly move Keldon Johnson?

This is all not to mention Blake Wesley, also presumably at PG, just barely though. 3-4 PG may be too much, especially if you want to run the ball through Wemby too. Anyway not expecting much but interesting new personnel either way.

[SpursBills]

Also agree SA has a PG problem. They ran Castle as the PG last night in SAC SL. He's going to be the PG. I think we are wrong to put him at SF in threads although I bet he does play there some mins or situationally at SF and SG surely.

I'm just guessing that Castle is going to play primarily PG and start there asap. Pop may initially bring Castle off the bench but I bet he starts as soon as they can get away with it if not day 1. So what do you do cause Jones is kinda non shooting and I think Castle will shoot better than expected and learn fast but might not want to mix those so you are either pairing Castle offball with Paul at point with Jones off the bench or pushing Paul or Jones to third string PG which is absurdly wasteful of skill unless Paul has some staggering physical decline and really is more mentor than player?

Maybe we are overestimating Paul starting and it's Castle with Jones off the bench and Paul towel waving and time out teaching or getting only 10min and a heating pad? Or maybe Jones is being traded hence the move for Paul in preparation just like Barnes is in preparation to possibly move Keldon Johnson?

This is all not to mention Blake Wesley, also presumably at PG, just barely though. 3-4 PG may be too much, especially if you want to run the ball through Wemby too. Anyway not expecting much but interesting new personnel either way.

I think this hinges on a couple of things

1. What exactly was the agreement that Paul made with the front office? Because Paul has usually started off every season pretty strong and then faded down the stretch due to some injury or another. His ultimate goal is to ring chase. He knows he's only got maybe 1-2 years left. This is a bit of conspiracy theory here, but I do wonder if his goal is just to essentially take the first half of the season mostly off and play nominal minutes to preserve his body, then get traded to the contender of his choice at the trade deadline for the playoff push while he's still fresh. It's not a bad gig for him, get paid 11 million to teach some kids for the first part of the season, get a chance to observe the NBA landscape, and get traded wherever you want to give yourself the best chance at a ring while you're still fresh.

2. How much do our non-shooters improve their shooting? I don't think Sochan's going to improve too much this next year, but there's a lot more hope for Tre. He shot >40% on 2.5 3s once he became a starter last year (40+ game sample size) before hitting a slump in April.

3. Does the asking price for Lauri come down? I don't see the Spurs trading for him given how much Ainge wants, but if they did that would change things dramatically.

[CGD]

Wonderful move.

I do wonder what the Spurs are thinking about Tre and Keldon after these moves. If I’m Tre fighting for another contract (and seeing my bro hasn’t been signed yet), im not too happy about being buried on the bench. And Keldon’s role becomes even murkier.

I would hate to lose Champagne as part of this.

[heyheymymy]

Good call on Paul maybe starting off slow. I could possibly see that. Pop did make an offer to him and it sounded like the setup was proposed in a way that was enticing to Paul. Will be interesting to see how it goes. Paul really did look like he's close to calling it quits last season and he is like 39. Kinda wondering what to expect there and ready for anything but have said before I bet he surprises us a least a few times with an old school performance.

[exstatic]

Can't help but wonder if the money and role seem quite similar to Keldon Johnson

Both shooting SF/PF types

KJ $19, $17.5, $17.5

HB: $19.8, $20.8, UFA

So you get the third year trimmed off Keldon and replace him with another mentor role who probably matches the shooting from 3 and now is 6'8 like we always wished 6'5 Keldon was. I like KJ and hope he stays. He's good cheap scoring that seems willing to accept a bench role. KJ and Barnes certainly fit if you kept both especially as SA likely will play Barnes at PF but can't help but wonder if this trade is duplicating KJ somewhat to move on or trade away. Barnes would be a good interim stopgap in the parting ways with KJ if so.

Would not be surprised if Spurs were done with moves and this is it. Pretty pleased so far with the two vets and a brilliant rookie plus whatever progression we get in house. Not expecting much but that August Markkanen deadline looms and could spark additional moves that this may be positioning for. Works out both ways so the flexibility is there.

I think this is it, at least until the LM extension is resolved, one way or another. That’s like one month away. That shouldn’t drag out, as I think he has one day to extend if he wants to be trade eligible in February. If he doesn’t extend, his price will drop like a rock as the deadline approaches.

[baseline bum]

Yes, Keldon needs to go. I’d rather let go Branham and/or Wesley before we let go Tre because of Tre’s value as a leader on the team though. But if Tre is the one player an opposing GM wants to finalize a trade, by all means, go for it.

We finally have a player who can create his own shot in Castle. That’s an easy jersey purchase for me, tbh. A player with a superior handle with an ability to draw fouls in the paint AND having elite vision… man, the Spurs did it. They found their #2.

I ain't shipping Keldon out just to move him though, as that closes the door on a Markannen trade. Really hope they can just pawn Branham off on someone without giving up assets.

[jeebus]

Hey timvp (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8), did you ever get intel on who the Spurs intended to select at #8 had Minnesota not come calling?

I think they would've taken any kind of trade rather than draft someone from that group of turds.

[Pauleta14]

Might as well go all in and get Markkanen too. (add Branham/Wesley on the move).

CP3, Vassell, Sochan, Markkanen, Wemby

Tre, Castle, Champagnie, Barnes, Collins

Sochan needs to start the season on the bench and win his spot.

Not to punish him but we need to know what he's made of and it's the last season to see if he can become reliable.

[exstatic]

Sochan needs to start the season on the bench and win his spot.

Not to punish him but we need to know what he's made of and it's the last season to see if he can become reliable.

Not cool to bench him for a rookie, then.

[FireMicoHalili]

but but Dillingham :(

[Splits]

https://i.ibb.co/hLfwhW4/image.png

C'mon, please be honest about this. The pissed-off-edness isn't that we didn't take the 8 pick or Dilly, it's that we gave it away for 7 year garbage. We could have gotten much better.

[Ice009]

1. What exactly was the agreement that Paul made with the front office? Because Paul has usually started off every season pretty strong and then faded down the stretch due to some injury or another.

I have a bit of a theory about this, but I don't want to start any shit up. I remember reading a few years ago that he changed to a vegan diet (I don't know if he's changed back since then, hopefully he has). I had some arguments here with people that said I don't know what I'm talking about (I never said I'm an expert or anything, but due to my own health, I've learned a lot about nutrition the past few years), but I was pretty much saying he'd fade and fall apart if he continued on with that. He started off that season great, but then sure enough, towards the end of that season and in the playoffs, he fell apart. Not sure who was giving him nutritional advice, I feel they did him a massive disservice.

Also, like you said, I'm very interested to know what the agreement was like you've mentioned. Is he here to mentor for the whole season, or is it possible that he's traded to a contender if there is someone he likes and they want him. It's very interesting what the pitch to him was. I like the signing and feel it was a great move.

[Spurs Homer]

This is as good as it gets if the goal of the offseason was to add good vets and talented youth, IMO. They can take this a step further and turn the offseason grade from A to A+++ if they make that one move for a player whose name starts with an L…


:pop:"I'm way ahead of you buddy, I put in a call to LaMarcus last week!"

[John B]

It’s turning to be an exciting Summer with all the moves. But first, many were dismayed with the 8th pick getting traded for a pick and swap 7 years from now?? But I remember RC with that giddy smile prior to Brian making that call. Something was up. And now some two weeks later. Spurs drafted possibly the best player in this draft, secured the services of the Point-God, got another caliber vet Harrison Barnes in a position of need, got two more unprotected FRP’s, and two unprotected swaps at the time when Wemby will be at his prime. You know when CP3 got convinced by no other than Pop to sign up, something was up. CP3 wouldn’t be spending his few years in a losing team. I predicted the Spurs getting in the playoffs (of course I get the usual naysayers). I think they still have some more magic left on their sleeves, maybe a Markkanen that should seal a perfect Summer move?

By the way, all these moves and Spurs still haven’t relinquished the Atlanta picks, particularly the heavy 2025. And diminutive Trae is not a Spur. It’s already a Win for me. But we could get greedy and finish with a home run. Brook Lopez and Markkanen next? :lol

[Ice009]

I really like the signings so far. Really need some good vets on the team and the Spurs got two great ones. CP3 has really shined in a mentor role, and I hope he can not only do that here, but also play great at the same time. I didn't know Harrison Barnes was so highly regarded as a person and teammate, so that is great too.

[FireMicoHalili]

https://i.ibb.co/hLfwhW4/image.png

C'mon, please be honest about this. The pissed-off-edness isn't that we didn't take the 8 pick or Dilly, it's that we gave it away for 7 year garbage. We could have gotten much better.
how do you know either asset is garbage? Did you have any other ideas? Did you know the options they had? Part of the trade calls, maybe?

[exstatic]

https://i.ibb.co/hLfwhW4/image.png

C'mon, please be honest about this. The pissed-off-edness isn't that we didn't take the 8 pick or Dilly, it's that we gave it away for 7 year garbage. We could have gotten much better.

An unprotected pick and a #1 protected swap aren’t garbage, especially not from a historically bad franchise. That swap also gives us a best of 3 option in 2030.

[Dex]

Honestly, I'm just glad the Spurs are doing SOMETHING.

The combination of Paul and Barnes isn't going to launch us into the contender category, but it's better than the front office sitting on their hands and sticking with the "we like what we have" mantra.

Still prayingdog.jpg for a Lauri deal, but that would seem too good to be true.

[Chinook]

I mean, we should all just accept the Dillingham trade happened and move on, but the Spurs didn't need that trade to occur to do this trade. The only reason why they did this trade with cap space is because they created so much space (likely in an attempt to acquire Paul before he was waived) in the first place. Now knowing the major moves, it would have been to efficient to have stayed over the cap, drafted 4 and 8, and guaranteed Graham. Then, they could've paid a team the three or four seconds required to take Graham's contract and wrapped that trade up into this deal to take the difference via a trade exception rather than needing to get rid of the deep bench because Barnes didn't agree to give up his trade kicker. Then sign Paul via the MLE and re-sign/retain any of the deep bench you want.

If you want to say this is a decent salvage job, I think that's fine. But this was not a well managed off-season. Even if the Spurs valued the future draft capital over 8, they still should've stayed over the cap. It seems pretty clear to me that what we've seen since the moratorium began was basically a massive pivot from missing out one their primary trade target. Shit happens, and you always need a pivot. But if their target was Paul, it's telling that they were clearing space to take him on at $30 Million when the rest of the league valued him at under the MLE.

I don't hate the acquisition at all, but I don't love the trade. The pick swap is fine (and how one should get such an asset rather than by trading a top-10 pick), but given what the trade will likely cost, there were possibly other pivot trades the team could've made like Lopez and Connaughton for Collins that could net a similar asset while leaving a lot of room under the cap for the deep bench.

[Ginobili2Duncan]

The Spurs made out like bandits filling their hole at combo forward and getting that unprotected swap just by getting rid of Graham for a second round pick. They now have four unprotected FRP/swaps in the 2030’s when they should be contenders. Excellent moves by the FO.

[AFBlue]

No downside to this move. Great veteran pickup that creates competition with the young guys on the wing and steadies the locker room. The second year of this deal doesn't concern me because it's not untradable if the right deal comes along.

[Dejounte]

I mean, we should all just accept the Dillingham trade happened and move on, but the Spurs didn't need that trade to occur to do this trade. The only reason why they did this trade with cap space is because they created so much space (likely in an attempt to acquire Paul before he was waived) in the first place. Now knowing the major moves, it would have been to efficient to have stayed over the cap, drafted 4 and 8, and guaranteed Graham. Then, they could've paid a team the three or four seconds required to take Graham's contract and wrapped that trade up into this deal to take the difference via a trade exception rather than needing to get rid of the deep bench because Barnes didn't agree to give up his trade kicker. Then sign Paul via the MLE and re-sign/retain any of the deep bench you want.

If you want to say this is a decent salvage job, I think that's fine. But this was not a well managed off-season. Even if the Spurs valued the future draft capital over 8, they still should've stayed over the cap. It seems pretty clear to me that what we've seen since the moratorium began was basically a massive pivot from missing out one their primary trade target. Shit happens, and you always need a pivot. But if their target was Paul, it's telling that they were clearing space to take him on at $30 Million when the rest of the league valued him at under the MLE.

I don't hate the acquisition at all, but I don't love the trade. The pick swap is fine (and how one should get such an asset rather than by trading a top-10 pick), but given what the trade will likely cost, there were possibly other pivot trades the team could've made like Lopez and Connaughton for Collins that could net a similar asset while leaving a lot of room under the cap for the deep bench.

There’s no indication whatsoever that they created the cap space to clear $30M for Paul. That’s pure speculation, and obviously you know that. But that’s what your entire premise is based off of, that this move was a pivot off of that failure… which it isn’t a failure if that wasn’t the plan anyways. I find it hard to believe that’s what they valued Paul at, and just because things ended up the way they did (Paul being waived) doesn’t mean we’re at phase 2 of some plan B.

This line of thinking is as if building a house with nice architecture but without knowing what the foundation is. Which is fine, we’re just spitballing here.

[Mr. Body]

1. Love everything overall. The team badly needs on-court mentorship and guidance. So much happening on the floor where these little kids are trying but failing to control, the runs of other teams, the way to win possessions on both sides. They got perhaps the best mentor of his era in Chris Paul and another very solid, great professional. For nothing.

2. Retains most of our flexibility going forward. Barnes and Collins can even be folded together for a larger salary and won't be too hard to move as expirings next summer.

3. They drafted the three college players I really enjoyed watching this year and traded two of them away. (The fourth was Knecht.) Dillingham doesn't look like a fit, and adding another roster guarantee would have been another headache. It's impossible that they saw the DeRozan-Sacramento situation coming, but it seems like they had ideas of how they wanted to use cap room.

4. I regret that we'll lose Champagnie, Bassey, and Mamukelashvili. Of course they're not long-term pieces, but they each add interesting depth to the team and needed depth. They can always be invited back.

All-in-all, if the object was taking on no long-term salary, retain flexibility, improve the product on the floor, this couldn't have gone better. Plus they got imo easily the best player in the draft, or close to it. And then laced some nice shots at adding young talent when we badly need it in the future.

[R. DeMurre]

An unprotected pick and a #1 protected swap aren’t garbage, especially not from a historically bad franchise. That swap also gives us a best of 3 option in 2030.


Yeah, the stacking of the chances with the 3 options is a pretty great move. I think them seeing the odds on the '28 swap with Boston drop after the Celtics locked up a few players might've influenced that approach. Having 3 swings at a swap makes it very unlikely that it can be a complete swing & miss scenario.

[SpursFan86]

We might be sacrificing cap space next offseason, but I think there’s a decent likelihood some win-now team out there would be willing to trade for him at the deadline…especially if he plays well. Not that hard to imagine a scenario where they can flip him for some draft assets (similar to how people have talked about CP3).

Even if there is no interest at the deadline, I don’t think it would be that hard for the Spurs to offload his contract should they need the extra cap space in the 2025 offseason. He’d be an expiring 17-18MM guy who is at least a good locker room presence and can hit 3s. Not like he’s such an albatross that we’d be giving up a FRPs to get rid of him.

Best case scenario he is just a great fit and we don’t even have to worry about trading him because we genuinely love having him on the squad.

[Splits]

how do you know either asset is garbage? Did you have any other ideas? Did you know the options they had? Part of the trade calls, maybe?

Yes, I have another idea. Trade #8 for a prospect, or another FRP which is even next year, the year after or even 2027. Not just throw away a prime asset for sprinkles on your doughnut.

I can't believe we're even having this conversation, again. BWrong fucked up.

[Dex]

We might be sacrificing cap space next offseason, but I think there’s a decent likelihood some win-now team out there would be willing to trade for him at the deadline…especially if he plays well. Not that hard to imagine a scenario where they can flip him for some draft assets (similar to how people have talked about CP3).

Even if there is no interest at the deadline, I don’t think it would be that hard for the Spurs to offload his contract should they need the extra cap space in the 2025 offseason. He’d be an expiring 17-18MM guy who is at least a good locker room presence and can hit 3s. Not like he’s such an albatross that we’d be giving up a FRPs to get rid of him.

Best case scenario he is just a great fit and we don’t even have to worry about trading him because we genuinely love having him on the squad.

Well put. Good players cost good money.

I know he is on his last leg, but the fact that we got Chris Paul for $11M when he was due $30M from the Warriors is a bargain no matter how you slice it.

I think we all agree that money wasn't going to bring in a magical piece to make this a win-now team, so might as well bring in a good player and great mentor to help build for the future

[Splits]

An unprotected pick and a #1 protected swap aren’t garbage, especially not from a historically bad franchise. That swap also gives us a best of 3 option in 2030.

The NBA might not even exist as we know it in 7 years. I FRP in 2031 is garbage, especially when considering you're giving up #8 no matter how shitty the draft.

Get back to me in 7 years, meanwhile, gfurs

[Dex]

The NBA might not even exist as we know it in 7 years. I FRP in 2031 is garbage, especially when considering you're giving up #8 no matter how shitty the draft.

Get back to me in 7 years, meanwhile, gfurs

Calm down, Nostradamus

[Splits]

I mean, we should all just accept the Dillingham trade happened and move on, but the Spurs didn't need that trade to occur to do this trade.

No. We're here to witness and criticize what is happening and trading a front-lottery pick for peanuts is, and continue to be, bullshit

[Chinook]

There’s no indication whatsoever that they created the cap space to clear $30M for Paul. That’s pure speculation, and obviously you know that. But that’s what your entire premise is based off of, that this move was a pivot off of that failure… which it isn’t a failure if that wasn’t the plan anyways. I find it hard to believe that’s what they valued Paul at, and just because things ended up the way they did (Paul being waived) doesn’t mean we’re at phase 2 of some plan B.

This line of thinking is as if building a house with nice architecture but without knowing what the foundation is. Which is fine, we’re just spitballing here.

The foundation of my point isn't that they created the space for Paul. Yes, there are indicators that it was for him (though a determined poster would twist out of them, I'm sure), but the point was made multiple times that Paul being the target didn't matter. It was prioritizing creating tens of millions in space and ended up not actually needing any. If that was for Paul, it would've been a huge misevaluation of his market. If it was for some player they didn't get an audience with, that doesn't speak highly to their ability to appeal to players or to know which players they can appeal to. But now that we know the results, one should not conclude the Dillingham trade was necessary, because it was not. Maybe it would've been had the Spurs succeeded in their plan A, Paul or not. But they didn't end up making any moves the were particularly facilitated by that space.

Just to expand on what I said in the previous post, if you think that trade was the right thing to do, fine. It's done and not worth fighting over. But even if that trade was good, the cap-space part didn't need to happen. A Spurs FO who could foresee how this free agency was going to play out should have still stayed over the cap. No, I don't blame them for having to pivot without knowing for sure what they were pivoting from. But it's hard to stress how little having the hold from the eighth pick ended up mattering this off-season.

[FireMicoHalili]

Yes, I have another idea. Trade #8 for a prospect, or another FRP which is even next year, the year after or even 2027. Not just throw away a prime asset for sprinkles on your doughnut.

I can't believe we're even having this conversation, again. BWrong fucked up.
Not saying I agree or disagree but to say the trade is bad because the asset conveys further down the timeline is just weird given how many moving parts there are and how drafts are crap shoots. You talk as if they didn't explore options or you're sure someone else was willing to throw in picks for next year or 2027. I'd feel bad if this were the 8th pick on next year's draft but given the perceived talent for this draft it doesn't even sting a little. Your definition of a 'prime asset' is the 8th pick in a weak draft. Says a lot lol

[Splits]

Not saying I agree or disagree but to say the trade is bad because the asset conveys further down the timeline is just weird given how many moving parts there are and how drafts are crap shoots. You talk as if they didn't explore options or you're sure someone else was willing to throw in picks for next year or 2027. I'd feel bad if this were the 8th pick on next year's draft but given the perceived talent for this draft it doesn't even sting a little. Your definition of a 'prime asset' is the 8th pick in a weak draft. Says a lot lol

How many players do we have which are top-8 in any draft? 1, and he looks fucking awesome. The #8 in this draft should have gotten much more than some middle schooler. It's not that tough to wrap your small brain around.

[scott]

I mean, we should all just accept the Dillingham trade happened and move on, but the Spurs didn't need that trade to occur to do this trade. The only reason why they did this trade with cap space is because they created so much space (likely in an attempt to acquire Paul before he was waived) in the first place. Now knowing the major moves, it would have been to efficient to have stayed over the cap, drafted 4 and 8, and guaranteed Graham. Then, they could've paid a team the three or four seconds required to take Graham's contract and wrapped that trade up into this deal to take the difference via a trade exception rather than needing to get rid of the deep bench because Barnes didn't agree to give up his trade kicker. Then sign Paul via the MLE and re-sign/retain any of the deep bench you want.

If you want to say this is a decent salvage job, I think that's fine. But this was not a well managed off-season. Even if the Spurs valued the future draft capital over 8, they still should've stayed over the cap. It seems pretty clear to me that what we've seen since the moratorium began was basically a massive pivot from missing out one their primary trade target. Shit happens, and you always need a pivot. But if their target was Paul, it's telling that they were clearing space to take him on at $30 Million when the rest of the league valued him at under the MLE.

I don't hate the acquisition at all, but I don't love the trade. The pick swap is fine (and how one should get such an asset rather than by trading a top-10 pick), but given what the trade will likely cost, there were possibly other pivot trades the team could've made like Lopez and Connaughton for Collins that could net a similar asset while leaving a lot of room under the cap for the deep bench.

I'm glad someone pointed this out, and I should have known it would be our main man Chinook. By wrapping this into the trade for #8, folks are just trying to justify the terrible return we got on #8. In isolation, that was a bad move on value, and in isolation, this was a pretty good move on value. The fact that they combine for a decent move on value should absolve the team from making the first bad move. Decent salvage job is a perfect descriptor.

I have some questions about rebounding in some of the proposed machinations of the rotations after this deal, but we'll just have to see how that plays out. Barnes is not a good rebounder, and I think that is reason enough to question the presumption that he'll be in the SL next to Sochan, not to mention I don't love the idea of forcing the #4 pick to the bench for Harrison Barnes.

Lastly, this move looks a lot better if viewed in the context of another move to come. Right now, it leaves the team's rotations a bit disjointed and lacking. If Barnes is starting, a bench unit of Tre/Castle/Champ/Keldon/Collins looks fucking terrible. It's small with terrible spacing. Even with Castle's defending, that bench unit still gets dominated and will put us in a hole, just like last year.

And finally, this move creates some questions about the path forward, because of this comment from timvp in the article:


The Spurs also owe him approximately $40 million over the next two seasons. By doing this deal, San Antonio lost the rest of their cap space this summer and a good chunk of their projected cap space next summer.

The reports were (and maybe they were just completely made up) is that the Spurs wanted to keep their powder dry and maintain flexibility for the Summer of 2025. Unless Barnes gets re-routed (or Keldon or Collins do), that is greatly hampered. Is giving up that flexibility worth a 20131 swap? For Harrison Barnes? There are two pathways where I think this makes sense:

1) There is another move coming, where your short-to-intermedia term roster is set, and that growth comes from internal development of the youth, draft picks (of which we'll still have, even if we make a bigger move), and minor trades. I'm thinking of a scenario where you move for Lauri and you have a Wemby-Lauri-Vassell-Castle-SA25-ATL25 core going forward.
2) You aren't going to make another move, but you are leaning into the build-through-the-draft model. In which case, that 2025 cap space is less important because your next steps are going to be draft picks and we'll make periphery moves (like this one) to fill out the support pieces. This approach is somewhat undercut by punting on 8 and 35, but it's still on the table.

The last option is one I don't want to think about, because it's far more grim: that the Spurs don't have a bigger picture strategy, and just like opportunities to win individual deals along the way. This looks like good GM'ing on the surface, but it's what leads to things like Sam Quinn lumping the Spurs FO in with Boston and Dallas's FO and saying "these guys are just better at this than you are". The Spurs FO get all these flowery reviews from winning individual deals, but what they haven't won is any freakin' games. And at the end of the day, successful GM moves MUST eventually result in winning basketball, since that's the actual purpose of this sport.

[FireMicoHalili]

How many players do we have which are top-8 in any draft? 1, and he looks fucking awesome. The #8 in this draft should have gotten much more than some middle schooler. It's not that tough to wrap your small brain around.
No response on multiple moving parts? You've been 13 years here and yet. Some fans really enjoy crying over their shortsighted cliff jumping lmao

[Splits]

No response on multiple moving parts? You've been 13 years here and yet. Some fans really enjoy crying over their shortsighted cliff jumping lmao

Bend over, I'll show you 1,556 multiple moving parts.

[Mr. Body]

The NBA might not even exist as we know it in 7 years. I FRP in 2031 is garbage, especially when considering you're giving up #8 no matter how shitty the draft.

Get back to me in 7 years, meanwhile, gfurs

A pick return from the near future would probably not be as good, say, a CHI type FRP with protections. Why would we need that in 2027? We already have two that year. In fact, the team might have received offers like that and declined, until MN.

The MN package was exactly what they wanted. They clearly want to store up value picks when Wemby is in his prime. It takes impulse control to wait for them, but we already know what happens when a contending team doesn't have the ability to add new talent. Our dynasty was more or less over around 2010. We want to avoid that situation again.

[FireMicoHalili]

Bend over, I'll show you multiple moving parts.
If you're implying you want to have gay sex with me...I'm flattered but I don't swing that way. Belated happy pride month lmao keep crying

[Splits]

A pick return from the near future would probably not be as good, say, a CHI type FRP with protections. Why would we need that in 2027? We already have two that year. In fact, the team might have received offers like that and declined, until MN.

The MN package was exactly what they wanted. They clearly want to store up value picks when Wemby is in his prime. It takes impulse control to wait for them, but we already know what happens when a contending team doesn't have the ability to add new talent. Our dynasty was more or less over around 2010. We want to avoid that situation again.

Body-to-PATFO

https://iruntheinternet.com/lulzdump/images/gifs/dog-tongue-tube-lick-bone-13486988954.gif

[SpursBills]

I have a bit of a theory about this, but I don't want to start any shit up. I remember reading a few years ago that he changed to a vegan diet (I don't know if he's changed back since then, hopefully he has). I had some arguments here with people that said I don't know what I'm talking about (I never said I'm an expert or anything, but due to my own health, I've learned a lot about nutrition the past few years), but I was pretty much saying he'd fade and fall apart if he continued on with that. He started off that season great, but then sure enough, towards the end of that season and in the playoffs, he fell apart. Not sure who was giving him nutritional advice, I feel they did him a massive disservice.

Also, like you said, I'm very interested to know what the agreement was like you've mentioned. Is he here to mentor for the whole season, or is it possible that he's traded to a contender if there is someone he likes and they want him. It's very interesting what the pitch to him was. I like the signing and feel it was a great move.

My personal guess is that he plays <1000 minutes this season and either gets traded to a contender or waived at the deadline to join a contender of his choice. I think this is exclusively a 3/4 season rental to kickstart Castle's career and bring some structure to the rotation - but who knows, it's just wild conjecture on my part, we'll have to see how this season plays out.

[Mr. Body]

Body-to-PATFO

https://iruntheinternet.com/lulzdump/images/gifs/dog-tongue-tube-lick-bone-13486988954.gif

I mean, if you want things explained to you and just want to be a whiny dope, go ahead. It gets old, though.

[Dex]

The fact that we have discourse on SpursTalk again is fun, tbh

Better than the days when we were all just resolved to the fact that the Spurs suck

[slick'81]

The fact that we have discourse on SpursTalk again is fun, tbh

Better than the days when we were all just resolved to the fact that the Spurs suck

Wemby definitely helps:smokin

[Arguendo]

No. We're here to witness and criticize what is happening and trading a front-lottery pick for peanuts is, and continue to be, bullshit
Please explain how a back-half of the lottery pick is “front lottery” & how a swap & unprotected first from a historically bad franchise coming after Ant expires is peanuts.
Also maybe consider this is a consensus (very) weak draft & that Spurs have many rostered “prospects” in the mix (Castle, Sochan, Bran—Blake, Champ, Bassey—w/Wemby & Vassel still developing). Maybe they just didn’t want another developmental player & preferred vet presence + assets + cap flexibility.

[T Park]

People thinking that the value of a pick in this year’s draft is equal to the value of a draft next year or in 26 shows how little they understand the value of this draft

[Pauleta14]

Not cool to bench him for a rookie, then.

True. I'd put Barnes

Cp3 won't be playing much imo, Pop will be ultra conservative to keep him injury free as long as possible, maybe 20-25min/game

I can see Castle going from PG to SG with a smart rotation, I don't like him at the 3 yet, maybe with time when he bulks up a little

[Bruno]

I also like more and more the trade Spurs did with #8. A big reason why is because there wasn't really good options left at that stage of the draft for Spurs.

At #4, Spurs picked Castle, a PG who isn't a good shooter. Spurs also have Sochan as a projected core member who isn't a good shooter. At #8, a lot of the prospects were bad shooter like Buzelis or "so-so" like Carter and Williams. Dilligham could have been an option but he is really undersized and drafting 2 PGs with lottery pick in the same draft is perilous.

At the end, with this trade Spurs decided to go with an unprotected 2031 pick and a 2030 swap instead of picking a player like McCain, Knecht or Da Silva. I can understand it.

[slick'81]

I also like more and more the trade Spurs did with #8. A big reason why is because there wasn't really good options left at that stage of the draft for Spurs.

At #4, Spurs picked Castle, a PG who isn't a good shooter. Spurs also have Sochan as a projected core member who isn't a good shooter. At #8, a lot of the prospects were bad shooter like Buzelis or "so-so" like Carter and Williams. Dilligham could have been an option but he is really undersized and drafting 2 PGs with lottery pick in the same draft is perilous.

At the end, with this trade Spurs decided to go with an unprotected 2031 pick and a 2030 swap instead of picking a player like McCain, Knecht or Da Silva. I can understand it.


spurs target was definitely gone and they didnt like what was left. Pretty easy to understand

[Mr. Body]

spurs target was definitely gone and they didnt like what was left. Pretty easy to understand

This has been pretty much proven incorrect.

[TD 21]

I'm not necessarily advocating for Dillingham, but the notion that he didn't make sense because Castle is also a "PG" is absurd.

They couldn't be better theoretical compliments to one another.

People really need to get past these archaic designations and start thinking about how players complement one another on both sides of the ball.

[LeBowen]

I'm not necessarily advocating for Dillingham, but the notion that he didn't make sense because Castle is also a "PG" is absurd.

They couldn't be better theoretical compliments to one another.

People really need to get past these archaic designations and start thinking about how players complement one another on both sides of the ball.

I don't think Dillingham complements anyone on the defensive side of the ball. :lol
The only notion against him is his size.
Soon enough we'll see if PATFO made the right choice.

[jeebus]

The fact that we have discourse on SpursTalk again is fun, tbh

Better than the days when we were all just resolved to the fact that the Spurs suck

I love reading the bad takes too. "Ugh, why don't the spurs just send the Jazz KJ and 5 unprotected FRPs?"

[lefty20]

How many players do we have which are top-8 in any draft? 1, and he looks fucking awesome. The #8 in this draft should have gotten much more than some middle schooler. It's not that tough to wrap your small brain around.

Multiple sources have confirmed that those kids will, in fact, grow up between now and 20131. So when the draft actually arrives, they will no longer be middle schoolers.

That's assuming the pick is not used as a part of a win-now trade.

[KobesAchilles]

People thinking we will use that pick in 2031 :lol

[scott]

Multiple sources have confirmed that those kids will, in fact, grow up between now and 20131. So when the draft actually arrives, they will no longer be middle schoolers.

That's assuming the pick is not used as a part of a win-now trade.

If the Spurs get eliminated early, they should ask the NBA to allow an exception and let them sign some actual middle schoolers to 10-day contracts and hold "Advanced Scouting Nights"

[Russ]

I ain't shipping Keldon out just to move him though, as that closes the door on a Markannen trade. Really hope they can just pawn Branham off on someone without giving up assets.

That would be a mistake that would become very apparent over time.

[baseline bum]

That would be a mistake that would become very apparent over time.

What are you seeing from Branham that has you excited? I saw a guy who let his man shoot 58% against him when he was in the starting lineup like he was guarding 99-00 Shaq every night. He has never recreated the success he had shooting the three at Ohio State. He was even worse than Sochan running point. I don't see what his redeeming quality is. He has a long way to go to even be replacement level. You could say the same about Sochan too, but at least Jeremy shows flashes of being an elite defender every few games so is worth continuing to invest in with significant rotation minutes. I think Branham was number 577 out of 578 in VORP last year, slightly ahead of Scoot Henderson.

[tbdog]

I like this deal. I think this has been a successful off season. We upgraded our starting roster with two fringe starters in CP3 and Bridges. As I explained in another thread, we didn't trade role players with an asset attached to upgrade those positions. We simply added them. Which means Jones and Julian go down the pecking order. The only player we lost in our rotation was Osman, which was under 20mins a night. Julian numbers are similar and probably better, and he was doing that against starters for most of the way.

The biggest issue I have is the lack of shooting. We do need one more shooter unless Branham improves a lot, Johnson gets year 2 shooting touch back, and Collins also finds his range again. If those things don't happen, our offense is still bottom 5.

[playblair]

spurraider21 preseason cardio comment aging like milk

[timtonymanu]

Looks like Boris Diaw out there sometimes.

[100%duncan]

Feels good to have CP3 and Barnes as your vets as opposed to Keldon Johnson lmao

[jeebus]

Some of these fools forgot what it's like for vets to do preseason; they don't give a shit about it. Spurs haven't even sucked that long and people still forgot how it used to be with the Three.

[Mr. Body]

We got this guy for free. With a draft swap attached to him. He and Paul saw the team needed to make plays and they went in and made them.

[scott]

What a difference a competent vet or two makes. Imagine having two more of them on this team.

[LeBowen]

As I said when we got him, he can the new Finley.
He's not even that old, age 32 and 33 seasons on current contract, then he can sign a cheap deal to stay as a veteran leader if he wants to compete.

[ambchang]

Can’t help but eat crow on this so far. I thought his production is going to fall off a cliff this season but so far so good. I’d still prefer to see him not play heavy minutes once Vassell is back.

CP3/Vassell/barnes/sochan/wemby
Castle comes in and play heavy minutes as a 2 or 3, with some 1 sprinkled in. His main task is to learn how to run a team from CP3 or Tre.
Keldon as a bulldozing scorer, but I’d want to have keldon play with cp3 as much as possible
Tre jones as a backup 1.
Zollins get some minutes at 4/5
Mamu with spot minutes as a 4 for change of pace
Wesley as a 1 or 2 as a PoA defender. He should always be with shooters around him (Vassell/hayes/cp3)
Malaki spot minutes for instant offence.
Bassey as emergency rim protection.

[RC_Drunkford]

great signing and way better than Cedi Osman last season

[exstatic]

We got this guy for free. With a draft swap attached to him. He and Paul saw the team needed to make plays and they went in and made them.

The thing I loved was that Keldon joined in, seeing a mismatch he could easily exploit. It’s good when that kind of aggression is contagious.

[CGD]

What a difference a competent vet or two makes. Imagine having two more of them on this team.

Was thinking how cool it would be to upgrade the Zach Collins minutes with a Lopez or Adams. Unlike many here, I think Collins has been better this year but the savvy would be nice off the bench.

[Chinook]

Honestly, the vibe I get most from Barnes is David Lee. He's at a similar place in his career and seems like a solid dude who's dependable but not a main piece. His shooting and experience is well needed.

[CGD]

Honestly, the vibe I get most from Barnes is David Lee. He's at a similar place in his career and seems like a solid dude who's dependable but not a main piece. His shooting and experience is well needed.

Perfect for a transition/holding piece to whichever SF I sincerely hope they draft in 2025.

[spurraider21]

was a fan of the move when it happened but definitely got spooked by Barnes' lackluster preseason. glad to be wrong

[timtonymanu]

Honestly, the vibe I get most from Barnes is David Lee. He's at a similar place in his career and seems like a solid dude who's dependable but not a main piece. His shooting and experience is well needed.

David Lee was nice, man the 2017 spurs were really good until Kawhi got zaza’d.

[cutewizard]

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

[8FOR!3]

David Lee was nice, man the 2017 spurs were really good until Kawhi got zaza’d.

For sure. David Lee was a baller pretty much his whole career.

[cutewizard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjopAuiF-rA

[cutewizard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zfunXTiwZc

[RC_Drunkford]

Barnes veteran leadership is really needed tbh. Which is why I can't see him get traded.


When it comes to this San Antonio Spurs (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs) offseason, Harrison Barnes (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/players/a6370895/harrison-barnes) has been here before. Kind of. Through 13 NBA seasons, he's won a championship with the Golden State Warriors (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-harrison-barnes-reveals-habits-san-antonio-must-possess-make-playoffs) in reaching the two NBA Finals and he helped the Sacramento Kings break a 16-year playoff drought. Though San Antonio hasn't yet enjoyed that level of success, the makings are there.
“The biggest thing for a team that wants to make a jump is the commitment level.”



“How much do guys want to be a part of what they're going to be watching here in these next couple of months,” Barnes continued, alluding to the playoffs.
The former North Carolina star joined the Spurs last summer (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-harrison-barnes-vocal-waiving-no-trade-clause-to-join-san-antonio). In playing all 82 games for a third straight season (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGmj7yz18Y), Barnes supplied the professionalism and temperament that's defined his reputation. It's a mindset that continued right into the final day of the season when he associated his team with future playoff appearances. (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/harrison-barnes-hopes-playoffs-irritate-spurs-teammates)
“What are you going to do in the off-season and your preparation to get that point, to put yourself in position to be at that point. A lot of people just assume that come October, ‘I'm going to be ready to go,' but this is where the growth happens. October is simply where it's acknowledged. For us, this summer is a big summer to just continue to get better on and off the court.”
Harrison Barnes details Spurs' path to improvementUnder contract through next season, Barnes turns 33 years old in late May. One of just two rotational players on the Spurs older than 30 (Chris Paul is the other), the Aimes, Iowa native outlined what will prove key for his squad going forward (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-harrison-barnes-difficult-admission-san-antonio-reality).






“I think it's just establishing our standard. I think it's how we show up every single night. Obviously, there's lapses during the game, but I think there's a standard to uphold in terms of just consistently how we play.”
The Spurs had a 12 game improvement from the year before. Yet, Barnes sees room for much more growth (https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-harrison-barnes-doesnt-hold-back-hurting-san-antonio).
“I think when we look back at this season, we can look at games and we can say, ‘Okay during this specific game or during this stretch of games we didn't play at the level that we should've.' Whether that's in terms of our preparation, our execution of the game plan, our attention to detail. Whatever it is. And I think next year, the goal for us is to say, ‘Hey, we can look back at 82 games and say we played X amount of games at our standard.' This puts us in the best position possible to make the playoffs.”
A stint with the Dallas Mavericks fell in between Barnes' time with the Warriors and Kings, meaning you can add a brief stint with Luka Doncic to his time at the beginning of Golden State's run with Stephen Curry and the Kings of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. He puts these Spurs alongside.
“The future is bright. This young group is one of the more talented groups that I've been a part of and I've been a part of some pretty good teams.”
Hector Ledesma (https://clutchpoints.com/author/hectorledesma) has been covering the Spurs in San Antonio since 2005, and now at ClutchPoints. An award-winning journalist born and raised in San Antonio, Hector has worked across all types of television and radio platforms. He attended Syracuse University, and also covers the NBA at large.

[Dejounte]

Yeah, pencil him in as our starting power forward next season, or backup PF at worst. This guy has a role next season for sure.

[Ice009]

Yep. I do NOT want to trade Harrison Barnes at all. Whether he starts or comes of the bench, I still want him on the team. Hopefully other guys can step up and he plays a little less so he has more energy to go all out in the time he's on the court. His corner 3-point shooting is a huge for the team.

[CorrectCrusader]

He can stay here forever for that shot against the warriors

[Extra Stout]

I love Harrison Barnes’ shooting.

I don’t love his rebounding or defense.

He is a useful role player, but not as a starting PF.

[Ice009]

I love Harrison Barnes’ shooting.

I don’t love his rebounding or defense.

He is a useful role player, but not as a starting PF.

I was about to edit my comment and say that his rebounding sucks. I wish he were better rebounder. I can give with his defense due to his shooting, but man, his rebounding is terrible.

It's great to hear that he thinks the Spurs are one of the more talented groups he's played with. They just have to now realize that talent/potential and become the players they can be.

[Extra Stout]

The Spurs have a decent amount of talent now, but no balance. They project to be pretty good offensively now despite the spotty shooting, but still terrible on defense, particularly when Wemby sits.

If they hypothetically did not address the holes up front, their ceiling would be .500 or a little over.

[cutewizard]

Good role model

[RC_Drunkford]

I love Harrison Barnes’ shooting.

I don’t love his rebounding or defense.

He is a useful role player, but not as a starting PF.

agree, he should be a bench player, but for that we need an upgrade at starting PF. I wouldn't mind if they extend him for cheap.

[DPG21920]

HB was fantastic for the Spurs and couple that with the fact SA got picks to obtain him? Home run. But I would not hesitate to trade him if needed or if a team that is truly contending offered us a first round pick.

Spurs dont have to do anything with him though so it’s truly a great position to be in.

[Dejounte]

When I said he’ll be the starting PF, i didnt mean that he’s qualified for that role. I don’t think a rookie drafted at 14th will take over that role quickly and unless we trade for Giannis or someone better, then HB is starting.

[RC_Drunkford]

When I said he’ll be the starting PF, i didnt mean that he’s qualified for that role. I don’t think a rookie drafted at 14th will take over that role quickly and unless we trade for Giannis or someone better, then HB is starting.

Agree, I just still hold out hope we'll make a trade for a starter on that position.

[Seventyniner]

I hope he isn't promised an 82-game starting spot like he seems to have been last season. The Spurs are out of "feeling things out" mode.

[scott]

We talk about CP3 in this vein... but HB comes across to me as a future NBA Head Coach. The consummate professional, extremely smart, top notch work ethic and commitment, great community leader. HC material for sure.

[Trueblood]

We talk about CP3 in this vein... but HB comes across to me as a future NBA Head Coach. The consummate professional, extremely smart, top notch work ethic and commitment, great community leader. HC material for sure.

co-sign

[LeBowen]

I'm not so sure, he seems too much of a nice guy to be the head coach.
But I can definitely see him in a front office role.