Call your Ideal 2025 Off-Season

[scott]

I started this thread last year (found here: https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303633) which yielded 25 pages of ideas. Notably I did have drafting Juan Nunez in the second as part of my first "ideal off-season" idea... so at least I had that going for me.

Anyway... thought it would be worth starting this thread again.

The idea behind this thread is for folks to lay out ideas for the ideal offseason. It does make for some fun reading later on. (I'm quite glad my first idea didn't come to fruition).

Here is a first pass idea for me, now that the lottery is done.

Draft


Pick #2 Dylan Harper
Pick #14 Thomas Sorber
Pick #38 - traded along with some unspecified number of our 2026 SRPs to move up and select Drake Powell


Trades


Devin Vassell is traded for John Collins. I think this might be underselling Devin a little bit, but I would value this move simply from the POV of clearing Devin's money off the books. I wouldn't necessarily extend Collins right away, part of his appeal is that he is an expiring from my POV. See how he does and maybe you work out a new deal next offseason.


Free Agency


Mamu resigned one a 1-year minimum deal
Seth Curry signed for 1-year deal at the BAE. (I don't feel super strongly about this one... Champ would probably pick up most of the backup 2 minutes, but it would be good to have another vet shooter on the roster to pick up spot minutes)
Clint Capela signs 1+1 using the MLE (maybe not all of it, not important)


Other Moves


Branham is a camp casualty. Bye little buddy
Fox takes a slight discount, 4/200 with the final year being a player option. $51.0/55.1/47.0/46.9. <-De'Aaron leaves $29MM on the table to give the Spurs additional cap flexibility after Wemby's extension kicks in in exchange for the ability to opt out after 3 years and renegotiate. (Note... this is a long shot, but still within the realm of possibility IMO). These year to year numbers also aren't quite right, but I just threw them out as an idea. The goal would be to get De'Aaron as close as possible to the max in the first two years while taking a discount in the last two years.
Sochan not extended, becomes a RFA next summer
Tiago Splitter joins Mitch's staff, as does another experienced NBA coach and a young hot shot coach none of us have ever heard of.


Opening Day Depth Chart

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Seth Curry/Powell
Barnes/Keldon/Champ
Jollins/Sochan/Mamu
Wemby/Sorber/Capela

What are your favorite full off-season scenarios?

[scottspurs]

I wouldn’t mind your offseason at all. Mine would probably be similar. I don’t trust Danny Ainge but John Collins would be ideal. I feel like Ainge would ask for multiple picks in addition to Vassell. If you can sure up rim protection when Wemby is not in the game by drafting Sorber I’m all for it. I don’t see the spurs trading up from 38 though. More than likely they trade out of the 2nd for future 2nds. They could also go draft and stash or draft a lesser prospect that will agree to a two way.

[Seventyniner]

I started this thread last year (found here: https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303633) which yielded 25 pages of ideas. Notably I did have drafting Juan Nunez in the second as part of my first "ideal off-season" idea... so at least I had that going for me.

If we had drafted an actual decent player in round 2 we would have had a better record and the ping pong balls would have come up differently and we wouldn't have gotten the #2 pick! All hail Juan Nunez!

[scottspurs]

If we had drafted an actual decent player in round 2 we would have had a better record and the ping pong balls would have come up differently and we wouldn't have gotten the #2 pick! All hail Juan Nunez!
Juan Nunez the hero we never knew we needed.

[scott]

If we had drafted an actual decent player in round 2 we would have had a better record and the ping pong balls would have come up differently and we wouldn't have gotten the #2 pick! All hail Juan Nunez!

El Rey Feo for life: Juan Nunez

[Guru of Nothing]

That looks pretty close to consensus. Vassell is a real wildcard here because it's difficult gauge value as an outsider. Also, and I think I mentioned this elsewhere, I kind of expect some surprisingly good opportunities to come their way this off-season, due in part largely to dealing from a position of strength ��

I agree with you on Harper and Sorber, for sure. If we do draft Sorber, it might be worth bringing Biyombo back to the end of the bench to help mentor. Think about Sorber among the rest of our roster of wings and guards - ugly duckling syndrome could set in.

[Dex]

Bring back Boban. Karma championship.

[Mugen]

You had me at the Golden God joining the bench tbh.

[scott]

Bring back Boban. Karma championship.

I'm reading through last year's thread and it wasn't until Page 6 where someone suggested bringing Boban back. His stock is on the rise!

[Guru of Nothing]

I also think Sochan gets traded too, especially if it involves a do-right-by and they secure a solid extension first before dealing.

[KobesAchilles]

Good to know I called us stealth tanking from a year ago :lol

Trade Vassell, Castle, Sochan and 3 FRPs to the Bucks. That includes our 14 pick, our FRP in next year and the other ATL pick and the ATL trade swap in 2028. We receive Giannis.

Trade KJ to the Mavs for a SRP

Draft Harper. Add LaRavia to the roster. Add Kornet to the roster. And add Williams from the Nets. Cut a lot of the other players to make room financially for these players and keep Champ. Re-sign CP3 somehow to come off the bench. And take fliers on Eric Gordon and Drummond

Starters: Wemby, Harper, Fox, Williams, Giannis
Bench: CP3, Champ, Barnes, LaRavia, Kornet,
Deep bench: Gordon and Drummond

Next I would poach the former CHI shooting coach. I would poach developmental coaches from Detroit and Cleveland. I would hire the former Mem assistant as our head assistant. And I’d offer Van Gundy whatever he wants to be our consultant. We were paying Pop 17 million anyway so might as well spread the money out to get top tier guys.

I would do these moves for two reasons. First I believe Giannis is a necessity in order for Wemby to take the next level. Wemby isn’t a franchise guy yet but that’s only bc he has no idea how to become one. Giannis can teach him what it takes to become the best player in the world. Imagine Wemby with a Giannis work ethic. I really believe the competitiveness of Wemby will open his eyes and help him realize his potential a heck of a lot sooner. Also their games compliment each other perfectly.

My second reason is Harper. If you think Harper is going to be James Harden then we are going to contend well after Giannis is no longer MVP level. We might as well be contenders from here on to the next decade. I get tired of posters saying well Harper is going to be Harden but we can’t trade for Giannis bc it’s going to leave the Spurs bare of all our talent. Like a prime Wemby and prime Harden (in this case Harper) is a contender. So where is this supposed dry cupboard?

The transition into contention with my Giannis trade should go from this year all the way until 2035. Also Dallas is about to get us a top 3 pick and Boston is gonna give us a top 10 pick. Plus we keep all our picks going forward anyways in my trade scenario. I don’t think Atlanta is bottoming out anytime soon and the 14th pick is the best one we get going forward. That’s my gamble.

[scott]

We were paying Pop 17 million anyway so might as well spread the money out to get top tier guys.


I have a sneaking suspicion we are still paying Pop $17MM

[Dejounte]

Sochan ain’t getting traded

https://x.com/castlefor3/status/1927487633954856993?s=46

[exstatic]

Sochan ain’t getting traded

https://x.com/castlefor3/status/1927487633954856993?s=46

Antonio Daniels was Timmy’s best friend, and in his wedding party. He was traded. Malik Rose was Timmy’s good friend, and he was traded. Spurs make the moves that they need to. Not saying Sochan will be traded, but he absolutely could.

[Robz4000]

Trading Keldon and Vassell for Jokic tbh. They can have Branham too imo fwiw.

[Guru of Nothing]

Jeremy better stay the fuck away from Timmy, if he knows what's good for him.

[scott]

Sochan ain’t getting traded

https://x.com/castlefor3/status/1927487633954856993?s=46

Shit, Sochan and Castle might both get traded if enough people see this stupid ass video they made

[Dejounte]

Who does Wemby benefit from learning more from? Giannis or Durant? With Giannis, he learns how to train his body. With Durant, he refines his game and masters it. Max out on longevity or max out skill?

[Seventyniner]

Who does Wemby benefit from learning more from? Giannis or Durant? With Giannis, he learns how to train his body. With Durant, he refines his game and masters it. Max out on longevity or max out skill?

Bird in the hand. Take Durant. He's far cheaper in terms of assets needed to get him and a personal favorite of Wemby's to boot.

Wemby's skillset is closer to KD's than Wemby's body is to Giannis's too.

Trade for Giannis 5-6 years down the road when he's at the current KD stage of his career.

[DPG21920]

Draft Harper. Find a way to trade up and take Kon too.

Giannis demands deal to SA with enough leverage where Castle and Harper are not included. Like Dev + Keldon + other salary + 5 picks (that aren’t Harper or Kon) to MIL for Giannis.

Roll out Fox + Castle + Kon + Giannis + Wemby while still having Harper.

Highly unrealistic (the Giannis part) but that would be ideal if Giannis indeed nukes his value by telling teams “I only want SA”

[SpursFan86]

Who does Wemby benefit from learning more from? Giannis or Durant? With Giannis, he learns how to train his body. With Durant, he refines his game and masters it. Max out on longevity or max out skill?

I’m not sure there’s a single person on earth who Wemby would benefit learning from more than KD, tbh.

[baseline bum]

I can't really think of a better reasonable offseason than what scott posted other than I think I'd rather have Bobby Portis with the MLE instead of Capela.

[Joseph Kony]

Trade Vassell/Keldon/14 for KD. Draft Harper at 2. use the MLE on Capela or Lopez (preferably Lopez) and use the BAE on a vet shooter like Kennard/Hardaway/Merrill/Shamet/Curry (of this bunch Hardaway or Kennard would be preferable but tbh i'm unsure of their value). Maybe sign Batum for the min and see if we can keep Mamu

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Hardaway (or Kennard)/Branham
Sochan/Champagnie
Durant/Barnes/Batum
Victor/Lopez (or Capela)/Mamu

That's a WCF team next season imo

[itzsoweezee]

#1: fleece Dallas for Flagg
#2: fleece Milwaukee for Giannis
#3: fleece Phoenix for Durant
Least appealing offseason: drafting two rookies

[Degoat]

Random thought… I know this is a rare occurrence but could teams view Vassell in a similar light as Dwhite? Don’t get me wrong DWhite was one of my fav players and we know how great he was but he really shined after he left the spurs… Could the same happen for Dev and teams will jump at the opportunity.

[Degoat]

Random thought… I know this is a rare occurrence but could teams view Vassell in a similar light as Dwhite? Don’t get me wrong DWhite was one of my fav players and we know how great he was but he really shined after he left the spurs… Could the same happen for Dev and teams will jump at the opportunity.

[scott]

Random thought… I know this is a rare occurrence but could teams view Vassell in a similar light as Dwhite? Don’t get me wrong DWhite was one of my fav players and we know how great he was but he really shined after he left the spurs… Could the same happen for Dev and teams will jump at the opportunity.

This is a good question and I think on one hand it's kind of what we're hoping on in order to get someone to want Devin, on the other hand it's going to be one of those deals where maybe it looks bad in hindsight because of what Devin becomes (assuming he experiences a DWhite-like surge on his new team).

I do think Devin needs a change of scenery because he isn't going to be used properly here, or he might feel "disrespected" if forced into his proper role (which is going to be 4th option in the starting lineup or 6th man). He might need that shock of being traded to push him into the mindset of dedicating to being a high end 3&D guy (which will rely on him committing to D again).

IMO.

[mo7888]

Shit, Sochan and Castle might both get traded if enough people see this stupid ass video they made

True dat..

[KobesAchilles]

Who does Wemby benefit from learning more from? Giannis or Durant? With Giannis, he learns how to train his body. With Durant, he refines his game and masters it. Max out on longevity or max out skill?
In my ideal offseason Sochan is traded as part of the package for Giannis.

Also I believe he is better suited to learn from Giannis bc he is still in his prime and takes actual responsibility for his play. Also I believe Wemby needs help more with his mentality and body training more so than he does with his skillset. And I don’t think KD fits particularly well with Wemby. He brings zero defense, worse rebounding, less shots at the rim and he doesn’t really provide any less pressure offensively on Wemby. KD has hit that LeBron empty stat line in his career

[Russ]

Draft


Pick #2 Dylan Harper
Pick #14 Thomas Sorber
Pick #38 - traded along with some unspecified number of our 2026 SRPs to move up and select Drake Powell


I agree with the First Round picks with the proviso that if Sorber's gone (or they don't like him for some crazy reason), then you can go to . . .

-- Carter Bryant

-- Asa Newell

-- Noa Essengue

All young upside guys with size and ability. Based upon their history, I don't see the Spurs taking a more complete older college player here.




Pick #38 - traded along with some unspecified number of our 2026 SRPs to move up and select Drake Powell


Three First Round contracts seems excessive (especially for our/this team).

There may be "value" (I said it) at #38.

According to NBADraft.net (disfavored I realize) some of these guys may be within reach at 38:

-- Maxime Raynaud

-- Jase Richardson

-- Miles Byrd

-- Hugo Gonzalez

-- Danny Wolf

-- Ben Saraf

Not saying that all or any of those guys will be there, but you can sit back and take a shot if they are.

The Spurs have squandered their early Second Round picks lately.

Those picks have value, arguably more than late First Round picks for reasons we all know.

I hope they take advantage of that this time

[ginobilized]

Great Topic! Most of my hopes are in line with the OP.

Draft Harper at 2, Sorber at 14 I like the idea of trading 38 and some future 2nds to move up and grab either Powell or Fleming if they fall.

Trade Vassell for John Collins, hell yeah!

Free Agent additions: Steven Adams and, wait for it, Keon Ellis. Mamu on a 1 year is good unless he gets a better offer which he probably won't.

Tiago on the staff is another home run. I'd love to see another former NBA player join the coaching staff, preferably a backcourt player in his day. Not Jacques Vaughn. Maybe Stackhouse or Stoudamire.
Another small thing I'd like to see is Manu's role more clearly defined.
Branham is cut in October.

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Ellis/Powell?
Barnes/KJ/Champ
Collins/Sochan/Mamu/Fleming?
Wemby/Sorber/Adams

This would be the fastest backcourt in the league I'm thinking. Our rebounding would greatly improve if we added Adams, Sorber, Collins and Fleming. It's tough to pick between Powell and Fleming if they drop into the mid-20s. Good problem to have if that actualizes.

The burning questions here are:
what happened to the power of friendship? and where does Riley Minix fit in the future plans?

[buttsR4rebounding]

Draft Harper, Coward, Broom
Trade Vassel for John Collins
Sign Steven Adams with MLE
Sign FA shooter
Sochan returns with a league ave 3pt shot
Resign Mamu to vet min
Cut Branham

Fox, Harper, Wesley
Castle, Coward, FA
Sochan, KJ, Champ
Collins, Barnes, Mamu
Wemby, Adams, Broom

[CGD]

Draft: Harper (2); Sorber (19); Saraf (26)

Trades:
- Devin/14/38 for Cam/19/26
- Keldon/Maliki/Blake for Middleton

Free Agency: Lopez; Jerome

Fox/Harper
Cam/Jerome/Saraf
Castle/Middleton
Barnes/Sochan
Wemby/Lopez/Sorber

[scott]

Great Topic! Most of my hopes are in line with the OP.

Draft Harper at 2, Sorber at 14 I like the idea of trading 38 and some future 2nds to move up and grab either Powell or Fleming if they fall.

Trade Vassell for John Collins, hell yeah!

Free Agent additions: Steven Adams and, wait for it, Keon Ellis. Mamu on a 1 year is good unless he gets a better offer which he probably won't.

Tiago on the staff is another home run. I'd love to see another former NBA player join the coaching staff, preferably a backcourt player in his day. Not Jacques Vaughn. Maybe Stackhouse or Stoudamire.
Another small thing I'd like to see is Manu's role more clearly defined.
Branham is cut in October.

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Ellis/Powell?
Barnes/KJ/Champ
Collins/Sochan/Mamu/Fleming?
Wemby/Sorber/Adams

This would be the fastest backcourt in the league I'm thinking. Our rebounding would greatly improve if we added Adams, Sorber, Collins and Fleming. It's tough to pick between Powell and Fleming if they drop into the mid-20s. Good problem to have if that actualizes.

The burning questions here are:
what happened to the power of friendship? and where does Riley Minix fit in the future plans?

What's your proposal for getting Ellis?

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

What's your proposal for getting Ellis?

Spurs can’t get Ellis unless it’s a sign and trade. He has a cheap team option and he’s likely to align with Sacramento so that they don’t pick up the option but they re-sign him long term for more money (Spurs may need to do the same with Champ next summer).

There’s no chance Sacramento decline his option and let him walk for nothing.

[scott]

Spurs can’t get Ellis unless it’s a sign and trade. He has a cheap team option and he’s likely to align with Sacramento so that they don’t pick up the option but they re-sign him long term for more money (Spurs may need to do the same with Champ next summer).

There’s no chance Sacramento decline his option and let him walk for nothing.

Yeah that's my point... Ellis is one of those guys in a unique contract circumstance that effectively makes him untouchable.

[scott]

Replace Seth Curry with Sam Merrill in my original proposal. He'd be a good spot rotation shooting specialist for us.

[jesterbobman]

The ideal starts with a 2 + 14 + canceling a swap for #1 trade as I think Flagg is that good...but I doubt that's available, so...

Draft Harper at 2,
Draft Essengue at 14
Draft Myles Byrd at 38

Steven Adams in FA. I'm a New Zealander, I think I'm legally obligated to raise this.
Mamu in FA as minimum.

Trade: Malaki and Champ to Boston for Sam Hauser - fringe cap move for Boston, trying to help get out of the 2nd Apron.
Trade Keldon, Blake, Utahs' 2026 2nd (should be #35 or so), 2 other 2nds to Utah for John Collins - Might work better with routing those picks somewhere else for a team devoid of picks, Utah gives up a bunch of

Fox / Harper / Castle (Primary ball handlers - Collectively covers PG and a lot of SG / SF minutes)
Vassell / Byrd (mix of on / off ball)
Barnes / Hauser (Off ball shooters)
Collins / Sochan / Mamu / Essengue (PF options)
Wemby / Adams (Long Bois)

I don't think there's a reasonable asset path to a likely title team, but I think that's a much more solids team that fits better, only needs the sacrifice of 1/2 of the excess 2nd round picks, and has a path to a 5% contender (like everything else, depends on Wemby).

[RC_Drunkford]

Sochan ain’t getting traded

https://x.com/castlefor3/status/1927487633954856993?s=46

if that's your indication for him not getting traded, then Vassell ain't getting traded either because all 3 of them are in Spain together.

[Dejounte]

if that's your indication for him not getting traded, then Vassell ain't getting traded either because all 3 of them are in Spain together.
But Vassell hasn’t made a dancing video so nope

[RC_Drunkford]

scott I'm pretty much aligned with your scenario, but I'd rather trade Keldon + Branham instead of Devin. Since Keldon is our worst defender (5th percentile) and 3rd worst 3-point shooter (after Wesley and Sochan) he's virtually useless.

As a back up center I'd prefer Adams or Kornet. I'd probably roll with Adams if we draft Sorber, just so Sorber can get more playing time.

[Dejounte]

How lucky is Wemby if he gets Paul and Durant in his early years? Shit, Castle too. Must be huge for their development. I say throw everything at Phoenix to get Durant. His mentorship will be invaluable and cause exponential growth to our young core.

[mo7888]

Trade Devin + 14 + 38 to Brooklyn for Cam + 19 +26

Trade Keldon + Barnes + 19 to phoenix for KD

Draft Raynaud/ Kalkbrenner at 26 and Harper @ 2

Fox/CP3
Harper/Castle
Cam/Champagnie
KD/Sochan
Wemby/Kalkbrenner/ vet C

Probably resign Mamu and use the exceptions on maybe Portis/Royce O'Neale

[LeBowen]

I wouldn't call it ideal, but ideal realistic scenario.

Harper at #2
Best 3-D wing at #14, I got no idea who's that guy, hopefully Spurs scouting department does.
Best big available at #38, kind of irrelevant for this season.

Keldon for John Collins in a S&T deal. Collins opts out and takes a 80/4 deal from the Spurs.
Kornet for MLE.

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Vassell/Branham
Barnes/Champagnie/#14
Collins/Sochan
Wemby/Kornet/#38

Can easily add KD trade into the mix with the Vassell/Barnes/Wesley/#14 offer, but that would just be cruel to Barnes, he already got traded for KD once.
It could also be Barnes going to Utah and Keldon to Phoenix.
Or we can send Jeremy instead of Wesley and #14 to Phoenix.

Fox/Harper
Castle/cheap shooter
Champagnie/Jeremy
KD/Collins
Wemby/Kornet

[Baam]

Ok I know the usual suspects will go crazy but this is MY ideal scenario :

Trade #2 + Vassell + Sochan for #7 + Murphy + Herb Jones (I even add a protected future first if needed)

In one trade you purify the roster completely. Harper better be Harden on steroids for this trade not to be worth it. If he busts the Wemby era might be effed forever. Imo it's no brainer to trade the pick.

Draft Demin at 7 and Reynaud at 14

Fox CP3
Castle Demin
Jones Champagnie
Murphy Barnes
Wemby Reynaud

This team is awesome and can go blow for blow with OKC next season. Still would look to upgrade from Fox in a few years (Garland or someone else with a 3pt shot would be ideal).

[LeBowen]

The issue with some of you who post completely unrealistic ideas is that you always have to ruin it with unserious remarks.
I can understand posts that suggest Fox should get traded even though we all know Spurs would never do it.

But this right here:


If he busts the Wemby era might be effed forever.

Why?
Before the lottery we expected a #8 pick and everyone still thought we're in an amazing position asset wise.
Looking at the draft, there isn't much hope that #8 pick will be anything more than a solid starter.

Are you saying that we'd be fucked if we stayed at #8 in the draft?

There are only two ways Spurs get fucked forever:
1) Wemby suffers a career altering/ending injury.
2) Spurs make a big trade that deplets all of our assets and it doesn't work out.

As long as Wemby is healthy, we're guaranteed to be around 50 wins for the duration of his prime.
Nuggets and Bucks didn't get fucked because of one or even two mistakes. They got fucked because they kept making mistakes every single off-season and eventually ran out of assets/cap space.

Harper is as safe of a pick as it gets.
He might not become a star, but he's got great IQ and size for his position.
Worst case scenario we solved our 6th man situation for the foreseeable future.

[Baam]

Are you saying that we'd be fucked if we stayed at #8 in the draft?

Exactly what I'm saying, mostly because they drafted players that don't fit modern bball like Sochan and who didn't develop as expected like Vassell. The team best players outside Wemby were Barnes and CP3 until recently, you think that's normal that tosb play better than your prized draft picks ?


Worst case scenario we solved our 6th man situation for the foreseeable future

You think Lonzo, Fultz or Ben Simmons are nice 6th men ? If he busts then it's an asset down the drain bar none.

[LeBowen]

Exactly what I'm saying

Then you're completely lost, idk what else to tell you.
We have Wemby who's guaranteed to be the best player in the league in no time, Castle who won't be a superstar but looks legit, great cap situation and a lot of picks.
Oh and we traded for this all-star point guard namde Fox if you missed it.


mostly because they drafted players that don't fit modern bball like Sochan and who didn't develop as expected like Vassell. The team best players outside Wemby were Barnes and CP3 until recently, you think that's normal that tosb play better than your prized draft picks ?

I actually think that veterans who have done it all being better than young players or busts is reasonable in franchise player's second season.
If our roster wasn't garbage, we wouldn't have drafted Wemby.

We have three guaranteed starters for the next season and a bunch of players who aren't that good, but aren't a detriment to our cap situation.
Regardless of who we trade for, even if it's Giannis, we're not winning shit next season.

While I'm one of the biggest Murphy fans on this board, he won't change that.
Harper is the player Wright has been trying to get for years now.
Primo was a reach because he hoped he could become the player Harper is.
We tried playing Jeremy at point guard of all people.
Castle is developed to be a point guard even though he's obviously not a natural for that role.


You think Lonzo, Fultz or Ben Simmons are nice 6th men ? If he busts then it's an asset down the drain bar none.

You can't talk about injuries after suggesting Spurs should trade for Herb who just missed most of the season.
Are you sure he'll still be a solid shooter after his shoulder injury?
You can't shit on players who all suffered serious injuries while suggesting Spurs trade for an injured player.

[Baam]

Of course I can place my bets however I want. It's MY ideal off-season.

[KobesAchilles]

I know I’m just whistling in the wind but :lol at anyone who thinks KD is a good mentor. Who tf has he ever mentored? KD is the ultimate ME player. Hell he’s even worse than KoMe Bryant. Dude plays zero defense, has zero leadership, doesn’t mentor others, kills coaches, but everyone thinks he’s good bc he puts up 26 empty points a game.

I want KD as far away from Wemby as possible. Imagine wanting a guy who runs away from adversity, takes zero responsibility for losses, and admits to having no intention of being a leader wanting to mentor our fucking star player :lmao

[LeBowen]

Of course I can place my bets however I want. It's MY ideal off-season.

And I said it's fine to post your ideas, even if unrealistic.
But takes like we're doomed if Harper busts are unserious.


I know I’m just whistling in the wind but :lol at anyone who thinks KD is a good mentor. Who tf has he ever mentored? KD is the ultimate ME player. Hell he’s even worse than KoMe Bryant. Dude plays zero defense, has zero leadership, doesn’t mentor others, kills coaches, but everyone thinks he’s good bc he puts up 26 empty points a game.

I want KD as far away from Wemby as possible. Imagine wanting a guy who runs away from adversity, takes zero responsibility for losses, and admits to having no intention of being a leader wanting to mentor our fucking star player :lmao

Agreed.
Exactly why I don't want him here.
He's one of the biggest cancers in the league, but somehow always gets a free pass.

[Ocotillo]

I know I’m just whistling in the wind but :lol at anyone who thinks KD is a good mentor. Who tf has he ever mentored? KD is the ultimate ME player. Hell he’s even worse than KoMe Bryant. Dude plays zero defense, has zero leadership, doesn’t mentor others, kills coaches, but everyone thinks he’s good bc he puts up 26 empty points a game.

I want KD as far away from Wemby as possible. Imagine wanting a guy who runs away from adversity, takes zero responsibility for losses, and admits to having no intention of being a leader wanting to mentor our fucking star player :lmao

Yeah, I was scratching my head about the KD as a mentor thing myself. He works hard on his game but outside of that, I got nada. Plus, he would be I think a handful for a rookie coach who is his peer agewise.

[thOOdee]

maybe somehow getting rfa santi aldama or a center like sorber, kalkbrenner, or maxime, followed by getting durant while dumping some dead weight, with at most losing a first round pick and maybe a pick swap.

[CorrectCrusader]

Draft



Pick #2 Dylan Harper
Pick #14 Carter Bryant
Pick #38 - Maxime Raynaud



Trades



Vassell for John Collins straight up


Free Agency



Mamu resigned one a 1-year minimum deal



Opening Day Depth Chart

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Branham
Barnes/Champ/Keldon
Jollins/Sochan/Bryant
Wemby/Raynaud/Mamu

[ginobilized]

What's your proposal for getting Ellis?

I was leaning into the ideal part of this equation. I wasn't aware of Keon's contract situation per se. I wouldn't hire me as a GM.

[Dverde]

I want crazy eyes Bobby Portis as back up big. Draft Harper. #14 is dealer’s choice. Keep Blake Wesley to practice against Harper and Castle. Cut Branham. No CP3. Do not want Giannis, KD, John Collins. Contract extension for Barnes. Don’t overpay Sochan on potential, but offer a market friendly extension. Bassey and Mamu one year minimum contracts.

[Ice009]

Blake is a great guy and good to have around the team (he seems to have a really positive attitude, works hard and cares about his health), but man, he has no touch/feel at all around the basket. Not sure that will ever get better. He's also a mediocre 3 point shooter. While I love his aggressiveness on defense, not sure if his defense is good enough to cover what he lacks on the offensive side of the ball :(. I really wanted him to work out and become a serviceable player. do you guys think there is still some potential improvement left?

[Dex]

Blake is a great guy and good to have around the team (he seems to have a really positive attitude, works hard and cares about his health), but man, he has no touch/feel at all around the basket. Not sure that will ever get better. He's also a mediocre 3 point shooter. While I love his aggressiveness on defense, not sure if his defense is good enough to cover what he lacks on the offensive side of the ball :(. I really wanted him to work out and become a serviceable player. do you guys think there is still some potential improvement left?

I love his speed and tenacity on the fast break, but yeah...doesn't do much good if you can't finish at the rim and I feel like that is one of those skills you develop growing up (and not later in your NBA career).

His three-point shoot seems to have improved which I think makes him serviceable, but his ceiling is still probably end-of-the-bench role player. Still think he is a better prospect than Branham which is crazy considering their draft position.

[Ice009]

You are right, he has improved his 3 point shot, but he's not really a consistent threat from outside. Really does suck as I loved the energy he brought in the first few games of his rookie season. I wish he never got injured to see if he could have built off of that.

His speed is nice on the fast break, but again, not much of a threat to finish and his passing also isn't the best in those situations.

I also like that he can play full court defense and pressure if need be.

[Dverde]

When Castle mentioned in some interview the game was slowing down for him midseason, it reminded me of Blake Wesley’s issues. His feel for the game still feels off. I love his work ethic, defense tenacity, he involves others on the court, but I doubt his future will be here. As I mentioned earlier, I think he is worth keeping around for one last year.

[rjv]

Wemby is fully healthy.

[Ignazzz]

Make impossible possible. Cooper Flagg.

[John B]

Who does Wemby benefit from learning more from? Giannis or Durant? With Giannis, he learns how to train his body. With Durant, he refines his game and masters it. Max out on longevity or max out skill?

Hands down Gianni’s’ work ethic. I don’t want diva soft KD influencing Wemby. But I rather they build up and save their future picks, than splurge on costly trades. When the championship team starts rolling, vets ring chasers will start knocking cheap. The Spurs can afford to play patient.

My ideal: Trade Vassell to Nets to get #8, however it takes. Before Vassell’s value goes down.

#2 Harper, #8 Sorber, #14 Bryant (I don’t know who’s available at #14 either between Sorber or Bryant). And if Reynaud is available at #38 or another defensive big.

Sign either Adams or Capela as backup center.

Another scenario is trading #2 plus Vassell and couple of future FRP’s to facilitate Giannis to Mavs. Bucks gets Vassell, just maybe Lively if Mavs is desperate, and multiple FRP’s. The Spurs gets Flagg. That’s the only scenario that I’ll trade #2 Harper, to get Flagg.

[Chinook]

I feel like a lot of folks only know Durant from his tweets. The dude clearly has a high work ethic, and yes, he does mentor young players around the league. Hell, so did Kobe, which is why it's weird for a poster to use Bryant as an example of a bad mentor. Like with Kobe, there's a reason why Durant is so highly thought of by his fellow players. I think it's silly to confuse Durant not winning a title as a top option as him not being a leader or teacher. Wemby in particular seems to like Durant far more than he likes Giannis. I'm not sure what Giannis could even teach Victor, but the age difference doesn't work well in their favor. Giannis may not leave MKE because he's been given so much control there. He's the king of that city, and he's not going to be second fiddle to Wemby. Durant already knows he wont' be the first fiddle at this point. So Wemby's not competition for him; he's a talent he can work with, ala Robinson and Duncan.

I'm not saying Durant has done bad things (that Scarlett Johansson tweet remains the most cringe thing I've ever seen an NBA player do), but I actually think that just makes Durant a better mentor. Wemby already has Tim and David as folks he can look to who stayed with one team their whole careers. I think having a guy like Durant, who can tell him exactly what he's giving up if he caves to pressure and toxic "alpha mentality" and lets it force him to leave good situations. I've always found Durant to be pretty thoughtful when he's giving interviews. He's a person who's learned a lot and really just seems to enjoy being around basketball, let alone getting to play it. I don't know what happens when he gets in front of a keyboard, but I think Durant would be really good for the Spurs culture, whereas I think Giannis would be toxic to it.

[Manu&Duncan fan]

I feel like a lot of folks only know Durant from his tweets. The dude clearly has a high work ethic, and yes, he does mentor young players around the league. Hell, so did Kobe, which is why it's weird for a poster to use Bryant as an example of a bad mentor. Like with Kobe, there's a reason why Durant is so highly thought of by his fellow players. I think it's silly to confuse Durant not winning a title as a top option as him not being a leader or teacher. Wemby in particular seems to like Durant far more than he likes Giannis. I'm not sure what Giannis could even teach Victor, but the age difference doesn't work well in their favor. Giannis may not leave MKE because he's been given so much control there. He's the king of that city, and he's not going to be second fiddle to Wemby. Durant already knows he wont' be the first fiddle at this point. So Wemby's not competition for him; he's a talent he can work with, ala Robinson and Duncan.

I'm not saying Durant has done bad things (that Scarlett Johansson tweet remains the most cringe thing I've ever seen an NBA player do), but I actually think that just makes Durant a better mentor. Wemby already has Tim and David as folks he can look to who stayed with one team their whole careers. I think having a guy like Durant, who can tell him exactly what he's giving up if he caves to pressure and toxic "alpha mentality" and lets it force him to leave good situations. I've always found Durant to be pretty thoughtful when he's giving interviews. He's a person who's learned a lot and really just seems to enjoy being around basketball, let alone getting to play it. I don't know what happens when he gets in front of a keyboard, but I think Durant would be really good for the Spurs culture, whereas I think Giannis would be toxic to it.

Yes. Durant definitely can teach Wemby a lot of skills, while his bad ego won't affect Wemby.

If he can agree MLE for year 2 and 3, then it's a perfect situation for both sides. He can get two more titles before retiring.

He still want to win badly. So, this trade of (Vassell + Keldon + #14 + Brahnam) could happen.

[LeBowen]

The dude clearly has a high work ethic

Noone said he doesn't.


Hell, so did Kobe, which is why it's weird for a poster to use Bryant as an example of a bad mentor. Like with Kobe, there's a reason why Durant is so highly thought of by his fellow players.

It's not just about skillset, but mentality.
Do you want a player with Kobe's mentality on the Spurs? I don't.
For players like Kobe and KD their own ego is always more important than the team.
Fellow players like that because everyone looks for their best interests.


I think it's silly to confuse Durant not winning a title as a top option as him not being a leader or teacher.

It has nothing to do with him not being a leader, it's about his mentality.
Leaving OKC was fine, he did everything he could. But then he chose to join a team that just ended his OKC career and happened to be the best regular season team ever.
He won two, time for redemption? Think again.

Brooklyn? Brand new team, hand picked teammates and co-stars...not good enough for him. Two years and he wanted out.
I guess you don't remember how Atinkson got fired because they wanted Nash to coach them or how Jarrett Allen got traded because KD was best buddies with Deandre Jordan?

Third time's a charm? Think again.
Vogel gone after one season, then him and Booker wanted Beal and now Suns are completely fucked.
Guess what? KD doesn't care, he's ready to take the next hardest road.

He's like Lebron without the actual winning part, just does the part where he sets the franchise back and fucks off.


Wemby in particular seems to like Durant far more than he likes Giannis. I'm not sure what Giannis could even teach Victor, but the age difference doesn't work well in their favor. Giannis may not leave MKE because he's been given so much control there. He's the king of that city, and he's not going to be second fiddle to Wemby. Durant already knows he wont' be the first fiddle at this point. So Wemby's not competition for him; he's a talent he can work with, ala Robinson and Duncan.

Now you're going to be one of those guys who thinks it's wrong for a superstar to stay with his team even though they're not a legit contender anymore?
Giannis had nothing when he got drafted and he wasn't projected to be the next big thing. Is it so wrong that he wants to stay with a team that made him into what he is today?


I'm not saying Durant has done bad things (that Scarlett Johansson tweet remains the most cringe thing I've ever seen an NBA player do), but I actually think that just makes Durant a better mentor.

Again, there's basketball ability mentorship and mentality/leadership aspect of mentorship.
It would be great if KD could teach Wemby to stop with those low quality isos and circus shots, but KD doesn't have much to offer on the mental side of things.


He's a person who's learned a lot and really just seems to enjoy being around basketball, let alone getting to play it. I don't know what happens when he gets in front of a keyboard, but I think Durant would be really good for the Spurs culture

The issue is that his actions are way off his interviews, he says one thing and does the other. It's always been like that.


whereas I think Giannis would be toxic to it

I don't want Giannis because as I explained in detail in another topic, we don't have enough to get him and be a let's say top5 team in the league right away.
And every year with Giannis without winning it all would be a waste.

[Chinook]

Yes. Durant definitely can teach Wemby a lot of skills, while his bad ego won't affect Wemby.

If he can agree MLE for year 2 and 3, then it's a perfect situation for both sides. He can get two more titles before retiring.

He still want to win badly. So, this trade of (Vassell + Keldon + #14 + Brahnam) could happen.

Durant isn't agreeing to the MLE. That makes no sense. He's far, far (far) better than an MLE player. The Spurs have had multiple players throughout their years who could shows exactly how valuable old superstars can still be if put in the right environment. You pay Durant what he's worth, which won't be the max but is much closer to that than the MLE.

[scott]

scott (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=150) I'm pretty much aligned with your scenario, but I'd rather trade Keldon + Branham instead of Devin. Since Keldon is our worst defender (5th percentile) and 3rd worst 3-point shooter (after Wesley and Sochan) he's virtually useless.

As a back up center I'd prefer Adams or Kornet. I'd probably roll with Adams if we draft Sorber, just so Sorber can get more playing time.

Adams is one of my favorite non-Spurs in the league... so I'm trying not to be too greedy and hope that by not mentioning him maybe I can reverse speak it into existence.

[Manu&Duncan fan]

Durant isn't agreeing to the MLE. That makes no sense. He's far, far (far) better than an MLE player. The Spurs have had multiple players throughout their years who could shows exactly how valuable old superstars can still be if put in the right environment. You pay Durant what he's worth, which won't be the max but is much closer to that than the MLE.

Then Spurs should walk.

Imagine at the end of the regular season, he suddenly have a serious injury.

Spurs are at a point that has no need to take risk anymore. We can win with moderate upgrades - John Collins/PJ Washington, Kennnard/Gary Trent, Lopez/Adams, etc.

[scott]

Ok I know the usual suspects will go crazy but this is MY ideal scenario :

Trade #2 + Vassell + Sochan for #7 + Murphy + Herb Jones (I even add a protected future first if needed)

In one trade you purify the roster completely. Harper better be Harden on steroids for this trade not to be worth it. If he busts the Wemby era might be effed forever. Imo it's no brainer to trade the pick.

Draft Demin at 7 and Reynaud at 14

Fox CP3
Castle Demin
Jones Champagnie
Murphy Barnes
Wemby Reynaud

This team is awesome and can go blow for blow with OKC next season. Still would look to upgrade from Fox in a few years (Garland or someone else with a 3pt shot would be ideal).

All scenarios are welcome in my "Call Your Ideal Off-Season" threads. Hopefully it leads to some good, respectful, conversation.

[scott]

I was leaning into the ideal part of this equation. I wasn't aware of Keon's contract situation per se. I wouldn't hire me as a GM.

Haha, all good. I like Ellis as a player so I genuinely curious. He's just in one of those weird contract situations that make him hard to get. Toumani is another guy like that, IMO. Would love to have him but it would cost a fortune from POR to get him in part due to his contract.

[scott]

Blake is a great guy and good to have around the team (he seems to have a really positive attitude, works hard and cares about his health), but man, he has no touch/feel at all around the basket. Not sure that will ever get better. He's also a mediocre 3 point shooter. While I love his aggressiveness on defense, not sure if his defense is good enough to cover what he lacks on the offensive side of the ball :(. I really wanted him to work out and become a serviceable player. do you guys think there is still some potential improvement left?

I'd love to see what Blake is after a year of being Fox's understudy. IMO, De'Aaron is the perfect guy for Blake to model his game after. Whether or not he has enough talent, is another question... but I kind of want to see what Blake looks like this time next year.

[KobesAchilles]

I feel like a lot of folks only know Durant from his tweets. The dude clearly has a high work ethic, and yes, he does mentor young players around the league. Hell, so did Kobe, which is why it's weird for a poster to use Bryant as an example of a bad mentor. Like with Kobe, there's a reason why Durant is so highly thought of by his fellow players. I think it's silly to confuse Durant not winning a title as a top option as him not being a leader or teacher. Wemby in particular seems to like Durant far more than he likes Giannis. I'm not sure what Giannis could even teach Victor, but the age difference doesn't work well in their favor. Giannis may not leave MKE because he's been given so much control there. He's the king of that city, and he's not going to be second fiddle to Wemby. Durant already knows he wont' be the first fiddle at this point. So Wemby's not competition for him; he's a talent he can work with, ala Robinson and Duncan.

I'm not saying Durant has done bad things (that Scarlett Johansson tweet remains the most cringe thing I've ever seen an NBA player do), but I actually think that just makes Durant a better mentor. Wemby already has Tim and David as folks he can look to who stayed with one team their whole careers. I think having a guy like Durant, who can tell him exactly what he's giving up if he caves to pressure and toxic "alpha mentality" and lets it force him to leave good situations. I've always found Durant to be pretty thoughtful when he's giving interviews. He's a person who's learned a lot and really just seems to enjoy being around basketball, let alone getting to play it. I don't know what happens when he gets in front of a keyboard, but I think Durant would be really good for the Spurs culture, whereas I think Giannis would be toxic to it.
Durant is thought highly of bc he is a skilled player. He has a “full bag” as the players like to say. But a lot of what you said is so completely wrong that I’m surprised you think that way. The reason why I don’t think KD is a leader is bc KD himself literally said: “I’m not a leader.” Him not being able to win championships despite his ability has proven him correct imo. So it’s by his own admission that I don’t think he’s a leader. Also Kobe might be the worst leader of any superstar player. He ran Shaq out. He ran Phil out. He quit on his team in game 7 of the playoffs. He beefed with his teammates through out his career. From Shaq to Smush to Pau and Bynum to Nick Young to Russel to Randel. He was a terrible leader for young players and by all accounts the team vets basically had to bitch slap him to stay in line during the 3peat.

He had great work ethic. Kobe had the best moveset in the league. He was a great player. But he hated young players and hated was shitty to teammates pretty much all the time. It’s only masked by them winning with Pau. Tbh I think I’m more impressed with Pau Gasol than most people are just for putting up with that level of toxicity on the court and media.

KD runs away from adversity. He just does. You can say well he can tell Wemby all the downsides that came with leaving from franchise to franchise but KD is too prideful for that. Dude has never accepted that he wasn’t good enough to not get a team to a championship as the lead dog. It’s just excuses with him. He gets coaches fired, he values friends over fit (and that’s something I really wish Wemby doesn’t do) and I’ve never seen him say in the past decade “I’m the issue. I’m the reason why we lost. I will rally the troops and get us past this.” I have seen him say it’s the role players fault. It’s the fit of the team. It’s managements fault. It’s the coaches fault. Heck I know Chuck said KD isn’t a bus driver and just a passenger but man KD has ran over a lot of people and reversed back over them time and time again.

You don’t think Giannis could teach Wemby how to spend every day as a pro? You don’t think he can teach Wemby how much he needs to be in the weight room. How he needs to be on his diet. How he needs to change his mentality and attitude. I’m sure Wemby is aware of all these things but Giannis does all of these things at the top level of any athlete in the world. How many times does Wemby jog back on offense? How many times does he mentally check himself out of plays. How many times has he checked himself out of entire quarters. Giannis doesn’t play that way. There is no checking out with Giannis. There is no jogging on offense with Giannis. There is no I’m going to take the backseat for the next 5 plays with Giannis or I’m tired so I’m going to jack up a three. Hell we have a thread on here calling Wemby soft. Nobody calls Giannis soft. We don’t have a grown dog pitbull in our yard. We have a growing one but he’s not there yet.

You are the poster who correctly said, that Wemby isn’t a franchise player yet. He can be soon. But he isn’t there yet. Well Giannis shouldn’t take a back seat to Wemby. He will force Wemby to up his game to a higher standard while KD will just let Wemby hoop. That’s the difference. Giannis will push Wemby and KD will just let Wemby be.

[KobesAchilles]

Scott. What do you see as the price for Giannis? Am I way off on what you think it would take to get him?

[LeBowen]

Scott. What do you see as the price for Giannis? Am I way off on what you think it would take to get him?

Not scott, but as I wrote before, the optimistic Giannis package would be something like:
Devin
Jeremy (those two for sure)
Barnes or Keldon (whichever they prefer as a salary match)
#2 or Castle (Bucks would probably ask for Castle and not Jeremy, but we have to draw the line somewhere, they probably take Harper because of his higher ceiling)
3 or 4 more FRPs
#14 '25
'27 ATL
'29 SAS
And a bunch of SRPs would be my best realistic guess.

Then we'd be left with no tradeable picks before '31 and the following roster:
Fox/?/Wesley
Castle/?/Branham
Barnes/Champ/?
Giannis/?/?
Wemby/?/?

How exactly would you fill out that roster?
Around 10 million cap space and MLE left.
That's a great starting 5 and Champ as the only reliable bench player.

And that's the optimistic scenario. Bucks probably hold the line at both Harper and Castle.

The issue isn't trading for Giannis, the issue is that we'd definitely need a couple more trades.
Reliable backup PG, another reliable wing and Wemby backup.

Brand new team, new coach with no experience and Wemby coming off a serious injury.
Too many moving parts for something not to go wrong. And then we'd be fucked.
At least that's how I see things because I'm always prepared for the worst. :lol

[scott]

Scott. What do you see as the price for Giannis? Am I way off on what you think it would take to get him?

I'll plug it into my model in a little big and see what it says!

My gut tells me that Giannis is too valuable to be traded for anything less than another star going the other direction. And of course a lot depends on how difficult Giannis makes things on MKE (which my guess is that he wants to do MKE a solid and help them get max return... I don't sense there is real animosity between Giannis and the club)

[RC_Drunkford]

The problem with Durant is that adding him won‘t fix our defense nor our rebounding issues. He also can’t guard physical PFs and would struggle against double big line ups defensively. Additionally he‘ll tie up our cap for this season.

Offensively this is intriguing, but I think a move for a John Collins or PJ Washington plus adding the 14th pick to the roster and more money to fill out the bench would probably improve the team in the same way, if not more.

[LeBowen]

The problem with Durant is that adding him won‘t fix our defense nor our rebounding issues. He also can’t guard physical PFs and would struggle against double big line ups defensively.

If we got him we'd be forcing the teams to adapt to us, not the other way around.
KD and Wemby would provide the best possible spacing for Fox/Castle to do whatever they want.
Add Barnes into the mix if he survives the trade.

Obviously the defense would still be subpar, but it's not that relevant in the regular season and it's not like we'd have a legit chance of being legit contenders right away.

[spurraider21]

Random thought… I know this is a rare occurrence but could teams view Vassell in a similar light as Dwhite? Don’t get me wrong DWhite was one of my fav players and we know how great he was but he really shined after he left the spurs… Could the same happen for Dev and teams will jump at the opportunity.
the problem with Vassell is that the Spurs need him to be something along the lines of what Derrick White and Mikal Bridges bring to their teams. defense first guys who can shoot, handle some weakside ballhandling when needed, and bail the team out when handed the occasional grenade due to his ability to get tough shots off at better rates than most.

however, he plays offense like he thinks he's kawhi and plays defense like harden or late career kobe (i would imagine kobe was an idol of his tbh)

[spurraider21]

I can't really think of a better reasonable offseason than what scott (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=150) posted other than I think I'd rather have Bobby Portis with the MLE instead of Capela.
Portis seems fairly redundant with John Collins imo

[scott]

Scott. What do you see as the price for Giannis? Am I way off on what you think it would take to get him?

So... after plugging in the data, I see that my model clearly isn't built to accomodate a "SuperStar" level player... as I get a Rating for Giannis that is lower than DJM in 2022 when we traded him, and about equivalent to Donovan Mitchell when he was traded in 2022. This is because my model gives bonus points for age and bargain contracts - so those two things are working against Giannis. His rating comes in about 8% lower than the rating it assigned for Luka.

So... I saw this just to saw that I don't like my model for trying to estimate Giannis's worth.

While I'm not a huge proponent of going for Giannis (and I love Giannis, one of my favorite Non-Spurs in the league although I have it on good authority he is kind of an asshole teammate), I agree with all the reasons you laid out for why he'd be good for us and Wemby.

I think the scenario LeBowen laid out seems about right.

He should be able to get a few promising young players, *short-term* matching salary (I think this is important) plus 4-5 unprotected FRPs and 2-3 swaps. The godfather package. I do think #2 this year (or #1 if you are Dallas) should be able to count for and offset 2 or maybe 3 FRPs. I think Castle could possible count as 1 promising young player and 1 FRP... maybe 2. Devin isn't that young anymore, and his contract doesn't necessarily favor what a tanking team might want... so I would just count him as neutral salary ballast as far as MIL is concerned, but they might actually prefer guys like Barnes and Keldon due to their shorter salary.

So I think if the Spurs wanted to try to acquire Giannis for as "cheaply" as possible as far as future picks are concerned, I think:

#2
Castle
One more FRP
3 Swaps
Barnes, Keldon, Sochan, Branham

Might get a conversation going?

If you want to keep Castle, you gotta add 2 more FRPs.

I might be completely off base here... this is just my guess of course. This is a bit of unchartered territory and I do think that the best way to get Giannis is if someone else had another Top 10 player to offer.

Wonder if ORL would consider a package centered around Paolo for Giannis.

[Pauleta14]

I only had one request, get rid of Mitch.

Anything else is secondary.

[vy65]

I feel like a lot of folks only know Durant from his tweets. The dude clearly has a high work ethic, and yes, he does mentor young players around the league. Hell, so did Kobe, which is why it's weird for a poster to use Bryant as an example of a bad mentor. Like with Kobe, there's a reason why Durant is so highly thought of by his fellow players. I think it's silly to confuse Durant not winning a title as a top option as him not being a leader or teacher. Wemby in particular seems to like Durant far more than he likes Giannis. I'm not sure what Giannis could even teach Victor, but the age difference doesn't work well in their favor. Giannis may not leave MKE because he's been given so much control there. He's the king of that city, and he's not going to be second fiddle to Wemby. Durant already knows he wont' be the first fiddle at this point. So Wemby's not competition for him; he's a talent he can work with, ala Robinson and Duncan.

I'm not saying Durant has done bad things (that Scarlett Johansson tweet remains the most cringe thing I've ever seen an NBA player do), but I actually think that just makes Durant a better mentor. Wemby already has Tim and David as folks he can look to who stayed with one team their whole careers. I think having a guy like Durant, who can tell him exactly what he's giving up if he caves to pressure and toxic "alpha mentality" and lets it force him to leave good situations. I've always found Durant to be pretty thoughtful when he's giving interviews. He's a person who's learned a lot and really just seems to enjoy being around basketball, let alone getting to play it. I don't know what happens when he gets in front of a keyboard, but I think Durant would be really good for the Spurs culture, whereas I think Giannis would be toxic to it.

Preach brother, preach

[vy65]

Here’s a link of Pop praising KDs (and Draymonds) leadership qualities for young players:

https://youtu.be/Ep-mHEO1t0o?si=xGunTFkPnhuFFs0A

[baseline bum]

Portis seems fairly redundant with John Collins imo

Less redundant than Capela if you have Wemby and Sorber though.

[Pauleta14]

Adding my voice to the KD "lobby"...

He's so much more a better fit for so many reasons than a Giannis.

Basketball wise his game is based on finesse and not athleticism, he can play 4 positions and would get more open shots with Wemby than he's ever had.

Off the court the dude is the best mentor I could dream of for Wemby and our youngsters and iircc Victor admires him.

Giannis loves to hold the ball too much, would have to change his whole game to adapt to Wemby and isn't a reliable shooter to help spread the floor. He also has a game based on athleticism and any season from now could be his last one (not being dramatic, it's just how it goes after 30 with these types of players).

IF we take a gamble I'd love it to be for KD.

[Guru of Nothing]

Utah and Washington tanked hard and only ended up with the 5th and 6th picks overall. Harper - as 2nd overall pick present day, is worth a minimum of 4 FRPs on my chart. Maybe I could negotiate down a little from here, but I'm not the one with a shit roster looking for a bailout. At the very least, I'm not making the first offer. No sir, but give me a target to beat, and you'll have my immediate attention.

[spurraider21]

Less redundant than Capela if you have Wemby and Sorber though.
ah yeah i didnt catch Sorber was part of this

[poopbox]

I'll plug it into my model in a little big and see what it says!

My gut tells me that Giannis is too valuable to be traded for anything less than another star going the other direction. And of course a lot depends on how difficult Giannis makes things on MKE (which my guess is that he wants to do MKE a solid and help them get max return... I don't sense there is real animosity between Giannis and the club)

Interesting, cause I would think the Bucks would lean more toward a franchise reboot than wanting a star to help them to compete.

Like if the Spurs offer #2 and Castle and the Suns offer Booker I am sure the Bucks are taking the Spurs offer 10 out of 10 times 11 out of 10 times in a leap year.

I also don't believe Giannis cares very much about doing the Bucks a solid. This is the 3rd straight summer he has pulled the "I might have to leave" routine. Not something you do when you are trying to do your team "a solid".

Dejounte did the Spurs "a solid" in the Hawks trade. You never heard a peep about it until it was done, which allowed the spurs to extract maximum value. I don't see how the Bucks get max value for Giannis if everyone knows he is on the way out. Then all you do is wait for him to become a malcontent and wait for the Bucks to get desperate.

[scott]

This is NOT my ideal offseason... but here is a scenario I thought up to go in the complete opposite of what we have now and create the team with the most length in history. Castle's shooting is no longer a problem... I don't know how our defense will be, but we should be able to get those rebounds.

TRADE:

-The Spurs trade Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham & #2 to UTA for #5 and Lauri Markkanen
-The Spurs trade Devin Vassell & #5 to NOP for #7 & Trey Murphy III
-The Spurs trade De'Aaron Fox & Jeremy Sochan for Kevin Durant and a future FRP

With #7, the Spurs draft Khaman Maluach
With #14, the Spurs draft Egor Demin
With #38, the Spurs sign Bagolijub Markovic

Memphis for some reason allows Santi to leave, he signs with the Spurs at the MLE
Spurs use the BAE to sign Ben Simmons
Spurs re-sign Mamu
Spurs sign Bol Bol to a 1-year minimum deal
Riley Minix makes a leap

The new Spurs:

PG: Stephon Castle (6'6") / Ben Simmons (6'11") / Blake Wesley (6'5")
SG: Trey Murphy III (6'10") / Egor Demin (6'10") / Riley Minix (6'7")
SF: Kevin Durant (6'11") / Julian Champagnie (6'7") / Mamu (6'10")
PF: Lauri Markkanen (7'0") / Santi Aldama (7'0") / Bogoljub Markovic (6'11")
C: Victor Wembanyama (7'19") / Khaman Maluach (7'2") / Bol Bol (7'3")

[ginobilized]

This is NOT my ideal offseason... but here is a scenario I thought up to go in the complete opposite of what we have now and create the team with the most length in history. Castle's shooting is no longer a problem... I don't know how our defense will be, but we should be able to get those rebounds.

TRADE:

-The Spurs trade Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham & #2 to UTA for #5 and Lauri Markkanen
-The Spurs trade Devin Vassell & #5 to NOP for #7 & Trey Murphy III
-The Spurs trade De'Aaron Fox & Jeremy Sochan for Kevin Durant and a future FRP

With #7, the Spurs draft Khaman Maluach
With #14, the Spurs draft Egor Demin
With #38, the Spurs sign Bagolijub Markovic

Memphis for some reason allows Santi to leave, he signs with the Spurs at the MLE
Spurs use the BAE to sign Ben Simmons
Spurs re-sign Mamu
Spurs sign Bol Bol to a 1-year minimum deal
Riley Minix makes a leap

The new Spurs:

PG: Stephon Castle (6'6") / Ben Simmons (6'11") / Blake Wesley (6'5")
SG: Trey Murphy III (6'10") / Egor Demin (6'10") / Riley Minix (6'7")
SF: Kevin Durant (6'11") / Julian Champagnie (6'7") / Mamu (6'10")
PF: Lauri Markkanen (7'0") / Santi Aldama (7'0") / Bogoljub Markovic (6'11")
C: Victor Wembanyama (7'19") / Khaman Maluach (7'2") / Bol Bol (7'3")


Like Col. Kurtz, I believe it is time for your command to be terminated with extreme prejudice. You may be clear in your mind, but, your soul is mad. The horror.....

Insanity aside, I was entertaining thoughts of Bol Bol, too. Pretty funny proposition you created. Pop's love of Don Nelson's small ball approach probably saves us from this.

BTW- You forgot to add Boban to the coaching staff.

[rankingtear]

The problem with Durant is that adding him won‘t fix our defense nor our rebounding issues. He also can’t guard physical PFs and would struggle against double big line ups defensively. Additionally he‘ll tie up our cap for this season.

Offensively this is intriguing, but I think a move for a John Collins or PJ Washington plus adding the 14th pick to the roster and more money to fill out the bench would probably improve the team in the same way, if not more.

Cmon emoji guy, even the vanilla guy is relenting on the John Collins crap, these guys are not shot creators, Wemby needs a shot creator next to him in the front court to drag the wing defender away from him that is why there is interest in a high level wing at that spot and not a combo big or a stretch 4.

[pad300]

Let's start with Nico being Nico, and selecting Harper, "as he's the next Harden"...

2 Flagg
14 Sorber
38 TBD

[Chinook]

however, he plays offense like he thinks he's kawhi and plays defense like harden or late career kobe (i would imagine kobe was an idol of his tbh)

For a player Devin's age, I think his idol would've been Paul George.

[scott]

however, he plays offense like he thinks he's kawhi and plays defense like harden or late career kobe (i would imagine kobe was an idol of his tbh)


For a player Devin's age, I think his idol would've been Paul George.

I thought it was pretty widely known that Kobe was his idol. Homie wears #24 and even has a Kobe tattoo.

https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/2/8/24065648/why-devin-vassell-wears-number-24

[T Park]

Antonio Daniels was Timmy’s best friend, and in his wedding party. He was traded. Malik Rose was Timmy’s good friend, and he was traded. Spurs make the moves that they need to. Not saying Sochan will be traded, but he absolutely could.

If Wemby or a player now says dont do it. They wont. Times have changed.

[Chinook]

Durant is thought highly of bc he is a skilled player. He has a “full bag” as the players like to say.

No, Durant was one of the players in the room negotiating the CBA on behalf of the NBPA. That role did not come from his bag. It came from the relationship he's built with players throughout the league. It's not just a matter of having talent. It's being willing to give time to others to help them get better.


Also Kobe might be the worst leader of any superstar player. He ran Shaq out. He ran Phil out. He quit on his team in game 7 of the playoffs. He beefed with his teammates through out his career. From Shaq to Smush to Pau and Bynum to Nick Young to Russel to Randel. He was a terrible leader for young players and by all accounts the team vets basically had to bitch slap him to stay in line during the 3peat.

Now we're mixing up words. I never said Kobe was a leader. I was a little loose with the word earlier, so I'm not blaming you here. What I said about Kobe is that he was a mentor, which he was to a lot of players. Him having an ego that kept him from co-existing with Shaq is not the same thing. It's just like how Lebron's always been a good teammate despite the fact that he loves to play GM. Who people are interpersonally isn't the same as who they become in media narratives or even stuff they might do away from the locker room.


KD runs away from adversity. He just does. You can say well he can tell Wemby all the downsides that came with leaving from franchise to franchise but KD is too prideful for that.KD runs away from adversity. He just does. You can say well he can tell Wemby all the downsides that came with leaving from franchise to franchise but KD is too prideful for that. Dude has never accepted that he wasn’t good enough to not get a team to a championship as the lead dog. It’s just excuses with him. He gets coaches fired, he values friends over fit (and that’s something I really wish Wemby doesn’t do) and I’ve never seen him say in the past decade “I’m the issue. I’m the reason why we lost. I will rally the troops and get us past this.” I have seen him say it’s the role players fault. It’s the fit of the team. It’s managements fault. It’s the coaches fault. Heck I know Chuck said KD isn’t a bus driver and just a passenger but man KD has ran over a lot of people and reversed back over them time and time again.

Honestly, Durant letting Barkley run him is one of the main things he can warn Wemby against. No one should give a shit what Chuck has to say about winning. Sport media doesn't care about people. They only care about money. We've already had to see ESPN trying to manufacture trades trying to "Get Wemby help" when Victor is still trying to learn the NBA game and basic consistency. Then they compare him to a role-player like Chet for no reason other than to try to stir up controversy. Durant got a bunch of pressure from the media when he left. Giannis and Lillard got a lot of pressure when they stayed. The lesson Durant can impart is not "Stay, because the grass isn't always greener." It's, "They're going to pick at you no matter what you do. They'll never be happy, because they don't care about you as a person." I don't know if Durant truly regrets any of his moves -- and the teams that used to have him probably don't regret having him. But I do think he'd offer much more valuable commentary on the media and modern NBA that Giannis would.


You don’t think Giannis could teach Wemby how to spend every day as a pro? You don’t think he can teach Wemby how much he needs to be in the weight room

No. Do you think Wemby doesn't have trainers? Do you think Barnes and Paul don't know how to spend days as pros? I don't like the implication that Wemby needs to bulk like Giannis. Giannis has a different body type that can take that muscle. Wemby has put a lot of time and money into his body already. I don't actually think he'd have any interest in throwing away that investment. I also don't get why you think Durant wouldn't also have any tips on maintaining his body. He's the one who's still very good as a 36-year-old. Giannis is still in his physical prime (and is also breaking down).


How many times does Wemby jog back on offense? How many times does he mentally check himself out of plays. How many times has he checked himself out of entire quarters. Giannis doesn’t play that way. There is no checking out with Giannis. There is no jogging on offense with Giannis

What on Earth gave you this impression? It's not actually based on any data. The NBA actually tracks players' movement nowadays. The two players are basically identical when it comes to their distance covered and average speed on the court. Giannis was the second-slowest Buck last year. You know who actually hustles all the time, doesn't take plays off and whatnot? Sochan. Out of all the rotation players still on the team, Jeremy hustled the most often. The absolute leader was Wesley, followed by Tre Jones. Giannis' teammate Andre Jackson Jr lead the NBA in movement among rotation players, so it's not even like the Bucks' system was the reason. Risacher was third in the whole league in movement.


You are the poster who correctly said, that Wemby isn’t a franchise player yet. He can be soon. But he isn’t there yet. Well Giannis shouldn’t take a back seat to Wemby. He will force Wemby to up his game to a higher standard while KD will just let Wemby hoop. That’s the difference. Giannis will push Wemby and KD will just let Wemby be.

Wemby isn't ready to carry his team to a title yet, which is why investing in moves to try to force something now like trading for Jaylen Brown. But's he's not "the help" either. Giannis conflicts with Wemby on the court. They occupy the same niche on the court but just execute field goals differently due to their skill-sets. Think Lebron and Wade in Miami, except in the Heatles' case they were both already develop superstars who were close friends and wanted to work together. Even so, it was more of a situation where they overcame a bad fit due to sheer talent. If you trade for Giannis, it's his team, and Wemby becomes something between Heatles' Bosh and Myles Turner to support that. Given the Bucks relative lack of success, I don't know if that's a good thing, even strictly on the court. Durant would be different, as you said. It would be Victor's team, but he'd have extra support, including someone who could come in a lead the charge. If everything goes right, yeah they could win a title with KD, and the team should be willing to give themselves a chance to do that if the opportunity arises. But that's not the point of the trade. It's about getting someone who will make Wemby better, and unlike Giannis, the price for Durant works perfectly fine to that end.

[Chinook]

I thought it was pretty widely known that Kobe was his idol. Homie wears #24 and even has a Kobe tattoo.

https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/2/8/24065648/why-devin-vassell-wears-number-24

I thought that was a reference to how many teammates' girls George slept with. I guess I was off.

[KobesAchilles]

No, Durant was one of the players in the room negotiating the CBA on behalf of the NBPA. That role did not come from his bag. It came from the relationship he's built with players throughout the league. It's not just a matter of having talent. It's being willing to give time to others to help them get better.



Now we're mixing up words. I never said Kobe was a leader. I was a little loose with the word earlier, so I'm not blaming you here. What I said about Kobe is that he was a mentor, which he was to a lot of players. Him having an ego that kept him from co-existing with Shaq is not the same thing. It's just like how Lebron's always been a good teammate despite the fact that he loves to play GM. Who people are interpersonally isn't the same as who they become in media narratives or even stuff they might do away from the locker room.



Honestly, Durant letting Barkley run him is one of the main things he can warn Wemby against. No one should give a shit what Chuck has to say about winning. Sport media doesn't care about people. They only care about money. We've already had to see ESPN trying to manufacture trades trying to "Get Wemby help" when Victor is still trying to learn the NBA game and basic consistency. Then they compare him to a role-player like Chet for no reason other than to try to stir up controversy. Durant got a bunch of pressure from the media when he left. Giannis and Lillard got a lot of pressure when they stayed. The lesson Durant can impart is not "Stay, because the grass isn't always greener." It's, "They're going to pick at you no matter what you do. They'll never be happy, because they don't care about you as a person." I don't know if Durant truly regrets any of his moves -- and the teams that used to have him probably don't regret having him. But I do think he'd offer much more valuable commentary on the media and modern NBA that Giannis would.



No. Do you think Wemby doesn't have trainers? Do you think Barnes and Paul don't know how to spend days as pros? I don't like the implication that Wemby needs to bulk like Giannis. Giannis has a different body type that can take that muscle. Wemby has put a lot of time and money into his body already. I don't actually think he'd have any interest in throwing away that investment. I also don't get why you think Durant wouldn't also have any tips on maintaining his body. He's the one who's still very good as a 36-year-old. Giannis is still in his physical prime (and is also breaking down).



What on Earth gave you this impression? It's not actually based on any data. The NBA actually tracks players' movement nowadays. The two players are basically identical when it comes to their distance covered and average speed on the court. Giannis was the second-slowest Buck last year. You know who actually hustles all the time, doesn't take plays off and whatnot? Sochan. Out of all the rotation players still on the team, Jeremy hustled the most often. The absolute leader was Wesley, followed by Tre Jones. Giannis' teammate Andre Jackson Jr lead the NBA in movement among rotation players, so it's not even like the Bucks' system was the reason. Risacher was third in the whole league in movement.



Wemby isn't ready to carry his team to a title yet, which is why investing in moves to try to force something now like trading for Jaylen Brown. But's he's not "the help" either. Giannis conflicts with Wemby on the court. They occupy the same niche on the court but just execute field goals differently due to their skill-sets. Think Lebron and Wade in Miami, except in the Heatles' case they were both already develop superstars who were close friends and wanted to work together. Even so, it was more of a situation where they overcame a bad fit due to sheer talent. If you trade for Giannis, it's his team, and Wemby becomes something between Heatles' Bosh and Myles Turner to support that. Given the Bucks relative lack of success, I don't know if that's a good thing, even strictly on the court. Durant would be different, as you said. It would be Victor's team, but he'd have extra support, including someone who could come in a lead the charge. If everything goes right, yeah they could win a title with KD, and the team should be willing to give themselves a chance to do that if the opportunity arises. But that's not the point of the trade. It's about getting someone who will make Wemby better, and unlike Giannis, the price for Durant works perfectly fine to that end.
Dude if you watch the Bucks and think Giannis doesn’t hustle his ass off bc the data says he doesn’t then idk what to tell you. We just disagree on a fundamental level. Just fuck the data and actually watch Giannis play and then tell me he is the second slowest Buck and doesn’t hustle like Sochan. Dude doubles Sochan in points rebounds and assists and yet Sochan is the one who hustles and not Giannis?? Ok man I’m just never going to see eye to eye with you on that.

Also who gives a fuck about KD being a player representative? Literally nobody. KD is a likable person. He may even be a smart person (I don’t know) but that doesn’t mean I want Wemby learning how to be a leader from KD. You gave no rebuttal to KD running away, throwing teammates under the bus, throwing coaches under the bus, and never personally taking responsibility for any lack of team success. Hell he didn’t even do it this year and just blamed the FO. When I think leadership I think of a person who gets coaches fired, blames everyone else, puts up empty stats, and is a primadonna who is never happy with his situation and always looking to move… so long as he’s a good union rep that is.

And man again if you don’t think Giannis can teach Wemby things again you and I just see things on a different fundamental level. I read the dream team book and something that stuck out to me was DRobs quotes. He said that he went in there with a mindset to just watch and learn. How do the best players train, what are their mindsets, how do they lead a team? And he was just focused on everything they did and it opened his eyes to the level that he was trying to get to and he saw a basketball world that he didn’t even know existed before spending the summer with the team. I think Giannis would provide that same experience for D-Rob who also had trainers. Like yeah no shit Wemby has trainers and a dietitian. But clearly even with that Wemby gets gassed pretty easily. I’m sure the Spurs data says otherwise but when you watch the game he just does.

Also Wemby wouldn’t be a backseat to Giannis. He would be young Kobe to Shaq. I actually think that’s a perfect comparison rather than Wade and LeBron. Giannis plays like Shaq and Wemby is trying to be a guard half the time. Wemby took 9 threes a game last year. I don’t exactly see Giannis taking 9 threes in one game nvm average 9 a game. Their games are completely different. In fact, Wembys game is similar to KD if anything and they would overlap.

I know nobody here actually watches the Suns play (and why would you) but if you did you would see that Durant doesn’t help teams anymore. He plays no defense, doesn’t rebound the ball anymore either, and is a complete cancer on the floor. He does nothing without the ball in his hands. He just stands there.

Btw I love how Giannis is breaking down while averaging 30 points a game on 60% shooting, 12 rebounds a game and 6.5 assists a game, gets to the line 10 times a game while playing defense and KD who is older, has worst stats, and less games played somehow isn’t breaking down. Good to know.

[scott]

I wish I broke down in my 30s like Giannis is doing instead of... well, like how I did.

[Jordan Jackson]

My guess:
Brook Lopez backup center. Gets to hang with his buddy Mitch.

KD will be a Spur if that’s what he wants or Wemby wants.

I’m a big Jake LaRavia fan. Buy low there.

Spurs still need to find a 3 or 3/4 hybrid. I thought last season they needed to grab TM3 while no one was paying attention to him. It’s too late now.

[RC_Drunkford]

My guess:
Brook Lopez backup center. Gets to hang with his buddy Mitch.

KD will be a Spur if that’s what he wants or Wemby wants.

I’m a big Jake LaRavia fan. Buy low there.

Spurs still need to find a 3 or 3/4 hybrid. I thought last season they needed to grab TM3 while no one was paying attention to him. It’s too late now.

LaRavia is a good option. Adding Lopez would be pretty difficult if we trade for KD.

[Ice009]

No. Do you think Wemby doesn't have trainers? Do you think Barnes and Paul don't know how to spend days as pros? I don't like the implication that Wemby needs to bulk like Giannis. Giannis has a different body type that can take that muscle. Wemby has put a lot of time and money into his body already. I don't actually think he'd have any interest in throwing away that investment. I also don't get why you think Durant wouldn't also have any tips on maintaining his body. He's the one who's still very good as a 36-year-old. Giannis is still in his physical prime (and is also breaking down).


I don't remember Giannis in his first couple of years, but what makes you say that his body/frame could handle the extra weight? How are you able to tell if someone's body type can handle extra muscle/weight? I remember Giannis being skinny as a rake.

[CGD]

LaRavia is a good option. Adding Lopez would be pretty difficult if we trade for KD.

Why? MLE would cover most of his salary.

[CGD]

My guess:
Brook Lopez backup center. Gets to hang with his buddy Mitch.

KD will be a Spur if that’s what he wants or Wemby wants.

I’m a big Jake LaRavia fan. Buy low there.

Spurs still need to find a 3 or 3/4 hybrid. I thought last season they needed to grab TM3 while no one was paying attention to him. It’s too late now.

I like it. If they're able to get Carter Bryant at 14, that would help address your hybrid needs.

[RC_Drunkford]

Why? MLE would cover most of his salary.

yes and after that you'd only have 5.1 million and minimum contracts left to fill out 4 more roster spots.

*edit: you can't sign Lopez and LaRavia. The MLE is 14.1 million. If you throw the entire MLE at Brook, you only have 5.1 million left. LaRavia should get something in the ballpark of 10 million. He's not gonna sign for the BAE of 5.1 million.

[Guru of Nothing]

Today (tomorrow will be different)

- Trade #14, Vassell, KJ, and Sochan to Phoenix for Durant. ...stopping short of building a proper 3 or 4 team extravaganza.
- Sign Kornet, unless he gets a Hartenstein like offer from someone.
- Bring back CP3 (I understand I'm on an island here)
- Bring back Biyombo (great depth player to have)
- Reward Champ - listening to Hollinger & Duncan reviewing veterans eligible for an extension, Champ was mentioned. I can see him getting a similar deal to Tre Jones a couple of years ago. So, maybe a total bag of $20-30M inbound.

Starting Lineup: Wemby, Durant, Champ, Castle, Fox
Rotational: Harper, Barnes, Kornet, CP3
Bench: Wesley, #38 (7-ft project).

Comments:
- Shooting efficiency will prime motivating factors for either Castle or Harper to earn the starting gig.
- CP3 (minimal playing time), he's being brought back to assist Mitch.
- Will be a relief to have three bigs on the roster (Wemby's a free spirit in this context) if we have a project @38 worth a little excitement, plus Kornet and Biyombo.

[RC_Drunkford]

If we trade for KD I'd do a semi all-in move without getting rid of a lot of assets. My ideal scenario would probably be:

Vassell + Barnes and #14 for KD

3-Team deal where we ship out Keldon and get PJ Washington from Dallas by returning their 2030 swap. Something like Keldon to Nets, D-Lo sign and trade to Mavs, PJ to Spurs. Might have to throw in #38 and another 2nd rounder to Brooklyn.

trade a bunch of 2026 second round picks to move up into the late first round and draft Rasheer Fleming.

Sign Brook Lopez for the MLE

Sign Alec Burks for veteran minimum.

sign Riley Minnix

Keep one open roster spot as well as Wesley and Branham on the team for a deal at the deadline.

We'd be 3 million under the tax with this roster:

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Burks/Branham
Durant/Champagnie/Minnix
PJ Washington/Sochan/Fleming
Wembanyama/Lopez

plenty of size, shooting and defense with a lot of players who can play multiple positions.

[Guru of Nothing]

Yeah, PJ would be very useful. He'll probably show up on future iterations.

[CGD]

yes and after that you'd only have 5.1 million and minimum contracts left to fill out 4 more roster spots.

*edit: you can't sign Lopez and LaRavia. The MLE is 14.1 million. If you throw the entire MLE at Brook, you only have 5.1 million left. LaRavia should get something in the ballpark of 10 million. He's not gonna sign for the BAE of 5.1 million.

Im curious to see what the LaRavia market comes in at.

In any case, I'm less concerned about filling out the backend of the roster. That was basically going to be the scenario anyway if we were also expecting a trade.

You'll have you a solid core group:

Fox/Harper
Castle/Champ
HB/Bryant
KD/Sochan
Wembs/Lopez

Deep Bench: Maliki; Wesley; Mamu

[CGD]

Today (tomorrow will be different)

- Trade #14, Vassell, KJ, and Sochan to Phoenix for Durant. ...stopping short of building a proper 3 or 4 team extravaganza.
- Sign Kornet, unless he gets a Hartenstein like offer from someone.
- Bring back CP3 (I understand I'm on an island here)
- Bring back Biyombo (great depth player to have)
- Reward Champ - listening to Hollinger & Duncan reviewing veterans eligible for an extension, Champ was mentioned. I can see him getting a similar deal to Tre Jones a couple of years ago. So, maybe a total bag of $20-30M inbound.

Starting Lineup: Wemby, Durant, Champ, Castle, Fox
Rotational: Harper, Barnes, Kornet, CP3
Bench: Wesley, #38 (7-ft project).

Comments:
- Shooting efficiency will prime motivating factors for either Castle or Harper to earn the starting gig.
- CP3 (minimal playing time), he's being brought back to assist Mitch.
- Will be a relief to have three bigs on the roster (Wemby's a free spirit in this context) if we have a project @38 worth a little excitement, plus Kornet and Biyombo.

I don't get the overpay proposals for 37 year old, injury prone, needs and extension, KD.

What team, that KD will agree to go to mind you, is throwing a mega offer for him?
-- Houston has eyes for Giannis
-- Lol at the idea of returning to the Nets
-- KD already squashed trades to Memphis, GSW
-- OKC has clearly moved on
-- Best one is Miami, but what do they offer that wont gut their team? And, if its a Wiggins-centered deal, is that better than a package built around Dev/Keldon/Maliki?

TL;DR --- LOLOLOL Suns!!

[mo7888]

Trade Devin + 14 + 38 to Brooklyn for Cam + 19 +26

Trade Keldon + Barnes + 19 to phoenix for KD

Draft Raynaud/ Kalkbrenner at 26 and Harper @ 2

Fox/CP3
Harper/Castle
Cam/Champagnie
KD/Sochan
Wemby/Kalkbrenner/ vet C

Probably resign Mamu and use the exceptions on maybe Portis/Royce O'Neale

Trade Devin + 14 + 3 future 2nds to Brooklyn for Cam + 19 +26

Trade Keldon + Barnes + 19 to phoenix for KD

Draft Raynaud/ Kalkbrenner at 26 and Harper @ 2 and Chaz Lanier @ 38

Fox/CP3
Harper/Castle
Cam/NAW/Champagnie
KD/Sochan/Portis
Wemby/Kalkbrenner/ vet C

Probably resign Mamu and use the exceptions on maybe Portis or Royce O'Neale and NAW

[SpurSpike]

We keep the core of Wemby, Fox, Castle, Sochan (signed with a reasonable 3Y 12M/year contract), Harper and make some moves to get a decent backup big and a long wing player that can defend and shoot.

[LeBowen]

Another idea.

Devin, '30 DAL swap returned, 4 SRPs (Mavs have none) for PJ Washington and Gafford.
Keldon, #14 for Cam Johnson.

Fox/Harper
Castle/Champ
Cam/Barnes
Washington/Jeremy
Wemby/Gafford

Three man guard rotation with 4 good wing shooters and Jeremy. Wemby would also have a great backup.
Can also go for KD instead of Cam, but it would be a bit more difficult if Devin is already gone.

[Ocotillo]

Wemby finds a really good allergist.

[spurraider21]

i agree with drunkford. if we're going to land KD, i dont know if KD/Barnes or KD/Keldon really makes sense. flipping the change + a pick for PJ Washington would make much more sense. KD/PJ at the forward spots would be pretty great

[RC_Drunkford]

if you're making win now trades, you might as well do them til you have a win now roster instead of halfassing it. Not saying that I'm for it, but only adding KD would still leave plenty holes in the roster. And weather or not we get him, I want PJ Washington regardless.

[SpursBills]

Another idea.

Devin, '30 DAL swap returned, 4 SRPs (Mavs have none) for PJ Washington and Gafford.
Keldon, #14 for Cam Johnson.

Fox/Harper
Castle/Champ
Cam/Barnes
Washington/Jeremy
Wemby/Gafford

Three man guard rotation with 4 good wing shooters and Jeremy. Wemby would also have a great backup.
Can also go for KD instead of Cam, but it would be a bit more difficult if Devin is already gone.

This one is my favorite so far, so long as the guys traded for are willing to extend at reasonable cost. Maybe you try and get 26 out of Brooklyn in the deal as well.

What do you think of Gafford, and specifically his defense and ability to hang with some of the bigger centers? Is he a long term backup option or someone you just let roll off in a year when his contract expires?

I'd assume you still have MLE and BAE to round out the roster in this scenario?

[SPURt]

I’d like to see Steven Adams in a Spurs uniform. I like much of what I’m seeing in terms of draft and moving Keldon and or Vassell for pieces. Should be a good offseason

[Guru of Nothing]

Any avenues to acquiring Lively from Dallas? At what cost? Would his game mesh with Wemby? ... Ultimately I don't see this as viable, but still curious. While he's on the right timeline as far as age is concerned, a 2nd contract might be a bad fit since Wemby will be getting his first, and we'll have Castle and Harper (RIGHT!?) to manage next.

91 games in 2 seasons is not good either. Now that I think about it, I don't have a lot memories built up to even understand his style. Is he on a Blake Griffin-lite trajectory, minus any semblance of a 3?

I believe I have talked myself out of this.

[LeBowen]

What do you think of Gafford, and specifically his defense and ability to hang with some of the bigger centers? Is he a long term backup option or someone you just let roll off in a year when his contract expires?

It would depend on his ambition.
To me he's one of those high energy guys who look way better in a limted role, any team getting him and expecting 30+ minutes of consistent production would be in for a rude awakening.
His extension would obviously depend on his performance and chemistry with the team.

I wouldn't do that trade if Washington doesn't agree on an extension right away.


I'd assume you still have MLE and BAE to round out the roster in this scenario?

My general idea regardless of wings we get is that Harper needs to get 30mpg if he's as good as advertised.
Fox/Castle/Harper guard rotation with two of them always being on the floor, easy enough to distribute 96 minutes between them.

Wings who are all great shooters (except Jeremy, ugh), whoever has the hot hand gets more minutes.
Wemby and Gafford could play some minutes together in certain matchup if we get outmuscled too much.

I don't expect to be a legit contender right away regardless of who we get, so we don't need to use all the exceptions if the rotation is set.
Wesley can be the emergency third (fourth?) PG option, we wouldn't really need any more guards and we'd be stacked on the wings.

As for cap space, it's projected to rise by ~$15M each season.
Spurs would be at around $155M with these trades and Harper, right at the line for 25-26 season.

26-27 is projected at $170M, with luxury line being at ~$207M.

Wesley, Branham would be gone, that's ~$10M extra space.
Jeremy would be up for an extension, I wouldn't offer him more than 50/4 unless he drastically improves his shooting.
Barnes' $19M would be off the books, I'd offer him another 2 year extension, 20/2 would be fair.
Fox extension is projected to be at 230/4, I'd offer him a 3+1 deal because that's when Harper's extension kicks in. I guess it would start around 52-55 million for the first season? At least 15 more than the last year of his current contract.
With Wemby/Castle/Harper contracts rising and Cam Johnson's decreasing deal, that would be around ~$170M on the books, $37M below the luxury line.
Washington and Gafford can fit in there.

Wemby, Fox, Castle, Harper, Sochan, Cam, Washington, Gafford, Cam on the roster as the 9 man rotation.
'26 ATL swap rookie if Spurs want to use it and fill the rest with minimum contracts.
If we don't extend Jeremy or Barnes we don't even have to dip in the luxury.

While we're at luxury:
https://i.redd.it/gb7zgcxfmm3f1.jpeg

It's time for Holts to spend some money.

[RC_Drunkford]

Another idea.

Devin, '30 DAL swap returned, 4 SRPs (Mavs have none) for PJ Washington and Gafford.
Keldon, #14 for Cam Johnson.

Fox/Harper
Castle/Champ
Cam/Barnes
Washington/Jeremy
Wemby/Gafford

Three man guard rotation with 4 good wing shooters and Jeremy. Wemby would also have a great backup.
Can also go for KD instead of Cam, but it would be a bit more difficult if Devin is already gone.

that's more my type of deal. Been saying Washington and Gafford would be great fits. We also might be able to snag Washington in a multi-team deal.

Rumors say the Lakers want Gafford and Dallas wants Jrue Holiday.

Lakers get Gafford
Mavs get Holiday
Spurs get Washington
Celtics get Keldon and Vincent's expiring

Add draft compensation how you see fit. Mavs would have to send out another small filler like Prosper or Hardy or offload them to the Nets for example.

Of course it would be smarter for the Celtics to just take PJ instead of Keldon, but it depends if they want him or not.

[LeBowen]

that's more my type of deal. Been saying Washington and Gafford would be great fits. We also might be able to snag Washington in a multi-team deal.

Rumors say the Lakers want Gafford and Dallas wants Jrue Holiday.

Lakers get Gafford
Mavs get Holiday
Spurs get Washington
Celtics get Keldon and Vincent's expiring

Mavs would have to send out another small filler like Prosper or Hardy or offload it to the Nets for example

I already made a 3-way trade suggestion with Dallas getting Jrue.

Spurs
Washington
Gafford

Celtics
Devin
Powell (salary match)
'28 swap returned

Mavs
Jrue
'30 swap returned

Spurs probably wouldn't mind this one because Devin would be going to a good team, they don't like sending their supposedly good players into bad situations.

[scott]

LaRavia is a good option. Adding Lopez would be pretty difficult if we trade for KD.

I'm one of the folks who have been at the head of the LaRavia bandwagon for awhile now, but I can't see it happening unless we are making some significant move elsewhere. I can see the Spurs adding a rookie wing... but I don't see them adding LaRavia without first moving one or more of Vassell, Johnson, Champagnie and maybe even Sochan.

[scott]

This isn't necessarily the right thread to discuss this... but I'm gonna start discussing it in more and more threads...

Hear me out...

Steph Castle is a SF.

[RC_Drunkford]

I'm one of the folks who have been at the head of the LaRavia bandwagon for awhile now, but I can't see it happening unless we are making some significant move elsewhere. I can see the Spurs adding a rookie wing... but I don't see them adding LaRavia without first moving one or more of Vassell, Johnson, Champagnie and maybe even Sochan.

I assume Devin, Barnes, Keldon, Wesley and Branham are all on the block. Champagnie is not because his contract is too good. As long as we get a starting PF who can defend and shoot I'm good with it. Jake is one of those guys.

[scott]

I assume Devin, Barnes, Keldon, Wesley and Branham are all on the block. Champagnie is not because his contract is too good. As long as we get a starting PF who can defend and shoot I'm good with it. Jake is one of those guys.

I'm with you. And if we are shaking up the roster more than I think we will... then LaRavia is a top target of mine. I agree $10MM is probably about right for him. Anything too much less and he will probably just go back to SAC for the max $5.1MM they can offer him (which is why the BAE is not an option for Jake).

But... I'm still thinking we're going to be underwhelmed with our offseason moves and all of those guys are still on the team next opening day.

[R. DeMurre]

In a new article published today, Jake LaRavia said the 4 teams he'd consider in free agency were Orlando, Detroit, San Antonio, and Denver.

https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/after-season-of-growth-jake-laravia-confident-amid-uncertain-future/

[scott]

In a new article published today, Jake LaRavia said the 4 teams he'd consider in free agency were Orlando, Detroit, San Antonio, and Denver.

https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/after-season-of-growth-jake-laravia-confident-amid-uncertain-future/

Nice! Four teams that could definitely use him.

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs should be all over this guy. Fills a need and won't cost much. Lock him up for cheap for 3-4 years. He's 23 and will only get better. These are the type of small moves that I want to see the team make. And the best thing is, you don't even have to trade for him.

[pad300]

This isn't necessarily the right thread to discuss this... but I'm gonna start discussing it in more and more threads...

Hear me out...

Steph Castle is a SF.

He's big enough to play at the SF spot, but I think it gives away a lot; he's doesn't have the size (and strength) advantage he'd have at the guard spots...

[R. DeMurre]

The game where LaRavia impressed me the most was against Denver, where he switched multiple times from Jokic to Murray, and did an excellent job defending both.

[spurraider21]

This isn't necessarily the right thread to discuss this... but I'm gonna start discussing it in more and more threads...

Hear me out...

Steph Castle is a SF.
i had him as a tier 2 prospect if wing and a tier 3/4 prospect if point guard

[Mal]

Draft Harper at 2
Draft Sorber at 14
Trade Vassell, Keldon for Durant, who sign 55/2 extension with player option for 27/28
Resign Fox 225m/5
Resign Sochan 90m/5
Sign Tre Jones for 3m/1

Fox/Jones/Branham/Wesley
Castle/Harper
Durant/Champ
Sochan/Barnes
Wemby/Sorber/Biyombo (vet C)

Getting Durant gives you flexibility to run Fox/Castle/Harper lineup with Wemby. He can also play SF with Sochan/Barnes and only two of F-C-H. I kept Sochan over Johnson because Spurs would need defensive player for dream scenario of switch everything and Wemby protects the paint

[spurs10]

This isn't necessarily the right thread to discuss this... but I'm gonna start discussing it in more and more threads...

Hear me out...

Steph Castle is a SF. Thought about this quite a bit and is probably the way it's going to be be in a Fox, Harper, Castle situation considering Castles' hops. Hope we can augment Harrison with another big wing who can shoot.

[objective]

My 'soft' ideal off season, without a mega trade for a star like Durant or Giannis

1. Draft Harper
2. Draft 1 of Fleming, Bryant, Coward, or Wolf at 14
3. Take Zikarsky or Yang in second round for development g-league center

Acquire Brook Lopez on a 2 year deal MLE

Acquire either John Collins or PJ Washington with Vassell/Keldon draft considerations. Maybe it takes a Brooklyn reach around for PJ similar to how Boston got Jrue. Dallas dumps him into Brooklyn capspace and then Brooklyn gets the assets from the Spurs including 14?

And that's some solid stuff. Let's say it they lost Keldon in those deals:

Wemby/Lopez/2ndRounder
Washington/Sochan/Barnes
Castle/Sochan/Champagnie
Vassell/Harper
Fox/Harper

Realistically, the PF solution is the hardest to envision with regards to Collins or PJ.

So it might really just end up being:

Wemby/Lopez/2ndRounder
Sochan/Fleming/Barnes
Castle/Champagnie
Vassell/Harper
Fox/Harper

[spurraider21]

laravia would be an excellent pickup. legit forward size, plays solid defense, can shoot and handle. doesnt seem like he is too keen on returning to sacto. in the article it says "i could see going back as an option" :lol

looking at the 4 teams mentioned (ORL, DEN, DET, SAS):

- pistons are the team that will actually have cap room to splurge a little. they are projected to have 27mil in cap space. but with them already having Ausar, Tobias Harris, Ron Holland, Simone Fontecchio... im not sure forward will be their biggest need. their notable FAs are Tim Hardaway, Malik Beasley, and Shroeder, each of whom are guards. i would imagine that's where their emphasis will be in free agency

- orlando/denver will be a taxpaying teams and will be pushing the first apron. they will have the lower taxpayer MLE which is less than 6m/year. i think laravia will go for more than that.

meanwhile spurs biggest need will be at forward, followed by backup 5. spurs will have the full MLE to play with, in addition to the BAE should they need it

[spurraider21]

as for ideal offseason, im going to rule out the giannis/durant trades for the time being

im on board with what is becoming a growing consensus here, that one of John Collins or PJ Washington makes a ton of sense. both guys have fit in well to the modern NBA, with PJ being a 3/4 and Collins being a 4/5. both guys have had some good playoff experience (Collins was the #2 player on the Hawks team that made the ECF, PJ was a big piece in the Mavs recent finals run). both guys are quite young (PJ is 26, Collins is 27).

i lean collins because i think he should require less assets to acquire. i dont think you are getting PJ without giving up 14 and then some. with collins, i think the more likely compensation is moving back from 14 to 21 or something like that. depending on what mocks you are looking at, you can still see guys like Fleming, McNeeley, Clifford, Coward, Riley as potentially available

then we'd still have the MLE and BAE to play with.

Laravia as another forward who can play both ways would be nice. i know everybody here loves Adams, but some centers i'd like include Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kornet. im wary of Brook Lopez declining, but he'd be a heck of a veteran presence. he's not very versatile anymore, but as a bench player thats not as big of an issue. im less interested in capela who has been mentioned. he's fallen out of favor in Atlanta and doenst seem to have much juice left

NAW from minnesota is another player i am quite fond of

[Seventyniner]

NAW from minnesota is another player i am quite fond of

Gotta get this guy and have him play backcourt press coverage the whole game so we can have 48 Minutes of HELL NAW.

[vander]

I wouldn't make any trades for players this year yet. Spurs are still too young and aren't good enough to be looking for that one missing piece.
Draft Harper, trade #14 and whatever else necessary to get a future FRP, and run it back.
we are going to need future FRPs when all these guys get thier second contract.

[spurraider21]

I wouldn't make any trades for players this year yet. Spurs are still too young and aren't good enough to be looking for that one missing piece.
Draft Harper, trade #14 and whatever else necessary to get a future FRP, and run it back.
we are going to need future FRPs when all these guys get thier second contract.
who says its "one missing piece"

you acknowledge the spurs need several pieces. the draft is just one mechanism to add pieces. free agency and trades are other ways to continue to add to the talent pool. the only time the "one missing piece" talk applies is when a team goes all-in or near all-in with their remianing assets. trading 4+ first rounders for giannis would be that. trading for collins/PJ or even Durant likely would not

[onechance87]

In a new article published today, Jake LaRavia said the 4 teams he'd consider in free agency were Orlando, Detroit, San Antonio, and Denver.

https://www.basketballinsiders.org/news/after-season-of-growth-jake-laravia-confident-amid-uncertain-future/

Damn that would be a slap in the face for the kings.Traded for him in the fox deal,Just for him to
leave 4 months later and join the spurs as well lol

[Bruno]

- Draft Harper a #2.
- Trade #14 + Vassell + Champagnie for Anunoby.
- Trade #38 and 3 second round pick for #27 with Nets to draft Noah Penda.
- Sign Capela on a short contract with a high salary to compensate.
- Sign Fox to a max extension in August.

Main Rotation:
Fox/Harper
Castle/Harper
Anunoby/Keldon
Sochan/Barnes
Wembanyama/Capela

[Ice009]

- Draft Harper a #2.
- Trade #14 + Vassell + Champagnie for Anunoby.
- Trade #38 and 3 second round pick for #27 with Nets to draft Noah Penda.
- Sign Capela on a short contract with a high salary to compensate.
- Sign Fox to a max extension in August.

Main Rotation:
Fox/Harper
Castle/Harper
Anunoby/Keldon
Sochan/Barnes
Wembanyama/Capela

I like that lineup. I've always wanted Anunoby since I thought the Spurs should have received him in the Kawhi trade (really wanted Siakam, but that was never going to happen. They should have gotten OG as a bare minimum, otherwise called the deal off if Toronto didn't budge).

[RC_Drunkford]

I wouldn't make any trades for players this year yet. Spurs are still too young and aren't good enough to be looking for that one missing piece.
Draft Harper, trade #14 and whatever else necessary to get a future FRP, and run it back.
we are going to need future FRPs when all these guys get thier second contract.

this team is missing about 6 pieces. So they should try to add 2-3 and for that they will have to make some trades.

[LeBowen]

this team is missing about 6 pieces. So they should try to add 2-3 and for that they will have to make some trades.

Depends on what you define as "missing".
Right now we're missing another point guard (Harper), a legit starting PF and Wemby's backup.
We must acquire those three players one way or another if we're to be a functional team.

Some other players aren't good enough and will need upgrading, but I don't think any is a must get if we're to make the playoffs as long as Harper, starting PF and backup C prove to be good acquisitions.
Yes, we could upgrade Barnes, but having him start for one more season won't kill us.

[Baam]

- Draft Harper a #2.
- Trade #14 + Vassell + Champagnie for Anunoby.
- Trade #38 and 3 second round pick for #27 with Nets to draft Noah Penda.
- Sign Capela on a short contract with a high salary to compensate.
- Sign Fox to a max extension in August.

Main Rotation:
Fox/Harper
Castle/Harper
Anunoby/Keldon
Sochan/Barnes
Wembanyama/Capela
Nice team in 1995, no shooting at all.

[Raven]

trade fodder for gobert

[Ice009]

trade fodder for gobert

What? Who is trade fodder?

[Bruno]

Nice team in 1995, no shooting at all.

Yep, that's true.

I would like more Brook Lopez as backup C but I think he will be looking at a starting spot and that's why I went with Capela. Replacing Keldon with a shooter should also marginally helping that area.

At the end, Spurs' main issue shooting wise is Sochan. His lack of shooting is really problematic for the offense. I'm not sure if they should keep him or trade him.

[vander]

this team is missing about 6 pieces. So they should try to add 2-3 and for that they will have to make some trades.

when you need 6 pieces, you aren't trading for specific players, you're going fishing. you need to find some unexpected value, especially with this luxury tax system.
but do we even know that we need 6 pieces? lot of unknowns and what ifs on this roster. can we at least get one season of these guys playing together without injury before we throw half of them away for some trending player.

WWSPD what would Sam Presti do?

[R. DeMurre]

Damn that would be a slap in the face for the kings.Traded for him in the fox deal,Just for him to
leave 4 months later and join the spurs as well lol


The Kings are hampered by his contract situation and can only offer him $5.1mil... they knew that when they traded for him and took that chance, but his play has attracted too much attention and he's sure to get an offer that tops that. Not so much a slap in the face as it is bad asset management by the Kings. He's not going to sacrifice money to stay loyal to a team where he only played a few months, especially a team notorious for being poorly run for a long time. He said in that interview he wants to play for a young team with a chance of contending, and that's definitely not the Kings.

[exstatic]

trade fodder for gobert

I’d rather have fodder. He can’t even finish on the PnR any more.

[RC_Drunkford]

when you need 6 pieces, you aren't trading for specific players, you're going fishing. you need to find some unexpected value, especially with this luxury tax system.
but do we even know that we need 6 pieces? lot of unknowns and what ifs on this roster. can we at least get one season of these guys playing together without injury before we throw half of them away for some trending player.

WWSPD what would Sam Presti do?

that I agree with. What's clear is that we need a starting PF. So I'd like to trade for one. I'm also in favor of using the 14 pick to draft a rotation player, instead of trading it

[R. DeMurre]

I haven't seen much mention of Larry Nance Jr... He's not a world beater, but for a cheap UFA I think he's an interesting player for 15 mpg, and at age 32 he just had the two best three point shooting percentages of his entire career, at 41.5% and 44.7% the last two years. 6'8.5" with a 7'2" wingspan.

[scott]

when you need 6 pieces, you aren't trading for specific players, you're going fishing. you need to find some unexpected value, especially with this luxury tax system.
but do we even know that we need 6 pieces? lot of unknowns and what ifs on this roster. can we at least get one season of these guys playing together without injury before we throw half of them away for some trending player.

WWSPD what would Sam Presti do?

Continue to add talent, move on from the pieces that aren’t working (for us, that would mostly be The Power of Friendship) while they still have value, providing more (better fitting) talent or assets to acquire more talent later.

Front offices don’t need to be perfect… no front office is. They just need to stop getting attached to things that don’t work. Fail fast and quickly adapt.

[exstatic]

I haven't seen much mention of Larry Nance Jr... He's not a world beater, but for a cheap UFA I think he's an interesting player for 15 mpg, and at age 32 he just had the two best three point shooting percentages of his entire career, at 41.5% and 44.7% the last two years. 6'8.5" with a 7'2" wingspan.

I don’t know what this is,but it’s what knocked Nance out late in the season.


Out For Season (Knee) - The Hawks announced on Wednesday (Mar. 27) that Nance Jr. will miss the rest of the season while recovering from a right medial femoral condyle fracture. (Updated Mar.26, 2025)

[scott]

The Kings are hampered by his contract situation and can only offer him $5.1mil... they knew that when they traded for him and took that chance, but his play has attracted too much attention and he's sure to get an offer that tops that. Not so much a slap in the face as it is bad asset management by the Kings. He's not going to sacrifice money to stay loyal to a team where he only played a few months, especially a team notorious for being poorly run for a long time. He said in that interview he wants to play for a young team with a chance of contending, and that's definitely not the Kings.

LaRavia was just an add in to the Marcus Smart salary dump by MEM. SAC didn’t give up anything they care about (Colby Jones and Alex Len) to get LaRavia, and they knew they were unlikely to be able to retain him (though I’m sure it still sucks to see for them and their fans). So not even really bad asset management… just a nothing move that gave SAC a short-term useful player as they were actually trying to make the playoffs.

[CorrectCrusader]

We should grab LaRavia

[pad300]

Damn that would be a slap in the face for the kings.Traded for him in the fox deal,Just for him to
leave 4 months later and join the spurs as well lol

If I understand correctly, they knew he was leaving when they traded for him... Due to the CBA rules, they can't offer him more money than something like $5Million /year, and he's very much expected to get more than that on the open market.

[buttsR4rebounding]

One thing I think the Spurs shoul do this off season is to extend Champ. He’s one of the best 3 point shooters on the team and his defense has improved each year. He likely would sign a 3 year extension in the 8-10 million a year range. If he signs a 3 year deal for 27 million you can decline the team option for 26 and spread the 30 million over 4 years. Then you have a valuable bench piece locked up for 5 years on a very team friendly deal.

[palangi]

Trade pick #2, Barnes, Keldon, Branham
to Utah for
Markkenan, Hendricks, picks #5 and #21


Trade pick #14, Sochan
to Atlanta for
Jaden Johnson, Bufkin, and pick #22

Draft:
#5- Khaman Maluach C Duke
#21- Danny Wolfe PF/C Michigan
#22- Drake Powell SG North Carolina
#38- Yanic Conan-Neiderhauser

Roster

PG- Fox, Bufkin, Wesley
SG- Castle, Vassell, Powell
SF- Johnson, Champaigne, Hendricks
PF- Markkenan, Wolf, Mamu
C - Wemby, Maluach, Yanic

[RC_Drunkford]

I'm changing my scenario:

trade Keldon, Barnes, Branham, Bassey (sign and trade) and #14 for Durant

trade #2 for Nets #8, #19 and 3 future Knicks picks

draft Maluach at #8 and Coward or Powell at #19

sign Jake LaRavia with the MLE

sign Tristan Vukcevic and Riley Minnix for the minimum

sign Malcolm Brogdon for vet minimum

Fox/Wesley/Brogdon
Castle/Vassell/Coward
Sochan/Champagnie/Minnix
Durant/LaRavia
Wemby/Maluach/Vukcevic

[mo7888]

I'm changing my scenario:

trade Keldon, Barnes, Branham, Bassey (sign and trade) and #14 for Durant

trade #2 for Nets #8, #19 and 3 future Knicks picks

draft Maluach at #8 and Coward or Powell at #19

sign Jake LaRavia with the MLE

sign Tristan Vukcevic and Riley Minnix for the minimum

sign Malcolm Brogdon for vet minimum

Fox/Wesley/Brogdon
Castle/Vassell/Coward
Sochan/Champagnie/Minnix
Durant/LaRavia
Wemby/Maluach/Vukcevic

Off the Dylan Harper train i see...

[ace3g]

NBA offseason 2025: 10 teams to watch this summer

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/columnists/full/marks_bobby.png&h=80&w=80&scale=crop
Bobby MarksJun 9, 2025, 08:00 AM ET

Like Houston, San Antonio fits the requirements -- draft assets, young players, sizable contracts and a win-now roster -- to add a third star next to Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.

Not only does San Antonio have two picks in the lottery, including No. 2, but the Spurs also have the right to swap firsts with the Atlanta Hawks (https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-hawks) in 2026, the Hawks' unprotected first in 2027 and multiple other pick swaps. The Spurs are also allowed to trade two of their own first-round picks (2029 and 2031 or 2030 and 2032). The Spurs have 17 second-rounders available to trade.

They also have an advantage of financial flexibility to aggregate contracts sent out and take back more salary in a trade. Entering the offseason, San Antonio is $32 and $44 million below both respective aprons. Not including Fox and Wembanyama, the Spurs have 10 players earning between $3 to $27 million.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS2k8aLotxc

[exstatic]

Trade Vassell, Barnes, and #14 to PHO for Durant.

Draft and keep Harper

Fill out the last 5 roster spots with the two exceptions and 3 minimum deals.

[scott]

I keep seeing the Spurs listed as a time with a war chest of picks… but unless SRPs are counted as a war chest, we really don’t have one any more.

After this year, we no longer have any excess FRPs, just one per season going out.

With that said, the picks we have are of the finest quality, having been enriched via swaps (multiple, in some cases… we had a nice thread on this last summer).

[Mr. Body]

Last year, I thought the Spurs would either trade for Chris Paul's contract or try their best to convince him to come play. I didn't like any of the big name trades (Markannen) people loved. I got right the draft night actions (Castle, trade #8) and was a big proponent of Castle from the start.

This year, I have a nagging suspicion that Cooper Flagg will not wear a Dallas Mavs uniform, nor will Dylan Harper wear a Spurs uniform.

[SpursFan86]

Vassell/Keldon/14 for Durant (I suspect it’ll be Barnes but would rather give up Keldon)

Harper at #2

Kalkbrenner/Raynaud/Niederhauser at #38 - this is probably overly optimistic, so would add that I’m willing to give up a future SRP or 2 to jump up and grab one of these guys if needed

LaRavia with MLE

Fox/Castle/Harper taking up majority of guard minutes with Wesley playing spot minutes as needed. Castle can also play the 3 to unlock more minutes for this trio.

KD/Sochan/Champagnie/LaRavia will eat up most of the minutes on the wings. Someone like Minnix for the minimum can fill in as well.

Wemby + one of the rookies I mentioned should handle large majority of minutes at the 5.

[koriwhat]

Last year, I thought the Spurs would either trade for Chris Paul's contract or try their best to convince him to come play. I didn't like any of the big name trades (Markannen) people loved. I got right the draft night actions (Castle, trade #8) and was a big proponent of Castle from the start.

This year, I have a nagging suspicion that Cooper Flagg will not wear a Dallas Mavs uniform, nor will Dylan Harper wear a Spurs uniform.

Elaborate, please.

[spurraider21]

I keep seeing the Spurs listed as a time with a war chest of picks… but unless SRPs are counted as a war chest, we really don’t have one any more.

After this year, we no longer have any excess FRPs, just one per season going out.

With that said, the picks we have are of the finest quality, having been enriched via swaps (multiple, in some cases… we had a nice thread on this last summer).
well, the trove of assets includes Castle and the #2 pick this year which have more value than typical "first round picks", and as you mentioned, most of our remaining picks are enhanced picks.

no we dont have a ton of extra first rounders anymore, but those were consolidated into Fox, somebody who theoretically positions the team to be "a star away" from having a legit big 3

and the spurs have contracts that make a lot of the math work, without any of them being very bad. no, we dont like Vassell here, but hes not some albatross deal that we'd have to attack assets to get rid of

[Mr. Body]

Elaborate, please.

No

[exstatic]

No

Keep it vague and claim victory whatever the outcome.

[Mr. Body]

Keep it vague and claim victory whatever the outcome.

What's the title of this thread?

[koriwhat]

No

I was truly interested but ok. No problem.

[Mr. Body]

I was truly interested but ok. No problem.

Just a feeling that Flagg won't be a Mav and Harper won't be a Spur. The two situations may or may not be related. One could happen or the other or both.

[spurs10]

Vassell/Keldon/14 for Durant (I suspect it’ll be Barnes but would rather give up Keldon)

Harper at #2

Kalkbrenner/Raynaud/Niederhauser at #38 - this is probably overly optimistic, so would add that I’m willing to give up a future SRP or 2 to jump up and grab one of these guys if needed

LaRavia with MLE

Fox/Castle/Harper taking up majority of guard minutes with Wesley playing spot minutes as needed. Castle can also play the 3 to unlock more minutes for this trio.

KD/Sochan/Champagnie/LaRavia will eat up most of the minutes on the wings. Someone like Minnix for the minimum can fill in as well.

Wemby + one of the rookies I mentioned should handle large majority of minutes at the 5. Yes I'd rather keep Harrison, as well.

[Mr. Body]

Doesn't PHX need Barnes to get off salary?

[DAF86]

Everytime I see folks asking to sign LaRavia to the MLE I remember this video:

jqLwwfEcYT8?si=VIep79kPEb6Py-Kp

[SpursBills]

How likely are we talking about here? Like 5%?

#2+#14+2027 ATL+negate Dallas swap + Vassell for PJ Washington, #1, filler
Sochan becomes close to a league average shooter (34% on medium volume, 2-2.5 3PM/100), Castle becomes a league average shooter (36% on medium volume, 2.5 3PM/100) and gets a middy
38+ future seconds for late 1st round and get Walter Clayton Jr
Brook Lopez MLE

Fox-Champ-Flagg-PJ-Wemby
Castle-WCJ-Barnes-Sochan-Lopez
Keldon waves the towel and gets guys to accept below market value contracts through friendship

[Degoat]

Think of we acquire KD we could pry away Horford from the Celtics?

[scott]

How likely are we talking about here? Like 5%?

#2+#14+2027 ATL+negate Dallas swap + Vassell for PJ Washington, #1, filler
Sochan becomes close to a league average shooter (34% on medium volume, 2-2.5 3PM/100), Castle becomes a league average shooter (36% on medium volume, 2.5 3PM/100) and gets a middy
38+ future seconds for late 1st round and get Walter Clayton Jr
Brook Lopez MLE

Fox-Champ-Flagg-PJ-Wemby
Castle-WCJ-Barnes-Sochan-Lopez
Keldon waves the towel and gets guys to accept below market value contracts through friendship

I skipped to the end without reading the first part and was intrigued that you had Wendell Carter Jr playing SG :lol

[jjspur]

Devin Vassell, Wesley
#14 pick
2026 2nd rounder from Utah

to Dallas for

Daniel Gafford
PJ Washington

We get depth at needed positions, Dallas get picks (of which they dont have many) a point guard, and a scorer


Wemby
PJ
Sochan
Castle
Fox

[exstatic]

What's the title of this thread?

Not “fake it til you make it”…

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

I don’t know what this is,but it’s what knocked Nance out late in the season.

Broke his knee bone. Ouch

[RC_Drunkford]

Off the Dylan Harper train i see...

not completely, but I think the Spurs will trade down because...


I keep seeing the Spurs listed as a time with a war chest of picks… but unless SRPs are counted as a war chest, we really don’t have one any more.

After this year, we no longer have any excess FRPs, just one per season going out.

With that said, the picks we have are of the finest quality, having been enriched via swaps (multiple, in some cases… we had a nice thread on this last summer).

which is why they might actually trade down, grab a frontcourt player and get future draft capital

[Mr. Body]

Not “fake it til you make it”…

Fake what? Do you understand the title of the thread?

[scott]

Now that KD dreams and Giannis ambitions are all dashed... here is updated ideal off-season for me, based on updated guestimations of how picks 1-13 will go.

Draft



Pick #2: Dylan Harper
Pick #14 traded for #19 + #26​
Pick #19: Maxime Reynaud
Pick #26: Drake Powell
Pick #38 traded for future FRPs


Trades



The Spurs trade Keldon Johnson and two SRPs to Santi Aldama in a S&T. Santi signs for 4/80 (4th year is a player option)


Free Agency



The Spurs sign Jake LaRavia using the MLE, 3/47 (3rd year is a player option)
The Spurs sign Clint Capela with the BAE
Mamu resigned on a 1 year minimum deal


Other Moves



Sochan not extended, becomes an RFA next summer
Fox extended on a 3+1 where the first two years are maxed out and then year 3 and 4 decline to the maximum amount to give the Spurs added cap flexibility to make other future moves. In exchange, Fox gets a player option for year 4
Branham released in training camp after a valiant effort to try to keep his job and no one is willing to trade for him


Opening Day Depth Chart

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Vassell/Powell
Barnes/LaRavia/Champ
Aldama/Sochan/Mamu
Wemby/Capela/Reynaud

[Ariel]

Now that KD dreams and Giannis ambitions are all dashed... here is updated ideal off-season for me, based on updated guestimations of how picks 1-13 will go.

Draft



Pick #2: Dylan Harper
Pick #14 traded for #19 + #26​
Pick #19: Maxime Reynaud
Pick #26: Drake Powell
Pick #38 traded for future FRPs


Trades



The Spurs trade Keldon Johnson and two SRPs to Santi Aldama in a S&T. Santi signs for 4/80 (4th year is a player option)


Free Agency



The Spurs sign Jake LaRavia using the MLE, 3/47 (3rd year is a player option)
The Spurs sign Clint Capela with the BAE
Mamu resigned on a 1 year minimum deal


Other Moves



Sochan not extended, becomes an RFA next summer
Fox extended on a 3+1 where the first two years are maxed out and then year 3 and 4 decline to the maximum amount to give the Spurs added cap flexibility to make other future moves. In exchange, Fox gets a player option for year 4
Branham released in training camp after a valiant effort to try to keep his job and no one is willing to trade for him


Opening Day Depth Chart

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Vassell/Powell
Barnes/LaRavia/Champ
Aldama/Sochan/Mamu
Wemby/Capela/Reynaud
I don't see Memphis valuing Keldon Johnson to the point they'd take him and two SRPs for Aldama, but he's definitely an interesting name even if the cost is higher, in the draft Raynaud wouldn't be my first option at 19 (Beringer, Sorber, Fleming I have ranked higher), but overall I'd be pretty happy with that offseason.

[scott]

I don't see Memphis valuing Keldon Johnson to the point they'd take him and two SRPs for Aldama, but he's definitely an interesting name even if the cost is higher, in the draft Raynaud wouldn't be my first option at 19 (Beringer, Sorber, Fleming I have ranked higher), but overall I'd be pretty happy with that offseason.

How would you value Santi in a S&T? I originally had Barnes in here... but I selfishly want to keep him. I'd assume MEM really just wants to cut salary in getting word out they want to S&T Santi, and would vastly prefer HB.

I was going to take Beringer (I'm assuming Sorber is gone by 19), but though the Spurs would take Maxime instead and went with that instead.

I honestly don't think the Spurs are going to be interested in Fleming.

[KobesAchilles]

Now that KD dreams and Giannis ambitions are all dashed... here is updated ideal off-season for me, based on updated guestimations of how picks 1-13 will go.

Draft



Pick #2: Dylan Harper
Pick #14 traded for #19 + #26​
Pick #19: Maxime Reynaud
Pick #26: Drake Powell
Pick #38 traded for future FRPs


Trades



The Spurs trade Keldon Johnson and two SRPs to Santi Aldama in a S&T. Santi signs for 4/80 (4th year is a player option)


Free Agency



The Spurs sign Jake LaRavia using the MLE, 3/47 (3rd year is a player option)
The Spurs sign Clint Capela with the BAE
Mamu resigned on a 1 year minimum deal


Other Moves



Sochan not extended, becomes an RFA next summer
Fox extended on a 3+1 where the first two years are maxed out and then year 3 and 4 decline to the maximum amount to give the Spurs added cap flexibility to make other future moves. In exchange, Fox gets a player option for year 4
Branham released in training camp after a valiant effort to try to keep his job and no one is willing to trade for him


Opening Day Depth Chart

Fox/Harper/Wesley
Castle/Vassell/Powell
Barnes/LaRavia/Champ
Aldama/Sochan/Mamu
Wemby/Capela/Reynaud
Thats about as ideal an offseason as possible at this point.

[Ariel]

How would you value Santi in a S&T? I originally had Barnes in here... but I selfishly want to keep him. I'd assume MEM really just wants to cut salary in getting word out they want to S&T Santi, and would vastly prefer HB.

I was going to take Beringer (I'm assuming Sorber is gone by 19), but though the Spurs would take Maxime instead and went with that instead.

I honestly don't think the Spurs are going to be interested in Fleming.
Memphis is a very budget conscious, analytics driven FO, I don't think Keldon is their cup of tea and the 2 years on his contract are probably seen as a negative as far as they're concerned. Barnes should be a lot more palatable for them, I think even then 2 SRPs is light, but given the Spurs horrendous recent track record on second rounders this shouldn't be a hold up if it lands them a very solid young role player in Aldama. Barnes + however many second rounders it takes is fine by me. I wouldn't be surprised if they ask for Champagnie though.

Fleming is a werd prospect, he has no on ball game whatsoever but the length and hustle is crazy, to me it comes down to the shot: if you believe the improvement is real, then he should be an interesting 3&D stretch 4 on extremely low usage, which could be interesting given how many on ball guards Spurs will have. If you believe the shot is an outlier, yeah, it's an easy pass. Him at 19 would be the much more sensible alternative to what many saw last year in Salaun at 8 (that was indeed crazy to me, and Spurs were reportedly interested, so...).

To a lesser degree I think the same applies to Carter Bryant, the 3 ball is the key to his future and the sample size isn't large enough that I have full confidence the improvement is real, especially given his track record and FT%. But fortunately Spurs have a lot more resources at their disposal to figure this out, so I'd defer to their judgement on this if they take either one of them.