Spurs moves so far do not move the needle

[lebomb]

........for me. I see lots of publications that say we had an A to A+ off season so far. Two "older" veterans past their prime added to Wemby, Sochan and Vessel do not say much in my opinion. Draft picks in 2030 and 2031 do not say anything in my opinion. I thought we would at least get a prime highend player in a trade by now. No Markkanen, no Brandon Ingram.......nothing. Yes, Im excited about Castle but he is a rookie. I just wish we could have done more using assets we have with picks and KJ available.

[SpursFan86]

It was never likely that the Spurs were going to try and go all in this year. You don’t go from 22 wins to a contender in one offseason. I wouldn’t give them an A+ but it was a pretty damn solid offseason IMO. At the same time, I think it’s absurd to argue that they should intentionally be as bad as possible to tank for the 2025 draft. They made some clear incremental improvements, added some valuable assets down the road, and mostly kept their cap space free going forward to allow for flexibility. No, they’re not a playoff team now but they should at least play more structured and compe ive basketball this season which is a step in the right direction.

Now, if they have this same sort of offseason the next year or beyond then it’ll be less acceptable. At some point it’ll be time to leverage some of these picks into making a move that gets them contending again.

[LeBowen]

I just want to hear which players that were traded this offseason you think Spurs missed out on?
I still want Markkanen and I'll be really upset if he goes somewhere else for a reasonable price, but there weren't many players that were realistic targets Spurs missed out on.

My biggest concern is that Collins will be on the opening night roster.

[mookie2001]

All we need is a prime Bruce Bowen and a 92 Shaq and we're good.

[Spurs Homer]

Still have not done enough (or anything) to make up for giving away our #draft pick and possibly a future star -

to a rival -

for absolutely nothing until 2031...

[Mr. Body]

Folks consistently don't understand why they went out and got Paul and Barnes.

[rascal]

Spurs still not a playoff team and that's the best result towards building a dynasty, with the 25 draft with year.

[rascal]

Still have not done enough (or anything) to make up for giving away our #draft pick and possibly a future star -

to a rival -

for absolutely nothing until 2031...

Dillingham won't be as good as some still believe here at Spurstalk.

[Seventyniner]

The moves so far aren't meant to move the needle this year in terms of raw wins and losses. They were all made with the future in mind, both in terms of picks and swaps being years out, and late or end career vets that can pass on their ac ulated knowledge.

I don't think the Spurs ever even thought about a pivot like the Rockets did last year.

[itzsoweezee]

........for me. I see lots of publications that say we had an A to A+ off season so far. Two "older" veterans past their prime added to Wemby, Sochan and Vessel do not say much in my opinion. Draft picks in 2030 and 2031 do not say anything in my opinion. I thought we would at least get a prime highend player in a trade by now. No Markkanen, no Brandon Ingram.......nothing. Yes, Im excited about Castle but he is a rookie. I just wish we could have done more using assets we have with picks and KJ available.

Markkanen would be great. Is he even available? Several teams want him and he hasn’t been moved.

Ingram wants a max contract and isn’t a max level player. Giving max contracts to guys like that is a great way to sabotage your team’s future.

What else do you have in mind that the Spurs aren’t pursuing? The whole point is to stack assets so the team can be opportunistic when a valuable player becomes available. The spurs appear to be doing just that.

[Arguendo]

I’ve been very happy with the offseason, so far, but never expected them to swing for the fences coming off 22 wins with a roster filled with 20-24 y/

Relatively high chance we added to best prospect in the draft. Castle showed enough PG skills to be far less concerned about his shooting which doesn’t actually look broken.
Adding Paul & Barnes plugs most of the glaring holes in rotation & stabilizes the team, while adding first class vet presence & oncourt coaching. Both are competent shooters & Paul will not tolerate laziness & slopiness, he will dress these guys down & he has the All-Time stature to do that while Barnes brings champ experience. That will help a ton for development.

Vessel is a legit 19/4/4 on 6.5/.380 the last two years on garbage teams w/o a PG to help. He’s got room to grow, but right now is a legit #3.
Wemby is all world, already. There is a solid chance Castle is the PG of the future with legit #2 upside & a really high floor.
The third yr guys all need to show big improvement, but next season will be their first playing on a real team, rather than a dumpster fire.
The cap situation is good & we have tons of movable pieces- Keldon is a solid 6/7man bucket getter on a good K, Tre a high-end backup on a rookie deal, Barnes a very durable vet who hits 3s.

I never thought they were gonna blow their load this yr, with a 20y/o Wendy. They’ll look to start making moves around the trade deadline & next offseason, with 4 potential 1sts. Plus, while that Chi pick is a lot less likely now, the Cha pick is a lot more likely. BMiller is damn good, Cha had a very good offseason, & the East is trash.

I think our floor is now 33 wins= the post All-Star break pace, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see 38+ wins, which is crazy improvement in a loaded West.
IMO Castle has a good shot at ROY (if only because weak comp) your heading into next offseason with an MVP level guy & maybe thinking you already have your #2 & 3 guys but still have all of the assets (top 4 war chest) to go land another or maybe just sign Mark as a FA.
Not over yet, but I’m giving this offseason a B+

[drpill]

I think the Spurs are trying to thread the needle between making substantial improvements to team IQ and developing their core while still getting a pair of lottery picks next year in a draft they've been planning for for a long time. I wouldn't say they're tanking but it feels like their ideal situation is an accelerated learning season with Paul and Barnes, just missing out on the playoffs and hopefully getting lucky again with the lotto balls. They're not going to want or be able to hold Wemby back though, so who knows what ends up happening. If we end up a playoff or play-in team, that's a win too, so it's hard to go too wrong this year.

This season is less of an experiment than last year. It's Vic's team now and everyone knows it and a direction has been chosen. But there's still a lot of learning to do and a final season of evaluation for some of the guys on the edge of the roster.

[kht]

CP3 and Barnes are great pickups for a team that didn't know how to close games and hold leads last season. Not to mention, they fit a positional need.

[fafo]

2025 is objectively a better summer to push the chips in. We still got better too. Not much more to it than that.

[Arguendo]

This season is less of an experiment than last year. It's Vic's team now and everyone knows it and a direction has been chosen. But there's still a lot of learning to do and a final season of evaluation for some of the guys on the edge of the roster.

This, speaking of evaluations, pretty sure they need to make decision to exercise both Bran & Blake before the season, neither will be cheap at 4.96M & 4.72M for 25-26. Kinda hoping they find someone/anyone who’s willing to take a flyer on one. The guard rotation has a lot less minutes with Paul & Castle onboard. 1 or 2 of Tre/Bran/Blake being shipped for (hopefully) an expiring wing helps the 25-26 cap & to balance the roster this season.

[LeBowen]

2025 is objectively a better summer to push the chips in.

We went over it in detail many times and it's not.
The only relevant free agent young enough and worth the money is Naz Reid.
Young stars all have long-term deals and even if they were to become available, we'd be looking at the biggest asking price ever.

[Davidicus]

The needle has been moved. Just not in obvious ways.

[sfernald]

Actually I do think we make the playin. I think the big guy in the center makes a huge jump upward and makes All NBA this year and gets DPOY and gets top five in MVP voting. I think with some decent vets and a star stud rookie #2 in castle who reminds everyone of Kawhi, they play really well. It all starts to come together. And the whole game now goes through Wemby with the help of Paul and Barnes. He absolutely dominates and they win at least 45 games.

[montgod]

Markkanen would be great. Is he even available? Several teams want him and he hasn’t been moved.

Ingram wants a max contract and isn’t a max level player. Giving max contracts to guys like that is a great way to sabotage your team’s future.

What else do you have in mind that the Spurs aren’t pursuing? The whole point is to stack assets so the team can be opportunistic when a valuable player becomes available. The spurs appear to be doing just that.

Just curious, what do you think Markkanen would want contract-wise? There is no doubt he's going to want a max as well and he hasn't played one full season his whole career.

[Spurs Homer]

Dillingham won't be as good as some still believe here at Spurstalk.

we both have the same amount of knowledge of that ^

zero.

[Arguendo]

Actually I do think we make the playin. I think the big guy in the center makes a huge jump upward and makes All NBA this year and gets DPOY and gets top five in MVP voting. I think with some decent vets and a star stud rookie #2 in castle who reminds everyone of Kawhi, they play really well. It all starts to come together. And the whole game now goes through Wemby with the help of Paul and Barnes. He absolutely dominates and they win at least 45 games.

Love the optimism but more than doubling wins is a TALL task. But otherwise agree, could easily see 38+ wins, Wemby AllNBA/MVP top 10. Lakers didn’t improve, GSW prolly worse, but Sac is better & MEM takes a huge jump, maybe Hou too. West is loaded
Pumped for next season!

[fafo]

We went over it in detail many times and it's not.
The only relevant free agent young enough and worth the money is Naz Reid.
Young stars all have long-term deals and even if they were to become available, we'd be looking at the biggest asking price ever.

The landscape is always changing and the Spurs are continuing to collect assets in the form of picks and trade friendly contracts. There's still time for a Markkanen trade as well, but I'm not going to mark a chapter of their downfall because they didn't trade for Lauri or Trae or whoever. A year of development with reliable vets is a good thing.

[exstatic]

Love the optimism but more than doubling wins is a TALL task. But otherwise agree, could easily see 38+ wins, Wemby AllNBA/MVP top 10. Lakers didn’t improve, GSW prolly worse, but Sac is better & MEM takes a huge jump, maybe Hou too. West is loaded
Pumped for next season!

Houston added two players last year who are really chuckle s, and jumped from 22 wins to 41.

Recipe:
Add a couple of veterans
Stop trying to lose on purpose
Cheap wins against tankers will follow

[LeBowen]

The landscape is always changing and the Spurs are continuing to collect assets in the form of picks and trade friendly contracts. There's still time for a Markkanen trade as well, but I'm not going to mark a chapter of their downfall because they didn't trade for Lauri or Trae or whoever. A year of development with reliable vets is a good thing.

I agree that a lot of unexpected things happen and I agree that we shouldn't overspend on Markkanen, but chances of getting another all-star forward are slim.
Here's my detailed take on the wing situation around the league.
I don't really want a max contract guard, I think we should focus on getting a wing as Wemby's running mate.

https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/sho...1#post11093268

[Arguendo]

Houston added two players last year who are really chuckle s, and jumped from 22 wins to 41.

Recipe:
Add a couple of veterans
Stop trying to lose on purpose
Cheap wins against tankers will follow

It’s a lot easier to get to 41 wins than 45, 41 is also closer to 38. Going from 22 to 41 is not doubling wins. Hou also went on a 11gm streak to get to 41. I’m not making a prediction, Wemby could very well be Top5, variance could get us extra wins but
Hou roster is WAY deeper, Eason & Whitmore are their 6/7 guys (if u count Thompson as 8), both would be fighting to be our #3/4
I don’t know what a chuckle is, but VanVleet is a 17/8/4 PG at .38+ % on 8/per with a 4.75:1 A:TO. They have good depth, we have prospects we hope provide depth