I have no problem with giving Wesley and Branham the Lonnie treatment. Keep the options open on the off chance one of them happens to make a leap, and let them walk otherwise.
Boston waives Lonnie
Yep, picking up the options is a huge nothing-burger. If they need the contact ballast in a trade they have it, if they need the space they can easily move a contract attaching one of our endless supply of 2nd's, and if one of them happens to take a leap forward then we control their contracts....
There's no downside..
Totally agree low risk low reward. However if you dumped the dynamic duo next year in favor of a minimum wage vet or two way player, that's a low risk and quite possibly more of a reward. Look, every team has a miss in drafting players. Spurs just have a hard time admitting that they messed up draft wise. Most teams just move on, but it seems we are stuck with them for another two years, unless they're traded (unlikely unless its with another better player) or just cut with pay (very likely).
Some good news to help wash the bitter taste of the Branham/Wesley options.
thrilled to retain Minix
I disagree on Branham. Keeping him and Wesley is a no-brainer. While neither may be in the long-term team future, their paths to NBA aren't that far away. And I believe Branham is closer than Wesley. I remind that many here insisted we cut Wesley last year in favor of Cam Payne and now people insist we keep him. Development isn't linear and each is only 21.
Too many are focusing on Branham's deep shot not falling, and that isn't a good thing. He wasn't more than a toe-the-line three point shooter in college, so it may take a while. If he never starts sinking them, that's one thing. But I don't think that's a big concern right now. (Playing time is.)
Branham has pretty good size for his position, nice handles, cuts really well, and has a good midrange and is a solid finisher. What I wanted from him last year - obviously the team will have other goals - is to become more neutral on defense and take threes whenever he should.
He now stays engaged on defense, makes his rotations, doesn't die on screens. He's improving. And he's now putting up threes without thinking about them. Those improvements were vital. Next, for me, is impacting the stat sheet other than shots, continuing to improve on defense, and becoming more aggressive. I figure they're working on the shot and getting that down.
Again, I don't think he's necessarily a long-term piece. But there's an NBA player here. He's still very young, has only played two years. If it doesn't work out, fine. If he starts hitting threes, continues to learn his spots, and improves on D, there's a nice player here.
Thank goodness Bouyea is back. I don't know if they could really run a play with the other guys.
Even if it’s just as a contract. NY had to struggle to sign three players not on their roster, one of whom was playing in Europe, to get the KAT deal done.
Great signing.
The Spurs were "hiding" him at the end of the preseason.
Did Mensah get waived to make room? I'm assuming so given Bassey and Collins looking relatively healthy. Pop did seem guarded about Ingram though.
Agreed, picking up their options is a risk free move.
We have 20+ SRPs and it's easy enough to get rid of them if we need cap space.
Branham's issue is that he's the most common archetype in basketball.Too many are focusing on Branham's deep shot not falling, and that isn't a good thing. He wasn't more than a toe-the-line three point shooter in college, so it may take a while. If he never starts sinking them, that's one thing. But I don't think that's a big concern right now. (Playing time is.)
Branham has pretty good size for his position, nice handles, cuts really well, and has a good midrange and is a solid finisher. What I wanted from him last year - obviously the team will have other goals - is to become more neutral on defense and take threes whenever he should.
He now stays engaged on defense, makes his rotations, doesn't die on screens. He's improving. And he's now putting up threes without thinking about them. Those improvements were vital. Next, for me, is impacting the stat sheet other than shots, continuing to improve on defense, and becoming more aggressive. I figure they're working on the shot and getting that down.
Again, I don't think he's necessarily a long-term piece. But there's an NBA player here. He's still very young, has only played two years. If it doesn't work out, fine. If he starts hitting threes, continues to learn his spots, and improves on D, there's a nice player here.
Off-ball guards that aren't elite at anything are the easiest players to find.
There are too many ifs around both him and Wesley. I don't expect either one to become a relevant rotation member, but giving them another season to have a go at it is an easy decision.
Branham is a better player than Wesley right now, Wesley still sucks at so many aspects of the game, but potentially elite POA defenders are difficult to find and that's why Wesley will probably have a better career if he develops something that resembles an offense.
Sorry if it's been asked but anyone know where we can watch the scrimmage?
I’ve been pretty consistent saying that while branhams option shouldn’t be picked up that i wouldn’t have been upset with a decision to pick up Wesley because the point guard position has a lot of unknowns. Paul/Tre expiring and castles future might not even be at PG
you could do all that without guaranteeing his year 4 at a cost that is almost certainly above his market value
o, Maine Redclaws!
Poor Lonnie. Nice kid but just not an NBA level player.
Boston Jr and Malachi waived
Seems like it's not going to be streamed
So you can't watch this?
They've had it on the Spurs app in the past, but I can't be bothered to redownload it and check
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