Reply With Quote
I wouldn't write Ace Bailey off yet, tbh.
Problem is there is no forward worth taking in the top 5 after Flagg. So if you're taking a guard I don't see how PG skills are anything but a plus. Especially when the next best guard, Edgecombe, is the same level of three point shooter Harper is.
I wouldn't write Ace Bailey off yet, tbh.
His height kinda scares me away from him tbh. It’s not that he’s short or anything but I was sold on him being 6’10. The fact that he’s 6’7 isn’t a good thing. A 6’10 guy with a high arching shot that can shoot over anybody imo is worth the 2 pick. A 6’7 guy however not so much.
His flaws in his game are all fixable. But how good is our player development? That’s what I don’t know. I really wish we stopped being so damn cheap and did a complete overhaul in player development coaches and assistant coaches. Especially now with the number 2 pick. But we are a badly run franchise from the top down so not much to be said about it.
Drives me nuts seeing how little court vision Keldon has and Ace would be similar but you're also subtracting Keldon's ability to just bull his way to the rim. Just wouldn't be surprised to him be 2025 Whitmore (though no way he drops as far as 20). Was reading something in the Toronto Sun where they were discussing how there might be an outside chance to get Bailey with their #9 pick with how rapidly his stock has been falling at the combine.
Wright somehow got Fox for Collins/Tre and superfluous picks, so I’m gonna hold out for a Giannis scam.
Yes, stay the course they have been on. Luck has been kind to them and the backcourt is set now for the future along with having Wemby all on the same timeline.
As intimidating and amazing a frontline of Giannis & Wemby would be, I doubt that the Spurs will go in that direction, because they would have to give way too much for Giannis. I doubt if Giannis will leave Milwaukee, as well. Lets see.
From all accounts (and videos that I have seen), Harper is a legitimate PG and an excellent prospect. The Spurs shouldn't overthink this. There is no need to trade down at all.. as all other prospects are at least a tier below Harper. Trading down is therefore ruled out. Harper's addition would mean that the Spurs will have Wemby, Castle and Harper on the same timeline and a star like Fox to build with.
The Spurs must figure out a way to get a legitimate 3 and D player instead of Keldon who offers neither. Vassell is maddeningly inconsistent but he is a much better fit on paper with the four core players (Wemby, Castle, Harper and Fox) than Keldon is.
So I think the way to do that is to dangle the 14th pick to the Nets along with Keldon for a lower FRP or maybe the 14th and the 38th for the lower of the two late FRPs that the Nets have plus Cam Johnson. And figure out a way to get a back-up for Wemby at C. (Porzingis can be had from the ailing Celtics for Barnes and Branham? I dont know).
I think Edgecombe's form is better than Harper and his athleticism is better as well. I think he'll be the better 3 point shooter in the league. Still, I have Harper ahead because of the other attributes he has. I just think is fairly close.
A few years ago, Sean was saying on the telecast that he asked Pop why they didn’t run certain plays any more. Pop flat out said that the players didn’t have the skills to run them.
You might have a point if they were all 6’3”, Fox sized. The reality is that you can actually run them all together on the floor as a 1-3 combo. Having redundant high level PG skills guys that can occupy the floor at the same time doesn’t actually sound like a problem
I don't disagree with that. It is our history and our expected future. I just think due diligence requires looking under every rock to see what's out there. There's probably not a better way forward than just taking Harper, but they owe it to the franchise to make sure that's the case.
the easiest and most logical strategy is always this: you do the things you can control.
this means, you draft Harper and you keep Fox. do you extend Fox? yes.
you have short term goals (next season and the season after): develop, make play offs. max for Fox (till 2030, 4th year PO), rookie scale for Wemby, Castle, Harper.
medium term goals (seasons 2028 and 2029): 1st Championship of the Wemby era. 1st max/supermax for Wemby, Fox on max, rookie scale for Castle and Harper.
long term goals (seasons 2030 to 2040): multiple championships of the Wemby dynasty. 2nd and 3rd max/supermax for Wemby, max for Harper and Castle. Fox is traded before 2030 season, or leaves as a FA 2029.
if Fox doesn't work at all with Castle and Harper, you can always trade him as early as 2026 or 2027. at least you tried and you still gave him a good extension. noone will blame Spurs if they make the necessary moves in 2026.
if things work according to plan, Fox will either leave the Spurs 2029 as FA, at age 31, or he chooses the be part of the dynasty for a pay cut.
and no, this script doesn't have a role for Keldon and Vassell, likely not for Sochan. (unless he shows up next season as a shooter)
That was forced by Rich Paul.
I keep looking at those Hawks picks. It's a shame that the West got so much better than the East so quickly, but all it takes is something happening to Trae and that swap or '27 looks mighty fine. Also liking the BOS28 swap.
If one of Castle or Harper is the 6th man, then I agree TMIII is a great fit. But I’m operating under the assumption that we’ll run them together with Castle at the 3. There is where my opinion that TMIII isn’t the right guy comes from.
Lots of team construction possibilities.
You know my opinion of Murphy, but getting a legit PF should be the priority.
Barnes and Champ can do the job for a year until we figure everything out.
Getting Murphy or another similar SF wouldn't solve our rebounding and paint presence issues.
I know I'm boring, but there's no other way around it.
AD, Gordon, Smith Jr, nephew, Lebron, JJJ, Randle, Zion, Chet, KD, Markkanen.
Almost every team in the West has a PF that's either 6'10 or physical and plays above his size.
Jeremy is the only one who can be a solid PF matchup, but he's offensively challenged and can't start.
I'd be perfectly happy with Harper, legit starting PF, #14 used on the best PF or C prospect and a veteran backup big. That's all we need to have a functional roster.
For the sake of egos (and because it’s probably the right move anyway), you just start all 3 of Fox/Castle/Harper, but you get into your rotations early and those 3 are part of the starting and closing lineups (about 8 minutes a game worth together) and then the rest of the game they are just rotating so that two are on the court at all times?
We need 3-and-D forwards galore. Cam Johnson is not a great defender and he's 30. I'm not trading picks for players older than 27. Just draft Carter Bryant or Fleming and hope they develop. Try to get John Collins for Keldon + Branham and a bunch of 2nd rounders.
So you want to have the worst shooting position 1 through 3 in the league, got it. Gonna be funny in one year when no one makes the leap to above average shooter... I will be there to remind you all about the Harden talk.
It's going to be hard for the Hawks to not make the playoffs next year.
Just to help with the discussion this is what sporting news had in their chart on size reach etc
Link if anyone wants to see the rest
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/...744275ba6c7166
Player Height (without shoes) Weight (lbs) Wingspan Standing reach Cooper Flagg 6-7.75 221 7-0 8-10.5 Dylan Harper 6-4.5 213.2 6-10.5 8-6 VJ Edgecombe 6-4 193.2 6-7.5 8-5.5 Ace Bailey 6-7.5 202.8 7-0.5 8-11 Khaman Maluach 7-0.75 252.8 7-6.75 9-6 Kon Knueppel 6-5 219 6-6.25 8-5.5 Jeremiah Fears 6-2.5 179.6 6-5.25 8-2.5 Kasparas Jakucionis 6-4.75 205.2 6-7.75 8-4 Tre Johnson 6-4.75 190.4 6-10.25 8-5
This is especially true if the Bucks trade Giannis for young pieces. There are just too many bad teams below them
They're redundant right out of the gate sure, but I don't expect to see them sharing the floor immediately. Harper will likely lead the bench unit next season if we draft him.
We shouldn't be making any decisions about "fit" when we haven't even seen this team together healthy yet. Just draft Harper and take it slow with him, find out what he is and make your decisions from there. He hasn't even seen an NBA floor yet and we're all making these silly declarations as if they're written in stone.
Zero chance they don't. They're going to be getting better over the next few years not worse (excluding of course injuries). The east is actually horrific, especially with Giannis & Tatum potentially not being there next season.
Fox forced his way to SA which is why it was cheap. Giannis is not likely to do the same. It's going to cost something like 2025 #2, 2025 #14, two future Spurs' unprotected firsts, the Atlanta first and swap, Vassell, and Barnes to get Giannis.
Just not worth paying that high on him. I think they “demand” Castle as well and take him out at the 11th hour to try to push a deal over the line. That being said, I don’t think they are going to get the bidding war they think they are; Houston has Amen off limits, Dallas seems ready to build with Flagg, and the dark horse of it all OKC has a solid chance to win the chip in a month which would take them out of the Giannis sweepstakes.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions