Woj: Free agent forward Dante Cunningham has agreed to a deal with the Spurs

[DPG21920]

The Spurs should have either Kawhi, DeRozan, or another quality player who can soak up a lot of Kyle's minutes. If not then something has gone horribly wrong.

I don't understand the Forbes point. Sure the Spurs had Forbes last year, but he played way more minutes than someone of his (low) talent level should have. IMO the same can be said of Parker, though it was old age/injury instead of talent.

That’s fine, but SA should have had Kawhi or DeRozan last year. So take them out of the equation, which roster is better? I think that adding Beli/Dante while losing TP/Kyle and maybe Manu make the team worse.

Not like majorly worse, but worse.

Now, Murray/White/Lonnie may really step up and be a lot better than TP/Manu were/are and Beli may play really well, but on paper? I think the squad is worse some.

The Forbes comment was due to Chinook bringing up Forbes and I was just saying he, like Bertans was already playing last year so they don’t factor into my calculus here.

[Fusternino]

Just checked Spotrac . . . this deal was for effectively the remainder of the MLE. Guess we'll need to use the BAE or minimum for the final big after one of Manu/BP3 is gone.

[rascal]

Load the team with limited upside players. Sounds like a good rebuild strategy.

[ducks]

Load the team with limited upside players. Sounds like a good rebuild strategy.

Why rebuild 2 mvp candidates on team
Lma was 5 last year
Leonard finished 2 and 3 last 2 years
Not last year of course

[J_Paco]

gah yall are some whiny as mf'ers you know that. why would the spurs sign a veteran forward for the minimum what terrible roster construction how come our 12th man isnt an allstar

like anyone is competing with GS right now anyway. FOH, who really cares tbh. this is neither a plus or a minus deal, just a deal to fill out the roster, quit being s

Cause they have nothing better to do but complain, lie and denigrate Pop/RC.

They still have 3 remaining roster spots, I believe, after this signing so they have time/opportunities to bring in the vaunted "youth" that people covet (and will later about too).

Complaining about a 9th - 11th man, LOL.

[Chinook]

That’s fine, but SA should have had Kawhi or DeRozan last year. So take them out of the equation, which roster is better? I think that adding Beli/Dante while losing TP/Kyle and maybe Manu make the team worse.

Not like majorly worse, but worse.

Now, Murray/White/Lonnie may really step up and be a lot better than TP/Manu were/are and Beli may play really well, but on paper? I think the squad is worse some.

The Forbes comment was due to Chinook bringing up Forbes and I was just saying he, like Bertans was already playing last year so they don’t factor into my calculus here.

The Spurs were "better" last year because they had someone to fill in for Leonard. That guy couldn't consistently play well WITH Leonard, so it was pretty much either/or. They have Leonard this year, so they don't need that guy. They're better now.

[DPG21920]

The Spurs were "better" last year because they had someone to fill in for Leonard. That guy couldn't consistently play well WITH Leonard, so it was pretty much either/or. They have Leonard this year, so they don't need that guy. They're better now.

They don’t have Leonard now. In fact, the only reporting we have thus far is that Kawhi will sit out.

[Chinook]

They don’t have Leonard now. In fact, the only reporting we have thus far is that Kawhi will sit out.

That's you making assumptions. They actually have Leonard now. That's a fact and the only one that matters.

[DPG21920]

That's you making assumptions. They actually have Leonard now. That's a fact and the only one that matters.

Okie dokie. They had Kawhi last year too, yet Kyle flourished.

[Chinook]

Okie dokie. They had Kawhi last year too, yet Kyle flourished.

Yeah no. You're being obtuse. They didn't have Leonard last year. He was hurt. He's not hurt anymore and can't grt hurt "again" without officially breaching his contract for a non-basketball injury

[ceperez]

A lot of corporate knowledge has been lost with the departure of Parker, Anderson and maybe Ginobili. That's difficult to replace and its what's made Spurs compe ive despite a lack of talent and athleticism.

Kyle never really compensated for the loss of Boris Diaw. It can be argued that Diaw could also have won the MVP instead of Leonard.

So who can play the beautiful game now for the Spurs? Who are the players who have an uncanny vision of the court and spacing and know where to move the ball?

I think the only guys are Derrick White and Patty Mills. The problem with Mills is that he's too small to orchestrate and is just the recipient of a good play.

Everyone else seems to be one dimensional. Good at what they do, but nothing else.

I blame everything on Messina. It's been downhill ever since he's been signed.

[Truth4sale$]

People have to remember; It's hard to attract free agents to San Antonio. With the uncertainty of both Popovich long term and Kawhi next year, why would anyone come to San Antonio this year or next. Spurs are likely only gong to be able draft a young upside player(Murray or Walker), or sign undrafted hope and prayer developmental players (Bryn Forbes) and back fill journeymen players Dante Cunningham to fill spots.

[Truth4sale$]

I believe Derrick White will be a poor version of Manu. He is a combo guard that will prove to be a pleasant surprise. He does a little bit of everything. He gets guys involved, and clearly works his ass off. I would like to see him start as Walker sits in Austin for a season.

[cutewizard]

I believe Derrick White will be a poor version of Manu. He is a combo guard that will prove to be a pleasant surprise. He does a little bit of everything. He gets guys involved, and clearly works his ass off. I would like to see him start as Walker sits in Austin for a season.

[jjktkk]

If the Spurs goal was to be compe ive this year they have failed. They let TP go, lost Kyle and replaced them with Beli/Cunningham.

I don’t think you can say the goal was to take a step forward with those moves.

You left out resigning Bertans, as a replacement for SLOMO. Also, the Spurs have always preferred veteran laden squads, so I'm surprised you're shocked with the Cunningham signing.

[SAGirl]

It’s easy to justify if you don’t make assumptions. Spurs don’t have DeRozan and it’s far from a given they will. They don’t have Kawhi and it’s far from a given that he will suit up if he’s not traded.

But I am viewing it in the lense of the team last year (sans Kawhi) and this year. Kyle is the best player of impact out of TP, Kyle, Beli & Dante. So on paper, it’s pretty clear to me that SA is worse than last year.

Of course adding Kawhi or DeRozan would make SA better. But even if you do that, adding Kawhi to SA last season would have made that team better than this one.

I’m a pretty big believer in White/Murray so I am not fretting that guard play being better even with the logjam.

But I am saying that Pau will be worse. Kyle is a massive loss assuming Kawhi or DeRozan aren’t there and Beli won’t make up for the loss of Kyle and just because Bertans is 7x more expensive doesn’t mean he will improve.

SA already had Forbes last year so that doesn’t count.

I agree. There's too much trolling in this site and guys who are negative no matter what the team does, so I am "grieving" the loss of Kyle on my own. He will be missed and it's much easier for guys to not acknowledge it.

However, I think the Spurs are trying to get Kawhi committed and healthy. If they do that, the loss of Kyle won't matter all that much bc a healthy and committed Kawhi will take most of the available minutes as a SF anyways and Kyle's impact would have been diminished anyways. White and DJ stand to be the most impactful youngsters next season and should take all minutes that previously went to Tony between both of them. They will play at positions of need and their impact will be increased by letting Tony go, and Manu likely retiring. No matter what happens with Kawhi if both are in the team I expect Pop to rely on them a lot.

I am frankly not that excited about Belli back. To me it signals Manu's likely retirement. I think he will take a role similar to what Manu had and he's not as good as Manu as an overall player and is very deficient defensively. That just adds another traffic cone in the Mills mold that Pop will overplay due to his shooting/scoring, but its fools gold. He doesn't move the needle, except to the negative side against the elite teams. Can swallow a lot of regular rotation minutes tho so it helps the quest to stay compe ive, but that's it. Considering how much Forbes struggled last year the addition of Belli is good but as I said is tempered by my belief Manu will retire and Forbes will still see playing time.

To me the team is worse off bc Manu and Kyle > Belli and Dante.

If Kawhi isn't committed or continues with chronic injuries I frankly don't think they are as good as last season, unless Dijon and/or White have MIP caliber seasons and that's just really unpredictable. I expect Walker to be in the GLeague a lot so any contributions from him are bonus to me this year.

I am going to be disgusted by Derozan in the team. He just further tilts the team away from a defensive team towards a fools gold team that chokes in the playoffs.

It is what it is. They will be fine if they have a healthy MVP Kawhi. Otherwise they completely depend on Dijon and White development to be better than last season. Since many here want to tank anyways if they end up worse than last year, it's expected.

[SAGirl]

I don't think Pau will get worse. He's already as immobile as he will be away from the basket. I also would've preferred the 4/20 Bertans deal over the 2/14.5 one. I also would've preferred the Spurs matched Kyle and simply given Forbes a recommendation to another team given everything he went through-but who knows how bad the Holt marriage situation is especially with regards to being over the tax line (we're only hard capped at the apron, not the tax line). The only way that signing makes sense is if the financial situation is really that bad or Forbes can be packaged in a future trade as roster/salary filler more easily than Kyle (that would also certainly be true).

Lauvergne was OK offensively and a matador on defense. If you use most of the remaining MLE to lock up Metu for 4 years, then there's way more upside in that situation.

I don't think Rudy finally being fully healthy and able to play 24-30 minutes a night consistently is being considered enough here. This team looks to be moving in the direction of having a few good iso-ball players surrounded by shooters. A guy like him really helps.

As far as cheap wing players we could get with the bulk of the MLE I would have preferred Mbah a Moute. He's an actual 3&D guy vs. just shooting the 3-ball. But maybe his shoulder injury is career alternating? Given that and the team's familiarity with Marco, I'm OK with him being on the team.

Letting Tony walk for anything above the minimum was the correct decision . . . sorry. His situation (Batum/Borrego) is nice and he'll get playing time so I'm happy for him.

Cunningham isn't a great pick-up what are you gonna do with just the BAE and the minimum available?

Anyways maybe once Kawhi starts playing . . . he'll be happy to just play basketball. Who knows. I'm 100% certain there will be no trade this summer. We'll see what happens after 12/15.

Good quality post.

[SAGirl]

The Spurs were "better" last year because they had someone to fill in for Leonard. That guy couldn't consistently play well WITH Leonard, so it was pretty much either/or. They have Leonard this year, so they don't need that guy. They're better now.

I wouldn't say Kyle couldn't consistently play well with Kawhi. He was rarely afforded that opportunity frankly. But it's a moot point.

[Chinook]

I wouldn't say Kyle couldn't consistently play well with Kawhi. He was rarely afforded that opportunity frankly. But it's a moot point.

Kyle couldn't consistently play well at all, but he couldn't do it with Leonard in particular because both need the ball in their hands, and Leonard was just going to get it more. In spurts, Kyle was aggressive enough off the ball and getting boards to be effective with Leonard. But some combination of Beli, Bertans and Cunningham playing more should help that a lot.

[SAGirl]

Kyle couldn't consistently play well at all, but he couldn't do it with Leonard in particular because both need the ball in their hands, and Leonard was just going to get it more. In spurts, Kyle was aggressive enough off the ball and getting boards to be effective with Leonard. But some combination of Beli, Bertans and Cunningham playing more should help that a lot.

Disagree. I don't think we saw enough of that enough to be strongly opinionated anyways. Kyle barely played rotation minutes 2 years ago and last season Kawhi was injured. They may have had more opportunities 3 seasons ago, when it was barely Kyle's second season in the league and the first time he really got playing time and he was still in the bench most of his minutes and struggling to be consistent but in terms of his prior playing time his second season, it was limited. I don't think you can harbor a strong opinion on it either way bc limited samples and opportunities. It's moot anyways.

Edit: I just checked in basketball reference and Kawhi/Kyle together were a positive for the team since 2015-16. It's obviously limited samples each year that register between 250-300 minutes tops and last season barely 44 minutes but in limited samples the indication is to the contrary. The team was winning games when they shared the court most of the time.

[TheCerebral1]

Scrub bench player addition. Yet again our offseason.

[ernest787]

SAgirl still can't go over the fact that Kyle is a scrub and when people point out that he wasn't consistent in any role, yet alone one that featured Kawhi, she say it's a moot point lol

Can you go to the Memphis board already?

[TimDunkem]

A lot of corporate knowledge has been lost with the departure of Parker, Anderson and maybe Ginobili. That's difficult to replace and its what's made Spurs compe ive despite a lack of talent and athleticism.

Kyle never really compensated for the loss of Boris Diaw. It can be argued that Diaw could also have won the MVP instead of Leonard.

So who can play the beautiful game now for the Spurs? Who are the players who have an uncanny vision of the court and spacing and know where to move the ball?

I think the only guys are Derrick White and Patty Mills. The problem with Mills is that he's too small to orchestrate and is just the recipient of a good play.

Everyone else seems to be one dimensional. Good at what they do, but nothing else.

I blame everything on Messina. It's been downhill ever since he's been signed.

That's fine. Let's allow some new blood to gain that knowledge. Out with old, in with the new.

[venitian navigator]

The point is not that our team has become worst but that a lot of teams have become better...frankly, in the west, I see quite no teams as lottery bound.
Also Sacramento and Phoenix have no more reason to tank...and they have a lot of young and promising players...in all the roles (Fox - Hield - Bogdanovic - Bagley - Stain is a good and young starting five on paper; and except for point guard, Booker - Jackson - Bender - Ayton are actually four of the best young nba players).

Like SA Girl I also liked Kyle as a player and as a person that loved to play with us...at the same time its clear that he was a starting piece mainly because of the Kiwhi problems.
As for now, we have to consider Leonard back to the team. Its in his best interest to show he's back in the game and more than all back at the same level...and he cannot lose a lot of time showing that...bacause his drama has put him in a difficult position. He has to show not only that he is healthy, but also that he is durable...for as much as it could sound absurd, the more he looks like he faked or exagerate his injury, the more his value will be back at the supermax level.
At same point, if he keeps playing stupid mind games with the team, the team will be legitimate to bench him and relegate him in playing garbage time.
I think one reason to sign a lot of back court players has something to do with that. Lots of different solutions...

That said, just considering our status quo, we are quite even...and a lot better if Kiwhi plays.

point guards Murray - White - Ginobili (instead of Parker . Murray . White) I think here ther's a clear upgrade; the Parker Role will be of Manu
Shooting guard Mills - Green - Walker/Forbes (Instead of Green - Mills - Forbes) Even -No upgrade till Walker develop in an NBA player, but Mills was a starter
Small f. Leonard - Beli - Paul (instead of Leonard - Manu - Paul) Clear upgrade simply because Kiwhi has now to play. And Beli is good 6 man
Power f. Gay - Bertans - Cunningham (instead of Kyle - Gay - Bertans) Even -If healthy, Gay is better starter than Kyle; the other two can be good
Center Lma - Pau - ? Metu? (instead of Lma - Pau - Lauvergne) Even considering Lma will play this role from the beginning

If that will be enough to be back as contenders is difficult to understand...alln depends by the K. factor...

[Chinook]

Disagree. I don't think we saw enough of that enough to be strongly opinionated anyways. Kyle barely played rotation minutes 2 years ago and last season Kawhi was injured. They may have had more opportunities 3 seasons ago, when it was barely Kyle's second season in the league and the first time he really got playing time and he was still in the bench most of his minutes and struggling to be consistent but in terms of his prior playing time his second season, it was limited. I don't think you can harbor a strong opinion on it either way bc limited samples and opportunities. It's moot anyways.

Edit: I just checked in basketball reference and Kawhi/Kyle together were a positive for the team since 2015-16. It's obviously limited samples each year that register between 250-300 minutes tops and last season barely 44 minutes but in limited samples the indication is to the contrary. The team was winning games when they shared the court most of the time.

The team was winning games any time Leonard was on the court.