A modern look at our roster construction and team needs heading into free agency

[JeffDuncan]

Just here to remind everyone that KA was that elusive guy who could legit defend both forward positions.

Thanks.

You mean SloMo? There's been criticism of him here for his aversion to shooting - and I don't know if it's been posted - but Anderson had surgery in April for thoracic outlet syndrome, which affected his use of his arm and hand.

https://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/g...r-grizz-190424

Just thought I'd mention.

[JeffDuncan]

Could we be looking at another Richard Jefferson / Kawhi Leonard scenario where Samanic takes the reins from Gay halfway through the season?

I don't know about Samanic taking over for Gay, but it would be fabulous if the Spurs could develop Samanic enough (and give him a chance) to rotate some with Gay, in certain matchups. I mean, along about late January, start giving him a run of 5 or 6 minutes, in games here and there, and not just in garbage time. Sure, he'd take some lumps, but that's how we learn.

It's hard to see Pop doing that, tho. As liberal as he is, politically, he's as conservative as they get, while the game clock is running.

[Dejounte]

I don't know about Samanic taking over for Gay, but it would be fabulous if the Spurs could develop Samanic enough (and give him a chance) to rotate some with Gay, in certain matchups. I mean, along about late January, start giving him a run of 5 or 6 minutes, in games here and there, and not just in garbage time. Sure, he'd take some lumps, but that's how we learn.

It's hard to see Pop doing that, tho. As liberal as he is, politically, he's as conservative as they get, while the game clock is running.

If they coveted this guy so much for years and he proves good enough, i dont buy that Pop will just bury him on the bench so he can "get over himself". If a rookie is good enough, he'll play. I think people are just traumatized with all the recent rooks (DJ, KA, Lonnie, White) getting that treatment. I dont think that will always be the case, and i tend to believe theyll play a rook if he proves worthy.

[Degoat]

I think the reason dejounte, Dwhite, and Lonnie didn’t play their rookie years much is because Pop demands a lot from the guard positions, I think with SF/PF he won’t demand as much because the ball wont be in there hands

[SAGirl]

Good thread. Kudos.
I don’t expect much change but this is interesting and informative to read.

[John B]

I think the reason dejounte, Dwhite, and Lonnie didn’t play their rookie years much is because Pop demands a lot from the guard positions, I think with SF/PF he won’t demand as much because the ball wont be in there hands

Also Spurs had future HOFer TP and Manu in the lineup. But I think it has changed and rookies should get better opportunities especially if they play hard defense. I suspect Keldon would earn his minutes, but all 3 would burn I-35 for Austin assignments. I like our picks, again not sexy but should be good in the long haul. Vet SF and big man from MLE, and salary dump I suspect Belli

[TD 21]

I made this thread because I'm tired of the "omg! We didnt address our biggest need! Who is going to guard Kawhi, LeBron, Durant in the long run!?!". The Spurs' answer is Samanic.

Perfect encapsulation of how clueless you really are.

[Dejounte]

Perfect encapsulation of how clueless you really are.

Lmao do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and see how pompous you are? Like I said, you must be a delight to be around...

[RC_Drunkford]

the things this team needs is:

1. A solid starting SF who's an offball player and at least solid on defense (Bojan Bogdanovic)
2. A defensive minded PF who does the dirty work and shoots at least 33% from 3 (Marcus Morris, Thad Young, Ariza)
3. A C who can shoot 3s (Kaminsky, etc.)

Of course it will be hard to add all of those players and I think we'll add only 1 or 2 cheaper options, but that would give the roster the versatility to adjust to match ups in the playoffs

[Dejounte]

A couple updates from recent interviews from Keldon, Quinndary, and Coach Hammond:

-Quinndary says he and Lonnie "both play the same position" and that they play the 1.... Shows that combo guard (pg/sg) is probably accurate for these two instead of wing (sg/sf)
-Asked what Keldon's position he's been playing in practices, he says theyve been putting him as the 2 & 3. Making him the wing (sg/sf) similar to DeRozan as expected.
-you can see in that one video where Lonnie steals the ball and dunks it, he was matching up with Keldon in that video showing Lonnie guards the 2 guards as well.
-Someone may have already mentioned it, but when asked what upside Keldon has, Becky answers with "we see him as a 3 and D" player
-common word description of Keldon from others (Lonnie, Becky) has been that he brings energy

[John B]

A couple updates from recent interviews from Keldon, Quinndary, and Coach Hammond:

-Quinndary says he and Lonnie "both play the same position" and that they play the 1.... Shows that combo guard (pg/sg) is probably accurate for these two instead of wing (sg/sf)
-Asked what Keldon's position he's been playing in practices, he says theyve been putting him as the 2 & 3. Making him the wing (sg/sf) similar to DeRozan as expected.
-you can see in that one video where Lonnie steals the ball and dunks it, he was matching up with Keldon in that video showing Lonnie guards the 2 guards as well.
-Someone may have already mentioned it, but when asked what upside Keldon has, Becky answers with "we see him as a 3 and D" player
-common word description of Keldon from others (Lonnie, Becky) has been that he brings energy

[r0drig0lac]

A couple updates from recent interviews from Keldon, Quinndary, and Coach Hammond:

-Quinndary says he and Lonnie "both play the same position" and that they play the 1.... Shows that combo guard (pg/sg) is probably accurate for these two instead of wing (sg/sf)
-Asked what Keldon's position he's been playing in practices, he says theyve been putting him as the 2 & 3. Making him the wing (sg/sf) similar to DeRozan as expected.
-you can see in that one video where Lonnie steals the ball and dunks it, he was matching up with Keldon in that video showing Lonnie guards the 2 guards as well.
-Someone may have already mentioned it, but when asked what upside Keldon has, Becky answers with "we see him as a 3 and D" player
-common word description of Keldon from others (Lonnie, Becky) has been that he brings energy

as it should be, does not make sense Lonnie as a wing (or small forward)

[Dejounte]

as it should be, does not make sense Lonnie as a wing (or small forward)

Agreed. Though I see often some posters place him as a SF coming off the bench.

With a rise in minutes for Lonnie, I think

if DJ and White are both staters (not likely, in my opinion. Though we might experiment with it for the first two games of the season) ... Lonnie is our PG (runs the plays) coming off of the bench with Lonnie finding shooters like Forbes, Mills

OR

Only 1 of DJ and White starts and Lonnie comes off the bench with either of these two. Lonnie then becomes the secondary playmaker, handling the ball probably 50% the time and then looking for spots to spot up when either White or DJ are distributing. This really leaves Mills and Forbes out of the rotation though unless they want to play super small (our defense would suffer)

[Dejounte]

If the Spurs insist on keeping either Forbes or Mills, then I have to be open to the idea that DJ and White could both start to make minutes for those two with Lonnie's rise.

Starters:
Combo guard (pg/ sg)
Combo guard (pg/sg)
wing (sg/ sf),
combo big (pf/ c),
strict center (c)

Optimal players used for this line-up configuration:
Combo guard: Dejounte Murray
Combo guard: Derrick White
Wing: DeMar DeRozan
Combo big: Aldridge
Strict Center: Poetl

Supporting bench:

This line-up consists of:
Combo guard (pg/sg),
strict sg (sg),
wing (sg/sf) or strict SF
big forward (sf/pf),
combo big (pf/c) or strict center

Optimal players for this line-up configuration:
Combo guard: Lonnie Walker
Strict SG: Forbes
Wing: Belinelli (then eventually Keldon Johnson) / strict SF: Bertans
Big forward: Rudy Gay (then eventually Samanic)
Combo big: Metu / Strict Center: Eubanks

[SpursDynasty85]

as it should be, does not make sense Lonnie as a wing (or small forward)

Bryn did a little of both in the G league. I imagine Pop is going for a 3 gaurd 2 forward lineup. He was really the first one to play small with Finley at PF I recall. All 3 gaurds will probably play pg/sg while on the floor.

[venitian navigator]

If the Spurs insist on keeping either Forbes or Mills, then I have to be open to the idea that DJ and White could both start to make minutes for those two with Lonnie's rise.

Starters:
Combo guard (pg/ sg)
Combo guard (pg/sg)
wing (sg/ sf),
combo big (pf/ c),
strict center (c)

Optimal players used for this line-up configuration:
Combo guard: Dejounte Murray
Combo guard: Derrick White
Wing: DeMar DeRozan
Combo big: Aldridge
Strict Center: Poetl

Supporting bench:

This line-up consists of:
Combo guard (pg/sg),
strict sg (sg),
wing (sg/sf) or strict SF
big forward (sf/pf),
combo big (pf/c) or strict center

Optimal players for this line-up configuration:
Combo guard: Lonnie Walker
Strict SG: Forbes
Wing: Belinelli (then eventually Keldon Johnson) / strict SF: Bertans
Big forward: Rudy Gay (then eventually Samanic)
Combo big: Metu / Strict Center: Eubanks

if this perspective is true, than looks that we're playng two bigs lineup the majority of time and than makes sense we are going on the market with the mle or via trade with the main goal being searching for a big...

[Fusternino]

Glad to see some sanity in this thread regarding posters here actually thinking Lonnie or Marco can guard the 3, lol.

Dedmon would be great stretch 5. As for the combo forward and 3&D wing we needed, hopefully we just drafted them. Someone pointed out to me Keldon actually has a longer standing reach than Danny, his barefoot height of 6'4.75" is deflated due to his tiny neck and head.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

A couple updates from recent interviews from Keldon, Quinndary, and Coach Hammond:

-Quinndary says he and Lonnie "both play the same position" and that they play the 1.... Shows that combo guard (pg/sg) is probably accurate for these two instead of wing (sg/sf)
-Asked what Keldon's position he's been playing in practices, he says theyve been putting him as the 2 & 3. Making him the wing (sg/sf) similar to DeRozan as expected.
-you can see in that one video where Lonnie steals the ball and dunks it, he was matching up with Keldon in that video showing Lonnie guards the 2 guards as well.
-Someone may have already mentioned it, but when asked what upside Keldon has, Becky answers with "we see him as a 3 and D" player
-common word description of Keldon from others (Lonnie, Becky) has been that he brings energy

I think when Quindary said him and Lonnie are playing the same position he was saying offensively they both initiated the offense. Manu initiated the offense a ton with the 2nd unit but he wasn't a point guard, he was just the best play maker for that unit. Watching some of the old summer league games Kawhi, Kyle Anderson, and Bryn all handled the ball a ton and initiated those teams offense but never played the 1 in real NBA games either.

It's just the coaching staff recognizing he is good at creating his own shot and trying to get him to be better at doing so and creating for others. Each summer league they give players specific things to focus on in training and the games.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

I think the rotations at the beginning of the season will be as follows barring player movement or injuries

Starters.

1. White
2. Murray
3. DeRozan
4. Aldridge
5. Poeltl

1st Rotation

1. Murray
2. Mills
3. DeRozan
4. Gay
5. Poeltl

2nd rotation

1. White
2. Forbes
3. Walker or Marco
4. Bertans
5. Aldridge

Closing squad

1. White
2. Murray (if his 3 point% and attempts are solid)
3. DeRozan
4. Gay
5. Aldridge

If (which I seriously doubt) Samanic or a free agent pick up proves to be a solid defender and net positive on offense maybe they get minutes at the 4 early in the season. I believe we will be having heavy 3 guard line ups like somebody posted above due to the roster personnel so far. Hopefully Pop is done with the small guard squad of Bryn, Patty and Marco playing together.

[Dejounte]

I think when Quindary said him and Lonnie are playing the same position he was saying offensively they both initiated the offense. Manu initiated the offense a ton with the 2nd unit but he wasn't a point guard, he was just the best play maker for that unit. Watching some of the old summer league games Kawhi, Kyle Anderson, and Bryn all handled the ball a ton and initiated those teams offense but never played the 1 in real NBA games either.

It's just the coaching staff recognizing he is good at creating his own shot and trying to get him to be better at doing so and creating for others. Each summer league they give players specific things to focus on in training and the games.

I think we have to start with how we define "playing the 1 in the real NBA games" means. I dont disagree with anything you said. I think the Spurs playing these two at the 1 shows us insight on what capabilities they have with bringing the ball up and making plays for others while not necessarily playing the 1 like how you mentioned Manu as an example. Its why I list them as combo guards in the original post, as i think the Spurs strategy is to throw different players into roles that will shift play making every couple minutes or so between DJ, White, Lonnie, DeMar creating a mismatch or illusion against the opponent every time they run down.... Seems like a new age type game plan to me and hopefully it pays off. I also believe its a relief theyre finding guards who have the talent to run the team instead of going to Patty Mills who has shown he is terrible when he tries to run plays (literally pulled my hair whenever he was the point guard 2 years ago).

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

I think we have to start with how we define "playing the 1 in the real NBA games" means. I dont disagree with anything you said. I think the Spurs playing these two at the 1 shows us insight on what capabilities they have with bringing the ball up and making plays for others while not necessarily playing the 1 like how you mentioned Manu as an example. Its why I list them as combo guards in the original post, as i think the Spurs strategy is to throw different players into roles that will shift play making every couple minutes or so between DJ, White, Lonnie, DeMar creating a mismatch or illusion against the opponent every time they run down.... Seems like a new age type game plan to me and hopefully it pays off. I also believe its a relief theyre finding guards who have the talent to run the team instead of going to Patty Mills who has shown he is terrible when he tries to run plays (literally pulled my hair whenever he was the point guard 2 years ago).

I feel they are trying to have as many strong offensive initiators and creators on the court as possible. The team seems to be trying to get away from specialists and going for more well rounded offensive players. I mean every team is trying to do this but it's difficult to do because of talent but it seems Lonnie has the athleticism and solid handles to assist with Murray, White, to a lesser extent Rudy and DeRozan. The offense has a chance to be really dynamic this upcoming season

[Dejounte]

I feel they are trying to have as many strong offensive initiators and creators on the court as possible. The team seems to be trying to get away from specialists and going for more well rounded offensive players. I mean every team is trying to do this but it's difficult to do because of talent but it seems Lonnie has the athleticism and solid handles to assist with Murray, White, to a lesser extent now Rudy and DeRozan. The offense has a chance to be really dynamic this upcoming season

This team's specialists:
Mills
Beli
Bertans
To a lesser extent, Forbes, but he has room for improvement and he wasn't bad at taking the ball to the hoop last year.

Poetl and Eubanks could be considered specialists as well, but I believe theres greater value in defensive anchor centers than 3 point specialists.

It's clear that at least one of Beli, Mills, Bertans needs to go.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

This team's specialists:
Mills
Beli
Bertans
To a lesser extent, Forbes, but he has room for improvement and he wasn't bad at taking the ball to the hoop last year.

Poetl and Eubanks could be considered specialists as well, but I believe theres greater value in defensive anchor centers than 3 point specialists.

It's clear that at least one of Beli, Mills, Bertans needs to go.

Forbes, Marco, and Bertans deals are finished after the upcoming season, Mills.........smh. lmao.

Of course the team has specialist but getting Lonnie, Luka, and even Witherspoon kind of looks like they are looking at more well rounded offensive players. Johnson sounds like just a shooter but he is young and could get better at putting the ball on the deck.

I know there isn't any team that is going to turn down a great 3 point shooter who plays defense if he can't put the ball on the deck but I do like the fact that it seems like they are looking more well rounded players.

[C-Dub]

As of now the currently constructed roster pending free agency will maybe look like this:
1. DJM, Forbes, DDR, LMA, Poeltl
2. White, Mills, LW4, Bertans, Luka
3. KJ, Beli, Metu, leftover FA

* Forbes start for floor spacing purposes.
* White will finish games instead of Forbes.
I say let Rudy walk and use that money towards a younger decent PF/C type player that can be a good role player after LMA, Patty and DDR are gone which should be in 2 years. Also grab a veteran SF/PF type player with the MLE. By the trade deadline if LW4 is showing that he can be a dependable backup SG/SF then trade Beli by the trade deadline. I would not move on from Bertans just yet. His 3pt shot is to pure and he knows the system and will only get better, not an allstar but a good role player and we need his 3pt shooting to go along with Forbes and Mills. I do believe that White will be better at 3's this coming season and DDR and LMA will shoot more 3's. With that being said I believe after this coming trade deadline the Spurs roster could look like this:

1. DJM, Forbes, DDR, New PF, LMA
2. White, Mills, New SF, Luka, Poeltl
3. KJ, Metu, leftovers like Cunningham

[Dejounte]

My ideal rotation with Carroll added to the mix

Starters:
Combo guard: Dejounte Murray
Strict SG: Bryn Forbes
Wing: DeMar DeRozan
Combo big: LaMarcus Aldridge
Strict Center: Jakob Poetl

First off the bench:

Combo guard: Derrick White
Combo guard: Lonnie Walker
Big Forward: DeMar Carroll (eventually Keldon Johnson)
Big Forward: Rudy Gay (eventually Luka Samanic)
Strict Center: Eubanks or Combo big: Metu

We are looking really deep