Pop's interview: "nothing should be rushed"

[Leetonidas]

that's not my point. He was a 2nd option on a team that won a ring.

Mostly because Giannis had one of the greatest finals series ever that year. But still, I don't think Vassell is on Middleton's trajectory at this point even if they had comparable numbers per game was in their 4th year, which was my point. And Jason Terry was the second best player on a le team and if Terry is Vassells ceiling we're ed

Besides, Holiday was the 2nd best player on that Bucks team imo

[spurraider21]

Mostly because Giannis had one of the greatest finals series ever that year. But still, I don't think Vassell is on Middleton's trajectory at this point even if they had comparable numbers per game was in their 4th year, which was my point. And Jason Terry was the second best player on a le team and if Terry is Vassells ceiling we're ed

Besides, Holiday was the 2nd best player on that Bucks team imo

i had hopes for the middleton development but he really hasnt gotten any better as a creator/passer. really had hopes for him because he did take a step up in that department last year, but no real follow up to it this year. plus his defense isnt as good as middleton's.

[spurraider21]

brilliant pass by wesley but sochan cant finish, leads to runout dunk. next trip down collins doesnt even leave the ground to contest jalen suggs. disgrace

[Chinook]

I think too many people believe it's just a given that Wemby would benefit from the Spurs adjusting its posture and that he's being held back by the team tanking. I don't think people appreciate that on a more compe ive roster, Wemby wouldn't have the same freedom or have the same usage he does now. It's easy to say guys like Keldon and Vassell should defer to Wemby and be mad at them continuing to try to play the roles they were groomed for for years. But on a roster that had legit productive players, the turnovers, the breaking off plays to try to get his points, the evanescent screens, the bad threes, the attempted cherry-picking, the lack of conditioning -- that wouldn't work. The dude is raw -- yes, still. What he can do at times and what he'd be able to do in serious games are different. Just as OKC's talent allows Chet to be the modern-big equivalent of Danny Green, the Spurs' lack of talent is what lets Wemby test his limits with impunity.

The team is not a "good PG" away from turning their roster around. Jones is a solid PG who fits well with Victor for now. The reality is that Wemby is having a mixed impact this season, which is actually better than most rookies (even ROYs from previous seasons) but isn't there yet in terms of a compe ive roster. He's 20 years old. The reason why Pop talked about how long it took guys like Jordan and Jokic to win les is to push against the notion some people have that Wemby's potential is so superlative that he shouldn't require the same grace to figure out what he's doing. Pretending that Wemby is farther along than he is does him a disservice. The Spurs might well have drafted a mega-star, but even mega-stars don't win early and need time to figure it out.

A lot of people want the Spurs to be a good team with Wemby as their best player. That's not really a realistic option right now. They could potentially be a VERY good team with Wemby as their second-best player, or maybe a strong one if he's one of three near-equal players. But with him as the unquestioned best player who gets most of the touches wherever he wants with the team being oriented toward feeding him? That's probably not a good team.

So if the Spurs are truly trying to accelerate the timeline, they need to go for a guy who can be the best player on a le team. That's really only Curry or James in terms of even remotely feasible options. Trades for like Quickley, Murray or even Mikal aren't there. That's how you get a team that's extremely similar to this one but that might win a few more games, like how the Hawks were basically the same team after acquiring Murray, how the Nets still suck with Bridges. Alternatively, they can not piss away the draft like so many want them to and try to find the Klay Thompson to Wemby's Curry. Only PATFO knows if there are prospects in this draft they think are worth tanking for. They can and have been wrong, obviously, but the front office has to proceed with the belief that they can execute the tasks they assign themselves. It shouldn't require saying that the FO should be confident in what they do rather than doing things they don't think will work.

There are always multiple ways a team can proceed. I wanted them to take a different path going into last summer. I didn't want them to take this path. But now that they have, they need to actually see it through. Next summer, I want them to combine their draft winnings with an aggressive attempt to add a legit piece to their starting lineup. They may choose to do something completely different. I hope they execute whatever they choose to do.

[spurraider21]

Ok but today wemby played the same amount of minutes as taj gibson

[Chinook]

Ok but today wemby played the same amount of minutes as taj gibson

Did you watch the game? Wemby looked dead out there. It seems obvious the minutes restriction was good for him or in the very least that he's not at all used to playing without it.

[Mr. Body]

Did you watch the game? Wemby looked dead out there. It seems obvious the minutes restriction was good for him or in the very least that he's not at all used to playing without it.

He's hitting a rookie wall, too. This is a ton of games.

[rankingtear]

What do people even think Vassell will develop into?
It's his fourth season, I can only see him becoming a bit better at what he does well, I don't think he'll ever be a great playmaker or defender.
Shooting guards with average playmaking are the easiest players to find in modern NBA. Especially ones that aren't great defenders.
And yet noone thinks that his 150 million deal will become an issue.

Would he do better on a good team? Obviously, everyone does.
Would a good team pay him 30 million? Obviously not, that's too much for a third option if you have two max players.

Last season I honestly thought he can develop into our Devin (Booker), but it's not happening.
Booker was also winning 20ish games in his third/fourth season and averaged 26/7.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think all this losing is getting to us and we grasp for straws thinking any of these scrubs will actually be good enough to become serious pieces on a playoff team.
I really don't see Devin ever being worth his upcoming contract and I think Spurs should include him in any potential trade for a star before the league catches up on him actually not being 150 million good.

Much like Keldon isn't worth his deal, neither is Devin.
If Devin got 80/4, then he would've been worth it. 150/5 is too much.

Devin is scalable and there is already plenty of times he showed that he is finals guy. The way he scores and his team defense translate very well into the postseason, you see it when he goes against great defenses in the regular season. A lot of teams would pay him that number it is equivalent to 21mil this season since some don't really understands the cap.

[offset formation]

My issue with Devin is not even his fault, he's not super athletic, and has to take difficult shots. I think he is a hard worker and has really improved in many ways. He continues to get better with the
ball in his hands. I think he will continue to improve but not sure yet how much. Anyway. Back to Pop.

He's a chucker that occasionally gets hot like he did tonight. He's a positive PnR PnP player. He's a minus player 1 on 1 and open court play. He plays well off Wemby and if he has any future, it's there. He's simply not a game changer in 1 on 1.

[Chinook]

Vassell is still improving as well. Folks don't appreciate that he's also not being put in an ideal position on the current roster. If the goal is for him to develop into a number-two or -three for a superstar, then he's having to do that while playing next to a raw, inefficient player who's taking superstar touches. No, that's not ting on Wemby, but this isn't Maxey/Embiid or Parker/Duncan. This isn't a young talent finding his way next to an established superstar. This is a guy who was told he'd have to grow into a first option trying to figure out what role he needs to play with an uber-talent 20-year-old who himself is trying to define his game. A lot of people are upset that Vassell seems to still think of himself as a first-option, but it might actually help Wemby is Vassell were that guy. Maybe it'd help both of them if someone else were able to come in and be that guy for a couple of years.

I really wish Jimmy Butler were available. Even at his age, he seems like the perfect guy to push Devin to the next level and provide support for Wemby while also leaving ample room for Victor to grow.

[Mr. Body]

He's a chucker that occasionally gets hot like he did tonight. He's a positive PnR PnP player. He's a minus player 1 on 1 and open court play. He plays well off Wemby and if he has any future, it's there. He's simply not a game changer in 1 on 1.

We can get on Vassell in a lot of ways, but he's not a chucker. I almost wish he'd call his own number and put up more shots. He doesn't.

[Chinook]

He's hitting a rookie wall, too. This is a ton of games.

I don't think you're wrong that this is a lot of games, but I think his conditioning has been a concern all year. He should probably stay in the 20s for now with the idea that he'll go hard for every second he's out there. I'm glad fouls are no longer a big inhibitor of his play time, but it looks like getting him to be a big-minute guys is still a process.

[Atl Spur]

Vassell is still improving as well. Folks don't appreciate that he's also not being put in an ideal position on the current roster. If the goal is for him to develop into a number-two or -three for a superstar, then he's having to do that while playing next to a raw, inefficient player who's taking superstar touches. No, that's not ting on Wemby, but this isn't Maxey/Embiid or Parker/Duncan. This isn't a young talent finding his way next to an established superstar. This is a guy who was told he'd have to grow into a first option trying to figure out what role he needs to play with an uber-talent 20-year-old who himself is trying to define his game. A lot of people are upset that Vassell seems to still think of himself as a first-option, but it might actually help Wemby is Vassell were that guy. Maybe it'd help both of them if someone else were able to come in and be that guy for a couple of years.

I really wish Jimmy Butler were available. Even at his age, he seems like the perfect guy to push Devin to the next level and provide support for Wemby while also leaving ample room for Victor to grow.

This^

[offset formation]

We can get on Vassell in a lot of ways, but he's not a chucker. I almost wish he'd call his own number and put up more shots. He doesn't.

To me a chucker is someone that has clearly made up their mind they're shooting a 3, defense be damned or open teammate be damned. It's clear from his body language and lack of looking at his teammates he does that waaay tooo often. I absolutely detest his fast break 3 point shot.

On the positive front, I really enjoy his game when he plays off ball moving to get open for a nice midrange game FT line extended and in. He plays and finishes well off Wemby and Tre and even Sochan.

His game should focus there. He's simply not the guy we need shooting fastbreak 3 pointers.

[Mr. Body]

I don't know the best way forward. Thank God Victor seems to understand this is going to take time, that he trusts the franchise, that this is his long-time fandom, and that we've been to the promised land before. Personally, I'm shocked by how terrible the team is. I did think they'd be more compe ive, at least a little. Right now, they're going to lose more games than they did last year. Turns out Vassell, Keldon, Collins are no where close to being able to lead a team and probably never will. I don't really blame the second year players.

It's easy to see teams that were pretty awful not long ago who are doing well now. OKC and Orlando come to mind, and both did it through the draft. Both are choked with high draft picks. Neither really has a ton of veterans helping out. They just took their licks, made their picks, kept going. The Spurs got an accelerated timeline in one way -- the freakish luck in getting Wembanyama. Orlando made two shrewd picks in Wagner and Banchero and the other players are coming around. OKC get super-ass lucky to get SGA and Jalen Williams as well as that #2 that gave them Chet.

I don't think the Spurs can really expect to attract veterans until they start winning. Until then you've got to imprison them by way of existing contracts and you'd probably need a few to get it to work. Either you do what Atlanta supposedly did to get Murray -- just keep upping the ante until you change a team's mind that didn't want to trade from the start -- or you peel off expensive contracts from teams that have to dump them. The last possibility is what Houston did to success -- overpay for veterans to support the youth. I think this last is no longer possible for us.

Just don't know who those vets would be. To me, it's not Tyus Jones. It would have to be Chris Paul. That sort of guy. But you don't want to overpay for a Mikal Bridges because he's a full seven years older than Wembanyama and most of our players. You'd be paying for a guy who isn't there when we actually need him.

So... totally open to scraping off vets if it takes small bushels of our SRPs. Otherwise it just seems like you have to build by the draft and largely what we have. I hope what they see in our raw materials is more than what we see now. And we keep building.

[scott]

I think too many people believe it's just a given that Wemby would benefit from the Spurs adjusting its posture and that he's being held back by the team tanking. I don't think people appreciate that on a more compe ive roster, Wemby wouldn't have the same freedom or have the same usage he does now. It's easy to say guys like Keldon and Vassell should defer to Wemby and be mad at them continuing to try to play the roles they were groomed for for years. But on a roster that had legit productive players, the turnovers, the breaking off plays to try to get his points, the evanescent screens, the bad threes, the attempted cherry-picking, the lack of conditioning -- that wouldn't work. The dude is raw -- yes, still. What he can do at times and what he'd be able to do in serious games are different. Just as OKC's talent allows Chet to be the modern-big equivalent of Danny Green, the Spurs' lack of talent is what lets Wemby test his limits with impunity.

The team is not a "good PG" away from turning their roster around. Jones is a solid PG who fits well with Victor for now. The reality is that Wemby is having a mixed impact this season, which is actually better than most rookies (even ROYs from previous seasons) but isn't there yet in terms of a compe ive roster. He's 20 years old. The reason why Pop talked about how long it took guys like Jordan and Jokic to win les is to push against the notion some people have that Wemby's potential is so superlative that he shouldn't require the same grace to figure out what he's doing. Pretending that Wemby is farther along than he is does him a disservice. The Spurs might well have drafted a mega-star, but even mega-stars don't win early and need time to figure it out.

A lot of people want the Spurs to be a good team with Wemby as their best player. That's not really a realistic option right now. They could potentially be a VERY good team with Wemby as their second-best player, or maybe a strong one if he's one of three near-equal players. But with him as the unquestioned best player who gets most of the touches wherever he wants with the team being oriented toward feeding him? That's probably not a good team.

So if the Spurs are truly trying to accelerate the timeline, they need to go for a guy who can be the best player on a le team. That's really only Curry or James in terms of even remotely feasible options. Trades for like Quickley, Murray or even Mikal aren't there. That's how you get a team that's extremely similar to this one but that might win a few more games, like how the Hawks were basically the same team after acquiring Murray, how the Nets still suck with Bridges. Alternatively, they can not piss away the draft like so many want them to and try to find the Klay Thompson to Wemby's Curry. Only PATFO knows if there are prospects in this draft they think are worth tanking for. They can and have been wrong, obviously, but the front office has to proceed with the belief that they can execute the tasks they assign themselves. It shouldn't require saying that the FO should be confident in what they do rather than doing things they don't think will work.

There are always multiple ways a team can proceed. I wanted them to take a different path going into last summer. I didn't want them to take this path. But now that they have, they need to actually see it through. Next summer, I want them to combine their draft winnings with an aggressive attempt to add a legit piece to their starting lineup. They may choose to do something completely different. I hope they execute whatever they choose to do.

These are great thoughts, as usual from your posts.

However, they are somewhat contra to what the data tells us. The Spurs starting and finishing line-ups since Tre has been starting and Wemby have been generally very good (certainly a lot better than our overall record dictates). The problem is that there are only so minutes that Wemby (due to both the restrictions and his conditioning) can play. The wheels completely fall of when he is off the court. That would seem to suggest there is a major talent deficiency that needs to be addressed. I think we all agree with that, it’s just a matter of how that gets addressed.

I wholeheartedly agree with the approach you want to see this summer. We’ll see if the Spurs do that or if next year’s roster is essentially the same as this years, plus whoever the draft, in a “be patient” roster building philosophy. This is where fans will continue to grumble, and rightfully so if you ask me. It’s easy for Pop to say “be patient” when he’s the one delivering subpar performances. I just want to see some accountability. No other coach or FO would be rewarded for 5 years of missing the playoffs the way this one has. Let’s start seeing a plan in motion, let’s start seeing a team be assembled that doesn’t create such a massive on/off for Wemby - because currently that is where the games are being lost.

[vy65]

Vassell is still improving as well. Folks don't appreciate that he's also not being put in an ideal position on the current roster. If the goal is for him to develop into a number-two or -three for a superstar, then he's having to do that while playing next to a raw, inefficient player who's taking superstar touches. No, that's not ting on Wemby, but this isn't Maxey/Embiid or Parker/Duncan. This isn't a young talent finding his way next to an established superstar. This is a guy who was told he'd have to grow into a first option trying to figure out what role he needs to play with an uber-talent 20-year-old who himself is trying to define his game. A lot of people are upset that Vassell seems to still think of himself as a first-option, but it might actually help Wemby is Vassell were that guy. Maybe it'd help both of them if someone else were able to come in and be that guy for a couple of years.

I really wish Jimmy Butler were available. Even at his age, he seems like the perfect guy to push Devin to the next level and provide support for Wemby while also leaving ample room for Victor to grow.

This is a simultaneously amazing and down-syndrome tier take at the same type. I think #22 would be the ideal vet, not just for Devin, but guys like Keldon and Jeremy as well. Absolutely agreed there.

That being said, the frustration many (if not most) feel is that, yes, neither Wemby nor Devin, nor Jeremy, nor most anyone else on the roster has been put in an ideal situation. And there’s a reason, and someone, at fault for that. Many who clamored for vet leadership, or a quick end to the point-Sochan experiment, or outright termination of assholes like Branham realize that leadership woefully failed this team under the pathetic excuse of “development” this year. You’re almost hitting on the core of people’s frustrations, but still missing it: the FO should have known better and taken steps to help this team better develop this year. It was outwardly negligent in that regard.

[vy65]

I don't know the best way forward. Thank God Victor seems to understand this is going to take time, that he trusts the franchise, that this is his long-time fandom, and that we've been to the promised land before. Personally, I'm shocked by how terrible the team is. I did think they'd be more compe ive, at least a little. Right now, they're going to lose more games than they did last year. Turns out Vassell, Keldon, Collins are no where close to being able to lead a team and probably never will. I don't really blame the second year players.

It's easy to see teams that were pretty awful not long ago who are doing well now. OKC and Orlando come to mind, and both did it through the draft. Both are choked with high draft picks. Neither really has a ton of veterans helping out. They just took their licks, made their picks, kept going. The Spurs got an accelerated timeline in one way -- the freakish luck in getting Wembanyama. Orlando made two shrewd picks in Wagner and Banchero and the other players are coming around. OKC get super-ass lucky to get SGA and Jalen Williams as well as that #2 that gave them Chet.

I don't think the Spurs can really expect to attract veterans until they start winning. Until then you've got to imprison them by way of existing contracts and you'd probably need a few to get it to work. Either you do what Atlanta supposedly did to get Murray -- just keep upping the ante until you change a team's mind that didn't want to trade from the start -- or you peel off expensive contracts from teams that have to dump them. The last possibility is what Houston did to success -- overpay for veterans to support the youth. I think this last is no longer possible for us.

Just don't know who those vets would be. To me, it's not Tyus Jones. It would have to be Chris Paul. That sort of guy. But you don't want to overpay for a Mikal Bridges because he's a full seven years older than Wembanyama and most of our players. You'd be paying for a guy who isn't there when we actually need him.

So... totally open to scraping off vets if it takes small bushels of our SRPs. Otherwise it just seems like you have to build by the draft and largely what we have. I hope what they see in our raw materials is more than what we see now. And we keep building.

OKC’s best player, an MVP candidate, was drafted by the Clippers and acquired in a trade for Paul George. Seriously, stop posting.

[Kawhi Duncan]

I think too many people believe it's just a given that Wemby would benefit from the Spurs adjusting its posture and that he's being held back by the team tanking. I don't think people appreciate that on a more compe ive roster, Wemby wouldn't have the same freedom or have the same usage he does now. It's easy to say guys like Keldon and Vassell should defer to Wemby and be mad at them continuing to try to play the roles they were groomed for for years. But on a roster that had legit productive players, the turnovers, the breaking off plays to try to get his points, the evanescent screens, the bad threes, the attempted cherry-picking, the lack of conditioning -- that wouldn't work. The dude is raw -- yes, still. What he can do at times and what he'd be able to do in serious games are different. Just as OKC's talent allows Chet to be the modern-big equivalent of Danny Green, the Spurs' lack of talent is what lets Wemby test his limits with impunity.

The team is not a "good PG" away from turning their roster around. Jones is a solid PG who fits well with Victor for now. The reality is that Wemby is having a mixed impact this season, which is actually better than most rookies (even ROYs from previous seasons) but isn't there yet in terms of a compe ive roster. He's 20 years old. The reason why Pop talked about how long it took guys like Jordan and Jokic to win les is to push against the notion some people have that Wemby's potential is so superlative that he shouldn't require the same grace to figure out what he's doing. Pretending that Wemby is farther along than he is does him a disservice. The Spurs might well have drafted a mega-star, but even mega-stars don't win early and need time to figure it out.

A lot of people want the Spurs to be a good team with Wemby as their best player. That's not really a realistic option right now. They could potentially be a VERY good team with Wemby as their second-best player, or maybe a strong one if he's one of three near-equal players. But with him as the unquestioned best player who gets most of the touches wherever he wants with the team being oriented toward feeding him? That's probably not a good team.

So if the Spurs are truly trying to accelerate the timeline, they need to go for a guy who can be the best player on a le team. That's really only Curry or James in terms of even remotely feasible options. Trades for like Quickley, Murray or even Mikal aren't there. That's how you get a team that's extremely similar to this one but that might win a few more games, like how the Hawks were basically the same team after acquiring Murray, how the Nets still suck with Bridges. Alternatively, they can not piss away the draft like so many want them to and try to find the Klay Thompson to Wemby's Curry. Only PATFO knows if there are prospects in this draft they think are worth tanking for. They can and have been wrong, obviously, but the front office has to proceed with the belief that they can execute the tasks they assign themselves. It shouldn't require saying that the FO should be confident in what they do rather than doing things they don't think will work.

There are always multiple ways a team can proceed. I wanted them to take a different path going into last summer. I didn't want them to take this path. But now that they have, they need to actually see it through. Next summer, I want them to combine their draft winnings with an aggressive attempt to add a legit piece to their starting lineup. They may choose to do something completely different. I hope they execute whatever they choose to do.

Ur ignoring the fact that we CLEARLY don't have an offensive system built around Wemby... Pop doesn't know how to use him... He is just used to set screens and run around trying to get open... For a HOF coach that's not a good look... Every great rookie has their flaws, but you at least see what the plan is around then offensively... Pop has them playing pick-up ball... To have an offensive system that rarely puts Wemby or Vassel in positions to score easily is insane... Every great coach has a point where the game has lost them, and I think it has been there with pop for a few years now... There's no way we should be among the worst defensive teams in the league regardless of our personnel... The GOAT coach should be able to have this roster be at LEAST a middle of the pack defensive team... He is coaching as if it's still 2003... Everyone can shoot now and he constantly have our players in drop coverage off ball to defend against drives and to help in the pain... That's why for years we have been the worst team at guardiang the 3... And why teams like the magic always have amazing shooting games against us despite being a horrible shooting team... Most of their shots were wide open

[JPB]

Truth is it's been 2 years Pop is having fun teaching the kids fundamentals and towards the end of the second year, the team doesn't win more. And it's not for lack of trying. Last year was abvious tanking with the funky lineups and no defense but they're really giving their best shots thsi year after adding Wemby, but look worse...

So the question is, why? Are we sure Pop is teaching the right "fundamentals" to win a NBA game in 2024 or like Scott brilliantly joked about and a post yesterday with his "Karate Kid" analogy, he's just having fun teaching "phylosophical" fundementals, in a vacuum, for the beauty of it and for himself, rather than what makes you win in 2024, which is completely different than 20 or even 10 years ago...

Because that's obviously not working. They freaking suck. You can preach patience, but it's legitimate at this point to ask yourself if Pop is really the right coach for this team, or any team in 2024 NBA (from a Pop supporter). What if he wasn't, and that team, these players were going in the wrong direction. Somebody mentioned the fact any other coach would have been fired after the failed Sochan experiment, and that's probably true... So giving the weight Pop has on this franchise, until what point you start to question his abilities and wonder if he's still the right coach? Or is his credit illimited?

And who would have the power and leeway to fire him? Or can Pop only fire himself? Would he be lucid enough for that? That's a tricky and dangerous situation, cos I'm smelling a bit of delusion in his L'Equipe ITV if he really believe he can make by himself and the power his brain the core of the current roster a contender... Or do you consider he's NECESSARILY right because he's Pop, a coach who got his credit for coaching contenders but never have to deal with a rebuild in his career?

Is that safe? Because so far, that doesn't look good and Pop looks a bit lost at times, including in press conferences... And nobody, including the spurs, were expecting sucking like that.

[dbestpro]

Pop is the Joe Biden of basketball. That is not a compliment. Nor is it a GOP endorsement. Most of them are too damn old too.

[LeBowen]

JBP posted this in Orlando game thread, but I think it's more appropriate that I reply here.

And it's not just Wemby... A 4 page game thread for a game with Victor freaking Wembanayama... People don't even care anymore, they lost interest, certainly reason why Pop gave that ITV to L'Equipe, since they had wind of the lost of interest and frustration in France, and honestly for all the NBA fans... Wemby is not just your random top rookie you develop in 4 years, he's already ready and should be your PRIORITY, not teaching freaking fundamentals to 4-5 year role players who may not be there in 2 years... And it really doesn't feel like Wemby is spurs priority right now. They don't respect the kid talent and dedication to the game and being great, potentially sucking him off of a ROTY, which I'm sure spurs don't care about. But what about Vic?

That was exactly the point I was trying to make in Trae topic when you were adamant you don't want him.
PATFO can't allow another bad season. Anything less than competing to get in the play-in the next season would be horrible.
What does Wemby need to utilize his potential to the fullest? A competent point guard.
Doesn't have to be Trae, doesn't have to be an all-star, just has to be someone who will be aware during every single possession that his main job is to get the best out of everyone, with Wemby being the priority.
We can talk about improving internally, but eventually losing gets to everyone and affects their psyche. When you lose so much in consecutive seasons, it ruins players. Some of them never recover. Then you become the Pistons.
They had five straight years in the lottery, including three top5 picks and they're somehow worse than they were five years ago.
I don't care about Flaggs, Boozers or whoever is the next big thing. We 14% lucked into the biggest thing (literally) in the past 20 years and we better make sure to utilize him properly.

We already have 1st, 9th and 11th pick on the roster as our three best players.
We'll get another top5 pick this year, maybe two depending on the Raptors lottery luck. And considering that it's not a draft with order of picks set in stone, Spurs can easily trade up and get anyone they want.
Being in top5 range the next season would be fatal from every way possible. Mentality, player happiness, attendance and thus financial.

I'm not saying that Spurs should pull a Mark Cuban and trade away all the picks just for the sake of it, but before the next season starts, we simply need at least one competent player who'd instantly change the landscape of a team.
Can't expect to go from 20 to 50 wins with just one trade, maybe that player will just be a temporary solution for a couple of seasons to elevate the team.

[Spursfanfromafar]

I think too many people believe it's just a given that Wemby would benefit from the Spurs adjusting its posture and that he's being held back by the team tanking. I don't think people appreciate that on a more compe ive roster, Wemby wouldn't have the same freedom or have the same usage he does now. It's easy to say guys like Keldon and Vassell should defer to Wemby and be mad at them continuing to try to play the roles they were groomed for for years. But on a roster that had legit productive players, the turnovers, the breaking off plays to try to get his points, the evanescent screens, the bad threes, the attempted cherry-picking, the lack of conditioning -- that wouldn't work. The dude is raw -- yes, still. What he can do at times and what he'd be able to do in serious games are different. Just as OKC's talent allows Chet to be the modern-big equivalent of Danny Green, the Spurs' lack of talent is what lets Wemby test his limits with impunity.

The team is not a "good PG" away from turning their roster around. Jones is a solid PG who fits well with Victor for now. The reality is that Wemby is having a mixed impact this season, which is actually better than most rookies (even ROYs from previous seasons) but isn't there yet in terms of a compe ive roster. He's 20 years old. The reason why Pop talked about how long it took guys like Jordan and Jokic to win les is to push against the notion some people have that Wemby's potential is so superlative that he shouldn't require the same grace to figure out what he's doing. Pretending that Wemby is farther along than he is does him a disservice. The Spurs might well have drafted a mega-star, but even mega-stars don't win early and need time to figure it out.

A lot of people want the Spurs to be a good team with Wemby as their best player. That's not really a realistic option right now. They could potentially be a VERY good team with Wemby as their second-best player, or maybe a strong one if he's one of three near-equal players. But with him as the unquestioned best player who gets most of the touches wherever he wants with the team being oriented toward feeding him? That's probably not a good team.

So if the Spurs are truly trying to accelerate the timeline, they need to go for a guy who can be the best player on a le team. That's really only Curry or James in terms of even remotely feasible options. Trades for like Quickley, Murray or even Mikal aren't there. That's how you get a team that's extremely similar to this one but that might win a few more games, like how the Hawks were basically the same team after acquiring Murray, how the Nets still suck with Bridges. Alternatively, they can not piss away the draft like so many want them to and try to find the Klay Thompson to Wemby's Curry. Only PATFO knows if there are prospects in this draft they think are worth tanking for. They can and have been wrong, obviously, but the front office has to proceed with the belief that they can execute the tasks they assign themselves. It shouldn't require saying that the FO should be confident in what they do rather than doing things they don't think will work.

There are always multiple ways a team can proceed. I wanted them to take a different path going into last summer. I didn't want them to take this path. But now that they have, they need to actually see it through. Next summer, I want them to combine their draft winnings with an aggressive attempt to add a legit piece to their starting lineup. They may choose to do something completely different. I hope they execute whatever they choose to do.

This is the closest to a logical defense of what PATFO and the coaching staff are doing. But it still doesn't inspire confidence in the method because of contradictory statements by the coaching staff and Pop and also 2. Lack of development in two of the youngsters in Sochan and Branham and 3. The stagnation of Keldon Johnson. And largely poor choices by the GM in both drafting and using free agency so far. In contrast similarly placed teams like the Jazz and the Knicks (a few years ago) have been much better in terms of finding and hoarding talent (in the case of the Jazz) and using free agency/trades to get fighting components to compete (the Knicks) without giving up any draft assets and in fact gaining such assets.

The Spurs had a stroke of very good luck in getting Wemby but they have shown complete lack of imagination since then. The cache of good will for PATFO will get close to empty if they don't use the coming offseason to get better talent around Wemby than what they have got in the form of flotsam and jetsam beyond Vassell, Jones, Wesley (to some extent) and an inconsistent Keldon.

[RC_Drunkford]

It is yet to be seen if Devin can come to the realization that he is (at best) the 2nd option.

A legit PG should really help Devin as much as anyone... but if in two years (or perhaps this time next year) he is playing the same ol' chucker ball, we'll have to have a real conversation.

Mostly because Giannis had one of the greatest finals series ever that year. But still, I don't think Vassell is on Middleton's trajectory at this point even if they had comparable numbers per game was in their 4th year, which was my point. And Jason Terry was the second best player on a le team and if Terry is Vassells ceiling we're ed

Besides, Holiday was the 2nd best player on that Bucks team imo

Holiday averaged 17 PPG while Middleton averaged 23 PPG. It's pretty clear who was the 2nd option. And I don't even see Devin as a 2nd option. I think he's a good 3rd option and would really shine once we have a real point guard who gets him open catch and shoot jump shots instead of Devin trying to make tough shots all the time. Same with his defense, once we have a real defensive unit his team defense should look a lot better and you don't have to play him on the opponents 2nd best player, because he's not a stopper.

You can give him those pick & roll and iso posessions once Wemby gets subbed out, so he can score on bench players. Meanwhile giving him those actions and that usage, so he can develop his offensive game is a good thing and will only make him better. Him being in year 4 doesn't mean his game can't grow further, you can clearly see that there's still plenty of room for improvement. But I'll never see him as a player you run the offense through. And the pecking order needs to be established at some point, although that's mostly on Pop.

Mostly because Giannis had one of the greatest finals series ever that year.

And Devin plays with Wemby, who can have that type of series as well. Which means if he reaches Middleton level that's enough to be a #2 or #3 sidekick on a championship team

[Mr. Body]

OKC’s best player, an MVP candidate, was drafted by the Clippers and acquired in a trade for Paul George. Seriously, stop posting.

No ing .