Shams: Spurs Sending DeMar DeRozan to Chicago for Thad Young, a Future FRP, & 2 SRP’s

[tbdog]

Spurs will struggle against big teams until smith comes back well. And by that stage, Young is probably traded.

[objective]

Chicago also has the 7th best defense according to Hollinger right now.

I know it's still early and no one is ever going to say DeRozan is a great defender, but maybe he wasn't quite the weak link that some people wanted to make him out to be.

When DeRozan tries he's an okay defender, and he was okay his first year in San Antonio also. He just cared less 2 years ago and completely quit last season. People like the Duncd On podcast awarded him 'Worst Defender in the League' 2 years ago when he wasn't even the worst starting Spur (Forbes), but last year he was really bad with the effort.

So it's no surprise to me that he isn't that bad on defense, it's his first year and he has a chip on his shoulder with something to prove.

I bet he's not quitting on getting back on defense in Chicago like he did last year.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

^ Blatant tampering.

It mustn't have been the offseason when they talked, since the Westbrook trade was done prior to it.

[baseline bum]

DeRozan at it again. 38 tonight and averaging 26 for the season. Couldn't do that here in Pop's "no stats allowed" system.

Wow he's averaging a whole 1.3PPG more with Chicago than he averaged his first 14 games on the Spurs.

[Chinook]

^ Blatant tampering.

It mustn't have been the offseason when they talked, since the Westbrook trade was done prior to it.

Not actually tampering. The article is carefully worded. DeRozan and Lebron talking isn't against the rules, and DeMar's agent asking the Spurs if there was a package they'd accept from the Lakers for DeRozan isn't either. That the Lakers made the Westbrook trade without telling DeRozan's agent is actually evidence that they weren't in correspondence about DeMar going there. The article makes it seem like James and DMDR had an understanding that led Goodwin to start urging SA to take an S&T with LAL, but then LAL went with the Westbrook trade without talking to the Spurs or DeRozan about a deal.

Also, the off-season almost certainly just means the time after the Lakers were eliminated. I don't think the players care about the official league calendar.

[bluebellmaniac]

I'd be happy with any first as well but it'd be difficult :

Lakers - earliest first they can trade is 2027 and besides they don't have the ballast contracts either to make a deal work
Clippers - earliest first they can trade is 2028
Utah - earliest is 2026 if they convey firsts both to Memphis and OKC at the earliest possible time ( which seems likely tbh )
Warriors - they have the picks, but don't have the ballast contracts
Suns - they can trade their 2024 first if they convey this year's to OKC, thus the multiple links as back as preseason. It depends on how the Spurs see Saric.
Denver - earliest would be 2027 if they convey both firsts to OKC and Orlando at the earliest possible time
Nets - earliest is 2028
Bucks - no picks to trade
Philly - they have picks but will likely wait for the Simmons situation to be resolved first
Heat - possibly a first as early as 2025 but they also don't have the contracts to make a deal work

So, basically, while not impossible, it'd still be very complicated to get any first for Young unless some unsuspected team gets desperate. For example Portland blew away a first for Larry Nance, who's hardly a better player than Thad, although he's signed through next season. Memphis also have 2 additional firsts this season ( LAL, UTAH ) that they won't really need.

Nothing wrong will piling up picks for the future either. Get the best you can. Having an extra first 5 years from now might be something we could really use. And, as a bonus, if we want to make a pitch for a player, we'd have picks to throw in on the offer. It's all good.

[KingKev]

let's just chill, make sure to lose ~15 close games and get a nice high first round draft pick

Goldilocks scenario. Remain compe ive, get the young guns great experience, secure a top 5 pick with cap flexibility and maybe a changing of the guard to the new world NBA in the next few years.

[Barfunk]

Wow he's averaging a whole 1.3PPG more with Chicago than he averaged his first 14 games on the Spurs.

There's obviously a little bit of exaggeration in my comment, which I do from time to time when bagging on Pop. As I've said before, he's my all time favorite coach, and I believe he's the goat when it comes to that, but he needs to go already in my opinion.

He's literally put players in the doghouse after they've had a great game, (hence the half joking/half serious "no stats allowed" remark). I don't know, but to me that's a pretty ridiculous coaching practice. Pop is the type of coach that pulls a player out of the game if they're like on the verge of an NBA record or something like that. Just my observation.

[Harry Callahan]

The idiot named Eddie Johnson (Suns Shill and former slightly above average player) stated on NBA radio yesterday that the SAS would be losers the next 4-5 years and talked about how the Spurs system right now is so restrictive and limited that no one wants to play there. Also mentioned how great DDR has been with the Bulls since leaving the prison called the Spurs. Last time I checked last year by actually watching Spurs games (unlike Eddie Johnson) DDR had the keys to the car all season long and much of the prior year as well. He had excellent offensive numbers in the 4th quarter (just like this year). Once again this proves that you do not have to have talent to be on the TV or Radio given the oversupply of hours to fill and the lack of interesting people to fill those hours.

The facts of the situation are that the Spurs are trying to play a much more wide upon style with ball movement due to the lack of a "go to" scorer at the moment. There are some good pieces on the roster, but the Alpha is not here right now. The "media" sucks. The Bulls #1 pick could be a good one when its available. DeRozan will definitely be on the down side by then and a lot can change in four years. A little over four years ago, the Spurs were the 2nd best team in basketball and could have won the 2017 le.

[Mr. Body]

DeRozan is a great link-up player. A connector. He's a good scorer, of course, but in SA he learned how to tie a team together. Now, the younger players weren't actually that good, so the team wasn't that great, but in Chicago he has a wealth of weapons.

Incidentally, LMA looks great in Brooklyn right now.

[cd98]

DDR played great every year for the Spurs. He put up all star stats. He’s got better talent with him in Chicago but a lot of that talk is just jealousy from teams we have beaten so many times it will take 20 losing seasons to catch up.

[exstatic]

DeRozan is a great link-up player. A connector. He's a good scorer, of course, but in SA he learned how to tie a team together. Now, the younger players weren't actually that good, so the team wasn't that great, but in Chicago he has a wealth of weapons.

Incidentally, LMA looks great in Brooklyn right now.

16 games off the bench, a role he is suited for at this point in his career, but refused to play for SA.

[talkspurs]

Thad is ballin, and his advanced stats are on fire. He plays winning basketball, and some contender will notice, and cough up a first rounder for him. It doesn’t have to be this year or next. The pick we got from Chicago is in 2025, and Im totally fine with another puck that far out.

In some ways I would rather have it further out. Most teams that would want him are probably pretty good now. They may not be in the future.

[talkspurs]

I'd be happy with any first as well but it'd be difficult :

Lakers - earliest first they can trade is 2027 and besides they don't have the ballast contracts either to make a deal work
Clippers - earliest first they can trade is 2028
Utah - earliest is 2026 if they convey firsts both to Memphis and OKC at the earliest possible time ( which seems likely tbh )
Warriors - they have the picks, but don't have the ballast contracts
Suns - they can trade their 2024 first if they convey this year's to OKC, thus the multiple links as back as preseason. It depends on how the Spurs see Saric.
Denver - earliest would be 2027 if they convey both firsts to OKC and Orlando at the earliest possible time
Nets - earliest is 2028
Bucks - no picks to trade
Philly - they have picks but will likely wait for the Simmons situation to be resolved first
Heat - possibly a first as early as 2025 but they also don't have the contracts to make a deal work

So, basically, while not impossible, it'd still be very complicated to get any first for Young unless some unsuspected team gets desperate. For example Portland blew away a first for Larry Nance, who's hardly a better player than Thad, although he's signed through next season. Memphis also have 2 additional firsts this season ( LAL, UTAH ) that they won't really need.

I would rather it be a first further down the line. A team trading for him will think they are good so probably a lower pick. If they get worse in a few years then the pick could be better.

[Kurgan]

16 games off the bench, a role he is suited for at this point in his career, but refused to play for SA.

If SA was a le contender, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to be a backup. No former star wants to come off the bench for a garbage lottery team

[John B]

DeRozan is a great link-up player. A connector. He's a good scorer, of course, but in SA he learned how to tie a team together. Now, the younger players weren't actually that good, so the team wasn't that great, but in Chicago he has a wealth of weapons.

Incidentally, LMA looks great in Brooklyn right now.

Both DDR and LMA are playing with better team mates right now. Of course they will be winning more games. DDR was playing the same, while LMA could be playing better because he gets open shots playing with former MVP’s. That’s obvious. The media is spinning stories to be relevant. And there are always going to be people who are bitter about the Spurs dominating the last 3 decades, only missing the playoffs a 3 years. The sad thing is people and other players are buying into the enigma. I’m sure DDR gets AS this year and we hear more of this narrative. But check his stats and it would be the same. Ironically, Spurs made DDR a more all-around player.

[Ice009]

DeRozan is a great link-up player. A connector. He's a good scorer, of course, but in SA he learned how to tie a team together. Now, the younger players weren't actually that good, so the team wasn't that great, but in Chicago he has a wealth of weapons.

Incidentally, LMA looks great in Brooklyn right now.

Wow, just had a look, didn't realize LMA was playing that well. I forgot he returned. I assume he's playing better than Mills?

[Harry Callahan]

LMA quit playing here. He had no desire to play for a team with no shot at playoff success. DDR made the Spurs just good enough to be in the middle of the pack. Since Asbergers man quit on us four years ago and tanked his value, no teams were willing to give up a ton of assets - as a result, no high draft picks unrelated to the Spurs record. It's very simple to understand and no amount of wishing or speculating can change the short term situation.

[exstatic]

LMA quit playing here. He had no desire to play for a team with no shot at playoff success. DDR made the Spurs just good enough to be in the middle of the pack. Since Asbergers man quit on us four years ago and tanked his value, no teams were willing to give up a ton of assets - as a result, no high draft picks unrelated to the Spurs record. It's very simple to understand and no amount of wishing or speculating can change the short term situation.

LMA quit playing defense, leading to his benching. He wouldn’t come off the bench, but the Spurs covered for him with some non-descript injury which healed just long enough for him to come off the bench after the COVID are-start, and when we had enough players again, he again got some injury.

With basically the same team, but less developed youngsters, he led us to the playoffs in 2018. He just quit last year.

[R. DeMurre]

I'm happy for DeMar because he seems like a good guy, but he's not the only move the Bulls made either-- they upgraded with Lonzo and Caruso, have a more acclimated Vucevic, and have LaVine entering his peak-- and they're still considered a pretty extreme long shot to win a championship, not even in the Top 10 in terms of betting odds. I still think it was a good decision to move on from him.

[BillMc]

The only team that can't be the Lakers is the Spurs. Everyone else is having fun kicking them around while the Spurs get ed slapped. Like others have said, I'm sure they'll win a few more games when they get to play the other JV dregs of the league. The Spurs suck right now & all the personality disorders of last year still exist. Derrick White is a fragile head case who doesn't take his job seriously, Lonnie Walker can't put consistent effort out every night and disappears without a trace. Murray has improved but has his limitations. Keldon can't shoot despite having a great motor.. The only semi-bright spots have been Jakob and Devin.

I'm about to pull the cable cord & I won't have access to Spurs' games. I'm not even sweating it. They just aren't good and haven't been in a while now.

I agree with most your points, but what makes you think White doesn't take the job seriously? I'd say he almost takes it too seriously as he gets down on himself so hard after every mistake it seems to affect his confidence the rest of the game

[Mr. Body]

16 games off the bench, a role he is suited for at this point in his career, but refused to play for SA.

LMA should be starting for the Nets. He's better than Griffin.

[Mr. Body]

Wow, just had a look, didn't realize LMA was playing that well. I forgot he returned. I assume he's playing better than Mills?

I would say Mills is better, but they play two different roles. LMA just looks great, mobile, gives them a completely different look and is doesn't suck on defense. I don't know the advanced stats, though. Without Kyrie, the Nets needed scoring punch, which both players deliver. I'm happy for them.

[Fusternino]

DDR just so clutch.

[Seventyniner]

DDR is a legitimate All-Star level talent. But he's not what the Spurs need right now and I'm glad the Spurs got a decent haul in return.