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Branham been hitting the breakfast tacos when he needed to be hitting the gym and working on his three point shot
Last edited by ace3g; 08-28-2024 at 10:01 PM.
Branham been hitting the breakfast tacos when he needed to be hitting the gym and working on his three point shot
click slider to the right for video
Malakai pulled a shawn kemp?
I wonder how many NBA fans across the country have shared preseason images of Chris Paul on their team for the 1st time with "staaaaaacked" like enthusiasm only to soon realize "not really". At least Spurs fans don't have unrealistic expectations this season for him.
I think it is quite the opposite. People have been writing him off since Houston and when healthy he has remained very productive.
I mean, he’ll have the best lob threat target he’s ever played with, and he ran the lob city offense, but he’s 39. I think he won’t be here all season
I expect the bulk of Paul's contribution to the team to be off the court and pay dividends down the road.
I don't understand this. People keep saying he won't be here all season, and IMO if that is the case, it was a complete waste of time signing him. If he was bought here for teaching, then teaching the guys for a few months isn't really that much time. Might as well have just not signed him and let Castle start at PG. He needs to show the guys how to manage the whole season, not just a few months and then leave/be traded. A whole season of teaching/managing the whole season is what is needed for these young guys. That's what OKC got, plus they also got some playoff experience too which would have been invaluable.
He’s running out of time to get his ring, and he won’t get it here. He’s 39, and our window isn’t even constructed yet,let alone open.
He’s been running open gym since mid August, so the trade deadline would be 6 months, and the waiver deadline would be 6.5 months. That’s a lot of time to teach.
If he were set on staying the season, he would have signed a 1+1 which would give him some injury protection, or a partial guarantee next year as a parting gift, not a 1 year deal that gives him absolute control over trades. It’s an effective no trade clause. SA can’t trade him anywhere he doesn’t want to go.
It’s a mutually beneficial situation. He gets to come here and rehab his image and stats that took kind of a hit last year in GS. We get a veteran mentor for a full offseason and 4-4.5 months of the season, and he gets to pick his ring chasing landing spot.
I think if the Spurs are in the position to be in the play-in, CP3 stays. I think Pop assured CP3 that he will play meaningful minutes instead of a backup PG like in Dubs, that they will bring in some vet help like Barnes, (and maybe Markkannen if it didn’t mean jeopardizing the future). I’m still hoping Castle plays a Demar-type combo/SF like when he played as a Spur. And that CP3 has the same effect on Castle like CP3 did to SGA. I think they’ll try to be as compe ive, but still playing the young core heavy minutes, with CP3 and Barnes enough to put structure.
I don't think CP is guaranteed to be traded/waived. It's a possibility but I don't see it as their first option. Why would Keldon go through the trouble of changing his jersey number if Paul was only gonna be here for a few months?
Also no team competing for a le would waste a roster spot on CP at this point in his career.
As I mentioned a few days ago, this isn't how it works. Basically you can't unilaterally trade a player who's on a one-year deal if that player would have early Bird or full Bird rights at the end of that year. That can ONLY happen when a player re-signs with a team. (For example, Mamu had veto rights re-signing this summer, but the Spurs had him waive those rights as part of the contract.) The reason why a player gets veto rights in this deal is because the receiving team would only get the player's non Bird rights if they acquire him rather than the more robust rights the former team has. That means less money for the player on a potential next contract. Paul doesn't have any veto rights on a trade, because he'll only have non-Bird rights next year whether that's with the Spurs or with any other team acquiring him. Thus, the trade doesn't "cost" him any rights and he can't veto it.
There's also zero difference between a regular one-year deal and a one-and-one deal where the option has yet to be picked up or is declined. Both contract scenarios offer the same protection, and that protection doesn't extend to a situation where a player hadn't re-signed with his previous team. I want to stress this isn't just my opinion on how it works. This is the way it works, and the numerous examples throughout recent history demonstrate this.
What is my interpretation is this: Paul didn't sign a one-and-one because he and/or PATFO didn't want to have an additional option year. The Spurs would have been silly to offer a partial guarantee to Paul, especially early in the off-season when they hadn't agreed to the Barnes trade. They just had too much cap space to do that. I don't disagree that Paul likely wants to keep his options open, and a partial guaranteed year makes a buyout trickier and locks Paul into a deal if the Spurs decided to keep him after this season or trade his contract. A partial guarantee wasn't the smart move for either side. An option is trickier to pin down. The Spurs probably would have been okay with a team option for all the reasons why Paul wouldn't be okay with it. I don't know that the Spurs would've minded a player option given the two-year runway they seem to be granting themselves. However, it's possible that they want to keep their options open for next summer and wouldn't want Paul on a second year if he fell off or was a poor fit in the locker room or something.
Or maybe Paul has suggested this is going to be his last year and doesn't want any options or extra years complicating things.
WTF?! He is exactly what a le contending team would want. He gives depth of talent, he's a teacher to the younger players, he's a role model in the locker room. Any contending team that could onboard him for a run at a championship would love to have Chris Paul.
In fact, if he wants a run at a championship, we could send him to a contender at the trade deadline.
Have him teach our young guns and get to draft pics for him. Win-win.
I never said guaranteed, I said likely, and my reasons were far more cogent than a jersey number. And what difference is there in changing jersey numbers for 4-4.5 months, or 6? He’s not going to be here next year, or he would have signed at least a 1+1. He wants a ring, which is another reason I see him leaving in mid to late February. He also wants to rehab his stats and image, which took a hit last year in GS. He’s 39, and our window isn’t even installed, let alone open.
Unless key injury and need of an exp PG
But for some reason... no le contending teams made an effort to sign him? Or was the lure of playing with a lottery team on a bargain contract too much for him to resist?
Paul pretty clearly stated the most important thing to him now is playing time. So I don't think he sees being a bit player on a contender as especially more attractive than being a starter on a team that could use his experience. I believe he intends to play closer to 30 minutes a game than 20. This would change the balance of the rotation and possibly freeze Castle out of PG time when the rotation is healthy. I do believe Pop will try to play Paul and Jones together, probably more than STers will like. If that duo was going to combine for like 40 MPG, it would leave a reliable chunk for Castle to play at the one. But if we're talking something more like 46-54 MPG that stint isn't going to be there. This is also assuming Pop's willing to cut Branham and Wesley completely out of the rotation, which I don't think he is. Add in Barnes getting a similar amount of minutes, and I think we might see some crazy lineups to try to make everyone happy.
One thing that doesn't get discussed enough is that the Spurs will very likely have two PGs under contract for next year and may re-sign Jones and/or draft a PG next year. When it comes to why Paul didn't get a player option, that could factor into it. The Spurs may well see Castle/Jones as their future rotation at the position, and if Stephon has developed sufficiently, that would be a solid and relatively cheap solution for a few years.
A couple of quick observations (and potential overreactions):
- Not sure when that photo was taken of Castle but having his wrist taped from an injury 2+ months ago is a little concerning
- KJ looks in phenomenal shape. Hopefully it translate to the defensive end.
He had white wrist tape in those runs he was doing last week that ballislife put a sizzle reel of up on X. Might be something he adjusted to and likes the feel of going forward, cant imagine him doing non Spur runs if it was still an issue. I just hope it doesn't/hasn't impact him working on his shot too much cause that is where his efforts are probably focused quite a bit.
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