***********2023-2024 San Antonio Spurs Thread********************

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Enzo The Baker
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 4:19p, 9/30/23
LawHall88 said:
One down...
Guitarsoup said:

Boooo

Spurs love throwing away trade assets nowadays. He could have helped this team defensively too. I don't get it.
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West Texan
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4:28p, 9/30/23
Khem Birch should be next. I would have liked to keep Bullock and see what we could flip him for, but whatever.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Enzo The Baker • 7:54p, 9/30/23
+ 1 more quotes (click to expand)
Guitarsoup said:

Boooo
Enzo The Baker said:

Spurs love throwing away trade assets nowadays. He could have helped this team defensively too. I don't get it.


I get we are thinner at PG than wing, but I'd rather cut Graham and keep Bullock.

Just roll with Tre and split secondary playmaker between Sochan, Vassell, Wesley, and Wemby
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Guitarsoup
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10:39a, 10/1/23
https://theathletic.com/4882547/2023/09/21/victor-wembanyama-ziaire-williams-amen-thompson/

Between Keldon (Johnson), (Devin) Vassell and Victor Wembanyama, who carries the scoring load for the Spurs? Is there a distribution that would most benefit development for their core?

I'd imagine most of the offensive shouldering still rests on Johnson. By the time the new league campaign rolls around, he'll be 24 and entering his fifth season in a Spurs uniform. Last year cemented his place in the pecking order with a 26.4 usage rate, per Cleaning the Glass. More often than not, the ball will be in his hands, but Johnson's overall distribution is a bit different than some of his colleagues in a similar plane.

The uploaded image is unavailable

Maybe it's the Spurs system effect, but Johnson does a bit of everything without suffocating the offense. San Antonio toiled near the bottom of the league in offensive efficiency, but Johnson was a bright spot. He's just as comfortable spotting up and spacing the floor as he is running pick-and-roll while calling his own card. It's a nice blend of unselfishness, smarts and ability that lends well to a rebuilding roster. With a slightly better team around him, perhaps Johnson can be even more aggressive with the ball in his hands.

Vassell didn't have the most efficient scoring season but settles in as a nice second option behind Johnson. I would slot Wembanyama right behind him, almost like a 2B to his 2A. The Frenchman showed us enough during summer league to suggest he can score at the NBA level, and I'm sure coach Gregg Popovich has some tricks up his sleeve with the steady quarterback Tre Jones by his side. Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham will also chip in from the wings whenever necessary. It's a steep fall from the Spurs of old, but it's worth the watch all the same.



How many games do you expect Wemby to play out of the 82 possible? Callan H.

We've all heard the discourse around Wembanyama's health and the prospect of an 82-game season on a year-to-year basis. Players of his height and length typically run into sustainability issues the more games they play at this level.
I was impressed with his attitude at summer league, insisting on playing when the common approach would be to shut him down after a game. The Spurs aren't in a rush to throw him to the fire. With that being said, I would expect at least 55-60 games. There might be some in-game management the Spurs can deploy to preserve him, but I think we'll see a good amount of the No. 1 pick this year.
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West Texan
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11:55a, 10/1/23


Well played by the Portland front office. And I wouldn't be surprised if they flipped Brogdon at the deadline.
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superunknown
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In reply to West Texan • 12:03p, 10/1/23
Jrue to the Cs sounds fun. Portland could shop Ayton or Williams and get a pretty good return too.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to West Texan • 12:11p, 10/1/23
West Texan said:


Well played by the Portland front office. And I wouldn't be surprised if they flipped Brogdon at the deadline.
Don't forget they dumped off Nassir Little's 4y28mm contract and Nurkic's 3y55mm contracts in the process.

Portland did as good as they possibly could.

Brogdon will definitely be flipped, but I don't think he or Rob have tons of value due to injury history.
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superunknown
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12:14p, 10/1/23
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West Texan
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In reply to superunknown • 12:22p, 10/1/23
superunknown said:
Jrue to the Cs sounds fun. Portland could shop Ayton or Williams and get a pretty good return too.


If they can't get over the hump with this roster, I'm not sure where they go from here to get better with as much money as they have tied up in Tatum and Brown.
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West Texan
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 12:25p, 10/1/23
West Texan said:


Well played by the Portland front office. And I wouldn't be surprised if they flipped Brogdon at the deadline.
Guitarsoup said:
Don't forget they dumped off Nassir Little's 4y28mm contract and Nurkic's 3y55mm contracts in the process.

Portland did as good as they possibly could.

Brogdon will definitely be flipped, but I don't think he or Rob have tons of value due to injury history.


Honestly I think Dallas would be a pretty good spot for Time Lord. They need a good defender and rebounder in the middle. Obviously health is always the concern, but he's still young and could potentially be had for not much.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to West Texan • 6:31p, 10/1/23
+ 1 more quotes (click to expand)
Guitarsoup said:
Don't forget they dumped off Nassir Little's 4y28mm contract and Nurkic's 3y55mm contracts in the process.

Portland did as good as they possibly could.

Brogdon will definitely be flipped, but I don't think he or Rob have tons of value due to injury history.
West Texan said:


Honestly I think Dallas would be a pretty good spot for Time Lord. They need a good defender and rebounder in the middle. Obviously health is always the concern, but he's still young and could potentially be had for not much.
He's be a great fit there. Problem is Dallas' complete lack of assets. I think they have one FRP available and two swaps. I don't know that they want to lose Josh Green or Jalen Hardy for Rob, and I know Portland isn't gonna want Tim Hardaway.
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West Texan
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7:11p, 10/1/23
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superunknown
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9:30a, 10/2/23
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Enzo The Baker
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4:05p, 10/2/23
Dev extended! 5 years/$146MM.
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TexAg1822
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In reply to Enzo The Baker • 4:06p, 10/2/23
Hell yes!
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Ag Natural
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4:07p, 10/2/23
That's a great deal all the way around
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TheNotoriousP.I.P.
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4:46p, 10/2/23
Very happy with that
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West Texan
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5:00p, 10/2/23
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Guitarsoup
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5:08p, 10/2/23
That's about 16-17% of cap. Max was 25%.

Max would give 5y207mm and designated (super) max (which Devin didn't qualify for) was 5y248mm.

He's a guy that can absolutely be a starter on a championship team, so that is a pretty good value.
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Guitarsoup
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5:16p, 10/2/23


Prove me wrong, Keldon.



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West Texan
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5:35p, 10/2/23
I can appreciate that Keldon recognizes that he has to be better on that end of the floor. Now whether he can do it or not, we'll see.
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Enzo The Baker
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6:53p, 10/2/23
The contract is $135MM guaranteed. No options. $11MM in incentives.
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TheNotoriousP.I.P.
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In reply to Enzo The Baker • 7:10p, 10/2/23
If those incentives are for things like accolades/quality of play, this is every bit as good of value as the Keldon deal
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Guitarsoup
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9:33a, 10/3/23
Reggie Bullock signing with the Rockets
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Enzo The Baker
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In reply to Guitarsoup • 11:31a, 10/3/23
Guitarsoup said:
Reggie Bullock signing with the Rockets

I would not have expected that. Maybe the appetite around the league for him wasn't as big as I thought. I thought he would have gone to a top 10 team.
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Guitarsoup
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In reply to Enzo The Baker • 3:22p, 10/3/23
Guitarsoup said:
Reggie Bullock signing with the Rockets
Enzo The Baker said:

I would not have expected that. Maybe the appetite around the league for him wasn't as big as I thought. I thought he would have gone to a top 10 team.


My guess is he gets 30-35mpg there, which would help him get a bigger contract next summer.

Go to a Phoenix and you get 20-25.
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Guitarsoup
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8:52p, 10/3/23
We did a declining contract. Not sure why, at the end of that, we will be into extensions of Keldon, Wemby, Sochan, so not like we will have space.

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LawHall88
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2:12p, 10/4/23
Well at least he knows his limitations.
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LawHall88
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2:39p, 10/4/23
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Guitarsoup
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6:54p, 10/4/23
Devin's bonuses change based on the annual contract size, max out at 8% of the contract and all are considered unlikely, so won't count against the cap unless he hits them.


$543K: Top 15 in Reg Season 3PM
$543K: FTA/FGA >=0.25
$543K: Per 36 Blks >= 0.9
$543K: Rd 2, plays 75% of playoff gms
$217K: Make an All-NBA team

Y1:$2.4M
Y2: $2.2M
Y3: $2.2M
Y4: $2.0M
Y5: $2.2M
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Guitarsoup
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6:56p, 10/4/23
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Guitarsoup
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7:26p, 10/4/23
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Guitarsoup
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12:00a, 10/5/23
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Guitarsoup
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6:18p, 10/5/23
https://theathletic.com/4924844/2023/10/05/devin-vassell-spurs-contract/

More than 25 percent of Vassell's possessions in 2022-23 were out of on-ball screens (25.4, to be exact), double the percentage in those scenarios in his first and second seasons. Even at Florida State, when he was the best player on the team, Vassell only took 16 percent of his possessions in on-ball screens.

More importantly, Vassell was quite successful in these actions given his inexperience. He took 158 shots out of ball-screens in 2022 23 in just 38 games, making them at a 50.6 percent clip. Given his shot diet, that is an absurd number.
Shot chart on those possessions:



Vassell is a patient, probing player. His basketball processing ability that stood out on defense as a prospect is starting to translate to the other end of the floor.

It would be wrong to call him "sudden," but he's shifting gears and changing angles on defenders at both the first and second levels of the pick-and-roll. These are the moments where you can see the path toward him becoming the Khris Middleton to Victor Wembanyama's Giannis Antetokounmpo. Vassell's high release point and arcing shot augers continued success as a midrange gunner.

Vassell is keeping his eyes up much more often and nailing his kick-out reads

Vassell's on-ball improvement, paired with his off-the-catch shooting skill, has given the Spurs a player who can be useful on and off the ball. Vassell drilled 43.3 percent of his nearly five catch-and-shoot 3s per game last season, which ranked 14th-best among the 262 players to attempt at least 100 catch-and-shoot 3s.

Players this young who have already developed multiple ways to beat defenders through shooting and ball-screen dexterity tend not to stagnate because they can develop counters off the skills they have already, as opposed to building from the ground up.

-------------

Where are the areas for growth that Vassell hasn't showcased yet? The most significant one is rim pressure.

Vassell doesn't quite have enough juice to consistently get all the way to the cup.

He can't break down defenders in isolation situations regularly and struggles to turn the corner on bigs. In 38 games, he only took 68 shots at the rim in half-court settings last season, less than two per game despite having the ball in his hands a lot.

Vassell would help himself by developing some Euro-step moves that cause rim protectors to hesitate enough to create easier finishing angles. He doesn't have a ton of upward burst, having notched only seven dunks in half-court play last year, and doesn't play with a ton of force around the rim, so his best bet is to fine-tune his footwork. It's work that is doable, given his overall patience and rate of improvement, but work nonetheless. (Better spacing around him will help too the Spurs were one of the worst perimeter shooting teams in the league last season.)

----------------


Despite his reputation, there is more cause for concern with Vassell's defense than his pre-draft scouting report might indicate. He was good defensively for a rookie and solid as a second-year player. But as his offensive usage has gone up, his defensive value has dropped off. Advanced statistical metrics almost universally rated him as a negative last year. I don't think I'd go quite that far after watching his film, but I don't think he provided any solutions for a bad overall Spurs defense last season either. The best way to describe him right now is active but not yet effective.

he reason I can't dub him a negative defender, as some advanced metrics do, is he remains quite sharp off the ball. Many of the anticipatory instincts he flashed in college are still there. He rotates early and contests shots well. He generally has a good idea of when to gamble and when to stay home, or when to dig down to try to rip the ball off a post player or driver. He brings a level of disruptiveness that can scare opponents. I think the best potential synergy for the Spurs is to use Vassell as an off-ball havoc-inducer while hoping Sochan develops as a primary on-ball defender.

Regardless, as this Spurs core grows together, I expect the defense's overall infrastructure to improves drastically. The elite rim protection of Wembanyama will help, but so will the overall continuity of smart defenders like Wembanyama, Vassell and Sochan learning one another's tendencies.

-----------

Is Vassell worth this deal? Yes

Based on current projections, Vassell's contract will be worth approximately 15 percent of the salary cap in 2027-28 and 2028-29, years where he'll be firmly in his prime in his late-20s. At the contract's highest point in 2024-25, Vassell will be making just 20 percent of the salary cap; 50 players in the league are making that portion now.
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superunknown
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4:41p, 10/6/23
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