Mitch Johnson said because of Stephon Castle’s early mistakes, a few turnovers and the fact the starting group was rolling, he made the decision to leave the rookie sitting on the bench.

— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) February 26, 2025

I haven't really been a fan of Mitch this season but I don't blame him. Castle has been playing terribly. However, if we are tanking, might as well let him play through it.

My biggest frustration is them not letting Fox get his surgery. It's unbelievable.

I think the spurs don't want to give the impression of tanking after getting wemby,

Earth Rider said:

---

My biggest frustration is them not letting Fox get his surgery. It's unbelievable.

I think the spurs don't want to give the impression of tanking after getting wemby,

---

I am hoping Fox wants to go back to Sacramento first

That's the 5th game upcoming

LawHall88 said:

---

Mitch Johnson said because of Stephon Castle’s early mistakes, a few turnovers and the fact the starting group was rolling, he made the decision to leave the rookie sitting on the bench.

— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) February 26, 2025

---

Well the one excuse they had was he's injured.

This just confirms they care more about taking care of 89 year old Chris Paul than they do supporting and developing Castle.

I swear Spurs fans are *****zo. We hate a coach for trying to win and then hate him more for not playing the "better" players.

The truth is the current state of the roster is going to make it very difficult to win any games. We have a very athletic but small team. These last few games have all been the same. They play really hard and hang in there even getting some nice leads. But then inevitably we can't get a rebound once the other team starts playing as hard. Its also a fact that all of this has occurred the rodeo road trip. They already played much better at home with Wemby, without him it's predictably worse. I will be very interested to see how they play at home the rest of the season. Unfortunately we are at Houston tonight and I have a feeling it's going to be ugly.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Tank watch:

Spurs vs Pelicans. Zion should cook against Bismack and Barnes.

Suns vs Grizzlies. Go Suns. Right the ship, dipships.

Celtics vs Raptors. Praying Scottie Barnes pulls off a miracle here.

Lakers vs Mavericks. Pure Chaos. Neither team really affects us, but I hope the Lakers lose by a million and Max Christie breaks Wilt's single game record.

---

Spurs lost to the 2nd worst team in the league, Suns unsurprisingly lost against... this time in OT. Raptors didn't pull off the upset.

Spurs are at 9th in the tank, moving below Portland.

Tank Watch 2/26

Raptors vs Pacers.. need Toronto to pull off the upset on the 2nd night of a BtB.

76ers vs Knicks. Need the 76ers to win, but they are the most pathetic franchise in the league.

Blazers vs Wizards, this should be easy for Portland... should be.

OKC vs Brooklyn. Go Nets. Punish yourself for not selling Cam Johnson for pennies on the dollar.

Hawks vs Heat: Need Miami to win.

Clippers vs Bulls: Need Chicago to win and Kawhi and Harden to lose. Come on Zach Collins, do something amazing.

Spurs vs Rockets. GoRocketsGo?

Spurs games up on other teams:
Bulls 2
Nets 3.5
76ers 4.5
Raptors 7

Man it's so refreshing to see a team that plays relentless defense in the rockets. We really have the softest team.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Tank watch:

Spurs vs Pelicans. Zion should cook against Bismack and Barnes.

Suns vs Grizzlies. Go Suns. Right the ship, dipships.

Celtics vs Raptors. Praying Scottie Barnes pulls off a miracle here.

Lakers vs Mavericks. Pure Chaos. Neither team really affects us, but I hope the Lakers lose by a million and Max Christie breaks Wilt's single game record.

---

Spurs lost to the 2nd worst team in the league, Suns unsurprisingly lost against... this time in OT. Raptors didn't pull off the upset.

Spurs are at 9th in the tank, moving below Portland.

Tank Watch 2/26

Raptors vs Pacers.. need Toronto to pull off the upset on the 2nd night of a BtB.

76ers vs Knicks. Need the 76ers to win, but they are the most pathetic franchise in the league.

Blazers vs Wizards, this should be easy for Portland... should be.

OKC vs Brooklyn. Go Nets. Punish yourself for not selling Cam Johnson for pennies on the dollar.

Hawks vs Heat: Need Miami to win.

Clippers vs Bulls: Need Chicago to win and Kawhi and Harden to lose. Come on Zach Collins, do something amazing.

Spurs vs Rockets. GoRocketsGo?

Spurs games up on other teams:
Bulls 2
Nets 3.5
76ers 4.5
Raptors 7

---

I still don't think we fall past 9th regardless of how crappy we play the rest of the season.

But maybe I'm wrong. Playoff P means business now…

Paul George on pausing Podcast P to focus more on the Sixers' playoff push:

“The full focus is trying to get this team together. We gotta give ourselves a chance, taking it one game at a time. But we gotta give ourselves a chance to see what we can do down the stretch.”

— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) February 27, 2025

Why hate Kasparas? I like him, but was do you hate about him. Maybe laetner retread?he reminds of another player years ago

Earth Rider said:

---

Why hate Kasparas? I like him, but was do you hate about him. Maybe laetner retread?he reminds of another player years ago

---

I don't believe in his shooting and his shot selection is awful. He does the Luka/Trae thing where he steps back for a three from 27 ft when there's 18 seconds left on the shot clock. I think he's very ball dominant and I don't know that he's going to work well off ball which we need with Fox.

He's a 32% three-point shooter and his defense is probably the second worst in the first round after Egor Demin.

Good thing for the Spurs is that none of Portland, Philadelphia, or Brooklyn control their own picks. So there's not as much incentive for them to tank.

The Bulls are the only team around them with the major draft incentive to tank. Toronto and above are not realistically catchable at this point. The rest could be close.

flashplayer said:

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Good thing for the Spurs is that none of Portland, Philadelphia, or Brooklyn control their own picks. So there's not as much incentive for them to tank.

The Bulls are the only team around them with the major draft incentive to tank. Toronto and above are not realistically catchable at this point. The rest could be close.

---

Philly's pick is top 6 protected, so there is a massive incentive for Philly to tank. If Philly drops one spot (switch with Toronto), they go from 55% chance of losing the pick to 35% chance of losing the pick.

Brooklyn owns their own pick. They traded Phoenix picks to Houston to get it back.

Portland's pick is lottery protected. As long as they do not make the playoffs, they keep their pick. They are currently 4.5 games out of the 10th spot for the play-in. I don't think they overtake Sacramento for 10th, and even if they do, I don't think they win the 8 seed.

Portland is trying to actually play and they look good. But Brooklyn and Philly both have reasons to tank.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Tank watch:

Spurs vs Pelicans. Zion should cook against Bismack and Barnes.

Suns vs Grizzlies. Go Suns. Right the ship, dipships.

Celtics vs Raptors. Praying Scottie Barnes pulls off a miracle here.

Lakers vs Mavericks. Pure Chaos. Neither team really affects us, but I hope the Lakers lose by a million and Max Christie breaks Wilt's single game record.

---

Spurs lost to the 2nd worst team in the league, Suns unsurprisingly lost against... this time in OT. Raptors didn't pull off the upset.

Spurs are at 9th in the tank, moving below Portland.

Tank Watch 2/26

Raptors vs Pacers.. need Toronto to pull off the upset on the 2nd night of a BtB.

76ers vs Knicks. Need the 76ers to win, but they are the most pathetic franchise in the league.

Blazers vs Wizards, this should be easy for Portland... should be.

OKC vs Brooklyn. Go Nets. Punish yourself for not selling Cam Johnson for pennies on the dollar.

Hawks vs Heat: Need Miami to win.

Clippers vs Bulls: Need Chicago to win and Kawhi and Harden to lose. Come on Zach Collins, do something amazing.

Spurs vs Rockets. GoRocketsGo?

Spurs games up on other teams:
Bulls 2
Nets 3.5
76ers 4.5
Raptors 7

---

Tank Watch 2/27

Spurs. Raptors, 76ers, Bulls and Nets all lost, but the Blazers won and the Hawks lost.

With the Hawks loss, they dropped to 9th, but they are 5.5 games above 11th and 4 games above the Bulls at 10th. That moved them from 15th (playoff) to 11th worst, with a ~9% shot at top 4. Hawks are 1 game up on Portland for 10th.

Suns are half game above Atlanta and they play the Pelicans, so maybe Durant will decide to not suck. Also, Houston owns the Suns picks, so benefits us for the Suns to make the playoffs.

Atlanta at 11th and us at 9th gives us about a 30% shot at top 4.


Hawks +2 (5-5 last 10)
Blazers +1 (6-4 last 10)
Spurs 0
Bulls -2
Nets -3.5
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7

The Athletic 's Big Board

Just a big board, doesn't take team need into account

Kon Knueppel #7. Here is his play last night vs Miami.

He would be my choice after Liam McNeeley if we don't have a top 4 pick. I don't think he is going to be a star or a defensive stopper. But you can see him looking for the extra pass, he's making the right defensive rotations, he's grabbing rebounds over bigger guys. His stroke looks nice. Heady. Real lunchpail guy. Like having another coach on the court.

Shooting 46/40/90 for the season. 13.5p/3.8r/2.4a in just under 30mpg.

Negatives are he is probably 6'5 and 210lbs with a ~30-32" vertical. But should be a better shooter than Devin. And he is making the right rotations and fighting through screens.

BREAKING: Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich addressed team today for first time since suffering a stroke to update them on his recovery and to inform that he’s not returning this season, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/ECeDWmWjfx

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 27, 2025

Gregg Popovich has released an official statement: pic.twitter.com/E7DuJ294Py

— Matthew Tynan (@Matthew_Tynan) February 27, 2025

I know Pop has been in contact with the org and all that but it would also be funny if he's just been chilling at the house sleeping late and rehabbing and felt so good he was ready to coach again...took one look at the injury report and called RC and faked a cough and said "yeah still not feeling good, y'all got this" and hung up.

I think the real negative with Kneuppel is that with the lack of size, you have to wonder if teams will target him for switches and abuse him making him unplayable some nights.

Just my opinion, but he's a great piece to have for your bench, but I am not sure he's better than Devin and we've spent all season mostly dissatisfied with Devin's long term fit.

Reed Shepard (smaller obviously) is a somewhat good example. He's basically unplayable because if he's not the point, he has to at least defend NBA 2s or wings and that means a 6 inch height disadvantage on some nights.

Length is an absolute must have in this league right now with how pretty much everyone plays offense trying to force switches and super aggressive targeting of any weak link defenders. (Like how Trae gets hunted on a nightly basis)

https://images.app.goo.gl/5iAx9YSt4T8AEBEG6

He just looks super small next to Flagg.

AggieEP said:

---

I think the real negative with Kneuppel is that with the lack of size, you have to wonder if teams will target him for switches and abuse him making him unplayable some nights.

Just my opinion, but he's a great piece to have for your bench, but I am not sure he's better than Devin and we've spent all season mostly dissatisfied with Devin's long term fit.

Reed Shepard (smaller obviously) is a somewhat good example. He's basically unplayable because if he's not the point, he has to at least defend NBA 2s or wings and that means a 6 inch height disadvantage on some nights.

Length is an absolute must have in this league right now with how pretty much everyone plays offense trying to force switches and super aggressive targeting of any weak link defenders. (Like how Trae gets hunted on a nightly basis)

https://images.app.goo.gl/5iAx9YSt4T8AEBEG6

He just looks super small next to Flagg.

---

Kon is listed at 6'7 217. He is probably 6'5 - 6'6 barefoot. I think he is going to be similar size to Devin.





Flagg is listed at 6'9 and Kon is listed at 6'7. I think that looks like a 2-3" difference.

I think Reed is significantly smaller. He was 6'1.75 and 181lbs. I don't think it is a good parallel because Kon is probably 3-4 inches taller and 20-30lbs heavier.

He's probably more similar to Devin, and even if he becomes the same level player as Devin, I think he will be a better shooter - I think he is a better shooter now. Size wise, they are probably about the same, maybe Kon is slightly bigger.

Again, I would rather have Liam McNeeley. But Kon is the better shooter. Tre Johnson is a great shooter and scorer, but Tre is awful on defense, doesn't really create for others - probably a taller Cam Thomas.

If Kon is a better shooter and we draft Fleming, you have the choice between Sochan and Castle, then Kon and Devin.

Wemby 7'4 230
Fleming 6'9 240 (7'5 wingspan) (ATL Pick)
Sochan 6'8 230
Barnes 6'8 225
Julian 6'8 220
Castle 6'6 215
Kon 6'6 210? or Liam 6'7 210? (our pick)
Devin 6'5 200
Fox 6'3 185

I'm not really worried about that front 9 having size issues. Barnes, Kon/Liam, and Devin are the weak links on defense, but I think that can be a top 10 defense within a year. The core has solid size. Certainly bigger than Cleveland or Boston. Use the MLE on Luke Kornet, Clint Capela or Kevon Looney then a backup PG with the BAE (and/or bring back Chris Paul in a backup only role.)

I prefer McNeeley with our pick and Rasheer Fleming with Atlanta's pick.



Karaban (left) was 6'6.5 and 219 at the combine last year. He's not standing straight up, but makes me think McNeeley (right #30) is legit 6'7.

Even though size would be way worse (maybe 6'3 180), I straight up take VJ Edgecombe over either if we get a shot.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Earth Rider said:

---

Why hate Kasparas? I like him, but was do you hate about him. Maybe laetner retread?he reminds of another player years ago

---

I don't believe in his shooting and his shot selection is awful. He does the Luka/Trae thing where he steps back for a three from 27 ft when there's 18 seconds left on the shot clock. I think he's very ball dominant and I don't know that he's going to work well off ball which we need with Fox.

He's a 32% three-point shooter and his defense is probably the second worst in the first round after Egor Demin.

---

All very good points. The last thing the spurs need is a somebody who can't hit the three in a guard or wing position. Castle's shot is a work in progress, and Sochan no comment.

All I see is his highlights, I can see why he is a high prospect. But I agree with all that you said.

I keep reading about how deep this draft is, but it appears to be weighted toward shooting guards, point guards, and a couple centers.

There are few 6'8 wings or power forwards. There seems to be a lot of 6'3 to 6'6 or so shooting guards or wings. I was hoping for a 3 and d wing.

Cooper or Bailey look like the best fits but glutonous with the young talent we have. Don't get me wrong I'd be thrilled to draft either one. Maluach I keep going back to. Wemby is going to carry the Spurs. Maluachi would take some of that defensive pressure in the paint off of Wemby and we need size.

Noa Essengue, his highlights, to me show a ton of potential.

he's raw as H*ll, but he has good form on his shot, but plays long. He is a string bean, but can attack the basket and coordinated. he would add the length and I just flat like how he plays. Great passer. For a 6'10 guy he is quick and fluid. Granted, he appears to be playing against some guys on their lunch break though.

But I still like his tape.

LawHall88 said:

---

BREAKING: Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich addressed team today for first time since suffering a stroke to update them on his recovery and to inform that he’s not returning this season, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/ECeDWmWjfx

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 27, 2025

Gregg Popovich has released an official statement: pic.twitter.com/E7DuJ294Py

— Matthew Tynan (@Matthew_Tynan) February 27, 2025

---

He needs to hang it up.

Earth Rider said:

---

Noa Essengue, his highlights, to me show a ton of potential.

he's raw as H*ll, but he has good form on his shot, but plays long. He is a string bean, but can attack the basket and coordinated. he would add the length and I just flat like how he plays. Great passer. For a 6'10 guy he is quick and fluid. Granted, he appears to be playing against some guys on their lunch break though.

But I still like his tape.

---

I like Noa's potential, but he is a big defensive 3/4 with questionable shot. He could be great, but he could also be exactly just a French Sochan. We load up on French and Polish players and some team is going to bring in a German and steamroll us.

Earth Rider said:

---

I keep reading about how deep this draft is, but it appears to be weighted toward shooting guards, point guards, and a couple centers.

There are few 6'8 wings or power forwards. There seems to be a lot of 6'3 to 6'6 or so shooting guards or wings. I was hoping for a 3 and d wing.

Cooper or Bailey look like the best fits but glutonous with the young talent we have. Don't get me wrong I'd be thrilled to draft either one. Maluach I keep going back to. Wemby is going to carry the Spurs. Maluachi would take some of that defensive pressure in the paint off of Wemby and we need size.

---

I keep bringing up Rasheer Fleming. He's 6'9 240 with a 7'5 wingspan and plays PF and defends on the perimeter. He is putting up 15/9 with 56/44 shooting. He turns 21 right before the season, so is a young junior and I think that age makes him drop a bit.

Cooper Flagg is basically the prototype of what we want, and there isn't really a 2nd tier Flagg. I think Ace Bailey will remind a lot of Melo Anthony, and I dont know if he will be a great team player or defender, like Melo. But super talented and great frame. But for forwards, after that you have Collin Murray-Boyles, who is a D&2... he doesn't have a three. He might be like poor man's Draymond. He's smaller, defends, passes, rebounds, but can;'t shoot. Then you have Asa Newell from UGA. I don't believe in his shot and he seems to be just ok at everything. I don't know that I believe him to be a NBA starter, especially without a 3.

Then you have Rasheer Fleming, who should be there for our Atlanta pick. He's probably most comparable to Naz Reid with more perimeter defense.

In addition to that forward spot, we need a D&3 guy, and my ideal prototype would be Trey Murphy for that. I think Liam McNeeley is the closest this draft has to Trey Murphy. The only real shooters are Flagg, Edgecombe, McNeeley, Kon Knueppel, Tre Johnson and Jase Richardson, Ian Jackson, and Alex Karaban if you want to look at later picks. There are a bunch of "man if the shot keeps developing..." guys like Noa, Miles Byrd, Carter Bryant, Collin Murray Boyles, etc.

I think with the draft skewing towards 19yo players instead of 21yo players, a lot of guys just haven't figured out their shot yet and you have to figure out who will and who won't.

I think Malauch would be a great backup but he may not be happy with that being his ceiling, and I think it is easy to get a great, experienced backup in free agency. If we offer Luke Kornet $10M, it would cost Boston $90M in taxes to match that $10M for just one season. Clint Capela and Kevon Looney are also available.

San Antonio Spurs will sign center Bismack Biyombo for remainder of the season following the conclusion of his second 10-day contract, league source tell me. Bis registered two double-doubles this week. pic.twitter.com/i4lATPaj7i

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 28, 2025

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Tank watch:

Spurs vs Pelicans. Zion should cook against Bismack and Barnes.

Suns vs Grizzlies. Go Suns. Right the ship, dipships.

Celtics vs Raptors. Praying Scottie Barnes pulls off a miracle here.

Lakers vs Mavericks. Pure Chaos. Neither team really affects us, but I hope the Lakers lose by a million and Max Christie breaks Wilt's single game record.

---

Spurs lost to the 2nd worst team in the league, Suns unsurprisingly lost against... this time in OT. Raptors didn't pull off the upset.

Spurs are at 9th in the tank, moving below Portland.

Tank Watch 2/26

Raptors vs Pacers.. need Toronto to pull off the upset on the 2nd night of a BtB.

76ers vs Knicks. Need the 76ers to win, but they are the most pathetic franchise in the league.

Blazers vs Wizards, this should be easy for Portland... should be.

OKC vs Brooklyn. Go Nets. Punish yourself for not selling Cam Johnson for pennies on the dollar.

Hawks vs Heat: Need Miami to win.

Clippers vs Bulls: Need Chicago to win and Kawhi and Harden to lose. Come on Zach Collins, do something amazing.

Spurs vs Rockets. GoRocketsGo?

Spurs games up on other teams:
Bulls 2
Nets 3.5
76ers 4.5
Raptors 7

---

Tank Watch 2/27

Spurs. Raptors, 76ers, Bulls and Nets all lost, but the Blazers won and the Hawks lost.

With the Hawks loss, they dropped to 9th, but they are 5.5 games above 11th and 4 games above the Bulls at 10th. That moved them from 15th (playoff) to 11th worst, with a ~9% shot at top 4. Hawks are 1 game up on Portland for 10th.

Suns are half game above Atlanta and they play the Pelicans, so maybe Durant will decide to not suck. Also, Houston owns the Suns picks, so benefits us for the Suns to make the playoffs.

Atlanta at 11th and us at 9th gives us about a 30% shot at top 4.


Hawks +2 (5-5 last 10)
Blazers +1 (6-4 last 10)
Spurs 0
Bulls -2
Nets -3.5
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7

---

Tank watch 2/28

Suns lost because they are completely pathetic.

Embiid is officially out for the season.... so Philly probably tanks? Or they improve without his pathetic foul merchant ass. IDK.

Hawks +2 (5-5 last 10)
Suns +2
Blazers +1 (6-4 last 10)
Spurs 0
Bulls -2
Nets -3.5
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7

Hawks vs OKC - Go Thunder.

Blazers vs Nets. Would prefer Nets win here, but think Blazers win. Nets wins are harder to come by and we need them more.

Raptors vs Bulls. We have more ground to make up on the Raptors, but the Bulls are more likely to pass. I would rather the Raptors win. Gun for that 5th seed.

Pelicans vs Suns. Suns need to win at some point. Get back above Atlanta.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Tank watch:

Spurs vs Pelicans. Zion should cook against Bismack and Barnes.

Suns vs Grizzlies. Go Suns. Right the ship, dipships.

Celtics vs Raptors. Praying Scottie Barnes pulls off a miracle here.

Lakers vs Mavericks. Pure Chaos. Neither team really affects us, but I hope the Lakers lose by a million and Max Christie breaks Wilt's single game record.

---

Spurs lost to the 2nd worst team in the league, Suns unsurprisingly lost against... this time in OT. Raptors didn't pull off the upset.

Spurs are at 9th in the tank, moving below Portland.

Tank Watch 2/26

Raptors vs Pacers.. need Toronto to pull off the upset on the 2nd night of a BtB.

76ers vs Knicks. Need the 76ers to win, but they are the most pathetic franchise in the league.

Blazers vs Wizards, this should be easy for Portland... should be.

OKC vs Brooklyn. Go Nets. Punish yourself for not selling Cam Johnson for pennies on the dollar.

Hawks vs Heat: Need Miami to win.

Clippers vs Bulls: Need Chicago to win and Kawhi and Harden to lose. Come on Zach Collins, do something amazing.

Spurs vs Rockets. GoRocketsGo?

Spurs games up on other teams:
Bulls 2
Nets 3.5
76ers 4.5
RaptoYesrs 7

---

Tank Watch 2/27

Spurs. Raptors, 76ers, Bulls and Nets all lost, but the Blazers won and the Hawks lost.

With the Hawks loss, they dropped to 9th, but they are 5.5 games above 11th and 4 games above the Bulls at 10th. That moved them from 15th (playoff) to 11th worst, with a ~9% shot at top 4. Hawks are 1 game up on Portland for 10th.

Suns are half game above Atlanta and they play the Pelicans, so maybe Durant will decide to not suck. Also, Houston owns the Suns picks, so benefits us for the Suns to make the playoffs.

Atlanta at 11th and us at 9th gives us about a 30% shot at top 4.


Hawks +2 (5-5 last 10)
Blazers +1 (6-4 last 10)
Spurs 0
Bulls -2
Nets -3.5
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7

---

Tank watch 2/28

Suns lost because they are completely pathetic.

Embiid is officially out for the season.... so Philly probably tanks? Or they improve without his pathetic foul merchant ass. IDK.

Hawks +2 (5-5 last 10)
Suns +2
Blazers +1 (6-4 last 10)
Spurs 0
Bulls -2
Nets -3.5
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7

Hawks vs OKC - Go Thunder.

Blazers vs Nets. Would prefer Nets win here, but think Blazers win. Nets wins are harder to come by and we need them more.

Raptors vs Bulls. We have more ground to make up on the Raptors, but the Bulls are more likely to pass. I would rather the Raptors win. Gun for that 5th seed.

Pelicans vs Suns. Suns need to win at some point. Get back above Atlanta.

---

Yesterday was a good day for us. Hawks lost, Suns won, Blazers won, and Bulls won. Spurs still 9th in lottery odds.

Tank Watch 3/1


Suns +2.5
Blazers +1.5
Hawks +1.5
Spurs 0
Bulls -1.5
Nets -4
76ers -4.5 (lost 9 straight)
Raptors -7.5

Games tonight (bold is what helps our draft positions the most)

Nets vs Pistons
Spurs at Grizzlies
Warriors at 76ers

For what its worth i think Pop has not only earned the right to go out on his own terms, but this team has been built on top of the PATFO philosophy with a generational talent who has basically grown up idolizing the Spurs org his entire life. I don't know if Mitch is the heir apparent or not, but I'm also just as sure Heat fans were frustrated and "Erik WHO??" when Riley handed over the Heat to him. There's been plenty failures (probably more than successes) when someone hand picks a successor. I feel like even if Pop had coached the entire year we would have wack lineups and substitution patterns...sure we started out hot and are a vastly different team than a season ago but I also believe the Spurs never intended to fully compete for a playoff run this season. There's still a good chunk of the roster that won't make it to our potential championship window and a lot of this year was about seeing who was going to be able to adjust to new/diminished roles. The trade for Fox was probably a bit earlier than expected so it's easy to see that trade and think "oh we're trying to win now? Cool!" However, i think the stockpiling of draft capital was not only to improve the team with draftees but to be able to cash in some of that draft capital in case a star wanted out. And we got Fox without giving up much at all.

Gut feeling is we are gonna wind up rolling Pop out and try at a playoff run next season. With being able to refresh our talent with our pick + ATL pick, i think PATFO will shop around some of our guys who have fallen down the rotation...Devin/KJ could be on the move if we find the right pieces, but this team is going to make its first playoff run with Fox/Castle/Wemby at the core.

Seems likely the Bulls pass us eventually here, and possible the Nets do, so I'd say 7 best odds is the best case scenario for our pick, and likely that the Hawks end up in right about the same spot.

With 7th and 8th best odds I'd think that'd make our chances of getting into the top 3 pretty good. I want a wing and outside the top 3 I'm not sure there is even a starting quality player available.

Add Ace Bailey or Cooper Flagg to this team and we're set to compete.

AggieEP said:

---

Seems likely the Bulls pass us eventually here, and possible the Nets do, so I'd say 7 best odds is the best case scenario for our pick, and likely that the Hawks end up in right about the same spot.

With 7th and 8th best odds I'd think that'd make our chances of getting into the top 3 pretty good. I want a wing and outside the top 3 I'm not sure there is even a starting quality player available.

Add Ace Bailey or Cooper Flagg to this team and we're set to compete.

---

If we end up at 7 and Hawks end up at 8 there is a 58% shot at a top 4 pick.

I think Hawks end up at 9-11 and we end up at 7-8. Toronto and Philly will be hard to pass, but both have MUCH easier schedules than us. Nets still have 4 games on us.

About 25 games left, so making up 7 games (Toronto) is going to be rough.

Great post.

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For what its worth i think Pop has not only earned the right to go out on his own terms, but this team has been built on top of the PATFO philosophy with a generational talent who has basically grown up idolizing the Spurs org his entire life. I don't know if Mitch is the heir apparent or not, but I'm also just as sure Heat fans were frustrated and "Erik WHO??" when Riley handed over the Heat to him. There's been plenty failures (probably more than successes) when someone hand picks a successor. I feel like even if Pop had coached the entire year we would have wack lineups and substitution patterns...sure we started out hot and are a vastly different team than a season ago but I also believe the Spurs never intended to fully compete for a playoff run this season.

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Agree with all this. People need to remember that Mitch isn't making his decisions in a vacuum. Remember Brett Brown is on the bench. He had 7 years as a HC in the NBA, won the 03-07 rings with the Spurs, and spent a dozen years as HC in the NBL. Matt Neilsen had a distinguished ~20-year professional career as a player (EuroCup MVP, NBL MVP, Gaze Medal, etc) and has been a coach for a decade with 3x NBL championships.) Plus they have been meeting with Pop regularly.

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There's still a good chunk of the roster that won't make it to our potential championship window and a lot of this year was about seeing who was going to be able to adjust to new/diminished roles. The trade for Fox was probably a bit earlier than expected so it's easy to see that trade and think "oh we're trying to win now? Cool!" However, i think the stockpiling of draft capital was not only to improve the team with draftees but to be able to cash in some of that draft capital in case a star wanted out. And we got Fox without giving up much at all.

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I think some of it was doing what we did with Fox: able to get an All-NBA player cheap and also be able to get fresh talent in on a cheap contract when our guys start getting to big contracts.

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Gut feeling is we are gonna wind up rolling Pop out and try at a playoff run next season. With being able to refresh our talent with our pick + ATL pick, i think PATFO will shop around some of our guys who have fallen down the rotation...Devin/KJ could be on the move if we find the right pieces, but this team is going to make its first playoff run with Fox/Castle/Wemby at the core.

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I have more faith in Devin's role going forward. I think he becomes a solid 6th man-type guy. We bring in a more pure shooter (Luke Kennard is a FA and Memphis has major cap issues if JJJ wins DPOY or Liam or Kon in the draft) and we move Devin back. Lets him have the ball in his hand more, and lets him play against 2nd team guys. Remember that Devin didn't' get to play all offseason and didn''t get to play in camp or preseason.

KJ is a 10-15th guy. He has 2y35M total left on his contract after this year. We probably can't move him until summer 2026 when he becomes an ending contract.

I think this summer, we target a center with the biggest chunk of our FA money. I think Luke Kornet makes the most sense, but Kevon Looney and Clint Capela are up there, too. Then we need a backup PG. If Chris Paul comes back as a backup, that works for me. If not, it may be signing Tre Jones. Davion Mitchell, Aaron Holliday, Jevon Carter. The picks are slim in the sub $5M range. Maybe Tyus Jones, Dante Exum, Ty Jerome.

Then the draft. Well, draft before that. But Liam McNeeley plus Rasheer Fleming is my choice if we don't move up. If we do move up, I'm thrilled with anyone in the top 4. In the second round, maybe Kalkbrenner, Maxime Raynaud, or Joan Beringer as a 3rd string center.

Center: Wemby/Kornet
PF: Fleming/Barnes
SF: Sochan/Liam/Julian
SG: Castle/Vassell
PG: Fox/Paul? or Ty Jerome

That's a solid top 11 lineup. Depth: Kalkbrenner, Keldon, Branham, Wesley.

I would like to upgrade Vassell, but I think he can be an efficient 16/4/4 guy in that role. Barnes will need to be upgraded at some point, but if Fleming can knock down shots early, we could be cooking. That team also has a lot of versatility and the defense should upgrade a lot.

Another 20p game from the rook.

THIS STUTTER STEP TO POSTER SLAM...

WOAH, Stephon Castle 😳 pic.twitter.com/FUA7WOOeMj

— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2025

Fox is clutch as hell.

DE'AARON FOX HITS THE GAME-WINNER 🚨

Drills the stop-and-pop middy with 1.8 seconds left.. what a finish in Memphis! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/smcBNErfxk

— NBA (@NBA) March 2, 2025

Castle ended up with 24p 3r 7a 1s and just 1to.

Castle came off the bench and had 32 minutes.

Paul started and had 20 minutes.