Thanks for all your work and what you bring to us who are Spurs fans. I love the Spurs from afar (a New Yorker who is in India a lot, currently posting from there) and love the insight and peek behind the curtains you share. Plus the community here seems lovely! So thanks for this!
I felt compelled to comment because I’m so happy to read this. I am really also hoping for patience and the continued organic development of this team. A continued dedication to process. I had so much fun watching this team play. It was difficult to endure the losses and there was a lot of sloppiness and yet I also felt a part of the process by watching them all grow! This team felt as relatable as professional athletes can be in that they were making mistakes and not polished seeming super humans like Manu and Tim Duncan. I love those teams more but felt closer in some ways to this team. It was so fun watching them work together and learn on the fly. A vibe and energy I’m hoping can continue as Wemby mania descends upon us all. Wemby dropping into this environment of process and being allowed to develop and grow into himself is what I hope for!
Here’s to many more wemby driven subscribers to the CK substack. Love the content every week.
I know it’s thrown around a lot, but we are far away from the “average age superstar wins first ring” in the NBA with Wemby and the other pieces. I don’t think you focus on winning rings right away, but you focus on building a team that Wemby wants to be apart of when he’s looking to sign his second contract, or risk him being the first superstar to sign the qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent the following year.
Where does being bad one more year in an effort to get Bronny & then Bron factor in to their plans? LeBron getting to play with his son, Wemby AND Pop?? Seems ideal.
The key will be to see if Wemby fully buys in (can he accept to sit out some nights? Will he be happy playing less than 30 minutes?) AND if Pop replicated what he did with Manu, by letting him be himself.
Wemby SEEMS like a weird mix of Duncan and Kawhi. Soft spoken, wise beyond his years, crazy talented, mentally strong. But.. with an entourage. I’m French: the hype there is surreal, and has been nurtured for years. His agent is extremely influential. How patient will they be?
“unending flexibility” - love it, will allow team to take some chances with plethora of draft picks and use cap space if/when needed all while bringing back “le beau jeu” (the beautiful game)
May 22, 2023·edited May 22, 2023Liked by Matthew Tynan
Great analysis of how Spurs fans should temper their expectations for the coming year.
As to specifics, I think your mention of the team possibly looking to trade up for another 1st round pick seems quite viable, considering how many they have available in upcoming years.
If a PG they like is available in the late lottery or teens, I could see them parting ways with some future first(s?) and this year's 2nds to get him. Personally, I think that Cason Wallace (maybe pick 9-14?), Kobe Bufkin (11-16) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (13-18?) would all be quality options who could grown with Wemby without competing with him.
If they did that, re-signing Tre Jones for his experience, mentorship and, wait for it...corporate knowledge, feels like a wise move.
Barring that, I could see them pulling the trigger on a (short-ish) VanVleet deal if he was amenable. Having an experienced, professional PG who can (usually) hit 3s and defend would take some pressure off Wemby in his first few years as they look for a longer-term answer. And if the team did somehow improve dramatically ahead of schedule, he's a vet with lots of playoff experience.
As to the idea of adding bargain bin glue guys who can be floor spacers, rebounders, defenders, and ball-handlers, I can think of one guy who we know is serviceable in at least three of those areas, as well being a solid citizen. What if SA replaced Romeo Langford's slot (I assume he on his way out) with the return of Josh Richardson? I'd imagine revisiting SA might suddenly be much more appealing to him, as of a week ago. Thoughts?
Excellently written Matthew. I agree that patience is key. My kids (13/18) who attend a lot of games and are big fans had the idea we would be competing for a championship in a season. I told them our ceiling next year is probably play-in. More likely we will be in the lottery again. Wemby is not coming into a Robinson like situation like Duncan did. I can take another terrible season if it means one more year of growth, not putting to much on our new rookie and maybe getting another building block or two from the draft. I certainly hope the Spurs don't go out trying to get a Brown, Simmons, etc. They are not one player away. Time to build for another 20 year run, not a 3-5 year one. Spurs can learn a lot from the Mavericks mistakes.
I love the current vibe we have. All we needed was a bit of positive news and winning the lottery brought us that to the max! We have more bump in our step! I have been watching this team for 30 years now, and yes, the last time I was this excited was 1997.
5 years in the wilderness will finally yield dividends. I can’t wait. We needed this.
I like this team. I like the prospects of young players growing together. It worked in OKC, it worked in Golden State. It worked in Denver. And it can work here too. Do we need vets? Yes. McDermott should stay. And we could pick up more. But the young core deserves an opportunity to figure things out!
Hey Matthew, first comment here.
Thanks for all your work and what you bring to us who are Spurs fans. I love the Spurs from afar (a New Yorker who is in India a lot, currently posting from there) and love the insight and peek behind the curtains you share. Plus the community here seems lovely! So thanks for this!
I felt compelled to comment because I’m so happy to read this. I am really also hoping for patience and the continued organic development of this team. A continued dedication to process. I had so much fun watching this team play. It was difficult to endure the losses and there was a lot of sloppiness and yet I also felt a part of the process by watching them all grow! This team felt as relatable as professional athletes can be in that they were making mistakes and not polished seeming super humans like Manu and Tim Duncan. I love those teams more but felt closer in some ways to this team. It was so fun watching them work together and learn on the fly. A vibe and energy I’m hoping can continue as Wemby mania descends upon us all. Wemby dropping into this environment of process and being allowed to develop and grow into himself is what I hope for!
Very excited for the next step of this team!
I would like to add that malaki looks like he could be really special and a perfect 6th man
Here’s to many more wemby driven subscribers to the CK substack. Love the content every week.
I know it’s thrown around a lot, but we are far away from the “average age superstar wins first ring” in the NBA with Wemby and the other pieces. I don’t think you focus on winning rings right away, but you focus on building a team that Wemby wants to be apart of when he’s looking to sign his second contract, or risk him being the first superstar to sign the qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent the following year.
Where does being bad one more year in an effort to get Bronny & then Bron factor in to their plans? LeBron getting to play with his son, Wemby AND Pop?? Seems ideal.
The key will be to see if Wemby fully buys in (can he accept to sit out some nights? Will he be happy playing less than 30 minutes?) AND if Pop replicated what he did with Manu, by letting him be himself.
Wemby SEEMS like a weird mix of Duncan and Kawhi. Soft spoken, wise beyond his years, crazy talented, mentally strong. But.. with an entourage. I’m French: the hype there is surreal, and has been nurtured for years. His agent is extremely influential. How patient will they be?
“unending flexibility” - love it, will allow team to take some chances with plethora of draft picks and use cap space if/when needed all while bringing back “le beau jeu” (the beautiful game)
Great analysis of how Spurs fans should temper their expectations for the coming year.
As to specifics, I think your mention of the team possibly looking to trade up for another 1st round pick seems quite viable, considering how many they have available in upcoming years.
If a PG they like is available in the late lottery or teens, I could see them parting ways with some future first(s?) and this year's 2nds to get him. Personally, I think that Cason Wallace (maybe pick 9-14?), Kobe Bufkin (11-16) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (13-18?) would all be quality options who could grown with Wemby without competing with him.
If they did that, re-signing Tre Jones for his experience, mentorship and, wait for it...corporate knowledge, feels like a wise move.
Barring that, I could see them pulling the trigger on a (short-ish) VanVleet deal if he was amenable. Having an experienced, professional PG who can (usually) hit 3s and defend would take some pressure off Wemby in his first few years as they look for a longer-term answer. And if the team did somehow improve dramatically ahead of schedule, he's a vet with lots of playoff experience.
As to the idea of adding bargain bin glue guys who can be floor spacers, rebounders, defenders, and ball-handlers, I can think of one guy who we know is serviceable in at least three of those areas, as well being a solid citizen. What if SA replaced Romeo Langford's slot (I assume he on his way out) with the return of Josh Richardson? I'd imagine revisiting SA might suddenly be much more appealing to him, as of a week ago. Thoughts?
Excellently written Matthew. I agree that patience is key. My kids (13/18) who attend a lot of games and are big fans had the idea we would be competing for a championship in a season. I told them our ceiling next year is probably play-in. More likely we will be in the lottery again. Wemby is not coming into a Robinson like situation like Duncan did. I can take another terrible season if it means one more year of growth, not putting to much on our new rookie and maybe getting another building block or two from the draft. I certainly hope the Spurs don't go out trying to get a Brown, Simmons, etc. They are not one player away. Time to build for another 20 year run, not a 3-5 year one. Spurs can learn a lot from the Mavericks mistakes.
I love the current vibe we have. All we needed was a bit of positive news and winning the lottery brought us that to the max! We have more bump in our step! I have been watching this team for 30 years now, and yes, the last time I was this excited was 1997.
5 years in the wilderness will finally yield dividends. I can’t wait. We needed this.
I like this team. I like the prospects of young players growing together. It worked in OKC, it worked in Golden State. It worked in Denver. And it can work here too. Do we need vets? Yes. McDermott should stay. And we could pick up more. But the young core deserves an opportunity to figure things out!