Matthew, I'm wondering if the Spurs can still use their cap space this year.
The fiscal year closes on July 1, right? So, let's say Brooklyn wants to duck the tax before July 1. Can they send (for example) Patty Mills and Edmond Sumner into San Antonio's cap space on draft night? To make it worthwhile for San Antonio, the Nets could send first rounder, which currently sits at No. 24, to the Spurs in exchange for No. 32 and No. 38.
Is that viable, or do salary cap sheets freeze right after the trade deadline?
The books don’t freeze, but the only way to duck the tax is to release a player(s) by the end of the season. Your payment owed (if you owe one) is determined by the cap sheet on the final day of the regular season. Teams can trade after the last day of their season, but it’s too late to duck the tax at that point.
I think the Poeltl deal was good, not great unfortunately. I really like the Richardson deal. I think the Spurs are going to be judged based on how ping pong balls fall, sadly, in the next couple seasons. All these picks will get some solid players but you can't win championships in the NBA without at least one superstar. Those get harder and harder to find when you are using other teams picks in the double digits.
It’s certainly gonna take a little luck, but the Spurs are currently in a pretty good spot to get a shot at the best possible odds. And it goes without saying they’re also going to have to draft and develop well.
BUT, as I wrote in the article, stacking those picks doesn’t mean they’re gonna use them in their respective slots. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s possible damn near half the picks they own are going to be packaged to either move up in drafts or trade for players. Important to view these in the aggregate, not individually. That’s the general point of stockpiling.
We need that tentpole superstar- player that makes others around him even better. Imagine Sochan, Keldon, & Vassell as 2-4 options (not in particular order)!!!!
“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.” -Earl Wilson
I've created an equation that I think captures what it takes to be a successful NBA franchise: 50% luck, 25% strategy, 25% execution. The Spurs were an elite NBA franchise for two decades mostly because they got lucky an won the Duncan lottery. But they also nailed strategy and execution. In contrast, the Sixers got Embiid through strategy, even got lucky with the No. 1 pick (Simmons, ugh) , but had poor execution all over the place for years. Alas, they still haven't made a conference finals.
The current Spurs are crushing it with strategy and execution right now. All they need is to get lucky again.
I really like this. You can have a perfect roster-building strategy, a pristine cap situation, and an elite development staff and it’ll take you a long way. Even if your luck is bad, those elements can help make the most out of it.
But it’s the good luck that puts you over the top. All you can do is make sure you’re in the best possible position/odds to get lucky, then you just hope and pray.
And luck comes in so many forms, from the lottery to player health to how talent actually develops. It’s not everything, but it’s a huge part of all this.
Great write-up Matthew! I’ll admit I was hoping for a little more activity this deadline, but I also appreciate how willing PATFO is to hold tight if the right offer isn’t there.
I like keep Doug, as I think his floor spacing helps our young guys develop their inside game. Can’t wait for DV, Sochan, and Tre to be back out there and start developing more on court chemistry.
Do you think we’ll see a lot more of Bassey towards the end of the year when they no longer have to worry about how many games he plays in?
I know people love the deadline hype, but the Spurs feel they accomplished their goal. It was a solid 24 hours.
They love Doug and everything he brings, from the spacing to the leadership stuff. And fwiw, he loves his situation here.
I’d be surprised if we didn’t. The two-way slots are going to be interesting though, as I’d imagine at least one of them will be converted to a standard deal before the year ends. But will it be both? Will they clear two spots on the roster to do so? We shall see.
Did we miss out on “buy low” candidate Wiseman? Could we not have sent same number of second round picks and KBD for him? Or were Warriors adamant to trade him to the Eastern conference?
I can’t exactly speak on the Spurs’ interest in Wiseman at this point, but what I can say is it sounds like it was going to be difficult to beat out Detroit even if SA was interested. Apparently their GM Troy Weaver was enamored with Wiseman, and I can say with a certain level of confidence the Spurs probably weren’t gonna send five or six second-rounders for him.
Matthew, I'm wondering if the Spurs can still use their cap space this year.
The fiscal year closes on July 1, right? So, let's say Brooklyn wants to duck the tax before July 1. Can they send (for example) Patty Mills and Edmond Sumner into San Antonio's cap space on draft night? To make it worthwhile for San Antonio, the Nets could send first rounder, which currently sits at No. 24, to the Spurs in exchange for No. 32 and No. 38.
Is that viable, or do salary cap sheets freeze right after the trade deadline?
The books don’t freeze, but the only way to duck the tax is to release a player(s) by the end of the season. Your payment owed (if you owe one) is determined by the cap sheet on the final day of the regular season. Teams can trade after the last day of their season, but it’s too late to duck the tax at that point.
I think the Poeltl deal was good, not great unfortunately. I really like the Richardson deal. I think the Spurs are going to be judged based on how ping pong balls fall, sadly, in the next couple seasons. All these picks will get some solid players but you can't win championships in the NBA without at least one superstar. Those get harder and harder to find when you are using other teams picks in the double digits.
It’s certainly gonna take a little luck, but the Spurs are currently in a pretty good spot to get a shot at the best possible odds. And it goes without saying they’re also going to have to draft and develop well.
BUT, as I wrote in the article, stacking those picks doesn’t mean they’re gonna use them in their respective slots. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s possible damn near half the picks they own are going to be packaged to either move up in drafts or trade for players. Important to view these in the aggregate, not individually. That’s the general point of stockpiling.
We need that tentpole superstar- player that makes others around him even better. Imagine Sochan, Keldon, & Vassell as 2-4 options (not in particular order)!!!!
“Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.” -Earl Wilson
Hoping SA gets lucky May 16!!
I've created an equation that I think captures what it takes to be a successful NBA franchise: 50% luck, 25% strategy, 25% execution. The Spurs were an elite NBA franchise for two decades mostly because they got lucky an won the Duncan lottery. But they also nailed strategy and execution. In contrast, the Sixers got Embiid through strategy, even got lucky with the No. 1 pick (Simmons, ugh) , but had poor execution all over the place for years. Alas, they still haven't made a conference finals.
The current Spurs are crushing it with strategy and execution right now. All they need is to get lucky again.
I really like this. You can have a perfect roster-building strategy, a pristine cap situation, and an elite development staff and it’ll take you a long way. Even if your luck is bad, those elements can help make the most out of it.
But it’s the good luck that puts you over the top. All you can do is make sure you’re in the best possible position/odds to get lucky, then you just hope and pray.
And luck comes in so many forms, from the lottery to player health to how talent actually develops. It’s not everything, but it’s a huge part of all this.
Interesting. Don’t think I’d put such a high % on luck but agree it plays a role.
Great write-up Matthew! I’ll admit I was hoping for a little more activity this deadline, but I also appreciate how willing PATFO is to hold tight if the right offer isn’t there.
I like keep Doug, as I think his floor spacing helps our young guys develop their inside game. Can’t wait for DV, Sochan, and Tre to be back out there and start developing more on court chemistry.
Do you think we’ll see a lot more of Bassey towards the end of the year when they no longer have to worry about how many games he plays in?
I know people love the deadline hype, but the Spurs feel they accomplished their goal. It was a solid 24 hours.
They love Doug and everything he brings, from the spacing to the leadership stuff. And fwiw, he loves his situation here.
I’d be surprised if we didn’t. The two-way slots are going to be interesting though, as I’d imagine at least one of them will be converted to a standard deal before the year ends. But will it be both? Will they clear two spots on the roster to do so? We shall see.
Good stuff.
Did we miss out on “buy low” candidate Wiseman? Could we not have sent same number of second round picks and KBD for him? Or were Warriors adamant to trade him to the Eastern conference?
I can’t exactly speak on the Spurs’ interest in Wiseman at this point, but what I can say is it sounds like it was going to be difficult to beat out Detroit even if SA was interested. Apparently their GM Troy Weaver was enamored with Wiseman, and I can say with a certain level of confidence the Spurs probably weren’t gonna send five or six second-rounders for him.