Coach Pop Retires | Spurs Trade Rumors | SSPN Offseason

Coach Pop Retires | Spurs Trade Rumors | SSPN Offseason

What’s up everybody? Welcome in to another edition of SPN. I’m Jude. That’s Ethan. Ethan is in an exotic undisclosed location this weekend. But as you guys can see, he’s still here on the laptop being a real one for y’all. But man, Ethan, last week we talked about a lot of things um that have continued to get talk talked about, but I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to start out with today is of course the news over the weekend as we get a little notification chime in the background uh is Greg Papovic announcing his retirement and also Mitch Johnson being introduced as the Spurs head coach. Um we saw the news over the weekend um but today the press conference happened. Man, you you texted me about it. You saw it this morning. I had a little bit of a busy morning at work, so I didn’t get to watch it until around like lunchtime. Um, man, I want to dish it to you since you got to see it first. I I want to start just with his physical condition. You know, we talked about this last time and you know, we’re not medical experts or anything like that and that’s something we always tried to say, but I think the last time we had a conversation about the Spurs coaching situation after we heard the news that he had fainted at a restaurant was, you know, probably health-wise for him longterm, we were thinking, you know, it’s probably not the best to be on an NBA travel schedule. Now, seeing him today, I feel like that’s only confirmed. What are your thoughts on how Pop looked? Uh and then also the speech and everything as well. Yeah, I mean clearly it was more serious than I think the Spurs organization was letting on initially right with the uh with the press release and you know it was a minor stroke. You know he’s every week it felt like okay maybe next week he’ll be back maybe the next week you know but when you see him in the press conference it’s clear that this was a very serious and uh concerning incident for him. Um, you know, it’s sad, you know, just to put it simply, it’s sad to see him in this way because we’re so used to seeing him as the energetic, like he’s always been old, like his entire life he’s been, but he’s also been extremely energetic and um, you know, the heart and soul of the Spurs organization. So, to see him in that way physically was definitely sad. Um, but mentally, you can still tell it’s definitely him, right? He still has his humor. Even though he was a little slower with his speech, he was still very fluid. um and clearly there. So, that was great to see. And it was also amazing to see that he was, you know, with Timmy, with Manu. They were kind of um uh helping him get to his chair, helping him get to his podium and obviously stood next to him the entire time. And the rest of the team was there, rest of the organization was there. So, it was a really powerful moment honestly and you know, in the moment you kind of forget like the magnitude of the situation, right, of him passing the torch uh literally to Mitch Johnson. So, you know, it’s definitely a big day in Spurs history for us, for for the rest of the fan base, but it’s also a sad day to kind of see, you know, where he is physically. But, um, if what he says is true, and I don’t suspect that it’s a lie, you know, every day gets better and better for Coach Bob, which is good. Yeah. And I don’t want to speculate now that he’s not trying to coaching um and you know on that schedule. Maybe that can you know ease some of maybe the complications that came up in his recovery. Um but here’s here’s the bottom line. I’m not a medical expert. We’re not claiming to be. We just want Pop to live the healthiest, happiest life that he can for the time that he’s here. Um and man, we’re so thankful for everything that he did. man, we we’ve never had another head coach. Um Mitch Johnson is literally Mitch Johnson, Tim Duncan, Becky Hammond. I mean, who are the And then some other guys probably that I’m forgetting, you know, when we were in our really young early years as kids, you know, in the 2000s and early 2010s, you know, of assistant coaches who stepped in probably Eay was, you know, took the reigns one day. Um, but we could go down through all of those. But the point is, despite all of those, pop was the continual factor through Kawaii, through LaMarcus, through WBY, through Tim, through Manu, and everybody else knows this already, but for us, man, we’re we’re in our early 20s, and this is really something that’s kind of crazy for us just because of the the Spurs that we grew up in. I I could sit here and talk in circles for forever about Pop, man. Um, but the one other thing that I want to touch on from the press conference that I was not expecting, but it it makes sense honestly. Shout out to Dejante. Shout out to De Jante Murray. Man, I know there was all the stuff on social media, you know, I know the ending wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t like Kawawaii, but it wasn’t, you know, necessarily the happiest or friendliest you could say, but man, he showed up today and and he was there for Pop. Um Nate Ryan, one of the main sports reporters for Ken’s five, you know, he was the guy who took the first picture there and he was like, there’s not a lot of other teams in the league, if any, you know, that this would happen. Um and obviously Pop did a ton for DeJonte just with the background that he came from and everything that he kind of went through, you know, in his first couple of seasons, you know, in his personal life and Pop kind of being a father figure for him. But I I had to bring that up because that was something when I saw that I was like, man, that that’s that’s not just a testament to Deonte. Shout out to him for that. But that’s a testament to the impact that Pop has on his players for sure. And and there’s the Mitch Johnson connection as well for DeJonte. Both from Seattle. He’s known him since he was nine years old, I think, is what they said afterwards. So, I I agree. It was really nice to see him there. I I I almost wish that more guys had shown up, but I understand it was probably pretty close. U What am I trying to say? Can I Can I interrupt? Okay. Like Derek, he’s in the playoffs right now. That’s another thing to to keep in mind. I was thinking like historical guys like LaMarcus. Uh, no, you’re fine. You’re fine. LaMarcus Aldridge. Um, Bruce Bowen, whoever, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Sean Elliot was there. David Robin, the usual suspects are there, but I I know. And for some reason, in my head, it would be like a much larger turnout, but you’re right, the playoffs are still going on. So, yeah. But I do see what you’re saying about, you know, some of the non-active players, but I’m sure, you know, it also just might have been like a tight circle type of thing. You know, the Spurs. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Man, I wish I had more to say on that, but I I think you guys should just go watch the the press conference, listen to what Pop had to say, watch it, you know, don’t just listen to it, but I think even listening to it, you’d be able to tell just with his voice being quieter. This this was kind of the last thought I had. Um, you know, I was talking uh to my dad uh about this actually today. Um, and I was thinking, you know, we just remember Pop is always yelling at refs. You know, we remember him as being crazy. Ah, you know, like cursing him out. And so when you have that dichotomy of him today, I just think it really puts things in perspective, man. That that was the thing that stood out to me. Like the image you remember of him, you know, wasn’t what you saw today. And I don’t mean that in a very negative way at all. It’s just everybody, you know, is going to be up in their 70s and 80s at one point, you know. Um, but man, I I’m so glad that he had those people with him. And I’m so glad he’s still the president of the organization. I forgot to say that. He’s not, as much as he’s gone, he’s really not going anywhere. His fingers are going to be on everybody. um pause on on everything in the organization when it comes to RC Buford, Brian Wright, and of course Mitch Johnson in mentoring and and holding him accountable. He mentioned that. Um so man, I again I’m probably talking so long, but it’s just I I can’t even it’s hard to describe exactly the the feeling that it gives you, but Pop, we love you so much. Thank you for everything. Thank you. Agreed. Let’s move on to the the next head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, though, Ethan Mitch Johnson. You know, the last time that we talked about this, I was like, “Hey, I think we can go get a big fish. I don’t think we should just settle on Mitch Johnson.” But apparent, you know, not even apparently. I don’t know what to say. I’m just completely flipping because it’s clear to me that the Spurs organization is fully invested in Mitch Johnson. And here’s some quotes I have written down. Brian Wright said it was an easy decision. And so that was something that stood out to me, you know, with all of the potential candidates that could be had, but but also not just a pop approved decision, not just an RC approved decision, not just a Brian Wright approved decision, but this is a Victor Webbyama approved decision as well. Um, so that gives me all the confidence in the world. I know that in comparison to some of the criticisms that we might have had, you know, at the latter half of the season and everything like that and also like I said, just feeling like because of the position the Spurs were in and how attractive they were that it seemed like we could go out and get somebody else. But this is also probably the most Spurs thing ever in the sense that we’re just elevating somebody who really probably this this is probably in the work for like three years. They’ve probably known this for like a couple years at this point. Mitch is actually who’s going to replace him. It’s not Will Hardy. It’s not all these other guys. And notice too that Brian Wright mentioned that him and Mitch Johnson came in in the same summer. Um, but again, I could go on and on about that. What are your thoughts on Mitch Johnson being named the head coach and how the Spurs came to the decision? I agree with what you said. This was probably the plan the entire time. Pop just getting sick was an unexpected wrinkle um in the in the timeline of the plan. Pop was probably going to stick around for this past season and then this upcoming year as well. Um, and then just kind of hand the reigns to Mitch Johnson and then we we all would have been completely fine, but Pop getting sick and then the the unexpected circumstances where Mitch had to take over and there was the ups and the downs this season and injuries and so I was right there with you. I wanted to go get a big big name, a big fish. Uh, but who are we to disagree? Yeah. Front office, right? And Mitch Johnson is a guy that’s kind of gone through the ranks at every level as a really good college player. Tried to I think he tried to make the league, obviously didn’t make the league, and then worked his way up through the coaching rankings and went through the G- League and all that. So, he’s he’s been through uh pretty much every possible um uh circumstance other than just like being an official NBA head coach. So, now, you know, it’s finally his team. He has a full off seasonason under his belt. So, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt for sure and uh and be on his side for for the, you know, foreseeable future. I will say I think Mitch Johnson’s leash is probably shorter than expected. I think he probably has two years to get into the second round or at least compete at that second round spot in the playoffs or the Spurs start looking elsewhere, especially if one of these big trades that’s being rumored actually goes through. Yeah, for sure. For sure. I will say that nobody is going to have as long of a leash as Pop. That is 1,000% a fact. And when you throw on Victor Webbyama being in there, um I I completely agree with your sentiment. Um I’ll get into some of the things, you know, when it comes to the criticisms this year, even in the conversation where we talked about how, you know, maybe we should go for a big fish or you were you and I were just saying we we would want to go for a big fish. Mhm. We were also saying that like all of the criticisms of Mitch Johnson, we just kind of viewed him as an interim. So, we weren’t really like diving that deep or like taking it that seriously. And so, of course, now with him being the head coach, you know, a lot of people are going to be like, “Look at all of these things that he did bad. Oh my god, I hate these rotations.” Mhm. And I’m not trying to just make excuses for everything and brush everything away, but like the context does matter, man. not just the situation he was thrust into, but then also the end of the season whenever it comes to Victor and De’Aran. And here’s the thing that I’ll say, man. If we’re going to talk about the negatives, let’s talk about Stefon Castle’s development at the end of the season. Like, is he just not does Mick Johnson just get no credit for that whatsoever? And I’m not saying it’s all him, but like do we just take away the credit for him playing him, you know, 35 minutes a game at the end of the year, which we kind of consistently did, you know, like we got to give him some, if we’re going to criticize some things, we also got to look at the positives. And I’m sure people are going to, you know, point at the wins and losses. But that just points me to a press conference or a moment in this press conference where a reporter asks, you know, he asked Miss Johnson, I don’t remember the exact question, but it was basically, you know, in this disappointing season or let me see exactly what I texted you. I might be getting the wording wrong there. Yeah. No, in this difficult season, he said, and in this difficult season, you know, what were some things that you learned, blah blah blah. But that was how he framed it. And Mitch responded. He said he said in this air quotes difficult season and then like you know went on to respond but basically what he’s saying there is he’s like I’m not viewing it that way. That’s just what you said. Um and I think that ties into the Spurs man. I don’t think that the the Spurs aren’t viewing this, you know, that the way that the internet masses are. Um and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they brought in De’Aran Fox. Um they needed to get Victor healthy. Uh Jeremy was even sat for like the past 15 or the last 10 or so games of the year. Um team looks very different when it’s healthy. And I and I know that’s an obvious thing to say when you don’t have Darren Fox and Victor. And I know people might be like, well, if he comes and runs these same rotations and we have the same roster and like we saw in the three games that we saw this year, you know, it those same problems are going to come up. We’re going to be a playin team. I just I just disagree at that point. Um, I will say I’m going to be looking at Mitch Johnson a completely different way next season, but I just I’m not trying to say that we should completely dismiss everything that we saw from Mitch Johnson this season, but I I just think that the context is so key and I think that that rang true in the press conference. Yeah, context is huge. Um, and I also think, you know, let’s let’s think back to when he very first started for Pop. He went on like a little bit of a stretch there where we actually had conversations like should we even want Pop back because he was doing so well as the coach or the team was performing well with him at the helm and then obviously there were injuries and all the things that you already alluded to. So I’m willing, you know, let’s give him a full off season to figure it out himself. And and let’s be honest, there were probably some some tankish methods going on in the background as well with this season. The way just things panned out for us. So, it was like, why fight for the ninth seed when we can just lose a couple more games and get and get, you know, a higher pick. So, yeah. And have a chance to jump into the top four. Yeah. Exactly that. In a draft like this as well. I’m with you. Okay. Admit your trust. Yes, sir. Yes. Me, too. Even though the last episode I said we’re going for a big fish, if RC, Pop, if Pop came out there and said this is the guy, next guy to lead, ignore my opinion. Go with the goat. Right. Agreed. All right. Last quote. Brian or no, this is from Mitch Johnson in the press conference. It’s a new chapter because it looks different, but the theme of the book is the same. I’m going to bring out because it’s May, it’s May 5th. Technically, we missed May the 4th, but I’m going to bring out a Star Wars quote that George Lucas said Jude about writing one, two, and three after four, five, and six. Oh, wait. No, never mind. and four, five, and six are the best in my opinion. It’s okay. It’s he said like great poetry, they rhyme. It’s a different era, but these stories are going to be the same. The arc is the same. And let me say one, two, and three dog walk seven through nine. So, oh, absolutely. Seven through nine were not written by George. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Side note, the Star Wars podcast. We haven’t even talked about Star Wars really, but I love how we’re just on the same page on that. Good to know. Good to know. Okay, Ethan. Another thing that we talked about last week, the Spurs potentially trading for Giannis onto Takmpo. Uh, it’s been all over Twitter this week. Shout out to one of my close friends. Um, he is also an ESPN watcher and he gave me that idea last Saturday. So, that was all him as much as, you know, we kind of brought it on ESPN. Um, and he saw the future, man. He had the crystal ball because by Friday, Twitter was, “Are the Spurs trading for Giannis? Is Giannis going to New York?” He’s walking around in New York with his wife. You know, the Spurs are probably have the most assets. David Aldridge’s putting out a three-team trade with uh the with Zion going to the Bucks, uh, Giannis going to the Spurs, and then us sending like Jeremy Sohan, Kell, and Devin and a bunch of picks. Um, so it wasn’t just us. us. I mean, David Aldridge from TNT, speaking of pop interviews, everybody was talking about this uh by the end of the week, and obviously that had to do with, you know, the Bucks getting eliminated in the fashion that they did. Um, here’s my thing, Ethan. You know, I’ve looked at some of the comments. I’ve kind of uh ruminated on this since last week. Stefon Castle is untouchable. Not even a question. I understand that if I if I’m a Bucks fan, I’ll be honest, I’ll put my my self in the shoes of a Bucks fan. The the conversation starts with C Stefon Castle for me. Um or there’s no conversation. But we did see a three-team trade at the trade deadline or close to the trade deadline with the Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. And like I said with the David Aldridge trade, he even threw in, you know, Zion to try to get them, you know, a true star back because we’re not giving them Stefon Castle. And as much as, you know, we’re actually people who believe in the potential of Deon Vel, Jeremy Sohan, and Kell Johnson, we understand they’re nowhere near, you know, a Janis Takoupo or or Zion Williamson. With all that being said though, man, my main takeaway since I’ve ruminated on this is I think if this is going to happen, which as time has passed, I feel like less and less that it is. Personally, um I think that it’s going to have to be a three-team trade. What What are your thoughts on just the potential of this trade and how it would go down a week later? I would agree with that sentiment. It has to be a three-team trade. If we can get that one that David Aldridge proposed, I would I would do it in a heartbeat. Um, however, I’m with you. I’m not giving up Stefon on Castle for anybody anything. Um, and but to be honest, we said that about about Dear and Vogs, too. And for the most part, if you remember back then, we like every Sacramento fan, every every TNT ESPN guy was saying like, “Oh, Stefon Castle will be in this trade if they want Dear Fox.” And somehow we were able to get him without including De’Aran Fox. So, the Spurs are aware of how valuable Stefon Castle is. They’re not just going to toss him for anybody, including Hall of Famers like Giannis Takoupo. Um, but I’m with you, dude. I just I don’t think it’s going to happen. I I think the money’s too much. I think it might be just a little bit too soon for the Spurs to pull the trigger on that, you know, especially with a new head coach at the helm. I I think we we probably wait another year to to pull off a trade like that. Um, and to be honest, I think maybe a Kevin Durant trade might be slightly more likely because we would have to give up less. And long-term, we wouldn’t necessarily have to worry about paying KD another max because he’s old at this point. Uh, with the Honest, you know, you’re going to have to give him another Max contract in like two years and then you got to pay web two and then it becomes an issue. I completely agree on the Kevin Durant Kevin Durant side of things. That’s not me saying we should 100% go pursue Kevin Durant, but when we’re talking about this o over the past week, that’s what I’ve kind of thought about. KD is like where we can eat his salary while we’re still on this Wemby rookie contract, but one, his contract isn’t long enough to, you know, put us in a strangle hold long term. And I know you could say, you know, oh well, Giannis is technically isn’t either, but like you said, if we want to keep him around, which I assume we would want to do if we’re going to go get that or make that move, um, we’d have to pay him the extension. So bringing in KD, like I said, kind of allows us to, you know, take advantage of this Victor rookie contract and then also keep that long-term flexibility. But to be honest with you, when I think about that, this is just all making me think like, you know what, screw all this. Let’s just draft two guys and and roll into next year with who we have. Because here’s the thing. I know everybody else it’s like, “Oh, we need more people. We need more people. These guys suck.” Blah blah blah blah blah. We traded for De’aran Fox last year. We made the trade for an All-Star already. And we just got the rookie of the year for the second year in a row. And we just did a press conference with Tim Duncan and David Robinson and both of their rookies of the year next to Stefon Castle and Victor Wimyama. To me, that’s the obvious passing of the torch. And those are the two building blocks. That’s why we give him a nickname, Area 51. Then on top of that, you’ve got the all-star that came in at the trade deadline earlier this year. As much as I would love to get Jiannis Takmpo or Kevin Durant and make a championship run, that can still happen even if we don’t make that move. And I’m not saying necessarily next season, but as everybody again, like we talked about last episode in two years, Jeremy Sohan, I think he’s a much improved player. I really do. like and and maybe I’m crazy for that and I end up being wrong there, but I think those guys can continue to develop if Devin Vel can get more consistent as a shooter over the next two seasons. You know what I mean? I don’t think it’s that crazy to say that the Spurs could be a championship contender in two years. Um, and I think that we probably would supplement some things, you know, with role players along the way. And who knows what happens with the lottery. God forbid we jump up into the top four. That’s another all-star we’re bringing in. or maybe we just draft well at eight considering we drafted DeJonte Murray and Derrick White at 29. I know that’s very optimistic and that’s a lot of Spurs colored glasses, but also all of those things are true. Yeah, I’m I’m with you. I like playing it slow here. Um and with everything that you just said about the improvement with the ability of the team as it is currently constructed to be a championship contender in a couple years, we can still make a trade in a couple years. like we’re not limited to just Giannis or KD. In a couple years, somebody else with a big name and a few all-star appearances under their belt will also be disgruntled, have a first round early exit in the playoffs. And you know, the Spurs will still have a lot of draft capital. We’ll still have Deon and Kell. You know, we still have Jeremy. We can we can trade at that point if we absolutely need to. Last thing I’ll say, look at two of our biggest rivals. Look at the Thunder and look at the Rockets. How have they built it up? drafting well and and uh timely veteran signings. Shout out Harrison Barnes. OKC had one. Go ahead. OKC did OKC did trade for Hardenstein. Caruso. Oh, Caruso. Caruso. Yeah, they signed Hartinstein, which is one of the best free agency signings of all. Low key. I know that people might hear that and feel like that’s hyperbole, but they’re 68 and 14. We’ll we’ll see how they do tonight in about 15 minutes against the Nuggets, man. Oh my gosh. I got to check the the Celtics Knicks score. Have you seen that? I was watching it earlier. It was Sorry to steal you from it. No, you’re totally fine. It was It was um not high people. I love how people watching this. This is going to be after we’re live recording. We got to check the score, man. This is what happens. 89 86 Boston right now. Six minutes left. Interesting. Interesting. So, everyone knows exactly what time of the day is. There you go. There you go. But yeah, man, with Spurs, with the Spurs and Giannis or KD, one of these big trades, if it’s KD, I think we got some more flexibility trade-wise as on top of long-term flexibility. Um, but also with Giannis, again, bottom line for me, the more time passes, I just don’t really see it. Um, the only way I think it happens is if we do something like we did uh in the Kings trade or like the David Aldridge trade. Like it’s got to be a three-team trade where the Bucks get another star and we don’t give up Stefon. That’s the only way I see that Bucks trade happening. But again, I just feel like the Bucks are really going to want Stefon Castle involved in that. And maybe they could get another star that would satisfy them along with like a Devin Vel and a Kellen or a Jeremy or whatever we throw in there. Um, but again, man, this just goes back to me talking about Jeremy Sohan. Like, I don’t I don’t want to trade him either, man. I think we could keep Jeremy in a Kevin Durant trade, but now we’re getting we’re getting too deep into the woods here. For sure. For sure. But that’s kind of Ethan and I’s thoughts on all of the blockbuster stuff. I mean, we’ll definitely keep an eye on it. Again, the one thing I would say I still agree with in in comparison to the last episode is that with the Spurs being as attractive of a destination as they are now, that definitely is like way more realistic than I think like Tim Duncan era. I would agree. But with all that being said, Ethan, that pretty much wraps up the main topics we got today. But we do have one more thing because we know the people are going to be fiending for draft content. But more importantly, our next episode that we do will be a live stream of the lottery results next Tuesday. So, y’all put that on your calendars. And this is the last time we can do a mockdraft where we can do uh a lottery simulator. So, let’s get that in here to wrap up the episode. Let me pull up Fansspo. Uh because like I said, we will be doing those reactions. It’s crazy, Ethan. It It feels like the other two that we’ve done were only like six months apart, but really they’re like two years apart. Man, it’s wild how time flies, right? Alrighty. Here we go. And after next week, we’ll give you guys a preview on this, too, because we’ve done a little bit of our prospect breakdowns on our own, but you guys might remember our guy Lou from Miami Heatbeat, as well as Playoff Foul. He is going to be on the channel the week after the lottery once we know where the Spurs are at. and he’ll kind of help us go indepth and really break down a lot of those guys in ways that Ethan and I can’t um when it comes to the prospects that the Spurs could potentially pick. But it won’t just be that. We will also be giving Lou his flowers uh on Stefon Castle for what he called last season and just having a whole discussion about Stefon’s season this year uh and what he saw from him and everything like that. So y’all get excited for that. But let’s go ahead and send this lottery. All right. All right. Interesting. So, Philly and Charlotte jump up in this one, but the Spurs stay put at eight and 14. So, no number one pick this time, Ethan. So, this will be a little bit more realistic. Perfect. Love that Utah dropped to four. That makes me so happy. Look at this. Dylan Harper number one and Cooper goes to goes to the Sixers, man. Rigged for sure. Malatch goes to the Pels there. Asa Newuel off the board as well. So, this is interesting. Ethan, we got a couple different options here. This is probably like the most options we’ve had. What are your thoughts on on the crowd? Well, we got a little little taste of everything that you could possibly want. We got the shooter, the offball mover and coniple. We have the guy that you’re really high on that’s a playmaker, versatile guy, solid defender in Casperis. Then we got Derek Queen who most people have just before this and their mock draft who’s an incredible scorer at the center position, but not the biggest dude in the world either. So there’s we can there’s three different flavors. You know, Ethan, I I think I know I said Casperis is my favorite player, and I will stay say he still is, but I do feel like Khan is the better fit for the Spurs in this situation. I love Casperis, but I just feel like Khan’s off shooting, as much as I think Casperis is a good shooter, he’s just he doesn’t need the ball in his hands as much. And as much as I would love Casperis to be the backup point guard, we have so many guys that we can put the ball in their hands. I would agree with that sentiment. And uh I’ll go with you. I’ll go coniple. Although we haven’t yet drafted Derek. No, we did. We did. Mockdraft. Mockdraft volume three. He’s on the thumbnail. Oh, okay. Never mind. We’ve done so many Ethan. It’s all good. Mel together. Coniple going to the Spurs. It’s funny, Ethan, because I the last mock draft I saw had Con Canipple going to the Spurs here. And at 14, they they had another favorite player of yours. I’m curious if he’s jumped up the draft boards. But let’s see what it looks like here on Fansfo. Oh man, Casperis goes to the Rockets. The Casperis Reed Shepard duo in three years is just going to tor torture me. The Mavericks got Derek Queen. That’s wild. They went five center. Yeah, that would that wouldn’t have happened here. It would have fell to us. That would have been a great pick. Yeah. Oh man. Well, the other mock draft that I saw, Ethan, it’s funny you bring up Derek Queen. The who I was alluding to was Danny Wolf. I saw Danny Wolf here at 14. I don’t know if that’s what I’m going to go with with our crop here. But I will say that I did see that. I can’t remember which mock draft it was, but it was a legit one. So, so maybe that could be a possibility here at 14. Danny Wolf is my dog, as you all know, but um what’s his name is also my dog. Who’s that other big guy? Uh, Kulk Brener. Caulker. Bring me some Caulk Brener. Oh my goodness. Okay, so we got Khan Canipple here. Not to go over this every episode, Ethan, but this probably moves Devin Vel to the three, Harrison Barnes to the backup four. So, that really does leave uh unless we want to go with Jace Richardson here to complete compete with Blake Wesley or maybe not even Jace Richardson, but a Nolan Trayor down here as well. Unless we want to go with one of those guys. That center position is really wide open still in this situation. I also see my guy Carter Bryant who I would not be mad at. Jude, we do the the one thing I’ll say about Carter Bryant here is that is kind of loading up on forwards here. Let me let me pull it up here. So again, remember we’re going to probably slot Khan into that backup two position where Deon Vel is. elevate Devon to the starting position uh and move Harrison down to the four. Um so if we got Carter Bryant again, he would I guess he would be the the third string four, but do we want to use that for a 14th pick or would we be playing him at center? You see what I’m saying there? Yeah, I hear what you’re saying. Uh who do you want? I really don’t care. Well, we can we can take Igor Deon if we want to go upside. We could also just take Jace and get that flamethrower. You know, honestly, here’s my top two on this one. I want to be a little different as much as I love Jace Richardson. So, I’m considering Nolan Trey here just to have that French connection there at the backup point guard position. But honestly, the other guy I’m thinking is Danny Wolf Ethan. I’m serious. Danny Danny. All right. And here’s the thing. We need a sevenfooter desperately. and he has the versatility that if we do want to go with the twin towers, you know, we can play him and WBY on the floor together. Now, I will say initially again, please for everything that is good and holy, play him at the backup center position. Yeah, he’s right. Right. He’s going to be the backup four next to Bism. No. Um I actually genuinely though wouldn’t mind this pick at four. don’t you know I could say it’s a little bit of a reach but I think because of his skill set the way he plays um yeah man I I think I think he has a lot of things in his game not just the off the dribble stuff but like passing wise I think there’s a lot of Spurs traits in Danny Wolf that I see on top of him coming from a blueb blood program this would be a guy from Duke and a guy from Michigan you don’t my guy oh sorry Ed you don’t got to convince me my guy I’m all for the Danny Wolf train you for that. Can you I’m forgetting some of his best attributes here. I know he can put things on the dribble and shoot a little bit, but can you give the breakdown for the people again? Oh man, he’s got the low post game. He’s got the footwork. You know, he he can face you up and take you off the dribble. His three-point shot looks real fluid. I don’t know his exact percentage in front of me, but you know, according to the tape, my guy can spot up from deep. Uh, and honestly, he has a lot of the same traits as Derek Queen, but he’s just slightly bigger, um, and slightly more more physical. So, he’s averaging closer to 10 rebounds over Derek. So, I mean, that that’s kind of what you’re looking for for the Spurs in that sense. And, and we compared him a little bit to uh what’s the old boy’s name that’s playing for Memphis, the rookie center. Um, I’m think it’s okay. Uh, not in terms of play, but like impact. A lot of people thought Edy would have minimal impact coming out of uh Purdue. I think Danny, including you and I, I think Danny Wolf could have a similar like surprise factor for the way he’s able to impact NBA games. Um because he’s more of a traditional big, but can also, you know, step out. And to that point, he’s a junior coming in, you know, not a true freshman coming in. somebody who he played at Yale, worked his way up, played at different levels of basketball, and because of the Spurs desperate need for that backup center position, you know, I think that only adds to what you were saying. And I think that’s the same mold as kind of Edy. They had a hole at that center position, he’s filling it, and look what he’s done for them this year. Um, but yeah, man, thank you so much for the Danny Wolf breakdown there. And I guess the last thing that I would say, I feel like there was something else that I was going to say about him. He’s real fluid, too. For those of you that haven’t watched tape, don’t be don’t be um what’s the word I’m looking for? Deterred by the 7 foot 250 pound frame that you’re seeing on your screen. Like go watch some tape. The guy actually he moves his feet really well. 100%. This was the thing that I was forgetting. Ethan, you brought up the Derek Queen comparison. And I know we’ve talked about this on multiple episodes, but go look at the stats in the Big 10 tournament when they played each other. As much as Derrick Queen was able to get 31 points on him, I will give him that. only had three rebounds and Danny had like 22 and like 14 or something and that is exactly what the Spurs need 100%. Let’s go to this third pick, Ethan, which is probably going to be a two-way in all likelihood. But man, that picking somebody who’s seven feet tall, Ethan, is just so satisfying. It feels better than it should. Well, we might we might be able to just really take this one home and draft Bunner. We’ll have Coler Nipple and we got that depth. We have Kulker, WBY and Danny Wolf. No questions about sevenfooters anymore. Johnny Johnny still on the board. Probably not realistic. Will he stay? Please. No way. dagger. Yeah. Wow. All right. Well, this is easy, right? Take them. Take them. I’m with you. I mean, I know that’s kind of doubling up there, man. But we talked about uh Danny’s versatility. Um I still would say Johnny Broom is a center here, but man, we need depth and he’s also the best player available here. No doubt. Oh, yeah. Easy buckets, too. Um, I’m all for this big. This is This is real value at 38. This is somebody that could actually crack a small rotation here. Um, you know, this is probably not going to happen, but this is fun for us. Look, if we’re going to do the Cooper Flag one, we’ll we’ll live with this one, too, right? Yeah. Might as well. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely not going to happen in all likelihood. But I will say if this were to happen, if this were to happen in real life and we picked Danny Wolf at 14, I would still want to make this decision. Me too. Me too. They agree. Copper agrees. Spurs dog agrees. We’ll go ahead and wrap this episode up, y’all. We appreciate you guys hanging out with us today. Thank you guys so much for supporting the channel recently. Uh, we got 1,000 views on that Giannis clip as well as around 1,500 views on the last podcast. So, we appreciate y’all for real. Go Spurs, go. Don’t forget to hit that like button and that subscribe button below if you enjoy the content. Follow us on X or Twitter, whatever you want to call it, SPN on YT, Jude McLaren, and Ethan_quantero. Again, we appreciate y’all. We’ll see you on the next one. Go Spurs go. Pop is the

Ethan and Jude are back to discuss the potential for a blockbuster trade in San Antonio this summer as well as give their evals on Tre Johsnon + Kasparas Jakucionis! 🏀🎙️

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0:00 Intro
0:33 Pop’s Retirement
8:09 Mitch Johnson
16:42 Trade Rumors
25:43 Mock Draft
37:17 Outro