Should San Antonio trade for Kevin Durant? | Spurs Insider

Should San Antonio trade for Kevin Durant? | Spurs Insider

from a highly secure network of top secret locations across South Texas this is another offseason edition of the Spurs Insider i’m Mike Finger joined as always by our panel of Express News Spurs beat Writers Tom Osborne and Jeff McDonald along with sports editor Nick Talbot we’re going to answer all kinds of questions this week what are the Spurs going to do during the NBA draft when they have two first round picks might the local cagers add a superstar in a trade before then and the biggest question of all is Victor Wimyama trying to emulate our own Jeff McDonald it’s it’s what everybody’s talking about this week where Jeff where do you want to start are you honored that the biggest star in San Antonio has has chosen to adopt your hairstyle yes I am um I could give him some tips i could give him some tips victor some tips uh sunscreen hats that sort of thing yeah uh he he’s he’s out there living his life uh he that’s that’s been uh that’s been one of the big stories of the week victor Victor Wmanyama uh hanging out with the monks in I mean every every time you get on social media Victor is somewhere else in the world mhm like he’s had he’s had a hell of a summer he has um sort of and I think um I mean it’s not everything is about basketball but I think Spurs fans should be uh kind of uh happy happy to see him out there having having not necessarily having fun but doing things like he’s not sitting at home moping he had a rough end to the season and uh he’s out there living his life and I think that’s cool every day it’s like where in the world is Victor Wimanyama uhhuh and it could be any it could be literally literally anywhere like is there anything that would surprise you if you popped onto Instagram today and there was a photo of Victor doing XYZ is there anything that would surprise you well all kinds of scandalous stuff would surprise me but there’s nothing wholesome that he could be doing that would surprise me like he’s on he’s on a SpaceX rocket to Mars that would that would surprise me it’s probably in his contract that he can’t he can’t get on a SpaceX rocket but sure insurance company would uh Yeah at that tom if Tom you happy to see Victor out there traveling the world yeah I am i am um you know he’s uh he’s a young man on a spiritual quest apparently nothing wrong with that at any age I guess you know trying to figure things out in his life i I have I think instead of doing podcast% Yeah instead of doing podcasts more of us should be on spiritual quests i think we’d be we’d be a little better off well here’s a here’s here’s a good question once Victor gets back from his uh spiritual quest uh what’s what’s the team going to look like that he rejoins that is an excellent segue Jeff and uh since you made that segue I think you should lead off the conversation about the San Antonio Spurs who are heading into the NBA draft in two weeks this is this will be our last chance to talk to the viewers i know they’re not viewers listeners about what the Spurs are going to do in advance of that draft you will be in Brooklyn New York covering that draft in person what do you expect the Spurs to do on the evening of June 25th and do you expect any big moves before that evening boy that’s that’s a lot of questions all in one but to to answer uh the first one of them I I think we’re all pretty uh convinced or pretty solid that they’re going to use that number two pick and and uh select Dylan Harper from from Ruters that’s that’s kind of We were pretty solid do you have a mouse in your pocket i think I think we’re I think everyone you talk to is pretty that seems to be the consensus um and we can get into trade scenarios later i’m not sure the Spurs are super interested in trade scenarios that are going to cost them that number two pick so I think it’s a pretty good assumption they’ll have the number two pick they’ll they’ll uh spend it on Ron Harper’s kid um the big question is going to be what becomes of that 14th pick was it 14th i can’t even remember at this point we haven’t talked about that one a lot but that’s that’s the one that you could see being included in all sorts of trade scenarios um if they do end up making it there’s there’s a lot of different ways they could go with that 14th pick um in terms of adding either size or shooting or optimally both if you could find that in one uh in one dude so I I but I I think the the first question you asked uh I I I think it’s a pretty I think we’re going to see Dylan Harper in a Spurs uniform in training camp you know after uh after after the draft on on on uh June the 23rd or whatever it is tom do you share Jeff’s uh sense of certainty about this um I’m Sounds like No sounds like no i I’m leaning toward it yes uh but not I’m not certain no um yeah because you think they would pick someone else or because you think that pick is still in play in a trade i I think right now they’re I think they’re they’re approaching things just like I am they’re leaning toward it but they just want to make damn sure right now there’s you know another scenario that you know might shock people but might might be smart um you know maybe something that doesn’t involve a superstar player but um Right yeah so I Yeah I think it’s they’re still in the due diligence uh stage although they’re leaning toward it yeah I would agree with that and if they are leaning toward it and if it does work out I don’t necessarily share Jeff’s uh fate accomply about isn’t that like a Latin term for something’s probably going to happen um I’m not sure that it’s it’s it’s 90% but it’s it’s it’s the most likely outcome the Spurs are going to take Dylan Harper and it would be great for this podcast if somebody on this podcast had talked to someone who knows Dylan Harper really well and could shed some insight any any volunteers on that tom you want to take this one i know someone who has talked to people that know Dylan Harper very well who’s that my my colleague my esteemed colleague Jeff McDonald oh that’s Oh that’s Jeff who’d you talk to i actually got off the phone this morning with with Steve Pel he’s the coach at Ruters i thought I’ I’d call him up and you know get kind of a little rundown on on Dylan Harper and also you know Ace Bailey who is I I mean I guess is maybe a candidate for that number two pick but is definitely you know considered a top five pick and just kind of get the rundown on those guys what kind of um what kind of players they were and and there’ll be a story on that coming out in the Express News and on ExpressNnews.com in the near future but um for now the the uh I guess the the one of the takeaways that that I got from it was you know there’s the people that are going to say that the small number of people who kind of question whether the Spurs should select Dylan Harper number two um you know the reason obviously isn’t isn’t talent it’s it’s fit it’s well the Spurs already have a dear Fox they already have reigning rookie of the year Stfan Stfan Castle in the back court and isn’t Dylan Harper sort of redundant are you are you using your number one you know your your top draft choice this year and not really filling a need um that you have which is three-point shooting and and size you know behind Victor Wimyama um so that would be the the reasons to not take Dylan Harper so I kind of floated that by uh coach Pel you know that this notion is out there and and how would he how would he fit on a team with um De’Aran Fox and Stefan Castle and and uh Steve Pel says you know to pass Dylan Harper up for that reason would be uh foolish it would be foolish he says he says Dylan Harper can play um he can play three positions and can probably guard four in certain situations and um works well on the ball and off the ball he he played a lot on the ball at Ruters obviously because he was that dude but um PL has no no question uh that Dylan Harper uh can play anywhere you want him and I’ll throw the caveat in there that there’s never been uh an interview with any coaches uh uh the coach of any college prospect who would answer that question otherwise so you can you can take it with a grain of salt if you want um but he had a lot of good things to say about uh Harper and what kind of player he is um you know a lot of things you you’ve seen if you’ve watched um if you watch the just the the the highlights reels and the clips just the finishing at the rim um the the just elite scoring at the rim he he’s the Spurs don’t have a lot of those guys yet um that that can do that from the wing position so um and a guy that despite uh this is probably the wrong way to phrase it but despite his NBA pedigree where you’d think he might um Dylan might expect things to be given to him wasn’t that kind of guy you know he’s a guy that um worked hard and worked through things at every level um it was an interesting thing that Steve Pel mentioned to me that it seems funny to hear but that that it would be something that you would praise a guy for but it was he was like he played at one high school he played at one for one AAU team you know he was in college for one year played for one team he’s not a guy that that that that bounced around looking for greener pastures which is kind of what a lot of these prospects are nowadays as they play at multiple high schools multiple prep schools uh balance between AEU teams looking for better uh situations um Harper’s more of a guy that wanted to pick a spot and make it work and the other thing that uh the point that was made about both Harper and um Ace Bailey is they’re both super young and yeah most prospects these days are super young but Ace Ace uh was 17 when he showed up on campus his mom had to sign his paperwork to make him a college basketball player um and and Harper just turned 19 like last week or something so they were very young in an era when college basketball is probably as old as it’s ever been because of the fallout from um co you know you got a lot of these guys that are like six six years seven years you know 25 year olds in the league so they they were you know you you always kind of wonder how how is this 18-year-old this 19-year-old going to make the leap to the NBA and play against men well they’ve had a little bit of a taste of that already and and come through and shown so I think um all of that put together uh whoever lands those two uh fine young gentlemen will will probably be happy what do you say anything about his three-point shooting um I remember Yeah yeah like like like everyone that think that’ll come around with time and coaching but yeah he is a guy that has been I don’t want to say it’s been so easy for him to get to the rim and score but kind of like throughout his life so it’s not a it’s not a the three-point um the three-point ball is not was not the the the primary focus of his arsenal but it’s something that could come along just just like they said with Steph Castle which you know we’ve talked about that on this podcast a lot you think that will um improve over time as well with with Steph and I think the same could be said of uh Dylan Harper he shot uh 33% but I’m looking at his game by game there was one stretch he was three of six four of seven then a one of five and then four of seven so you know that’s and then there’s other stretches uh four of eight four of eight back-to-back games of four of eight so think and I guess the uh the other attribute that I’d bring up that Steve Pel brought up and it’s something we now that I mentioned Steph Castle uh kind of reminded me of this because it’s something we said about Steph all year but like uh Dylan’s the kind of guy that that he’s got this calm uh calm demeanor to him unflapable demeanor um he he he’s a guy that you just kind of trust with the with the ball in his hands and in big moments isn’t going to be um overwhelmed by by any of that and and we liked that a lot about Steph Castle i think that was a big reason Steph was able to make that transition to the NBA so smoothly and that he wasn’t really frightened or overwhelmed or or uh perplexed by much or and and had that uh sort of way of moving on to the next play good or bad and I think um Harper has a has a lot of that in him according to the guy that coached him in college now the significant difference there of course and this is not to uh to downplay everything that you just said uh Stefan Castle had showed had shown all of that on a run to a national championship at Yukon uh Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey were on a team that finished with a losing record and didn’t make the NCA tournament at all so um Stefan Castle a little more of a of a background in those big moments that you’re talking about i’m not sure Dylan Harper Dylan Harper had a big big moment in college that that that is actually that has actually been a big you know kind of the question a lot of people ask well if Ruters had these two top five guys how did they not even make the NCA tournament and it’s not a dumb question it’s it’s not a terrible No course of course of course i mean it’s it’s an obvious question and um part of the answer is I mean they that team underachieved right i mean like you’re right they should have made the but also Dylan Harper missed a month of that season with a high ankle sprain uh in which uh in which time Ace Bailey did a pretty good job of of taking over had like 39 at Indiana 37 against Northwestern um but they weren’t whole um for the entirety of that year and the other thing is um uh they started four freshman and yeah they were two of them were otherworldly but in a in a in a in an era of college basketball where continuity matters and you have some of some of the best teams the oldest teams I think starting four freshman no matter how good they are um is pretty is a pretty tough hill to climb um like it reminds me of the uh Kevin Durant team I covered in I was about to make that transition like you’re a Oh well we can talk about that guy later um but yeah that that team well you have Kevin Durant how do you only win They made the tournament but how do you only win one NCA tournament game with Kevin Frein Durant and it’s because he was a he was barely 18 years old and he’s surrounded by people as young as he was and you run into you run into teams that are just more of a team than you are it’s hard it’s even in even in college it’s hard to go all the way with just a bunch of freshmen and yeah probably Ruters should have at least qualified for the tournament now that like 87 teams make it but um you know they didn’t and I don’t think it’s really reflective of uh you know the quality of player that either Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey is i think it just more reflective of their youth it’s kind of a a contradiction there um in that you when when the when an in all world 18-year-old goes to college he might be less prepared to succeed in the college basketball world to 2025 like Jeff mentioned where you do have sixth year eligible players seventh year like 23 and 24 year olds um that might be a tougher transition uh for a guy like Dylan Harper than coming into the NBA where he’s got more of that uh experience around him um I think that’s I think that’s an accurate point and you go back Jeff McDonald well just one one more point i’m going I keep stepping on your transition that you’re trying to get to but like that that point you’re making when Dylan Harper comes to uh let’s say the Spurs he’s not going to be the number one option even though the Spurs were were a team poor enough to garner the number two pick they have guys that are going to be the ball’s going to be in their hands a lot um he’s going to be asked to do less for the Spurs than he at 19 than he was at Ruters for 18 and I think that might make the transit could make the transition a little bit easier you can focus on what you need to focus on instead of focusing on being the um everything to everybody kind of thing did anybody read the uh newspaper this weekend the outrageous stuff that was in the sports section was on Sunday no I was reading the out outrageous stuff in the news section yeah that’s why I was specific about the sports section tom did you see that story in the that that that idiot columnist at the San Antonio Express News what he wrote on Sunday always I always read the idiot columnist what what what did you think about that outrageous proposal of of the San Antonio Spurs uhhuh who that idiot colonist already like a couple of weeks earlier said local cer should not be trading for Giannis like that would be that that doesn’t fit their timeline uh you know they need to be thinking for the future they need to be thinking long term they need to build with their young guys and then he turns around and says they should trade for Kevin Durant or that that could be a good idea what What the heck i it you know um it caused a buzz in the city i know that did it couple of people said you know that idiot columnist I think he was I think he finally found one he nailed is that right here’s here’s they were positive the the reviews I got were positive then now there are some people out there and and and I will admit to being the idiot columnist and I I will Oh that’s what we were talking about i will I will admit to being uh uh sending kind of mixed signals on on the Spurs off season and and I still think that the uh the price for Giannis would be it doesn’t make sense for a team in the situation and I’m not ruling that out completely either which is why I have not I’m not as sure of Jeff on the uh Dylan Harper selection cuz I still think there is a that there’s a possibility out there that the Spurs find a just a huge trade and and uh and that number two pick is in play i don’t think that’s a very high possibility i think it might be slightly higher than what Jeff thinks um but the the the appeal of Kevin Durant if I could lay out the argument here is that all indications from people who cover the league from people in the league what everyone seems to believe these days is that the the Suns are pretty much have to trade Kevin Durant now like I think that’s been the common consensus if you ask anyone around the NBA like the this deal is gonna happen the the Suns are a complete mess they can’t go into another season with Kevin Durant and his walk here um they have to get rid of him they have to trade they have to get something for him and unlike the case in a lot of these situations where a superstar is on the trade block it it doesn’t appear to be a a a an an environment where the Suns are going to price Kevin Durant as a guy who the acquiring team can extend like it’s they’re selling one year of Kevin Durant basically there’s there’s not going to be this this situation where he has to arrange an extension with the team that acquires him and when you put all that together the price might not be nearly as high as one might think a future Hall of Famer one of the greatest players of his generation at at age 37 I think he’s going to be 37 uh when next season starts it might not be as high as you think and if you could put together a package and this might be low i’m not saying that this will happen or that Phoenix would accept this but just for the sake of argument if to make the salaries work it’s Deon Del and Harrison Barnes both good guys both guys the Spurs like a lot both guys that the Spurs would miss if they were gone but those two salaries make the trade legal and then you throw in the 14th pick this number 14 pick in the first round of this coming NBA draft um maybe some seconds some uh a far off first whatever like is that something that you’re interested in that is something that I am interested in um you can call me crazy but I think that uh that makes sense to me uh I will open it up to the floor do you remember um in this space in this podcast space um few weeks ago maybe it’s been months now whenever the Janna stuff first kind of started to become buzzy about around the Spurs we kind of started talking about that trade and I kind of just threw in in passing and we were kind of down on the trade that a Giannis trade at that time as well but I kind of just threw it out there in passing and then the other thing you kind of hear is like this Durant stuff and I remember saying I would not do at in a million years uh-huh and I have to tell you that the after reading your idiot column uh you might have swayed me a little bit you make some here’s the the rest of it from but the main thing was because of the price i was at the time when we were first talking about the the Durant trade i was thinking of it as a superstar kind of blockbuster trade and no I don’t want to give up Durant for the price I was thinking at the time i don’t want to get the price i don’t want to get Durant for the price at the time that I thought the Suns were going to command but if there’s a deal like you just laid out then yes of course you have to look at that and uh and and it might not be that cheap like it’s it’s the the teams that are mentioned as as Durant possible destinations um like if the Knicks are involved the Knicks the Knicks like to make a splash uh they’re reportedly interested i think they interested i think ESPN has that out there that that the Knicks might be involved like you don’t like they’re going to over the way the Knicks are operated they’re going to overpay you do not get you do not get into a bidding war for Kevin Durant no you don’t get into a bidding war for that’s where I’ll drop rockets are mentioned the Houston Rockets are mentioned over and over as a possibility because Houston commands uh so many of of Phoenix’s future drafts and it it would be a convenient little swap back where where Houston can send Phoenix their draft picks back take Kevin Durant uh Houston’s closer to title contention than the Spurs are maybe make more sense from Kevin’s standpoint um believe our our friend of the podcast Mark Stein had out there over the weekend that the uh Toronto Raptors might be interested in Kevin Durant toronto Raptors are a franchise that kind of have a history of of going after guys uh who are in superstars who are in uh bad situations knowing that Toronto generally isn’t a free agent destination you if you’re the Spurs you don’t get into a bidding war with any of those teams um the Spurs could could win those bidding wars because they have so many picks but I’m not out advocating like uh like topping the Knicks’s offer or topping the Raptors offer it’s just a situation where if none of those teams pounce and if and if Phoenix right needs to take a an offer here and the Spurs have like Devin Vel um that’s an asset it’s It’s not probably what the Suns dream of getting for Kevin Durant but he’s locked up for four years and hundred million dollars and he can score and and uh you could see him kind of teaming with Devin Booker in a fun back court and uh and transitioning into that next era for the Suns um and then doing something with that 14th pick maybe another pick down the line not one of the big uh like not Atlanta’s pick number one unprotected first but but a pick down the line when the Spurs expect to be contending a first in that era like all that would make sense and and uh and and to to move to the next part of this conversation where there might be really smart listeners out there wondering well how does Kevin Durant fit into the Spurs timeline that’s a very good question listener um and part of my rationale for endorsing this is He I I would see Kevin Durant as kind of a a a bridge to the um to the contention window and this I’ve mentioned this before on this podcast in the newspaper a bunch the Spurs no matter what they do are not going to win an NBA title next year it’s very unlikely that the Spurs are going to win the NBA title in two years it that just does not happen in the history of the NBA teams this young with a with a star player like Victor Wimyama it takes so many years no one has won a a title that quickly since Tim Duncan did it a long long time ago when he was surrounded by David Robinson and Shawn Elliot and and a veteran team so uh I think if you have Kevin Durant for one year for two years whatever it might be like that he he he’s sort of does an on steroids version of what Chris Paul did last year like he takes you to that next step he gets you into a playoff series he maybe helps you win a playoff series none of these guys on this Spurs roster has ever been in a playoff series i guess Dearon Fox has been in one harrison Barnes has won a title but well Harrison Barnes would be leaving he would be there yeah Harrison Barnes would be leaving but like like this this team needs to learn how to get into those situations how to win those situations and yes how to fail in those situations and uh I think that even if Kevin Durant is here for one year and they have to move on or they decide to let let him chase a bigger contract somewhere else that that would that would uh be a significant step it would be really fun to cover too um but uh also the price for it and and this is not a bash Devin Vel podcast this is a podcast that uh has an appreciation for all that he’s uh all the all the ways he’s improved all his potential all that stuff but he’s going to make over $und00 million over the next four years i don’t think that’s necessarily a terrible contract but the local cagers are going to award a very lucrative extension to De’Aran Fox this summer they are going to award a very lucrative extension to Victor Wimbeyama in the coming years they’re going to award a very lucrative extension to Stfan Castle in the coming years and presumably one for Dylan Harper like they’re going to they’re going to have too many big contracts away and maybe Sohan i don’t think this is going to be quite as lucrative we can get into that debate later on in a future podcast whenever you want to do it but um the point is like maybe shedding the Devon Vel contract is a perk of this deal and and that sounds horrible i’m not bashing Deon Vel but you’re going to have to shed one of these deals at some point down the line and uh and if you want to get into like the fantasy basketball of what this does for the lineup um if you do draft Dylan Harp if you’re able to acquire Kevin Durant while hanging on to Dylan Harper and Stefan Castle and De’aran Fox it gives you this really fun like inverted lineup where uh and I’m not sure this would be the starting lineup but it’s a possible lineup where you have three playmaking like drivers uh drive and dish type guys uh in Fox and Castle and Harper with two bigs who can go out and and shoot like that’s like you get your shooting from the unexpected places and I think that would be fun to watch um I think you still need bigs traditional bigs you still need um guards who can shoot um like Julian Champeni type guys uh to balance the lineup out but I I think that would be fun and uh I don’t think it’s going to happen like I said there are other places that make way more sense but that is something I’d be open to at the right price they hated uh they hated Houston Rockets um a little bit further along than the than our local cagers yes in the sense of going maybe deep into the playoffs yes and and that’s another reason why I think if you’re ranking the Durant destinations in terms of likelihood that he’ll end up there I think the Rockets are ahead of the Spurs for like first of all they they might want him more um cuz he fits their their timeline a little better and second of all I think Durant might see a a a more attainable like trip to the finals with them than with the Spurs who are going to need a couple years um but does it does it it was just a fun offseason thing of like I don’t think this is as outrageous as some people might think it is and and there could be upsides to it i don’t think it’s gonna happen but it’d be fun does it matter where Kevin wants to go um does he have any leverage here a lot of times stars do have that leverage but it’s because uh teams are going to want to resign them past their current deal and you want to trade for a guy but if you don’t care about signing signing Kevin you know after this deal ends um then I don’t know that he has as much leverage here’s here’s where I think it would matter if he would tell Phoenix and the acquiring team let’s just say Houston as an example like I have no intel on this um I’m not saying out there but just as an as an example if if Durant would tell uh Phoenix and have his representatives tell Houston hey I’m open to signing an extension with the Rockets for X number of years and X amount of money uh that means that the the Suns could get more of a package for Durant like they’d they they’d get more stuff and in that way yes Durant could pick a destination but if there’s no team out there that’s willing to do that there’s if there’s no team out there that wants to to play ball and and agree to that extension before he’s traded then the Spur then the Suns just kind of uh get what they can get yeah i don’t know that there’s a team that really wants to pay Durant into his 40s you know i I I agree and that’s that’s why we’re at the situation part of the part of the perk of trading for Durant is you don’t have to worry about uh after this contract you’re really like you mentioned you’re just really renting him for a short time that’s that’s the idea of it so I don’t know if him you know his team we want to go to the Spurs i don’t know if that necessarily makes that happen the Suns are going to take the best deal they can get right but but it it a lot can change quickly in the NBA as you know and there there could be a situation where Kevin is looking at the at the next chapter of his career you know which would maybe going to the last team that he’s going to play for and decide yeah I want to I want to I want to uh sign an extension go to a place where I know would be able to to stay for three four years into my 40s and maybe a team like New York or Toronto offers him that maybe a mystery team does maybe Houston does i still again I’m gonna repeat it i do not think this KD to Spurs is gonna happen i just think that it’s uh it’s it’s it’s it’s attractive uh in some ways man you just Spurs Nation’s heart because those guys think uh you know if you get out there on the social media they think the Kevin Durant thing is basically in the bag already oh yeah the fans out there wimby has a great admiration for him and and he’s got you know Durant’s got a strong strong personal relationship I’m sure with Elfe that’s true oh yeah yeah oh I mean and he gets to play in Austin yes um I think that if Kevin Durant had his brothers um brothers is a word that’s really entrenching me with the uh Generation Z crowd that we’re after um like he he he would be pro- uh San Antonio in a lot of ways for what you mentioned like uh uh he he comes back to Austin all the time spoke glowingly about this region of the world when he was in Austin a few months ago has always had really nice things to say about Victor really connected with uh Greg Elfe Papovich on their uh Olympic trip to Japan that uh that I was fortunate to be able to cover like those two guys got her along swimmingly and uh Pop would still be around presumably um I think Kevin would see the upside of coming here i just um again don’t want to uh to act like it’s a done deal or even or even a likely deal at this point from the from the Spurs perspective the way to look at it is you don’t need Kevin Durant right now right you don’t you don’t get it like we were saying you don’t get into a bidding war because my god we got to get Kevin Durant but if you can get them at a for for a relative bargain then of course then of course that’s not like a podcast take to Yeah my I guess if you’re talking about the on the court stuff my only devil’s advocate thing would be like to this group um do you really want to add a player whose main uh contribution is like needs the ball in their hands yes needs to shoot a lot like you have you have Victor Wimyama you traded for Darren Fox um is it going to sort of mess up any sort of chemistry to have another guy that’s going to need to take a bunch of shots and that would be my that would be my only What the Spurs need is a guy who needs to take a lot of shots who wants who who can make a lot of those shots well can make can make and and uh need is willing to it has to it’s this we’re not talking about a ball hog here who’s like the Spurs had shots to spare last year it’s not like the It’s not like they were It was like “Oh who who’s going to be able to take all these shot?” Like they had shots to spare bad players were taking too many shots for the Spurs last year correct so on other teams you might worry about well where are all the shots going to go like how how are we going to have enough shots for Kevin Durant on the San Antonio Spurs 2025 you don’t have to worry about shots being available to Kevin Durant i mean if you can envision Kevin Durant being like you know a version of what Steve Kerr was for the Spurs just the guy that stands out there and makes threes like you’re being kind of ridiculous well like like Kevin Durant could lead the Spurs in shots if he comes here and I think he if he does come here he probably would uh in shots per game and there’d still be plenty left over for Victor Wimbeyam and Diaz Fox and Stefan C but does it does it does it hamper those guys development the guys that are going to be here beyond Kevin Durant again I’m just I’m just devil advocating right now i’m not saying I I understand that i’ve How many years of development have we covered of of of young guys being able to develop on their own over and over again to start winning a year and a half this team needs to start winning freaking games there’s always going to be avail shots available for Victor Womenyama kevin Durant is going to take no shots no quality shots from Victor Wimyama if anything Kevin Durant would improve the kinds of shots that Victor Wimyama takes yeah he’ll open things up yeah I don’t think there like the only thing holding the Spurs back from doing this deal at that price is the fact that they might not get him at that price if they could get him at the price that we just mentioned there is no downside to it you could even throw in I I was talking to Jeff off the podcast over the weekend and uh yes uh I I occasionally I’m forced to do that i know that the YouTube viewers out there are convinced that we all hate each other but I I did have to talk with him over the weekend and he mentioned uh you know Kevin Durant might be uh might be hurt for a lot of like he’s he’s injuryprone uh he might have he might have to miss a lot of games that could be an upside too you know give give him uh give him give him a few games off let the young guys play together for a while then come back for playoffs like uh there’s there’s not a lot of downsides to this for me um maybe I’m crazy well I I think we’re all in agreement if you can get him for the the bargain that you uh laid out earlier I think it’s a good it’s a good idea one quick question but anything much more than that I I’m kind of I’m probably out if it’s much more than what you mentioned earlier then I’m I’m probably out so a Devin Vel Harrison Barnes number 14 and like a like a first round pick in 29 or something like that uh is that is that okay i could do that i I would I would This sounds kind of funny but I would look for ways to if you could not have Harrison Barnes in there but that means giving up somebody with a lot more long-term uh Nick’s Nick’s been trying to talk i’m going to let him uh uh speak up but then I’m going to get back to what you just said go ahead Nick my well my general question is just what I was what you all are talking about is what’s the max you would be willing to give up you mentioned the Atlanta pick earlier uh some of the things out there have said that that would be in the deal or that proposed in that in the deal with you know the uh there people looking at that’s not a that’s not a dealbreaker to me it I would try to do it without giving that Atlanta pickup like I said the the 14 this year plus a a one of the Spurs own picks down the line would would be a better deal if if the Suns said “No we want the unprotected unprotected Atlanta in uh whatever that 27.” Um that’s where you kind of pause but maybe it’s worth it uh yeah that’s a good question Nick i there there is a line at some point where it’s too much i’m not sure where that line is right i mean that’s why we we weren’t on board with the Yiannis because it was just too much cost right for the future and and too many contracts in the future whereas Durant isn’t that problem so what is benefit analysis for this what’s what’s your max yes and and that’s like I don’t have the answer to that i think it’s somewhere in that area of uh of uh the Atlanta pick it’s uh it’s it’s like pornography you know it when you see it yep um back to Jeff’s question about the Harrison Barnes thing um the easiest way to make the trade machine work the salary cap numbers work is Devon Dell and Harrison Barnes now there you could do Devon Vel and Kell Johnson which I don’t think anybody necessarily wants to do um you could do Deon Vel and a whole bunch of smaller contracts a whole bunch meaning like uh Jeremy so Malachi Brandham Lake Wesley and here’s where I ask you and and those would just be the Suns don’t really want those players as players the the Wesley and Brandham those would just be contract fillers to make the deal work and then those guys are off the Suns books correct but that’s here’s where I ask you about Jeremy Sohan and uh his positioning in the uh future of this franchise are you over that do you think he’s no longer uh foundational integral or uh or where do you see him like is is that somebody that you just throw into a deal if the Suns ask for him or is are you of the mindset that no we still don’t want to give up on what he might be yet and we would rather give up a guy like Harrison Barnes good locker room guy but not part of the future the Sohan thing might be I mean that’s a very key question the Spurs front office has to answer as they go into any trades this summer i think that I think you hit on the one where how they evaluate Sohan and his uh fit to the future um drives a lot of this um if you’re asking me personally I don’t think he’s a guy that’s a deal breakaker you know if if if a team would rather have Sohan than somebody else and I I don’t for for Kevin Durant I don’t know that he’s a dealbreaker for that but he’s at the same time he’s not a guy that I’ve given up on i still think he has a place on on the Spurs roster going forward i think we’ve learned it’s coming off the bench and being that kind of uh energy guy maybe a guy that fits into certain defensive lineups really well um so I don’t you know I I it’s not a guy you’re just rushing to get rid of but I don’t think he should be a guy that holds up a deal you really want to do he’s an interesting piece go ahead Tom i was going to say if deal is for giving up Sohan or the future Atlanta pick which one would you rather give up because those are probably the most two likely deals is either 14 man that is a good question or the fort or the you know or Sohan that might be Sohan maybe but then if I can on the one hand a lot of that might be what they asked for and this is not this is nothing against Sohan it’s more of like a timeline question right like cuz Jeff correct me if I’m wrong but uh Jeremy is extension eligible this summer already that’s correct like it’s probably not going happen but like and then and then next year he’ll be restricted after his fourth year he’ll if after his fourth year if he has not signed an extension he will be a restricted free agent correct and this is this is about to be his fourth year he is heading into his fourth year yes yep so uh you’re already a point where you’re going to have to make a decision on him um that might involve paying him so if he hasn’t already wowed you yet um I think it’s beneficial from the Spurs perspect perspective to kind of push it down the road a little bit and take that shot with the Atlanta pick if if Phoenix says we want Devin Vel and the number 14 pick and either Jeremy Sohan or the Atlanta pick I think the Spurs have to say take Jeremy Sohan the the the Atlanta pick works so much more on on this first timeline the thing about those uh all these future picks is they almost are never as good as it wind up as you think like that the the Atlanta Person it’s 14 the thing is though like one of them might work out that’s why you have a bunch of them so they do have they do have some value in that like it only takes one of them to to to get you a number one pick when you’re already um you know you’re already a playoff team or a number you know a top five pick when you’re already in the conference finals it only takes one of those to to to come in so that’s why they have value even though like the Atlanta pick might end up being late lottery again or maybe not lottery at all who knows so well this it makes for great podcasting like we’ve gone 45 minutes this week and about a about a deal that probably is uh not going to happen but you know it’s it’s fun it’s fun to talk about and we also we also got a Justice Potter Stewart reference from Jeff that was pretty cool that’s right that’s that’s I hope people caught that by the way I wasn’t talking about my own my own That’s kind of why I brought it though thank you looking out go Google Justice Potter Stewart and pornography or maybe don’t maybe don’t don’t don’t do that just stick to Justice Potter Stewart yes um Yeah you know when you see it back when the Supreme Court was something else uh the uh the uh it’s something else now too it’s something else something else something else in town spurs were out there uh I mentioned in passing Julian Champeni want to thank the young man for joining us and want to thank Nick Talbett sports editor for running another excellent Alamo City High School Sports Awards well attended by all the youngsters the the stars of tomorrow throughout San Antonio it was a great event nick did a great job organizing it david Henosa Christina Wong great job covering the high schools and Julian Champeni came out to uh hand out the trophies and to uh talk to the idiot columnist for a little bit on stage very nice of him to join us uh that was great following in the footsteps of who nick Trey Jones did it last year kell Johnson’s done it yes uh always appreciate the Spurs help on that got to see Julian uh out there with Blake Wesley and Riley Min Stefan Castle playing some wheelchair basketball against uh some some uh wounded warriors uh that was a lot of fun that was a fun column last week you can look up uh it’s been a it’s been an eventful summer for the Spurs jeff and Victor Wimbeyama now sharing a haircut that’s been fun tom anything you want to add before we sign off um in Spurs Project Marvel news we got a new mayor Gina Jones and and that’s notable I guess because she’s not inclined to rubber stamp it um as her opponent might have been so we’ll we’ll see for the listeners that might not be familiar with Project Marvel that is the new that is the the downtown project that in includes a new uh Spurs arena at the side of the Institute of Texas Cultures across from the Alma Dome so So that that uh mayoral election could have an impact on that you think Tom it we’ll see i’m just saying that she’s not as inclined she’s on the record as you know saying she’s not as inclined to rubber stamp things as her opponent was so we’ll see but the way you understand it Tom it’s it’s likely to be a question on a November ballot for the uh the people of San Antonio to uh to weigh in on on this you think correct correct and and Molly Smith from the Express News is covering the heck out of it wet Nizzler yes so all kinds of things you can find on the expresswe.com if you want to uh there you should have a couple of free clicks but if you’d like to subscribe we’d appreciate it you get all kinds of news on the Spurs Project Marvel on down the line that’d be great we we appreciate you listening and I mentioned it earlier programming note we will not talk to you before the draft on the 25th but we will have a morning after podcast uh where we will discuss what the Spurs did with their two draft picks maybe some trades maybe some other stuff we will it should hit your digital players by the end of that week uh maybe by the afternoon of June 26 look forward to talking to you then until then take care of each other and keep it real [Music]

Columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald, Tom Orsborn and sports editor Nick Talbot discuss prospects Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and if the Spurs should trade for Kevin Durant.
 
*Suggested reading:*
Kevin Durant trade could work great for Spurs at the right price: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/article/kevin-durant-trade-spurs-suns-rockets-20365314.php_
Spurs to participate in California Classic Summer League: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/spurs-participate-california-classic-summer-league-20349393.php_
Where will former Texas star Tre Johnson land in NBA draft?: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/former-texas-star-tre-johnson-land-nba-draft-20337648.php_
An NBA Draft lottery conspiracy? It’s too crazy to believe: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/nba-draft-lottery-conspiracy-crazy-believe-20337122.php_

*Catch us everywhere: *
More episodes: _https://www.expressnews.com/interactives/podcasts/spurs-insider/_
Spurs Nation Newsletter: _https://www.expressnews.com/newsletters/spurs-nation/_
Finger on X (Twitter): _https://twitter.com/mikefinger_
Become a subscriber: _https://exne.ws/sub_