Spurs Free Agency + Summer League Preview | SSPN Offseason

Spurs Free Agency + Summer League Preview | SSPN Offseason

What’s up everybody? Jude, Ethan, Winky in the building talking some San Antonio Spurs. Ethan, I was going to do my my normal intro there, but when I saw Winky there, you know, I I had to include him uh making his presence known. And I’m sure he’s very excited, Ethan, just like we are about the addition of Luke Cornet. Let’s jump right into it, man. Uh, obviously yesterday NBA free agency started at 5:00 p. p.m. Eastern time. Uh, so or excuse me, I don’t know, it was 6 PM Central time. That’s what I was trying to go with there. I kind of butchered that, but the Spurs signed Luke Cornet. That is the big thing of note, Ethan. And and as the people have heard me say a thousand times this off seasonason, it feels like my one request, my my one prayer
was just get us a backup center, and they did it. Uh, what are your thoughts on the addition of Luke Cornet and what he brings to the backup rotation, man?
Dude, I love it. I love it. I know it’s not the sexiest name in the world. It’s not the guy you immediately think of when you’re like, “Okay, we need an elite backup center, but he is very good.” And and I would describe him as kind of a watered down uh actually, you know what? Let me let me rephrase. Impactwise for our team, I think it will be a lesser version of what Isaiah Hartenstein was for OKC last year. not as good of a player, doesn’t have as well-rounded of a game as Isaiah Hartinstein does, but in terms of being a very good rim protector. I think statistically he’s actually one of the best rim protectors in the league. A highly efficient scorer around the rim. I know he’s only getting opportune baskets when they come to him, but that’s all we’re really going to need from him. Jude, a terrific screener, but he’s also just a big physical body that can get you rebounds, hustle plays, hustle points, extra possessions, and that’s really what we’ve been asking for, honestly, Jude. Like, Weby’s been our only physical presence, our only sevenfooter, and now we have another one that was playing meaningful minutes in meaningful games for the Boston Celtics. and and I know he probably won’t be as good on our team because the Boston Celtics were such a deep team. Uh but I still think the impact that he’ll have on the roster, in particular the bench rotation, will be very very valuable. Uh and honestly, I think a $40 million contract over four years, that’s pretty darn good. I had a friend reach out to me and say, “I think we overpaid.” I don’t I don’t consider this an overpay, dude.
It’s funny you mentioned that, Ethan. There’s a couple things that you touched on there that I’m going to bring up. some stats on. But the first thing I’ll bring up, shout out to Paul Garcia. Covers the Spurs, also does some NBA coverage for the spot-up shot. Always good stuff on his ex account. So, here is the deal for Luke Cornet. 9.5 mil in year 1, 10 mil in year 2, 10.5 mil in year three, and 11 mil in year 4. Uh San Antonio would also have 4.6 million of the NT mid-level exception. So, I’m honestly not sure what the NT stands for there. Um, but some sort of contract/cap little loophole that teams have um with the cap situation there. Uh, over left over on top of this um and the full 5.1 BAE. Again, just to be real with y’all, I don’t really know what those acronyms mean, but it’s some sort of cap space that the Spurs still have left over with this deal. And 25.8 8 mil left under the first apron. So definitely some flexibility there for the Spurs. And the thing that stuck out to me, Ethan, you know, I know you were calling it an overpay. Yesterday was the first or one of your friends was calling it an overpay. Let me rephrase there. I know you you were not you disagreed. Um but the the cap just raised 10% I believe yesterday or today um at the start of free agency. I saw that alert. So once again, every year, you know, it’s just going to continue to increase with with these contracts and uh NBA inflation, if you will. It’s just inevitably going to keep going up and up as the years progress. So again, you know, some of these deals like in in, you know, two years, we’ll bring this up again, 10 mil, you know, will be the new 15 mil if that makes sense. Um, so with inflation and stuff like that, I I completely agree with your point, but not to harp on that for too long, I think it’s a good deal. I think it gives the Spurs flexibility long term. I think it also leaves room uh for the extensions that are coming down the pipe.
100%. And something that we don’t often consider, it also leaves room for us to draft a younger center and give him time to develop like Luke uh Luke Cornet. This is probably as good as he will be for the next three years. like he’s not going to get any better necessarily, but I also think for the next three years at least, we can have a very very formidable backup center. And if we decide to draft one uh that’s more of a a long-term solution, Jude, we don’t necessarily feel attached to this contract. It’s also a very tradable contract at the same time.
Yeah. And he is 29 years old. So, to your point, you know, if maybe we start to see a drop off in like year three or something when he’s 33, 32, um I mean, I still still think it’s going to be in his prime or I guess that would be the end. 32 33 would be when he’s over. So really we’re getting him for the rest of his prime. But if for some reason you know just with the WBY you know extension probably or I guess inevitable super max that it’ll end up being uh we think um as well as you know Jeremy Sohan extensions and and other people on the roster as well. Kell’s only got a couple years left on his contract. Maybe some of these guys aren’t in the long-term future, but even shoot in a couple years, we’re going to have Darren Fox coming up, Stefon Castle, you know, by the time this contract is over, you know, he’ll probably be be up in extension time. Uh there’s definitely um some flexibility long term with it not being the the craziest expensive contract. 100%. Couldn’t agree more. And
I just wanted to bring this up. you know, you mentioned, you know, kind of his defense around the rim and obviously, you know, we talk about, you know, advanced stats not being, you know, the beall end all. They got to pass the eye test here, but this is pretty pretty simple. It’s opponent field goal percentage within six feet. Um, so again, Victor and Luke in the top eight when it comes to opponent field goal percentage uh within six feet of the rim. And I think this is a pretty, you know, as as much as I was just talking about advanced stats here, it’s just literally, you know, how many shots were shot and how many the opponents made. So Luke Cornett up there, man. And when you think about the weaknesses off the bench, dude, I know you kind of harped on it at the beginning, but he’s just exactly what we need. 71 250. Went to high school in Texas, so has some Texas connections. Uh, another thing I noticed when I was just kind of refreshing myself watching some of his tape after we got the signing, um, he’s got some nasty to him in the words of Pop. You know, it’s kind of subtle. You know, he’s not like super over the top, but, you know, there’s one kind of play that was floating around with the Celtics kind of in their goodbye video, you know, where he dives out of bounds to try to save a ball and bounces it off of somebody and then, you know, he immediately goes, you know, kind of like the first down thing in football. He points the possession the other way cuz it was going to be Celtics ball. you know, I saw the dimebe, you know, finger wag, you know, some some other stuff. He was cooking people up. I saw that, too. So, anyways, I love a little bit of the moxy there from Luke Cornet. You know, if you weren’t locked into the Celtics or at least their, you know, bench rotation, you may not really know that too much, like myself. I was guilty of that to be completely honest with you. Um, but yeah, man, I I just I don’t want to harp on his game too much because it’s pretty simple. Um, but yeah, dude, he’s just exactly what we need in a backup center. We need some size. We need some physicality in the paint. He’s everything Zack Collins wasn’t. God bless you, Zach. That is very true. He is everything Zack Collins wasn’t. Uh, just to play, I guess, devil’s advocate for some people that will be in the comments. Yes, he’s not like an exceptional shooter. He can hit it if he’s wide open, but it’s not part of his game. perimeter defense not going to be something that he’s all that great at either. Uh but when you think about last year, Jude, and we we’ve harped on this a billion times, one of the biggest glaring negatives on our team was just not having a center on the bench rotation. Now we do, and I do think he is definitely an improvement over Bism. As much as I loved Bism Bambbo, he is unequivocally better than Bism Biombo was last year. Um, and even if you just want to compare it to a recent signing with the Rockets, we think of Stephen Adams, who’s two years older than him. He had a three-year $39 million contract, which is technically more money. Uh, and honestly, they’ll probably be playing very similar roles as the backup centers for both teams. So, I think it’s definitely fair value and for what he provides the team, um, will have an impact next year, Jude. And it’s something that we haven’t talked about yet is his character. He seems like a really cool guy. And I have a couple Boston fan uh Boston friends, Boston fan friends is how I should say that. And I’ve been noticing on Twitter, they’ve all been very happy for him that he got his money, but they’re also very sad to see him go. Uh and I feel like we as Spurs fans fully understand that where we had role players taken from us that were very meaningful to us who go on to have um better opportunities elsewhere. So very excited to see him on the team and see how his how his personality meshes with the other guys. Yeah, the last thing I’ll say, if anything, Ethan, there were so many games where we were at a rebounding deficit, and he he is going to help with that at the very least, man.
Absolutely. Actually, you know what? I’m looking up uh he had one of his best career games against the San Antonio Spurs. So, I’m going to look it up real quick, Jude. Uh I’m pretty sure he had like 20 and 15 against us. Um let’s see.
I was probably tuned out because I knew we were going to lose that one. It’s very possible that that’s what happened,
especially if it was later in the year. For some reason, I don’t remember that. Here it is. It was actually the last game in March. March 29th, we lost 12 or Yeah, we lost 121 to 111. He played 31 minutes and he had 15 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and a steal on 70% shooting. We want to see that in SA, right? That’s exactly right. You know what? Let me let me Sorry. Sorry. Sorry to go crazy on you.
Keep going. Cuz I got another thought, too.
I want to see what he did as a starter. He had 28 minutes and 16 games played as a starter and averaged 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks on 73% shooting. That’s so funny you brought that up, Ethan, because you know what I was going to say? I was going to say, man, we’re going to inevitably rest We Wy a few games here and there. So, he will be starting for us at times and I don’t want to get too ahead of us here, but that’s why I’m hoping we still, you know, add maybe one more center or another front court piece because there will be games like that, you know, where Luke will be the starter most likely and then we’ll need somebody else to kind of fill that void off the bench. So, we’re not having Jeremy Sohan versus Zack Edit anymore as much as Zach Edit might be starting for Memphis. Uh, but that’s besides the point. Um, I the good stats to bring up because there will be some situations this season where where he’s in the starting lineup
for sure. I was holding out for Yabiselli, Jude. That was the guy I really really wanted. I think you did, too.
Unfortunately, he signed with uh
New York.
New York, excuse me. Yeah.
Yeah. And it’s it’s interesting that you bring that up because I was kind of wondering after Carter Bryant fell if we were still going to go after Yaboo as much. Uh, I definitely would have been willing to bring him in, but e even then, kind of after the Carter Bryant pick, honestly, I I probably would have wanted him on a one-year deal. Um, and just kind of would have, you know, maybe over the course of the season kind of continued to give those minutes more to Carter. So, in that sense, I can kind of understand why Gershon ended up not coming here. And I think it was reported earlier today that other than the Knicks, it was like the Nuggets in the Knicks were kind of the two final teams for him. So, I I I really do think prior to the Carter Bryant draft pick and him falling down to 14 that Gershon was on our radar, especially with, you know, him playing on the French national team and his friendship with Victor. Um, as well as their chemistry that they have on the court together as well. Uh, and just the backup for being a need for us. But again, with the Carter Bryant pick, I think that kind of, you know, derailed that a little bit. But, you know, other than Gershon, you have anything else on Yaboo? Yeah, I I would have liked Yabu only for I mean everything that you said just be a physical kind of three through five honestly. Like we could play small ball five with him too. He’s so physical and aggressive and versatile. Um he reminds me a lot of uh of the Manal from back in the day with the Nuggets uh Kenneth Fared. So for for that aspect, I totally would have loved to have seen him on the team, but you’re right with with Carter Bryant, it it would have been difficult to play all of them because I definitely want Carter to play uh this year.
Yeah, for sure. And even if like we ease Carter into the things this year with him being a lottery pick as well as how high so many people were on him as well as uh ourselves and of course our boy Lou um I I feel like the plan would have been at least by next season for him to be a full full-time rotation guy 100%. Yeah. And since we’re just kind of talking about the fours here, man, another beloved four of ours, Ethan, that me and you were texting uh a couple days ago, man, with Jeremy Sohan and Carter Bryant as the two fours on the roster as of right now. I know a lot of people throw Harrison Barnes in there, but I think once I pull up uh the little roster graphic that I have later, people will kind of see the vision a little bit more, but we were thinking Sandro Mamu Kellishvey bringing him back. that would have just been perfect, especially in light of injuries, him knowing the Spurs, you know, of course, all the love that the fans have for him as well as the chemistry that he has with the team. But like the Celtics, we’re happy for Luke Cornet, I think we’re happy for Sandro Mamu Kellishly today, getting a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors for 5 mil. And as much as that may not seem like that much, we were probably going to sign him on a minimum type deal, you know what I mean? Or just a little bit above it. Um, so I think he got paid a little bit more on top of getting more than just a one-year contract. So, shout out to Mamu, but man, I really would have loved to have him as the third string four again. Yeah, wish him the best in Toronto, man. Him and Yakob are over there holding it down for the former SA Spurs. Uh, it always be a magical experience to remember his third, was it 31point game that he had? 34-point game. One one of the greatest memories I’ll ever have of San Antonio Spurs basketball. So, Bamu, thank you for all that you did. Uh, not only for the Spurs, but for my memory. Man, I was at the 2022 pre-WIB Nuggets game where Mamu went off. It wasn’t in the same way that he went off at the end of this year, you know, where he broke an NBA record in in scoring 34 in under 20 minutes. Um, and then of course the year after, you know, he also went off against Joic in in 23 as well. Um, but yeah, in 2022, man, I was at that Nuggets game pre-Wembby where he helped lead us to a win after we signed him on a two-way with Julian. So, I got memories in person. I got memories on the screen. Shout out to you, Mamu. Absolutely. Alrighty, man. Well, I do want to get into the roster outlook here, Ethan, but there there was a story that I actually forgot to kind of go over. You know, we we’ve we’ve kind of mentioned it. I made a little post earlier uh on the YouTube post page just about how you and I have kind of had a busy couple weeks. So, this kind of slipped through the cracks with the draft and everything. Uh but the Spurs did hire their new top assistant coach, the man to replace Mitch Johnson, and that is Shawn Sweeney from the Dallas Mavericks. He has been Jason Kid’s right-hand man uh for a while. Tim McMahon uh from ESPN tweeted that this was a big loss for the Mavericks. I forget the exact verbatim wording that he used, but it was essentially that. And then I can’t remember if this was also Tim McMahon or another tweet that I saw and forgive me if it was another tweet. I honestly don’t remember who said it. Uh but it was somebody accredited and they were saying that, you know, he was a big part of not only just their offensive scheme, but their defensive scheme as well. So both sides of the court, uh he was very involved with Jason Kidd. Um, obviously, as you guys can see here, an 11-year veteran. Shout out to the Spurs on SI for this article. Uh, just wanted to read this here. So, the Spurs weren’t able to land Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade. Okay, that’s kind of old news. Uh, but according to ESPN Sham Shirania, the Spurs are hiring Shawn Sweeney away to become associate head coach under newly appointed head coach Mitch Mitch Johnson. Sweeney was previously with the Mavericks and remains in Texas. However, he’ll be moving over to San Antonio. So, he does have the same agent. uh as Mitch Johnson, but they also kind of have a friendship because of that. Uh I believe they’ve worked together in the past, too. Uh y’all can correct me on that in the comments if I have that wrong, but I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere. Um but regardless, not somebody that Jason Kidd necessarily wanted to lose. And obviously, you know, we kind of saw how things went in Dallas last year, and of course, the Spurs are a very attractive destination. Uh but I think this was a solid pickup for the Spurs. But here, I’ll finish this article here, Ethan, and then I’ll kind of let you know, hear what you have to say about it. So, Sweeney spent four seasons in Dallas under head coach Jason Kidd. He became his right-hand man, according to Tim McMahon. That’s what I was talking about earlier, uh, being an integral part of the Mavericks playoff runs, including a 2022 Western Conference Finals appearance and, of course, the finals in 2024. Uh, Sweeney helped coach some of the league’s best players in Luca Donuch, Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brunson. Uh, and he also worked with Jason Kidd in Brooklyn and Milwaukee. So, yeah, it wasn’t just Dallas, uh, that he was with him. Uh, he then took a job as an assistant with the Detroit Pistons for three seasons before he reunited with Kid in Dallas. Um, so yeah, it coordinated offense and defense in Dallas. Here’s the tweet that I was kind of talking about with Tim McMahon. Um, but the Spurs are building a new chapter highlighted by the emergence of Johnson at the head coaching position as well as Victor Webinyama, De’arren Fox, Dylan Harper, Stefon Castle, all those guys. Sweeney should add improvement on both sides of the ball as well as playoff experience. He’ll soon add Wemmenyama and Fox to the list of stars he’s worked with. So, wanted to bring that up just to have a little refresher there. Talk about who is replacing Mitch Johnson. What are your thoughts on the the Sean Sweeney edition?
I love it, man. Um, Dallas has been really good the last couple of years, especially come playoff time. Uh, he’s worked with big names before. Obviously, he’s been integral to their development. It makes sense to me. And it’s cool to see the tree, the coaching tree now of Mitch Johnson, uh, begin, I guess, officially with, I guess, this being his first assistant coach that maybe he’s had a hand in hiring for himself.
So, this is the start of something new, maybe.
Yeah. And I believe that Brett Brown is still on staff.
I think so, too. Yeah. So that that’s a pretty, you know, experienced staff there. Um, and that’s kind of the makeup that we’re seeing with Mitch Johnson. I’m pretty sure everything else is staying the same for the most part. That makes sense though, right? His first time as a head coach or official time as a head coach, you need that experience behind you, especially come playoff time, which is the goal officially, especially now that we have Luke Cornet on the team.
Exactly. See, that’s the key. That is the key to all of this. Speaking of that, Ethan, it’s time to bring up the new roster. So, for those of you guys watching or excuse me, listening on podcast, uh we’ve got our graphic up here that you can check out on YouTube. At point guard, the Spurs have De’aran Fox, Dylan Harper, and Blake Wesley. At shooting guard, they have Stefon Castle, Devin Bell, and Malachi Brham. At small forward, they have Harrison Barnes, Kell Johnson, and Julian Champeni, as well as Riley Min on a two-way. And then at the four they have Jeremy Sohan, Carter Bryant, and then Harrison Ingram on a two-way. And then Victor Weimyama and Luke Cornet at the five. So, as you guys can see, as much as we’ve kind of filled out our first two rotations, you know, starters and backups, there is still a little bit of a front court hole there for the Spurs. And they do have two roster spots left in free agency. Ethan, I want to dish it to you. What are your thoughts on kind of those last two roster spots and and how the Spurs should attack it? I think you need to address the front court for sure. Uh, personally, I I don’t know if this person will play that much, so I want to get somebody with playoff experience, a real veteran locker room guy. Uh, if we need to elevate a younger guy, we can elevate Harrison Ingram. And we have so much versatility between the one and the four. Like Harrison can play the three or the four, Jeremy, three of the four. Um, Stefon can play one through four, you know, so like we have so much versatility there. Carter, let’s really focus on these front court guys and sure up that side. Um, so there are three names that are still available, Jude, that I’ll I’ll just say now and you tell me if you like any of these guys in particular or if you hate any of them. Uh, Al Horford is still available. I know he’s 39 years old, but he did average nine and six last year. He can play the five or the four. He can space the floor as well. Uh, and he provides championship pedigree for the team. Uh Jeff Green, pretty much the same story, but primarily a four and I think probably less likely to be a contributor. Whereas Al Horford, I I still think Al Horford can play spot minutes and be impactful. And the last guy, the last guy has a lot more versatility. He’s 36 years old, but it’s Nicholas Batum, the French Connection. Um I think we can get all three of these guys on a on a really affordable contract. Are you going to say Nick Batum’s retiring?
No, I think he signed today, actually. Did he say unsigned? I can’t remember, but I want to say I got a sham’s notification today that said Nicholas Batum had signed somewhere. I do not remember the team off the top of my head. I will do some looking up as well as we confirm for you guys, but I’m pretty sure I don’t see anything. H I may be wrong there. I may be wrong. I don’t Oh, wait. Is this real? Batum intends to sign. Okay. He intends to sign with the Clippers. So, you were correct. So, he’s off the table. Forget I said Nick Batum. Uh, let’s just leave it at Al Horford and Jeff Green, I guess, while I continue to look for a third name because three is better than two, Jude. Well, I’ve got It’s funny that you brought that up where you were you were kind of going to list off some names and ask me what you thought because I got a whole list of people uh at the four and the five that I was going to do that for you for. But just to kind of go off of that, I mean, I saw that Al Horford is getting pursued by the Lakers a lot.
I mean, here, let me just say this. if in a perfect world at 100% would love to bring in Al Horford. I do think that a contending team is going to go after him that will actually offer him a little bit more of rotation minutes. Um, so I don’t think it’s too realistic that he comes here, but man, with injuries and also like we said with WBY going to be inevitably sad every once in a while, if he would be willing to come, I that would be awesome, you know, to have him as the five off the bench uh or or the four, you know, with his versatility like you mentioned. But and then with Jeff Green as well, man. Yeah. I mean, I think that would really Let me pull up our roster here again. If you look at the fours, we got Jeremy Sohan and Carter Bryant. So, you know, if you want to say, “Oh, he’s old.” Well, the other two guys are, you know, 22 and younger. So, I I think he would be a good guy to kind of, you know, help mold them, give them some experience. as well. If we do have an injury, you know, as much as it’s, you know, not uber athletic, you know, 28-year-old Jeff Green, right? Um, it still would be somebody who’s going to come in, space the floor, and not make a ton of mistakes. 100%. Who are your names?
Okay, I got a couple. There was There was something else that I was thinking about, though. Okay, it’s it’s it’s out of my mind, so we we’ll stay on this here. So, I got a couple Well, I got a lot of different names. Okay, let me start with fours. I’ll start with fours for you here. Okay. And there’s there’s one of these that’s going to be very special, so I’ll save that for the end.
I know who it is already.
Yeah, you every everybody knows who it is at this point. Uh JT Thor,
uh still still 22, unrestricted free agent from the Charlotte Hornets.
Um
Vlatco Canar from the Denver Nuggets, about 28. You know, again, these are these are third string fours that we’re talking about here. So, not guys who are going to, you know, jump off the screen namewise, but, you know, he would kind of be similar to that Jeff Green role. Uh, EJ Liddell, a former teammate of Malachi Brandoms. Uh, he is also a free agent. He’s a little bit, you know, undersized, you could say, cuz he’s 66, but he’s about 230, 240, kind of in that PJ Tucker build. Um, so I still think he could play the four. Uh, Jeremiah Robinson Earl from the Pelicans is another name. Again, his stretch ability hasn’t really been consistent throughout his entire career to be honest with you, but I do think he has kind of the build uh for a four. Um, and again, we’re talking third stringers here. Chuma O’iki uh played with the Magic for a while and then got traded to the Cavs and didn’t really get on the floor too much, but 67 220 can stretch the floor. Kind of has that versatility where he could even play the three if we wanted him to too. And then the last name I have as Winky announces himself right here. He doesn’t He says, “I’m the spotlight, Ethan.” Right.
Not Not you. Okay.
I am the center of attention. Uh Chris Bucher, I know he was
I know he was kind of more of a five uh for the Toronto Raptors, but again, 69, a very slender guy, and also can shoot the ball. So, as much as maybe there’d be some times where he could get beat off the dribble on the perimeter, um I think he has the length to recover. Um, and also I think just his stretch ability, you know, would kind of mitigate that. And I also think just with the way that that the Raptors have been built over the years. I know they signed YaKob today and trading for him was a big thing and kind of, you know, getting a true center back for them, but for a while they were with Precious Achua, you know, when he was out there, Scotty Barnes, they were really running a lot of like 68, 69, you know, centers. They they didn’t really um, you know, have a center there for a while. I don’t know how else to put it. So, I think also, you know, that kind of may muddy the waters when it comes to evaluating Chris Buché as a four.
I love Chris Buchet because he can play four and a five like you were just saying. So, if we if we can get him on an affordable deal, I think pull the trigger immediately. And my second favorite of those names you listed was JT Thor for sure. Uh I love his physical presence. He’s he’s kind of an unders sized four if I remember correctly, but like a bulldog and I think kind of kind of reminiscent of of Jan Tate’s build a little bit with the Houston team.
Well, he’s he’s he’s a little bit taller. I will say that.
Is he a little bit taller? Jason’s what, 6’5? How tall is JT?
Yeah, he’s pretty short. Like I think he’s 6’4. I say pretty short for the NBA.
Dude would tower over me. Um
Oh, he’s 6’9. He’s way taller than I thought he was.
Yeah. Yeah. I’m I’m all for that for sure.
But there’s one more name, Ethan. And there’s one more unrestricted free agent. Okay.
Mhm.
The Atlanta Hawks declined Dominic Barlo’s team option. He’s unrestricted. This is the opportunity. Okay. Earlier today, Drew Eubanks was cut by was it the Clippers? Was that who he’s playing for?
Yes. Yeah. The Clippers and then signed with the Kings. That was very sad because I would have loved to have him as the third string five. But the thing is with Jonas Valenunis getting traded, he’s actually going to get full rotation minutes in Sacramento. So completely understand, Drew. You’re you’re going to play more there. But we had an opportunity, Ethan, for a fleeting moment today to have a third string backcourt of Dominic Barlo and Drew Eubanks. And that would have been the SPN dream. Uh but in all seriousness, uh I honestly I would not be mad at bringing Dominic Barllo back as the third string four. And this was the other thing earlier, Ethan. I was mentioning that I kind of forgot like a talking point that I had. This is what it was. I really hope the Spurs don’t do this. And I’m going off a little bit off topic here, but just stay with me. When I asked you about what how you would like to the Spurs to attack those last two roster spots, I’m completely with you. I want to rebalance this roster. Let’s get a true four. Let’s get a true five and really have like, you know, three guys at at each each position. But just knowing the Spurs, they as much as the circumstances are very different now, they haven’t always done that. So, I could see a world where maybe we go and get another, you know, two or three. I don’t think we’re going to go get another point guard, but maybe we do go get, you know, somebody else in that realm and we only get one other big in the front court just also because of I mean, that’s just kind of the track history of the Spurs over the past couple years. And again, obviously tanking has a lot to do with that. So, maybe things completely change now. Um, but if we were to for some reason go out and get like I was texting with a friend today. Go out and get like an Alec Burks so that in the event like let me pull the roster back up here. In the event Steph or Devin gets injured, we can throw him in instead of a Malachi Brandom, you know what I mean? To just have a little bit more reliability there. Uh, Dominic Barlo really would be a good final piece because he can play the four and the five. Now, with that being said, the same thing with Chris Bucher. And if I’m being completely honest, from an objective standpoint, I think Chris Bucher has been more of an effective NBA player throughout his career than my boy Don Beasy.
But I think you see the appeal there. For for some reason, we only get one more person in the front court. Don Beasy would kind of cover both bases. You know what I’m saying?
You You don’t have to convince me, Jude. I love Don Beasy. I think he’s highly slept on. He tried to dunk on Wimby last year. I won’t forget that ever. But yeah, bring him home. I I’d be all for that because in all honesty, like you said, this position is really just like this fill in and times of injury in times of need. He’s not a rotational piece. Uh all for it. And I’m going to say one more name, Jude.
Yeah.
And I’m going to get crucified in the comments for it because people hate this guy with a passion, but I do think as a third string, he’s pretty good for a third string. Ben Simmons. Has he signed with anybody?
Not according to this, but it’s been wrong before. But
I did not hear that.
He he averaged five, five, and five last year. That’s versatility. Even if it’s his poor versatility, it’s versatility. Uh and defensively, he’s always been really good. It’s just offensively that he’s been horrible at times. Look, man. I think I’ve said on this channel before that like I didn’t even really like Ben Simmons went to LSU and I haven’t even really like been that big of a fan of him. And it’s not even because of the falloff. It was just kind of like we I think I remember telling my friends I was like, “Man, we only went to the NIT with Ben Simmons. Like, why am I supposed to have all this pride or something?” Like, I said that. Um, but to get back to your point, in all honesty, despite all of his flaws, dude, for a third string four, five, and and specifically the four, I I would totally be down to bring in Ben Simmons. Again, we’re talking third string here. So, I actually I think that’s a pretty good name that I don’t have on my list.
I say that and now I’m looking at news articles. It says he is a free agent, but it’s saying that he’s reportedly looking for a contract above the minimum. So, if that’s true, maybe he’s not coming to San Antonio.
Yeah, I think that would be the case probably, unfortunately, for Old Ben.
But if enough teams if enough teams don’t want him, then maybe he has to settle for the minimum,
right? There you go. There you go. Okay. Last notes on Dominic Barlo. Would fight for rebounds. He’d set some good screens and and have, you know, give effort on defense, have a little bit of versatility from the perimeter to the interior and and he’d give us some some midies. Ethan,
lob threat, too. Don’t forget the lob threat.
I miss him, man. I This is This is the opportunity, but I I don’t know if they’re going to take it.
Probably not, but it would be real. It would be a story book for Don Barlo and Jude. That would if that happened. SPN is all the SSBN fans are going to be like, “No way.”
It happened. It happened.
Oh, but back to reality here in a little bit more seriousness. You want me to read off some surnames for you?
Sure. Let’s do it.
Okay. Bull. Mhm.
Jock Landale. Again, all third stringers here. Jackson Hayes, Thomas Bryant, Alex Len, Christian Koko. I put down our boy Chuck Bass. I don’t think it’s going to happen, especially with the injuries. I even threw on Bismac just because I I’d rather have him as the third string five than nothing. Uh but we’ll ignore those two names for the most part. Uh DeAndre Jordan,
Kai Jones, and then PJ Hall. He played at Clemson uh last year or excuse me the year before last season. Last year was his rookie year in the NBA and he played for the Nuggets for a year and then did not end up resigning with them. So I think of those names I lean toward DeAndre Jordan and I know he’s probably the oldest of the names that you just listed. I think he’s 36. Um but he’s not going to play that much. He is very physical. He’s still pretty athletic for an old man. Like he can still run the floor. He sets great screens and um I mean he’s he’s got the championship pedigree, Jude. And he’s part of the Lob City Clippers and that’s just like part of my childhood. So maybe it’s just me being personal when I shouldn’t be. Uh but we already had CP last year. Let’s let’s get DJ. Unfortunately, I don’t think Blake’s coming back. I
was going to say let’s get DJ and Blake back up for third string front front court fixed.
Jamal Crawford is uh is helping out WBY in the offseason, right? So like we almost got the full set. We need Karan Butler next.
Korea Karan Butler. JJ’s coaching the Lakers. So that’s that’s over. But
oh my goodness, man. Uh and I want to say I know DeAndre Jordan went to Texas A&M.
He did. I think. Is he from Texas?
I believe he is. I’m confirming that as we speak. Pulling up his Wikipedia page. Yes. Was born in Houston. Grew up in Houston. Went to high school in Houston. So, some Texas connections there as well for DeAndre. I will say for myself there, Ethan, I don’t know. I mean, I I would be down with DeAndre. And you kind of saw him play a little bit last year uh with the Nuggets as well.
And I think he’d be a solid, you know, rotation five for the backups in games where we’re resting Webby. Um but man, I I do I do like me some Bull Bowl. Uh I definitely We’ve been talking about that for a while, him and Wii playing together. Um, but man, I the other one when I look at this, my boy Jock, I I guess I just want the reunions. I want the people to come back. But as a third string five, I would definitely be down with Jock Landale. Alex Len is another name as well that I think would be solid. Um, and Thomas Bryant. We saw him play some minutes for the Pacers as well. So, I wouldn’t be mad at those names either, but I also wouldn’t be mad at DeAndre. Yeah, I’m with you. And I mean, just say Bism, too. Might as well. He is younger than these guys. He’s 32. He seems so old, but he’s actually not. Yeah,
he’s not that old. He averaged five and six. I mean, statistically, he was like better than Alex Len, DeAndre. Like, he wasn’t terrible, I guess, but 100%. So, those are kind of the last two roster spots that are open there. Me and Ethan are looking for another four and five, but technically there is another two-way spot that is open, Ethan. And I think
we may see a preview of that in the summer league. I could be wrong, but there are two guys that the Spurs signed to the summer league squad. Well, there’s there’s a lot of people that they signed, but there were two that kind of got publicity uh coming out of college. And I pulled this out right now for those of you guys listening on podcast. Uh we have the Spurs summer league roster up on the screen on video. And those two names are my boy Cam Carter. I knew that was coming.
From from Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and LSU, also Kansas State and Mississippi State. Uh he’s a 6-3 guard. And then also Chiboso or Chibuzzo. Chibos. My bad. My bad. Clip that. Clip that one. Chibuzzo. That’s what the opponent’s teams are going to be calling him. Chibuzo Agbo. uh a 66 220 guard from USC and he played at Boise State for a couple years uh and actually played at Tech for two seasons to start his career as well. Um so has spent a little bit of time in Texas, but those were the two main kind of like college guys that I saw that kind of were advertised like USC and LSU tweeted about both of them getting those contracts. Obviously, all of these guys on summer league got some sort of contract. And there are other rookies uh that are out there like uh I don’t even know how to say this guy’s name. Muhammed Dou from Sagal and playing in the Italian league. He’s a rookie. Uh Ibrahima Dio is another seven-footer, but he he played for the Austin Spurs, so I’m pretty sure that’s where we picked him up from. But Jackson Mooney down there also from North Dakota State, uh is a rookie that we signed as well. That was kind of a big. So, those are maybe some other names that that you could look at for the two-way spot. But watching the tape today, Ethan, I actually did a little bit of uh some research on this, I think Cam Carter and Chabuzo are probably the main two guys that if we are going to pick a two-way from summer league, I think those would be the names to watch on the roster. I will take your word for it, Jude. You know these guys a lot more than I do. Um, but I do want to give a shout out to my guy Mensah. I saw he’s back on the team and he played really well last year if I remember correctly. So, uh, shout out to my guy Mensah at 69 being the big the big body down low for us this year. He definitely is a rebounder. I can’t remember if he played in Austin this season. I want to say that he did.
I think he did.
Yeah. Here, let me see if they have that on there. No, they still have San Diego State and Ghana, but I I still believe that he did play in Austin this season. So, glad to see him around the Spurs organization. I mean, at the worst, dude. He He’s definitely somebody who hustles and and fights hard on the board. And I think with the summer league style of play, too. He really does kind of fit that mold.
100%. But just to dive into the summer league a little more, Ethan, there’s not too much to talk about. I kind of already covered one of my topics. It was just is Cam Carter or Chabuzo Agbo going to replace David Duke Jr.’s two-way. Um, and then the other two things that I had written down were Dylan Dylan and Carter Bryant. I almost said Dylan Carter, Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant. Uh, just in the twoman game in the pick and roll, the pick and pop and just playing off of each other. And then also Harrison Ingram and Riley Min’s progression because we didn’t really get to see them that much last year. Um, obviously we saw them in Austin, but on the main team we didn’t really get to see them. But obviously Pop in the front office and Mitch have got to see something in those guys to want to bring them back. I know they’re just two-way guys, but there’s a reason that they’re staying with us for for two more years here. Is Winky is what? What is he searching for back there?
You know, he’s he’s making biscuits.
Oh my goodness. There you go. That surprised me.
No, you’re good. But those are kind of my main takeaways for summer league. When you turn on the summer league games, Ethan, here like on July 10th, I don’t know if we’ll do a post game for it, but it’s a 7:00 game. What are you looking for? Uh, you know, just in summer league overall,
I’m looking for Dylan Harper to be an alpha amongst betas, Jude. To put it lightly, I want to see some shot creation from him. Really see the explosion that he plays with off the dribble and from Carter Bryant. I mean, yeah, the two-man game is I hope that’s fantastic, too. But I really want to see him just be a dog defensively and really get after guys and take advantage of his physicality. Um, and and I agree, Riley Min and Harrison Ingram need to show some kind of offense. We know Riley Min can score, but Harrison Ingram needs to show some kind of offensive consistency. Whether that just be standing in the corner and being 40% from three or showing us that he he’s put something together in the lab and can put the ball on the floor. But last year, even in the summer league, I remember it was a little hard to watch from Harrison offensively. He was getting rebounds. He was playing hard. He was doing the right things. He just couldn’t get any shots to fall. So, we’re gonna need that. and Har and Riley Minox. I guess it’s the exact opposite. We know you ball in the in the basket, but what else are you going to bring to the table? Especially defensively.
Yeah, 100%. I think the only thing that I’ll really add there is I I want to harp on Carter Bryant’s defense. I really want to see that, you know, kind of in full form and in this summer league setting. Uh but I also want to see him kind of playing off the ball in like a Nate Mensah Dylan Harper pick and roll. you know, if we can see him start to snipe um and kind of show off that catch and shoot ability. I saw some videos today from the Spurs practice facility that showed him working on threes. Obviously, they’re wide open, but he was swishing most of them. Uh, another thing I want to harp on just since I’m talking about those videos. Dylan Harper, there was some news came out that he has a minor groin issue that he’s dealing with, but if you if you watch the practice videos, he I think he’s completely fine because he’s doing a lot of dribble moves. He’s moving around a lot. Like he’s not going to play in the California Classic, you know, like the opening kind of like preseason to summer league that we play in Sacramento. Um, if you remember and Riley Min isn’t going to play there either. Uh, but they expect them to be back for Vegas, which is really the main summer league anyway,
which starts July 10th against the Sixers at 9:00 game. A little late Jude, but you can bet I will be awake for it. Heck yeah. When I looked at that earlier, let me see. Let me see here, Ethan. I don’t mean to be like Mr. Let me push my glasses up and correct you. Um, but I want to say I saw that it was seven here from the Spurs. Let me see.
I’m looking. Oh, 9:00 p.m. What’s CDT? What’s Central?
Oh, that’s that’s Central. Here we go. One second. I’m finding it because now I got the California Classic schedule. I see that one.
Oh my goodness. Spurs summer league schedule. This is great podcasting. Really well prepared. We are. Okay, here we go. Oh, no. I was tripping. 7 o’clock Pacific time. So, you are 100% correct, Ethan. Yeah, 9:00. Big brain. You can gritty on me for that one.
I was bound to get something right, Judy. It’s been a long day of mistakes at my day job, so it’s good to get something right on my night job.
There. There you go. We’d love to hear it, man. Any any final thoughts on summer league before we wrap this one up?
It’s going to be an exciting Maybe we’ll actually win. I feel like we say we’re going to win every year, Judy. We always lose. So, let’s try and actually get a dub this year, guys. What do you say?
Becky Hammond, Kyle Anderson season. Y’all know what I’m talking about.
Please. Jonathan Simmons, too. I think he was there as well. The Jay Sims. How could I forget the goat? the absolute best. Last thing I’ll say on summer league, my boy Cam Carter, I’m I’m rooting for him hard, not just because he’s on the Spurs and not just because there’s a chance he could get a two-way,
but my boy 40% three-point shooter Ethan this season. And here’s the crazy thing. The year prior at Kansas State and basically like his whole career prior, he was around a 30% guy.
Here’s the here’s the thing that’s crazy about the 10% jump this season. He took the most threes of his career. on a two two and a half to like six attempts per game was the stat on ESPN and that was the highest of his career and jumped up 10%. You know, we need some shooters, some offball snipers and I never I never want to pray on anybody’s downfall, Ethan. I never I never want to do that. All the Spurs, we haven’t said this enough also as Winkies in the back having fun there. Like through all these draft criticisms and everything that we say like me and Ethan, we’ve had a lot of new subscribers, too. So, I want to say this. Um, basic Winky, he’s he’s excited for this when you hear him in the background. He’s anticipating this. Um, but all these guys, you know, all the respect to these guys. We’re just two guys sitting here, you know, talk in our chairs doing a podcast online. Um, so we understand there’s a lot of things that maybe we don’t see, you know, in the life of an NBA player, just as a human being, some of the things they go through. Uh, and we’re not the beall endall when it comes to basketball knowledge and criticism. So, um, you know, none of that is ever like a personal attack on anybody or anything. We want them all to be the best that they could be. Like, I want Malachi Brandom and Blake Wesley to just ascend. But what I was going to say with that being said, Ethan, if things don’t work out this season with Malachi Brham for any reason, if my boy Cam Carter can earn that two-way and be a consistent offball sniper, as I see, I I faded out there a little bit. Let me get back here. Okay. I I would love to have him as the third string three uh two moving forward after this season. Now, that’s a pipe dream for 2026, but my boy my boy Cam Carter can snipe off the ball. He’s also can put the ball on the floor, has some sauciness around the rim, but we need some offball shooters. E, we we need some consistent offball shooters. So, in the event of an injury to a Stephan Dev, if my boy Cam Carter can make it happen, I think he could slide in and be a consistent shooter to say the least. that that could either be one of the greatest prophecies of all time, Jude, in the next three years, depending on how his career works out, or we could be looking back at this and being like, man, he was really just the next uh Dennis Duke Jr. or or he doesn’t even get a two-way. Yeah, he’s just uh what’s what’s that dude’s name that was on the summer league roster for like six years?
Jeff Leet. Jeff Le. Hey, last thing on Cam Carter though, past two seasons has has averaged at least or it was one one and a half steals last season and 1.2 this year. He does have some good reads in passing lanes. So, he’s not, you know, I wouldn’t say he’s like a lock down defender, but he’s definitely not below average either.
He’s better than my guy Jeff Leb better is what you say.
I think he may be better than Jeff Le.
That’s that’s a whole task, my guy.
Oh, man. Any final thoughts, Ethan, as we head into summer league as well as this uh this weekend? No, sir. Go Spurs go. Winky agrees with me. He’s excited.
Heck yeah. We appreciate y’all. Go Spurs go as well. If you guys enjoyed the content, don’t forget to hit that like button and that subscribe button below. Oh my gosh, Ethan, we’re doing this at the end, but I got to throw this in here, too. I already did this on a post, but thank you guys so much for 3,000 subscribers. Yeah. Um, we’ve been doing this for about 4 years now. Um, so just thank you guys so much. I wish I wish I had more to say than that, but we just truly appreciate it. Uh, it means the world to us. And, you know, we’ve had a lot going on the past couple weeks, so I felt bad for kind of glossing over that or not really mentioning it, but just you guys are the goats for that. We we just want this to be like you’re hanging out with your friends on the couch talking Spurs because that’s really what we try to do here, you know, with me and Ethan uh in this little 50inute escape that we get from our regular lives. So anyways, again, wanted to say that if you want to support the show and stay updated, follow us on X or Twitter, whatever you want to call it, SPN on YT, Jude McLaren, and Ethan_Quero. We appreciate y’all. We’ll catch youall on the next one. Ghost versus go.

Ethan and Jude are back to discuss the Spurs signing Luke Kornet, hiring Sean Sweeney, how SA should attack their final two roster sports, preview Summer League + more! 🏀🎙️

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0:00 Intro
0:26 Luke Kornet Signs
11:17 Guerschon Yabusele
13:20 Mamu Memories
15:38 Sean Sweeney
19:37 Free Agent Targets
36:20 Summer League Preview
47:31 Outro