Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Light the beam and pass it around. It is the
Wednesday edition of The Sports Cave with Biggest Puma. I
am your host, Sam Freeze. If you want to reach
out to the program, which is really just a fancy
way of saying, if you want to find me on
social media on x at Biggest Puma on Instagram. Biggest
Dot Puma Broadcasting alive to tape once again here on
(00:30):
the East side of San Antonio, fifteen days till Spurs
opening Night, almost under the two week mark, and we
got a lot of Spurs to talk about on the program.
Of course, it's the Wednesday edition, so it's a bit
of a grab bag. Main segment today we are going
to look at the Spurs roster broken down into six
(00:51):
tiers and I'll explain all of that once we get there.
We've also I got to talk a little Dallas Stars
as they open their season tomorrow. We saw the NHL
Open last night, we saw Utah play their first game,
so we'll talk a little NHL of course tomorrow on
the program, All Cowboys, All NFL Week six preview, and
(01:14):
then we'll close out the week Friday with some college
football talk. But as always, we start with what I
watched last night, and I will say, to my credit,
well not to my credit, I took the roommate on
a little date last night to this new wine spot
that opened down on Broadway. But to my credit, I
had no idea they would have a TV and I
(01:35):
didn't request to be seated by the bar. So let
the record show I just happened to get lucky and
was able to watch the end of that Dodgers Padres
game while we were out grabbing a late dinner. All
of the action had already happened by the time we
got to the restaurant. If you watched the game, you
(01:56):
know what I'm talking about. All the runs were scored
in the first three innings, and again it was a
game that absolutely didn't disappoint. It seems like anytime these
two teams play in the playoffs, it leads to memorable
close affairs, and last night was certainly another one of those.
Padres get the win six to five. They now find
(02:17):
themselves one game away from closing out this series. I
mentioned all the action was in the first three innings,
and there was quite a bit of action very early.
Anytime you start seeing the tweets fly in from different
people of you know, this game is drunk, this game
is insane. You know, it's something memorable, as I said,
(02:38):
and we got exactly that. Mookie Betts started the game off,
finally getting that home run that he thought he had
earlier in the series. Profar got close to another one,
but that left field fence out in San Diego's not
quite as field or friendly as the one in La.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
The ball barely.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Gets past profar As outstretched glove, which up snapping an
O for twenty two slump for Mookie. He gets the
Dodgers on the board earlier, but it didn't take long
for the Padres to respond, and of course it was
the Padres heartbeat of the lineup, Fernando Tatist Junior, who
gets a two run homer to end up leading to
(03:16):
a six run second inning. That's now his third home
run of the series, which leads him one off of
the NLDS record. Old Astros fans will remember Carlos Beltrans
crazy two thousand and four NLDS and you don't have
to look that far back to find the other record holder. Castianos,
(03:37):
last year with the Phillies had four home runs in
the NLDS as well. And it's not just this series.
So far, Tatis is just on an absolute screamer at
the plate. He's now ten for eighteen in the playoffs
with four home runs. That's five games total. That's a
basically a five point fifty six batting average with home runs.
(04:01):
His ops is through the roof as well, so Tatis
continues to carry that offense. I mentioned the Dodgers don't
have an announced starter yet. I'm recording this as it
looks like the Tigers are going to close out the
Guardians and the Phillies and Mets are already playing as well,
so potentially by the end of the night, we might
(04:23):
have at least one part of the NL Championship Series decided.
If the Padres can close out the Dodgers tonight. Also yesterday,
Mets beat the Phillies seven to two in Game three.
Pete Alonso homer it again. His free agent valuation is
just skyrocketing with every one of these home runs he
(04:43):
already was. You know, a fear of a lot of
Mets fans was that Alonso was gonna price himself out
of their budget, even though they're New York and their
budget seems seemingly should be limitless to bring a guy
like that back, but he's going to absolutely have a
massive payday come this offseason, and I don't see any
(05:05):
way the Mets allow him to leave the organization unless
it's just an absolutely outrageous overpay by someone on the
West Coast or hell, the Crosstown Bronx rivals, which, man,
wouldn't it be great if we get as much as
I want a Yankees Dodgers series, I'm starting to warm
up to the idea of a potential subway series because
(05:26):
this Mets team looks like they might be a team
of destiny rolling through that. NL still think the winner
of Padre's Dodgers is the heavy favorite to get to
the World Series, but the Mets are starting to ride
some momentum. I mean, just in that game yesterday, Sean
and Ia go seven innings of two hit shutout ball
(05:46):
before eventually allowing a run in the eighth. But Philly's
never got close to really challenging that game. Mets had
it firmly in control and mentioned they're trying to end
the series this afternoon. So all four games are being
played today, which is awesome. We get a couple of
game threes and a couple of game fours today, a
(06:08):
couple of potential elimination games game four, so we'll see.
Of course, we will check back in on baseball on
tomorrow's program, because on a Wednesday night with very little football,
I mean, I guess we could watch Jacksonville State in
New Mexico State, but I think I'd rather watch Yankees,
Royals and Dodgers Padres. So we'll check back in on
(06:30):
the baseball as always tomorrow. Got to talk a little
NHL here before we jump into our main segment. I
think the main segment's gonna take the majority of the
program today, but would be remiss if I didn't stop
down and talk a little hockey for the nine of
y'all out there that loved the sport as much as
(06:50):
I do. I mentioned yesterday Utah making their NHL debut.
Of course, there was the triple header opening day. It's
kind of weird to have mattin a hockey for an
opening day start, but I'm not complaining. That was three
games we got to watch, starting a mid afternoon yesterday,
but Utah closed.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Out the final game.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
They get their first win in Utah franchise history, beat
the Blackhawks five to two, and I will say I
went back and watched the YouTube video of what their
pregame video presentation the in arena sounds looked like as
they announced you know, their starting lineup, their full team,
(07:32):
you know, the whole unveiling of the Utah Hockey Club.
And I think it makes it really hard to go
all in with your in game presentation when you don't
even have your name yet. But all that being said,
it was still a pretty lackluster display from the Utah franchise.
And I guess in my head, I think of the
(07:53):
most recent NHL franchise teams, you know, Vegas is obviously Vegas.
They're gonna put on a Vegas type shit for every
one of their home games. Seattle's got something special up
there in the Climate Pledge Arena, you know, their in
game presentation is pretty slick and much more over the
top than what we saw from Utah last night. The
(08:14):
Utah presentation was, as my notes, I could only think
to put it very Utah, and for what that's worth,
it it was pretty bland and pretty low energy in
comparison to some of the recent unveilings we've seen. As
I mentioned, but one thing that wasn't very Utah Beer
(08:36):
cells last night in the Delta Center totaled over one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars. That's the most for any
NBA or NHL game ever held in that arena's history.
And the Jazz if you're keeping notes, the Jazz have
been in the Delta Center since nineteen ninety one. So
hockey fans definitely had themselves a good time in Salt
(08:58):
Lake City last night. And I think their presentation and
their whole in arena experience will be very different once
they actually figure out what their name is. I mean,
I'm still hoping they go with the Utah yetti's and
we have some kind of crazy over the top yetti
that skates around the area. You could do so many
(09:19):
things with that. You can't do as much with the
Utah Hockey Club. But I mentioned Stars still haven't made
their season opening a debut yet. They are off still
again tonight. They debut tomorrow night in Nashville, and real
quickly just wanted to kind of set the table for
(09:40):
what you can expect from this Star season because they
have been so close over the last four years now,
dating back to the you know, the infamous COVID Bubble
season that they ended up finishing up in Canada. You know,
they make the Stanley Cup Finals in the Bubble, lose
to the Life Fighting and then the disappointment of losing
(10:02):
a brutal Game seven in overtime a couple of years
later to the Flames, and then these last few years
having differing levels of disappointment, some caused by their own
I'm looking at you, Jamie Benn, others just running up
against a buzzsaal team like they did last year with
the Oilers just so close to representing the Western Conference
(10:25):
in the Stanley Cup Finals. And the thing that scares
me a little bit is they are a bit of
national darlings. In all of the preseason predictions and Stanley
Cup picks, a lot of the experts are really high
on the Stars, and I can completely understand why.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
I mean, I am too.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
It just makes me uncomfortable when national talking heads are
as high on my team as I am, and I
get it. There's a lot of reasons to be high
on this Stars team. I mean, it's basically the same
roster as last year, minus Pavelski and a few complimentary
pieces Erotic Foxa with the Blues now you know, solid
(11:07):
fourth line center, but replaceable. Pavelski will be the one
that it'll be interesting to see how they supplement his
loss with Some of these younger players think the plan
is for Wyatt Johnston to jump up on that first line.
He's more than ready for that. The kid's a stud
and waiting. He's kind of he's a forgotten piece of
(11:28):
his age group. You know, he's the guy when it
comes to appearances with Team Canada. He's the one that
does the dirty work. He's not the A list star,
marketable player, but if you watch the games, he does
everything you want out of a center, out of a
guy that controls the game and plays at his own pace.
(11:49):
And really, for lack of a cliche or for using
a cliche, he does the things that don't necessarily show
up in the box score at times. And that's the
kind of glue that Pavelski was at his older age.
As he wasn't putting up the big numbers, he was
still that connecting piece for Rope and Jason Robertson on
(12:09):
the first line. And speaking of Robertson, he missed all
of camp. But it does sound like we're going to
get him back for Thursday for the season opener. He
had off season foot surgery, but miss Camp doesn't sound
like he's going to miss any games. Another guy that
miss camp was the head coach first time in his
eighteen years of being a coach in the NFL or NHL. Rather,
(12:33):
I'm already thinking about Thursday's show. The boar ends up
having to have an appendectomy before camp, and then he
has complications. So the head coach misses all of camp.
The star first line winger misses all of camp. But
I don't think there's signs of any pending demise as
(12:54):
we are less than twenty four hours or close to
twenty four hours from the season starting. Because I'm mentioned
the young guys that are going to have to replace
some of these, you know, Fox of Pavelski, the guys
that have left the organization this past offseason.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
It starts with Maverick Bork.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
He will slide in to Wyatt Johnston's old spot on
the third line, so Johnston can jump up to the
first line. The only problem with that is he is
injured and he will miss the opener tomorrow, So the
lines you see tomorrow night are gonna be a little
shuffled after a week or so into the season. They
should be able to fall into their normal expected lines
(13:33):
for the majority of the season, obviously pending any other
injuries that pop up, because it is hockey and these
guys are gonna get injured left and right eventually. Logan
Stankovin is still technically a rookie. He didn't play enough
games last year. He's getting a lot of buzz for
potential Rookie of the Year because he's going to put
(13:53):
up a lot of points playing on that third line
with Jamie Binn and Maverick Bork. He's also a guy
that's going to get shuffled between lines as Debor starts
to tinker with pairings and matchings. That second line is
going to be your veteran line with Marchmant, Tyler Sagan
(14:15):
and Matt Dushane. Dushane re signed in the offseason, so
he's back in the fold. It didn't feel like there
was ever a chance or a risk that he was
gonna leave. And then the real key I think for
the Stars, they're four lines, they've got depth. They're going
to be able to rotate four lines like they did
last year. They were one of the best teams in
(14:35):
the league last year at getting scoring getting points from
their bottom six forwards. I don't think that changes at
all this year. But the defensive pairings are going to
be really interesting to look at as we move into
the season. It's a hell of a luxury to be
able to drop Esselndell to a third line defensive pairing,
(14:56):
and that looks to be the case of what we're
gonna get as they roll out tomorrow night. Of course,
Miro will be first line. I think it looks like
Matt Dumba is gonna be his pairing. And then you've got,
of course, got Thomas Harley coming back after a really
really strong year last year. He gets the Bridge contract,
gets into camp late or the day right before camp starts,
(15:19):
he signs his contract extension, so he's locked in. And then,
as I mentioned, s sliding all the way down to
a third d pairing. He'll still be key on the
penalty kill. But that's depth they haven't had from their
blue liner group in a while, and that's the real
(15:40):
key outside of of course, Otter has to be Otter
again because if anything, when it comes to the NHL,
if your goalie is not at the top of his game,
you don't have a chance to carry any momentum throughout
the season. It could lead to a bunch of up
and down, stop and start streaks. But there's no reason
(16:01):
to believe. Last year Otter had off season surgery, so
he really wasn't himself until quite a bit after Christmas,
after the new year. This year, he's coming in fully healthy.
But the Stars at the end of the day, are
going to go as far as Jake Ottender can carry
them once they get to the postseason. And you know,
looking the Central Division has gotten a lot stronger. The
(16:24):
Blues played great hockey the last month of the season
last year. It looks like they've rolled that momentum over
to this season. Again, if you believe in momentum, that's
a long time to roll momentum.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
If you do believe in momentum.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
But I think, just like last year, the Central Division
is gonna come down to the Stars and Abs, And
on paper, even the biggest Abs fan I think, would
admit that there's way more question marks about Colorado right
now than there are Dallas.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
So there's a lot to be excited about.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Again, I can see why the national talking heads are
hyping the praise of the Stars and the potential they
have this year one name to keep an eye on,
you know, similar to last year where Logan stan Coven
gets called up late in the year to supplement scoring
on that third line.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I think this.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Year the name to look for is not a forward,
not an offensive player. It's a potential defenseman that comes up.
Leon Bischel, former first round pick. He could have made
the team I think out of camp this year. But
it's kind of like baseball, where do you want a
guy riding the bench with the pros or do you
(17:35):
want him playing every day in the minors and staying ready.
And the Stars are taking the latter approach with Bischel,
but he will be with the big club. I feel
pretty confident in saying that at some point this year,
especially if Na's Lungquist continues to basically be a non
factor as that potential third line pairing with Essa, I
(17:56):
would I personally can't wait to see a third line
and pairing of Esse, Lindell and Liam Bishell. That just
seems like, if that's your third line defenseman, you've got
to be one of the best teams in the league.
And speaking of best teams, in the league. The best
aren't going anywhere. Edmonton is still over in the other
(18:18):
division in the Western Conference, Florida's bringing everybody back Florida's
Prime for another run. The Rangers are looking to make
good on their playoff disappointment from last year. Speaking of
we get a double header to night on TNT Rangers
at Pins and then Avs at Vegas. So hockey season
is fully upon us. I am super hyped, as you
(18:39):
can probably tell from my voice. I could talk stars
every episode, but I know again that would probably just
be for me and the nine hockey fans out there,
So without further ado, I did something earlier today and
just took a look at the Spurs roster, including their
Exhibit ten contracts. And if you're unfamiliar with what Exhibit
(19:00):
ten contracts are, I will talk about that a little
bit here in the upcoming segment. But I looked at
their full roster, every guy they have under contract right
now during the preseason, and broke them down into six tiers.
And I really think, uh, we're gonna learn a lot
(19:21):
about some of these guys on the roster, and if
we don't, this could be the last time we see
them in a Spurs uniform this season.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
So without further ado, let's jump right into it.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Tailing confidence. You've got to take your very best shot,
and they the best team, win the games. At sh
(20:01):
the game new play by play announcer there Jacob Toby
on the call of Steph Castle's first poster dunk of
his NBA career, and it kind of sounds like Sean
is going to assume the role of pun master, take
(20:22):
up the mantle of bill Land there as we heard
a very faint king of his castle from Shawn. Spurs
back in preseason action tonight against the Magic here in
San Antonio, Wemby and CP three making their preseason debut.
So there is something worth watching in that, But preseason
basketball is a pretty tough watch, even for the biggest
(20:44):
NBA league pass homer like I am. So today, instead
of focusing on any preseason results, I wanted to take
a look at the Spurs roster as currently constructed and
throw some ideas out there, throw some tears, throw some
potential evaluations on each level of player in each respective tier,
(21:07):
kind of give you my thoughts some where I can see.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Them going, whether it be trades, whether.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
It be contract extensions, basically an overall look at where
the roster is today, where it could be in the future,
and who has the most value not only to the Spurs,
but on a league wide basis, who has the most
value moving forward as they continue this rebuild. Because I
(21:33):
know it's really hard for some to wrap their head
around the idea that this is still a rebuilding team. Unfortunately,
that's exactly what they are. I mean, we talked about
NBA over unders last week. Last Wednesday, Vegas has San
Antonio at thirty six and a half wins, which would
be a massive improvement on the twenty two wins they
(21:55):
had last year. I still think they're going to be
slightly under that total and on the outside of the
play in and some of that honestly comes down to
early season injuries. I mean, we got the word that
Devin Vessel his injury is gonna keep him out of
the first five games minimum this regular season. Those five
(22:16):
games could be the difference in whether the Spurs hit
that over, get to thirty seven wins, or even get
to a play in spot er, you know, come up
a couple games short. Unfortunately, Devin hasn't played more than
seventy games in a regular season and now he's starting, well,
let me correct me. He hasn't played more than seventy
(22:37):
one games in a regular season yet in his career,
and now he's starting with the first five games on
the injured list.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
So not a good start for him health wise.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
But hopefully he can eventually kick the injury prone tag,
because you don't want to see that applied.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
To him this early in his career.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Still only twenty four years old and locked in four
more seasons after this one at a very team friendly contract,
So his injuries are a major concern. But I think
you'll agree with me where he slots into the tier list.
So let's jump into the tiers. I've got the whole
(23:17):
roster broken into six. Obviously, there's not a whole lot
of argument about Tier one, and I think there's only
one individual that falls into the true untouchable tag on
this roster, and that's Wemby. We're not gonna spend a
lot of time listing the reasons why Wimby is untouchable.
(23:38):
It's pretty obvious he's not going anywhere until he decides.
Hopefully never decides, but there's never going to be a
conversation there, so Wimby's Tier one by himself. But I
will say if there was a Tier one A or
Tier one B, that's where Steph Castle falls right now
(23:59):
because the upside on him at nineteen years old. Obviously
it's on his rookie contract for the next four years
and controllable for years after that through restricted free agency
or pending extension when we get there down the road.
Castle is the closest too untouchable I think of anybody
(24:19):
else on this roster, and I have started to see
some of the odds coming out for who's going to
win Rookie of the Year. Reed Shepherd seems to be
a bit of a darling right now among the national
sports riders, national basketball riders, and talking heads. I think
Stephan Castle is going to open people's eyes really quickly
(24:40):
early in this NBA season, and he's going to get
every opportunity to it. Seems like they're not going to play,
they're not going to put kid gloves on him. They're
going to throw him into the fire pretty quick to
see exactly how he adapts to NBA life and all signs.
You listen to the veterans talking about practice far, you
listen to some of what Harrison, Barnes and CP three
(25:04):
have had to say about Stephan Castle. He's seemingly ready
for the opportunity to slide right into this rotation. So
I would say somewhere between tier one and tier two.
Tier two, which I call a foundational tier guys that
aren't untouchable but would take a whole hell of a
lot to pry away from the organization. Steph Castle is somewhere.
(25:27):
He's got a he's got a foot on both sides
of that line, and his development is really a could
be an accelerant to this rebuild. I mentioned they're still
in a rebuild. If Steph Castle pops instantly and becomes
a fringe all star player in the next two seasons
(25:47):
this early in his career, that absolutely accelerates the rebuild
and it changes I think their mindset when it comes
to acquiring assets. But that's all getting way ahead of ourselves.
We've it was a nice poster dunk, but it was
a against Oklahoma City Thunder tryout players basically, so we
still need to see him in the league in the
regular season, but all signs are indicating he's an absolute
(26:10):
stud and more than a foundational building block potentially, but
we got to see him do it, which brings me
to tier two. We mentioned Devin Vessel. You know, he
signs the long term deal, the biggest contract in Spurs history.
It has I mention it being team friendly. It declines
in value every year as it moves forward, so twenty
(26:33):
nine point three this year, then twenty seven mil the
next two years after this one, and then drops all
the way down to twenty four point six before it
does have a back end spike it jumps back up
to twenty seven million, so grand total, one hundred and
thirty five million dollar contract, biggest in Spurs history. They
obviously view him as a foundational piece, and if you
(26:57):
saw any of the graphics floating around social media this week,
his career numbers through this point of his career are
eerily similar to Jimmy Butler's career numbers through his respective
part of his career where Devin's at right now. And
if Devin Vessel turns out to be Jimmy Butler lte
(27:17):
or Jimmy Butler two point zero, that's a foundational piece
that is a absolutely winning an asset towards winning basketball
games on a regular basis, and they wouldn't have given
him the contract if they didn't view him as a
foundational piece, So that one feels pretty clearcut of where
he falls in the roster hierarchy. Again, it's just about
(27:40):
staying healthy. The other name I have listed in tier
two is one that I feel like a lot of
Spurs fans are really split on his value, not only
to the team, but towards winning basketball games. And I
struggle to really understand it because when I watch Jeremy
Sohan play basket, I see a guy that does all
(28:03):
kind of like Wyatt Johnston talking about the Dallas Stars.
I see a guy that knows when to swing the ball,
doesn't force shots, knows his limitations, and is a top five,
top eight defender at his position, especially for his size,
the way he can defend the perimeter. These are all
things that contribute greatly to winning basketball games, just not
(28:28):
from a more defensive minded approach. A more defensive minded style,
but you don't need five scorers on the court at
all times, especially when you have Wemby an other worldly scorer.
You need a guy that's going to do the dirty work,
and that's exactly what Jeremy Sohan is and now coming
into year three, you know, this is a year where
(28:51):
you're really hoping to see some massive development, some massive
growth in his overall game, especially after the funky point
guard experiment last year. You've heard me say before that
was organic tanking by the front office. They put a
power forward at point guard one to further develop his
(29:11):
ball handling skills individually, but also to organically lose games
to make for a better draft pick when it came
time to draft in the summer. And all of that
behind him now, so hans going to have a more
focused role. He knows exactly what is going to be
asked of him, he knows exactly how he can contribute
(29:35):
to winning games. And he's still so young, and I
think personally watching him play, it seems like there's still
so much untapped potential that he's still learning how to
maximize his skill set at the NBA level. I mean,
you can at some nights you see a Boris DL
(29:56):
type player in the post, crafty able to get a
round p people, able to out rebound people not by
out jumping on them, but out maneuvering them before the
ball hits the rim, reading the way the ball is
going to bounce off the rim like a great rebounder would,
and then other nights you see you know, dare I
say it flashes of Bruce Bowen perimeter defense for his size,
(30:20):
you know, Bowen six seven, Jeremy six eight sixty nine,
a little bigger and a little more muscle on his frame.
But I absolutely look at Sohan as a massive key
moving forward to winning basketball games on a regular basis
because he does things that no one else amongst this
foundational group does. Obviously, Wimby does what Wimby does. Castle
(30:45):
We've yet to see exactly what his game is going
to look like in the NBA, but we have a
good idea of where he's going to slot in the
cell can be a deadly efficient score at multi levels.
I mean, his not only three point shot, but in
side the arc, mid range, and his field goal percentage
finishing at the rim is borderline elite if it's not
(31:07):
there already. Well, so Hand provides that group of three
something that none of them can do outside of Wemby
with his other worldly defensive abilities. You know, so Hand
feels like, on paper, a perfect compliment to that foundational
core of four, because I think that's where tier two ends.
I think those are the four pieces that the Spurs
(31:30):
are really hoping to see grow and jail together over
the next few years, because as all professional sports, you've
got to also look at the contract side of things.
And I mentioned, you know so hand now in year
three he's going to be up for an extension after
this year. Next year would be his final year of
(31:51):
his rookie deal. A couple other guys from that draft class,
of course, Brandum and Wesley also will be looking for extensions.
We'll talk about them. They're a little further down the
tier list. No offense, but you know, so hand, you've
got to decide, I think how much of your salary
cap you're going to tie up in him. How much
do you value his ability to be the glue guy
(32:13):
amongst those four or are you still looking for that
foundational piece to add to Wimby and Castle and Vassel
and so Han isn't that guy in their eyes moving forward?
Speaker 2 (32:26):
I love the kid.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
I think he's absolutely someone that they shouldn't slow foot
an extension to, of course, depending if he falls off
a cliff this year. Mark this tape and remind me
I said it, but I just don't see that happening.
I mean, I see him as a modern NBA power forward,
a modern four, a guy that can do a little
(32:50):
bit of everything on both sides of the ball, can
switch screens, guard anybody can. Like I said, on offense,
he knows he's not a direct threat to score buckets
every possession, but his passing ability and his ability to
keep the ball moving and continue that spurs way offense
of never forcing a shot, always looking, giving up passing
(33:12):
for a better shot, you know, giving up a good
shot for a great shot. And so Han obviously did
that at Baylor. I think absolutely is capable of being
that guy for this foundational.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Four cores that the Spurs have.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
So his his development, I think is the most interesting
one outside of maybe Castle. If so Hand can develop
to a borderline all star Vessel's already a borderline all
star when he's healthy, I think Castle has more potential
than both of those guys. You pair the three of
those with Wimby and you've got a pretty exciting group
(33:51):
of four moving forward that are all locked into contracts
or pending contract extensions. For so Hand, Wimby still on
rookie deals, Castle will be on his rookie deal obviously
for four more years. But those are the top two tiers,
and I don't think anyone in that second tier is
untouchable when it comes to trade potential trades are being
(34:15):
involved in a trade. I think it would take a
lot to pry any of those dudes away right now.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
And I think so Hand is the fourth of the four.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
He would be the most gettable if a team came calling,
or if the Spurs took a big swing, you know,
for a marketing type guy in the offseason, I would
think so Han would have to be a name involved
in that. To get value, you've got to give up value,
and so Han absolutely would probably be a name that
any rival GM is checking in on if they're looking
(34:48):
to make a big move like that. I don't necessarily
see them doing that this offseason, but you never know.
And depending on how so Han plays this year, that'll
go a long way to dictating their strategy moving forward
to build around Wimby, because on paper, Sohn seems like
(35:08):
the exact kind of four man you want to play
next to Wimby because you want to play Wimby at
the five. Just be the anchor of that defense and
the front court of so Han and Wimby on the
defensive side. That just gives Western Conference teams nightmares in
a few years as they really start to grow into
(35:31):
their bodies and really hit their actual athletic prime. I
mean again, we're talking about a twenty year old Victor
winbin Yama and a twenty one year old Jeremy Sohan,
and for that matter, a nineteen year old Steph Castle
and a twenty four year.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Old Devin Vessel.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
So it's because of that it's still a rebuilding project,
but the prospects are pretty bright if you have the
patience for it. This is where we get to the
interesting part of the roster. I have just labeled vets
or potential trade pieces, and this is where a couple
of the new guys fall. Obviously, at thirty nine years old,
(36:10):
Chris Paul is absolutely a veteran and as we've talked
about before, also a potential trade piece, only here on
a one year deal, and really only here because San
Antonio was the only team that would guarantee the level
of playing time that he's gonna get here, which is
great for Wimby but also great for the Spurs in
the fact that Chris Paul getting this much as much
(36:32):
playing time as he's expected to get here playing with Wimby,
which is going to make his numbers look even more
attractive to a potential trade suitor at the deadline, which
I know that's hard for a lot of people to
wrap their head around. Well, why would we bring in
an actual point guard only to trade him? And that's
where I say, if you can collect assets future assets
(36:55):
on a thirty nine year old point guard that you've
only signed to a one year deal, no matter how
great Chris Paul is or no matter how great he
looks next to Wemby through the first two thirds of
this season, I still think he is an absolute potential
guy that they flip at the deadline. And I know
that would sting even more if the Spurs are within
(37:16):
reach of a play in spot, but that's just there's
no reason to hang on to an asset at his
age and with such little salary control for future years.
I still think that's a guy that gets flipped. The
other vet, true vet on this team now, Harrison Barnes.
(37:37):
I think he's less of a trade option for other teams,
and not necessarily because he doesn't hold value, but because
he has a nineteen million dollar contract for next year,
which is also where you know, I don't have Zach
Collins in this group. I think Zach Collins is somewhere
split between this group and the next one. I think
(38:00):
Collins doesn't have as much trade value league wide as
Harrison Barnes does, but they both have. You know, Barnes
has nineteen million dollar contract next year, final year of
his deal, and Zach Collins has an eighteen million dollar contract.
That's an insane number. For Zach Collins an eighteen million
dollar contract, final year of his deal next year. So
(38:21):
both of them will be expiring contracts as soon as
we hit the offseason, which is where I think you
might be more likely to see them included in deals.
If they were to make that big swing for a
marketing type, you would need Collins or Barnes salary number
to match it. I don't want to give you tired
head and go too deep down the rabbit hole of
(38:44):
NBA salary cap structure and trade allowances and all of that.
But Barnes I think is probably safe this year, and
from all accounts, he's a great vet. I mean, obviously
been in Sacramento the last few years, was great with
that young team, was in Dallas as they were transitioning. Honestly,
he was in Dallas at about the same level of
(39:06):
the rebuild as where the Spurs are right now. Dallas,
as we know, ends up with Luca and their rebuild,
Spurs with Wimby and now Harrison. Barnes is an old
thirty two years old, And I know that sounds crazy,
but you know, drafted top ten out of North Carolina
after a one and done college career, Drafted top ten
(39:26):
by the Warriors.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
It feels like he should be.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
Older than thirty two, just because he's been in the
league for so long and on some fairly prominent teams.
Early in his career, if you remember, he was the
piece that had to be moved so the Warriors could
bring in Kevin Durant. So Barnes trade value probably accelerates
(39:49):
or jumps up in the offseason when he's an expiring contract.
But from all accounts, his veteran presence in the locker
room is going to be invaluable, especially for guys like
Steph Castle and some of the younger guys on this roster.
He's a great example of how to be a professional
basketball player in the association. I know that sounds crazy,
(40:12):
but there's absolute value when you're in the middle of
a rebuild to have a guy like that around the youngsters.
And then the final name, you know, Keldon Johnson, still
only twenty four, but he again kind of like Barnes,
he feels like an old twenty four. He's he's had
the contract extension for a couple of years now, still
(40:32):
has three more years, including this one. Another one of
these declining every year contracts at the Spurs sign very
team friendly nineteen million this year, seventeen and a half
million for the two years after this. That's a very
tradable piece, kind of like mentioning Barnes, if you're going
(40:55):
to make a big swing in the summer, you're going
to have to one include a lot of value and
to match the salaries. And you know, Kelden, more than
anybody on this roster, meets both of those criteria. You know,
I mentioned the marketing, just a hypothetical market in trade.
(41:15):
The two names they would probably ask. They know they're
not going to steal Castle. Wimby's not even you don't
even ask. You know they're not going to be able
to get Castle. Probably no, they probably wouldn't be able
to get the Cell, but Sohn and Kelden would probably
be those first two names they talk about, they ask about.
(41:36):
And Kelden's you know, he's been such a team guy,
he's been such a face of this franchise before they
got Wemby going through this rebuild, it would be tough
to see him go. But I also feel like he's
a guy without a role moving forward, or such a minimal,
minimalized role versus where it had been when he signed
(42:00):
the extension. The numbers just don't justify, you know, having
a nineteen million dollar role player coming off the bench. So,
just in terms of guys I could see potentially being
trade pieces in the future, I think Kelden falls into
that group. And then I mentioned Zach Collins. Collins is
(42:20):
somewhere between these two groups, between the vets and trade
pieces and between Tier four, which I respectfully have labeled placeholders.
I mean that is no disrespect whatsoever, but they're guys
that are either on one year contracts or expiring contracts
(42:41):
or non guaranteed contracts, I should say. And so Collins
and we mentioned he's got the one more year next year,
but he doesn't have the trade value to really be
included with the rest of those Tier three guys.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
So I've got him as the top of tier four.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
He can kind of float depending on how good of
a week he's having or if he's knocking down his
three point shot. I saw some clips circulating of him
putting up threes at a You know, everybody looks good
in practice. That's the thing you don't and a lot
of people don't understand about NBA players.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
You know, the guys that don't.
Speaker 1 (43:16):
Make their free throws, A lot of them can make
threes unguarded in practice because they're just that good at basketball.
And Zach Collins, it feels like some weeks he's really
locked in with his three point shot, and then other
weeks you question why he's even taking them. So because
of that, you know, variance, that fluctuation, he's solidly at
(43:39):
the top of the placeholder's tier here.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
And then Trey Jones is the next name that comes
to mind.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
Only on a one year deal now you know, the
hair over nine million, he would have trade value, but
not as a main piece. He would be a salary
filler if they were to make a big move and
try to acquire a big contract, big talent guy. I
(44:07):
could see Trey being used in one of those type trades,
but as of right now, he's a placeholder. He was
a placeholder before and they started Jeremy Sohan at point
guard over him, and now he's a placeholder who's having
Chris Paul start over him, a thirty nine year old
Chris Paul. So I think, you know, he's a great
guy to have on your team. He's a great role player,
(44:29):
he's a great guy off the bench, but the potential
is probably not more than that moving forward. And then
the other guys fan favorites Mamu of course, everybody loves
Julian Champagni, who probably is in line for a starting
spot until the Cell gets back healthy. You know, Mamu's
(44:50):
on a technically a non guaranteed contract right now, but
it looks like he'll get that final roster spot, that
final guaranteed deal. Champagne on a non guaranteed three year
deal at three million dollars each team option in the
final year, but again non guaranteed, so he could be
waived at any point. They it wouldn't affect their future
(45:13):
salary cap It wouldn't count against them in terms of
holding cap space if they were to wave him in
the future. But he's These are guys that obviously have
their limitations but can be solid role players, preferably off
the bench, except when pressed into starter duty because of injury.
(45:34):
But they're the kind of guys that you're taking your
place holding until you can get more depth on the roster.
And again that's no offense to them, it's just the
it's just the dynamics of the league and you.
Speaker 2 (45:46):
Got to fill out rosters.
Speaker 1 (45:47):
You gotta have guys at the end of your bench,
and when there were there's gonna be games this year
where mam Wu comes in absolutely sends the crowd into
a frenzy and then probably doesn't play in another game
for the next ten days. That's just the life of
these back end of the rotation guys. I should also
add Charles Bassey coming back from the ACL tear. It
(46:09):
sounds like he's participating in five on five and practice
but still not ready to play in the in the preseason.
Yet he's also falling into this Tier four and then
the Tier five group.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
I have it labeled prove it.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
Young guys, and this is the group that potentially has
the most variance amongst it. We're still undecided on all
three of these guys. Two of them we've gotten to
see quite a bit of. One of them is coming
into his second year in the league, but he would
spend a lot of time in Austin last year. Going
(46:46):
back to that so Hand draft class, you know, Malachi
Branham and Blake Wesley both were a part of that
same class. They're on the same salary timeline as Sohn is,
which would mean you're gonna have to decide what you're
gonna do with them after this season.
Speaker 2 (47:03):
Are you going to offer contract extensions? Are they expendable?
Speaker 1 (47:08):
Are they guys that you can get any value for
from a team that does view them as someone that
they want to extend or potentially commit to. I think
at best, Brandelman Wesley are really good role players. I'm
not sure either one of them is ever going to
(47:29):
be a starter in the NBA, whether it's in San
Antonio or anywhere else. I think Wesley has more raw potential.
I mean, you could see Wesley as an absolutely defensive
hound with the second unit in a couple of years,
and a guy that gets a crucial steal in a
playoff series that ice is a game, or you know,
(47:51):
has a just a emphatic dunk on somebody that's not
expecting a little guy to be able to get up
like he can. It feels like we've seen what he
is and there's not as much room for massive development
going forward. But I'm not sure either one of these
two guys is on the roster in two years, and
(48:13):
that could be because they're included in a trade to
bring in a much bigger piece. But the third name
in this group is the one that I'm most interested
in moving forward, and he's also the newest piece to
join the organization. City Sosoko joined last year, obviously in
the same draft class as Wimby. I want to see
(48:33):
more of him this year. Still a young twenty years old.
I should mention Malachi's a young twenty one and Blake
Wesley twenty one as well. So these are guys that
are nowhere near hitting their athletic prime. But you got
to make decisions on them quickly because all three of
these guys contracts are up after next year. After next season,
(48:56):
now you would have restricted free agency rights, you know,
rights to match any contract they're offered by another team,
But you've got to decide one, do we want to
preempt that and give any of these guys extensions? Or
two are we prepared to match an offer for any
(49:17):
of these guys if it's not outrageous money, if it's
not crazy, doesn't make sense kind of money. And I
think the jury is absolutely still out on all three
of them. Sosoko is the one to me that has
the most untapped potential among this group, so I would
like to see him get more opportunities again in a
(49:38):
year where you're still trying to figure out who's going
to be a piece of this roster, who's going to
be a part of this organization in two three years
from now, when you're really looking at being a contender
in the Western Conference as a bunch of these aging
teams start to drop back and we start to finally
see some new blood hit the playoff stage. I think
(50:02):
you've got to decide this season which of these three
guys are going to be a part of your future
plans and which ones can you get value back for
right now before you end up losing them for nothing.
And I'm not sure the answer is a whole lot
of value for any of them, but I think Soisoko
has the longest leash with the organization right now in
(50:26):
terms of we'll give him more he is younger also,
and give him more time to see if he's going
to start to show big strides in his development.
Speaker 2 (50:37):
But you never know.
Speaker 1 (50:38):
I mean it's the NBA, and guys come out of
nowhere in their you know, outside of their rookie contracts,
and Brandon and Wesley could be you know, potential guys
that do that. Hopefully show it this year or next
year in an expiring contract before they do it for
another organization.
Speaker 2 (50:59):
And then Tier six.
Speaker 1 (51:02):
I don't want to spend too much time on this,
but there is one name that really intrigues me. And
here we're talking about two way players basically, and I
mentioned exhibit ten guys that just means that's a fancy
way of describing a training camp invite. And the Spurs
have invited three guys to training camp that don't have
(51:25):
guaranteed roster spots. We know Harrison Ingram is already on
a two way deal, the second round pick out of
North Carolina in this most recent draft. He seems like
a professional role player already, you know, ready to sit
at the end of a bench, but he'll spend a
lot of time in Austin this year. And then David
(51:46):
Duke Junior, the infamously named David Duke Junior. He's on
a two way deal as well. He'll spend a lot
of time in Austin. So then the three guys that
are fighting for that one other potential two way deal
or to push, you know, David Duke Junior out of
the organization if two of these guys can pop, you know,
Brandon Buston Junior was a highly recruited kid, ended up
(52:10):
going to Kentucky. Hasn't shown really he's shown flashes in
the league so far, but he's still only twenty two
years old. Leaves the Clippers organization this past offseason. He
had been there the last three years. Spurs give him
an Exhibit ten training camp in bye He's definitely a
name that a lot of people are hoping get that
(52:31):
two way spot. And then Malachi Flynn as a twenty
six year old journeyman who's you know, he's been in
Toronto majority of his career, was in Detroit last year.
I can't imagine they give a two way spot to
a twenty six year old guy, but you never know
he might be flashing in practice or he might pop
(52:53):
in some of these upcoming preseason games. The name that
really interests me is a small guy dude by the
name of Riley Minnix, and he's on one of these
Exhibit ten deals. He was an absolute stud last year
at Morehead State almost had twenty double doubles. I think
he finished with eighteen, but basically averaged twenty to ten
(53:16):
a game at Morehead I was the conference player of
the year. He had played four years previously at an
Naia school before taking advantage of his COVID year flyer
and getting one more year of college eligibility. And I
mentioned Malachi Flynn being twenty six. Riley Minnix is twenty four.
(53:36):
So there's a question of how much development is really
left that we didn't already see at the college level.
But I think back to some of these guys you
know that have been developed elsewhere by NBA teams, coming
from smaller schools, coming from you know, good basketball programs
like Morehead State, and showing once they get to the league.
(53:58):
I mean, I'm thinking Max Strus developed in Miami, now
in Cleveland, Duncan Robinson, which obviously he's buoyed by his
shooting ability, But I want to see more from Riley Minnix.
I mean what I've read about him and getting to
watch a little bit of his college highlights. He seems
like a guy that just makes winning basketball plays. He's
(54:20):
always in the right place, He's got a high basketball
like you. I mean, all of the cliches you can use.
He's also six seven and can play on the wing,
but can also get in there and as I said,
get ten rebounds a game at the Division IE level,
albeit the Ohio Valley Conference. But I remind you he
was the player of the year in the Ohio Valley Conference.
(54:41):
So I think it's going to come down to Riley
Minnicks and Brandon Boston Junior fighting for a final two
way spot. But those are the kind of battles you're
looking at in preseason. Most of this roster is set
in stone as currently constructed. The roles are pretty clearly
identify fied now with bringing in veterans like CP three
(55:03):
and Harrison Barnes, But the battles on the back end
of the roster are are you know, what you can
look forward to over the course of these next few
preseason games and then it's off to the races. I mean,
as as predictably down on their win loss record as
I am. You know, the number thirty six and a half.
(55:25):
I think it could be thirty six, but that's still
the under But when you have Wimby, anything as possible.
And it's insane to say about a second year player,
but he could be the league MVP this year. That's
not crazy to say. And if he's the league MVP
this year, what does that win loss record look like
(55:48):
if he's performing at a you know, twenty five, twelve,
three and a half four blocks like the potential stat
lines to dream about, to fantasize about are the stuff
of video games. But that's the beauty that the Spurs
have right now. They have a alien that used to
only be able to be created in video games, and
(56:11):
now he's an export of the French Republic.
Speaker 2 (56:14):
So exciting times.
Speaker 1 (56:17):
As I mentioned, we're fifteen days away from Spurs opening night,
almost under the two week mark. We've got a little
hockey to carry us into, carry us through the preseason
schedule before we get to the regular season. So I
hope you enjoyed that. I enjoyed the hell out of
breaking the roster down. We're gonna talk a lot of
basketball once the regular season starts, but tonight probably not
(56:41):
gonna watch a whole alflip. I'll have the Spurs game
on the tablet, but the big screen will be on
Yankees Royals. And then eventually I'm addicted to that Dodgers
Padre series, the drama between those two teams, the genuine hostility.
I mean, Dave Roberts is now accusing for Nan Tatis
of attempting to take his life basically by throwing that
(57:03):
ball in the dugout. That's a bit extreme, Dave, But
I just I can't get enough of that series. I
wish it was a seven game series instead of five.
But if you are not a baseball fan, magic at
Spurs tonight as well. So enjoy the baseball, enjoy the
preseason basketball. Tomorrow we will talk a lot of NFL again.
(57:25):
I got a preview that Cowboys Lions game, Texas boy
Dan Campbell returning to face his former team, the Dallas Cowboys,
as well as the rest of NFL Week six.
Speaker 2 (57:36):
So till then, be good. We'll talk tomorrow. Peace, kids,
What do we say about drugs, yeah,