点击查看原文：Dylan Harper leads a dream draft duo for San Antonio
Dylan Harper leads a dream draft duo for San Antonio
Columnist Mike Finger and beat writers Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn discuss the Spurs’ draft selections of Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant, explain why they drew a line in the sand on the Kevin Durant trade talks, and look at which free-agent targets might be on their way to San Antonio in July.
Suggested reading:
Spurs strike gold in Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant
Five things to know about Dylan Harper
Spurs won’t give up future for Kevin Durant trade
Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Mike Finger: From a highly secured network of top-secret locations across North America, this is the Spurs Insider post-draft edition. I’m your host Mike Finger, joined as always by our panel of Express News Spurs beat writers Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn, who I had to cut off when we started this podcast because they get along so well. They’re talking about the draft, they’re talking about Jeff’s travels to New York City, they’re talking about Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant.
And I just wanted to jump right into this. Jeff, you were there. You were at what you said is a lovely hotel there in Manhattan. What is your takeaway from what the Spurs did in a busy first night of the 2025 NBA draft?
Jeff McDonald: You know what? I’ve covered almost 20 of these now, and never once has the GM come out after the draft night and said, “Boy, we screwed that up. That was a really bad draft for us.” It’s always the most optimistic night of the year.
But I think, I think this time, I think they’re not blowing smoke. I think they, I think they had, if they could have, if the Spurs could have sat down beforehand and drawn out a reasonable scenario for what they wanted to get out of the draft, they got the two guys that they wanted at those spots at two and 14.
Obviously, Dylan Harper, that was that was kind of a foregone conclusion after the Spurs made it to draft day still in possession of the number two pick. And with Carter Bryant, who I guarantee you I’m going to call Bryant Carter at some point this year, because I can’t get those two, the two names in the right order. With him, the Spurs were thinking they were going to have to trade up for him. They had him very high on their draft board, the forward from Arizona. They didn’t end up making a deal to trade up, but he fell to them anyway, and they were pleasantly surprised, so I think you can say they got their men last night. It wasn’t the normal draft night bravado. It’s legit.
Mike Finger: And like you said in your wise battle-hardened way to start that soliloquy, like every GM says that too. Every GM that picks after the first pick said, “We nearly tried to trade up to get this guy.” Like every GM says that.
In this case though, you can look at many, many, many mock drafts that had Carter Bryant going in the top 10, or at least ahead of number 14. It wasn’t just it’s not unthinkable that he could have been gone before he got to the Spurs at 14.
And in some ways, Tom, I think a theme of this draft, or just the overall story of this draft for the Spurs, is it’s kind of one pick from the new column of these picks the Spurs have made the last three years of guys that everybody wants, guys that can immediately come in and make a difference. I think Dylan Harper fits the mold, not necessarily the franchise star that Victor Wembanyama was, but certainly of Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, now Dylan Harper. You know, top five picks that are expected to play right away, expected to be a difference-maker.
And then there’s a pick from the old box, the kinds of picks that the Spurs were making, say throughout the 2010s, of guys that might need a little seasoning, that might not step in right away, but kind of have the ability to at least give the Spurs the ability to wait on them and really turn into something down the line. If you watch the NBA Finals this season between the Indianapolis Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the court is just constantly loaded with guys who can defend everybody and who can make three-pointers. And Young Carter Bryant fits that mold. He might not play right away, but I think Jeff is right when he said that it’s a guy that really fits and could be a big factor for them down the road.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah. I just want to say the Pacers represent the whole state of Indiana, not just Indianapolis.
Mike Finger: So is it the Oklahoma Thunder then? They don’t represent the entire state, they just represent the city?
Tom Orsborn: Well, you said Indianapolis Pacers.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Well, they’re from Indianapolis.
Tom Orsborn: You’re right. I’m just giving you a hard time, Mike.
Mike Finger: Okay.
Tom Orsborn: But yeah, Bryan pointed out too, I asked him about the, you know, the criticism or concern I should say that people have had about, you know, position overlap with Harper, you know, with Steph Castle and De’Aaron Fox and crowded backcourt and all that stuff.
And he once again reiterated his often repeated theme that it’s a positionless league right now. It just doesn’t matter as much. And they got two guys that are very versatile. I think both of them can guard, you know, four positions. Carter Bryant certainly can. And, you know, they they’re very happy about that. They’ve been doing that for years now. They they aren’t looking at positions, they’re going with the best players that they think can, you know, produce the most and they certainly got two of them last night. In their minds, yeah.
Mike Finger: Yeah. And I think the positionless thing definitely fits on defense. The question will come on the other end because when you have multiple ball-dominant types of guys, that’s where you can’t really say it’s positionless because somebody has to have the ball in their hands with the game on the line, all that kind of stuff. But I think that that has a chance of working out pretty well for them, Jeff.
The, in talking about Harper, he’s a guy who the Spurs wanted. He’s a guy who other teams wanted. One storyline heading into this draft, heading into this draft season really, I think we’ve known for a few weeks that the Spurs were going to take Dylan Harper and hold on to that pick. But that was a pick that other teams wanted, that other teams made efforts to try to get that pick from them, trying to say that, “Hey, there’s too much redundancy there, that you have too many ball-dominant guys already. Why don’t you like to trade down?”
The Spurs resisted that. They they really seem to believe that Dylan Harper does fit and they hung on to that pick. Just what’s your takeaway there?
Jeff McDonald: That they’re betting on the talent there, and which I, I applaud that move. I mean, I, I’m a nobody. I, I’m not a draft scout, but when you talk to people that are, they really think Dylan Harper has a chance to be a really, really special player. Just just a force going to the rim, and not just, not just, not just those like early Keldon Johnson years where he would just put his head down and go. That’s not Dylan Harper’s game. He’s very crafty.
When you watch some of his, I don’t want to put this on the kid, but when you watch some of his highlights, he looks Ginobili-esque with the way he’s able to kind of work his way to the rim, slither around people, the craftiness, the footwork. He’s a he’s a basketball kid. And we know his history, you know, his dad’s Ron Harper, five-time NBA champion. His brother’s in the league. And he really credits his mom as being the basketball sort of savant in the family. She’s the one that coached him since he was in the first grade at various levels. So he’s a guy that knows the game.
And then off the court is very, you know, I talked to both those draft picks yesterday, and you don’t, you don’t know everything about a kid, obviously, when you talk to him for five minutes, but you can get a feel for, you can get a feel, you can get a vibe. And both those kids seem very polished and comfortable in their skins and kind of like we said with Steph Castle last year, you don’t you don’t really realize they’re 19 when you’re talking to them. And so I think all those things are going to be, play really well for Dylan Harper. I think he’s going to fit in great.
I think he’s will probably be the type of guy that if you didn’t take him at number two, if the Spurs had traded that pick, you look back in five years or 10 years and realize that was pretty dumb. So I think they did the obvious, easy, smart thing and took the best player on the board there.
Mike Finger: One kind of weird vibe, phenomenon kind of thing that sets in after you have drafted Victor Wembanyama and then drafted another Rookie of the Year the next year, and when you haven’t won in a long time, and then you have the number two pick in the draft is people sort of forget how big a deal it is to have the number two pick in the draft. It’s almost like, and I don’t want to speak for all the listeners out there. I don’t want to speak for Spurs fans everywhere. But it’s almost like there’s this impatience. It’s like boredom with getting another franchise type player in the draft when, you know, we, we were guilty on this podcast of talking about Kevin Durant. You know, there’s all kinds of trades out there and I think this is the summer where everyone’s antsy, understandably, for the Spurs to make a big type move to to get a veteran in here and to and to start competing for conference championships and NBA championships.
It’s it’s almost and and maybe I’m the only one guilty of this, but it’s almost like you you lose sight of the fact that having the number two pick in a draft this loaded is is a really big deal. And like Dylan Harper, if if how many other teams in the league if they would have drafted Dylan Harper yesterday would immediately expect that he’s going to become their franchise player, if he’s not their franchise player already? Like it’s a huge, huge deal to get a guy like that. And he just happens to be joining a team that already has a couple of franchise players of the future. But for the Spurs to hold on to that pick, to resist the overtures, as Jeff said, I think it was a it was a wise long-term move and probably a pretty decent short-term move.
We can talk about this. We got plenty of time today, just how this team is shaping up for 2025, 2026. Dylan Harper’s going to play. I don’t think he’s going to start. If if we want to start playing like fantasy lineup manager right here, I still think you have the the starting five that started right after the De’Aaron Fox trade. I think that that’s how you open the season with Fox, Vassell, Castle, Barnes, and Wemby. But Harper can come in and play a lot of minutes leading that second unit. And yeah, I think it’s it’s very fair to think that this team takes another step forward next year, Tom.
Tom Orsborn: Got a little work to do as Bryan pointed out last night though, still.
Mike Finger: I mean, what what let’s go down the lineup. I just mentioned the starting lineup. Your reserves right now. I think you have four very four four backups that you feel comfortable playing a lot of minutes in in Harper, in Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Jeremy Sohan. That’s that’s four guys there. The obvious hole is size. You need a backup big man, you might need a couple backup big men. But I mean, they’ve they’ve got nine guys, Jeff, who I feel comfortable in a in a in a in a rotation.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, they’re building this thing out now. You can kind of see the vision. And like you mentioned, there’s there’s still holes, there’s going to be holes. I don’t think I think where some of the antsiness gets in among parts of the fan base is you got to you got to realize it doesn’t have to be a finished product after this summer. Like you want to take steps towards that finished product, but they’re not rolling out a roster after this summer going like, “Yep, this is our team we’re going to try to win a title with right now.” It’s that’s that’s not the way it works. Like they still got years to to build this thing out. And they’re getting closer to the kind of vision that they’re, you know, that they have. And so I think, I think that, go ahead.
Mike Finger: That was right.
Jeff McDonald: I think you’ll see them look for some additional size during free agency. I think you’ll look to see, you’ll see them look for some more shooting during free agency. They didn’t super address either of those needs in the draft yesterday. I think I think Carter Bryant can can be your shooter. I don’t know that he’s that in year one, but I think that’s what they see him is, is a guy that can hit 40% from three and defend everybody.
Mike Finger: They like a bunch of those guys.
Jeff McDonald: So I think I think he does help. He will eventually help address that need. I don’t, I don’t know how much he plays in year one. But I think they’re, yeah, they’re other, they’re other tools for addressing needs besides just the draft. And you don’t you still don’t have to do it all at once. I know fans want the finished product right now, but it’s still a couple years away, I think.
Mike Finger: And to your point, this was this this whole summer so far has been a reminder that they see this as a long-term project and that they expect to contend for many, many, many, many years to come. And Carter Bryant fits that. I mean, he’s he’s not a guy that is going to be plug and play right away, but he could make a big difference when the Spurs start to peak. And let’s let’s go back to the Durant thing because we talked about that in our last podcast. We have not met since.
It sort of worked out like we discussed on that podcast where we came up with a line that the Spurs probably would not cross. And if you look at the deal that Houston made to acquire him, it was a deal that slightly beat precisely the offer that we made on the podcast, which I believe was something like Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes, you know, the matching salaries, Devin Vassell and and Harrison Barnes, plus the number 14 pick and and that’s basically it. Four and maybe some seconds for Kevin Durant. And that’s almost what the Rockets did. They they had a slight upgrade with Jalen Green instead of Devin Vassell. His stock on him might be a little higher. Their pick was number 10 instead of number 14.
The Spurs could have easily trumped that by adding a Stephon Castle, by adding, let’s say, the the Atlanta Hawks first-round pick in 2027, another another future first. The Spurs did not do that because they’re thinking long-term. And so the deal was made to the team that made more sense, the Houston Rockets. Either one of you guys, any thoughts on the Spurs kind of steering away from that deal, kind of drawing a line in the sand that they would not cross and moving on to the the the future?
Jeff McDonald: I think trading for Kevin Durant makes a lot of sense for the Houston Rockets, who are a little a little bit further along in their little rebuilding project than the Spurs are. Like he is a guy that can, you know, ostensibly take them to the next level maybe, or at least that’s what they’re thinking. I don’t think the Spurs are really in that position yet. And so it was almost a luxury item and how much do you want to give up for a luxury item? It wasn’t a need, it was a want. I think it I think it was again, probably a wise move.
Because it was going to cost you either Steph Castle or the number two pick and I think with what they’re building, I don’t think they were interested in giving up either one of those assets. And when those are flat noes, it becomes just kind of a no thank you from the from the Suns and they move on. So I I think that I I think the deal makes sense for the Rockets, didn’t make as much sense for the Spurs and I think the team that it made the most sense for made the best offer.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Yeah. And the the I think I referenced this earlier, but just the the push from from teams lower in the draft to try to get that number two pick. Philadelphia, whoever it might be, the Spurs resisted that too. And you did cover that. You think that Harper is is well worth whatever might have been offered from the Sixers to move down a pick.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, I think the wise move was to take Dylan Harper and and let him let him cook.
Mike Finger: Yeah. Sounds good. Tom, any…
Tom Orsborn: Dylan Brooks, Dylan Brooks gone. Wemby, I mean he’s not gone from the league, but, you know, that that defense that Udoka employed against Wemby with Dylan Brooks on him, that was that was that was a pain a little bit for Wemby, so he doesn’t have to deal with that.
Mike Finger: That will be a that’ll be a new facet to that budding rivalry.
Tom Orsborn: Right, yeah.
Mike Finger: You don’t figure that the Phoenix Suns are going to be quite as as in the Spurs’ way as the Rockets were, so Wemby might have been breathing a sigh of relief there.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, I like I like the Brooks factor in that rivalry. I thought that was fun.
Mike Finger: Yeah. The Thunder, well, we’re talking about rivalries, who who’s the Spurs see as a as maybe their chief nemesis in the decade?
Tom Orsborn: Oklahoma Thunder.
Mike Finger: The Oklahoma Thunder. You know, that’s that they they took their step. And I I think to get into what the Spurs are doing this summer, you know, Sam Presti, who we saw roaming the hallways of the Alamodome 20 something years ago, Tom. Just the the kid in the glasses who walked by, what, my I might have told the story on the podcast before. I’m just a young nothing, as opposed to an old nothing as I am today. Walking down the the hallway of the Alamodome before a Spurs game, when I’m writing like third sidebars for Johnny Luddon and Buck Carvey and and Glenn Rogers, Tom Orsborn. And this this kid in glasses says, “Hey, Mike, how are you doing today? Read your story in the paper today.” And I kind of said, “Oh, thank you very much.” I walked I’ve strolled over to Johnny Luddon, our long-time Spurs beat writer for the Express News, who now runs what, Yahoo Sports.
Jeff McDonald: The world. He runs the world.
Mike Finger: He runs the world. I said, “Johnny, there’s this kid in glasses out there who was like wearing a suit and he said that he read like my sidebar that was on page 12 of the sports section today.” And I’m just wondering who that is. And Johnny said, “If that guy said hello to you, be nice to him because he’s going to run an NBA team someday.” And that’s and that’s who it was. It was Sam Presti, who did run an NBA team, who won an NBA title.
But he he he kind of learned at the school of the Spurs. He did things the Spurs’ way of how on how to build a team. And now he’s kind of providing a template for the Spurs in return. Like I think this what the Spurs are doing this summer is exactly what Presti did with the Thunder two, three years ago, when they had all these picks, and their fans were ready for them to make a big move. And they decided to make two picks in the first round rather than trade them for veterans. And in one first round, I think with pick two and 12, or two and 13, something very similar what the Spurs had yesterday, they took Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. And if that if two and 14 work as well as two and 12 did for the Thunder, I think Spurs fans are going to be really, really happy.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, you’re beyond to something there.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: I think I think that would that would fast forward the process a little bit if both those guys pan out.
Mike Finger: Well, the the point I was trying to make is like the Thunder did not make the win-now move really ever at any point. They did not, they did not chase the Kevin Durant.
Tom Orsborn: Right.
Mike Finger: Their additions were what, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso. The when they were ready to to get over the top, those were the type of players that they added. And I think the Spurs will be a little more aggressive than the Thunder were, but that blueprint is there for patience and for step-by-step. And I think the Spurs are just going to stick to that.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: All that’s said, the Thunder were not in the playoffs three years ago, and now they’re champions. So it can happen faster than you think if you do it right.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah. Bryan, Bryan, you know, cliché warning here, but Bryan, you know, I asked him last night about the how the big picture is coming together and if he if this is how he envisioned it, you know, working out and, you know, how much closer they are to the playoffs. And he said, you know, we’re just putting one foot in front of the other, keeping our head down. Hopefully we look up someday and we’re right where we want to be by not putting the cart before the horse. I think that sums up what Jeff just said, Mike. In his own words, that’s how he’s putting it.
Mike Finger: I I appreciate the cliché warning there because there were like nine of them.
Tom Orsborn: Right, right, yeah, three in a row. But I mean, that’s basically what he’s saying, you know, no no short-term fix, do it methodically, you know, don’t skip steps like Pop has said over and over again. I mean, they’re they’re following their, they’ve been very, very disciplined with following that plan.
Mike Finger: Tom does a great job of, and for many years, he did a great job of transcribing every interview and he would do with headphones and do it word by word and it was meticulous and and his co-workers really appreciated it. And now with technology, there’s there’s there’s applications that can kind of do it automatically and Tom cleans it up and make sure every word is right. But did you notice Tom sent me the the the I know where this is going, I think. The transcript of the of the Bryan Wright interview last night, and the the cliché that Tom just used, it was not putting the cart before the horse. Did you did you see what what what the the cart was ahead of, Tom, in that transcript?
Tom Orsborn: I’m trying to find it here. Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the hearse, yeah.
Mike Finger: The cart, don’t put the cart in front of the hearse. Which also you should not do. I don’t think you should do that either.
Tom Orsborn: I had to get those, I had to get those quotes to Jeff quickly so he could get back from Brooklyn to to uh to his hotel, so didn’t have time to clean it up too much.
Jeff McDonald: I I I kind of understood where he was going, what he was going for there, so I yeah, it didn’t confuse me.
Mike Finger: You put hearse in the newspaper.
Jeff McDonald: I didn’t put hearse in the newspaper. I think that should maybe that should be the new cliché though. Maybe we can don’t put the cart before the hearse.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah. I like it.
Mike Finger: Jeff mentioned that the with the Thunder thing that the that titles can come quicker than you think and that’s true. You know, three years ago they weren’t in the playoffs and now they are. But I had like some fans are really ready for this and some fans have high expectations. And in in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago, I think I was writing about the the Kevin Durant idea and had a line in there about how, you know, even if Kevin if Kevin Durant comes here, the Spurs aren’t going to win a title next year. And I had a reader email, very thoughtful reader. Love all the readers who take the time to to send the old-fashioned emails, saying, “How could you say that? Like, like how could uh how could how could a team with the how could you say that a team with Victor Wembanyama and Kevin Durant not expect to win a title in year one? That would be unprecedented.”
But it’s just it it does not happen that fast. There’s no way that the Spurs are going to win a title next year. I’m sorry if that’s breaking news to some people. But it just does not happen in the history of the league. Like it does it doesn’t You don’t you don’t go from out of the playoffs to into to a champion when nobody on your roster really has has any postseason experience. Has won a playoff series. Like Harrison Barnes might be it. De’Aaron Fox hasn’t won a playoff series yet. Nobody else has been in the playoffs. You need to go step by step. Some clichés are clichés for a reason.
Tom Orsborn: How how could a team with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant not make the playoffs last year?
Mike Finger: Right. Exactly. Exactly. And and so when you understand what the steps are, that the first step, I’m sorry to be blunt, but the first step for Victor is to get into the playoffs and lose and sort of be embarrassed and sort of realize all the ways that he needs to improve. Like adding Kevin Durant to the mix next year was not going to change that. Like they that team still needed to get to the playoffs and lose. You look at the Thunder. They needed to get to the playoffs one year. Weren’t they the number one seed a year ago too? Correct.
They had they had their regular season breakthrough where they looked like the best team in the Western Conference. That team that was number one in the in the Western Conference had to take its postseason lumps. And understandably. Like you can you all those guys, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, they had to get to the playoffs and lose first. The Spurs are going to do that. You know who else who was surrounded by veterans, who had been through many, many postseasons, like dumped into the perfect position. Another guy who had to go to the playoffs and lose his first time was Tim Duncan. Like Tim Duncan had to go to the playoffs. And I think they lost to the Jazz his rookie year.
Tom Orsborn: Yes.
Mike Finger: It’s just not and he had David Robinson and Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson and a great team around them. You it’s just unrealistic to think that you can skip that step. Victor says it all the time. Like Tom said, Greg Popovich said it all the time. You cannot step skip certain steps. And so this Spurs team is on track to get to the playoffs next year and lose and it’ll be great, because that’s exactly what they need to do. That’s what the Rockets did last year. They got to the playoffs as the number two seed, were sort of humbled by not being ready for it because how could they have been ready for it? And now they’re ready to take a different step next year, which is why they were a better fit for Durant. And so like I I think that what the Spurs are doing now makes total sense. You you get to the playoffs next year, you lose, and then maybe you can add more pieces next year, once that fit specific needs.
And I’m not I want to get into the rest of the Spurs off season too. I’m not saying that they’re done. But I just I just thought that was worth reminding everyone about the steps and the dumb clichés that are clichés for a reason. Anything to add on that, Jeff? I know you’re you got a plane to catch.
Jeff McDonald: No, I just I think you’re spot on and I think if anybody watched the finals, it’s a different game than the regular season. It’s the intensity level is up. And I’m not talking about like the, I mean the pressure is up obviously, and the fans are loud obviously, but the actual game on the floor, everybody is playing every possession like their lives depended on it. And you watch the Thunder play, it’s like hand-to-hand combat. And it’s officiated differently. You can you can you can beat the crap out of people in the playoffs sometimes. And you’re just not ready for that.
A team, a young player, a young team is not ready for that until they’ve actually been hit in the mouth a few times. So they they’ve got to go there and just get their butts kicked by it to know what it’s all about. And so that is the next step for this team. And that’s kind of how the Spurs are approaching it. That’s not why they’re shoving, that’s why they are not shoving all their chips into the middle of the pile to go get Kevin Durant or to go get Kristaps Porzingis. I don’t think that would have cost all their chips, but anyway, what’s the latest? That’s what they would have taken Porzingis. Like there was legitimate interest there. Like if if you’re just going to give them away. True.
That’s kind of what they’re looking for. That’s kind of what the Spurs are looking for from those deals right now. If you’re just going to give them away, we’ll we’ll we’ll help. But if it costs us anything we care about, then we’re not really all that interested right this second. And it’s because they’re they’re still they’re still steps to cover before they’re ready to be like, “All right, we’re we’re we’re shooting for the finals this year.” You know, we’re this is our championship window is now officially open. They still got some steps to cover before they’re there.
And so, you know, two years from now, whoever the Kevin Durant is from two years from now, from now, the Spurs might be way more amenable to, you know, giving up stuff for that. But the time is not right because they’ve got steps to cover.
Mike Finger: Tom, you were trying to break in there?
Tom Orsborn: Oh, I was just it it’s kind of past the point of saying it, but I’ll say it anyway. You reminded me of, you know, we were talking about the playoffs, the finals, the intensity, and just brought to mind Chris Paul last late last season, you know, when I asked him about Devin Vassell playing well down the stretch and Chris Paul keeping it real like he always did. You had a little a little chuckle and said, “Man, you got to remember this isn’t the real NBA.” You know, it’s it’s it’s so different in the playoffs.
Jeff McDonald: Oh, you remember his advice to Steph Castle? Go watch the finals.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Jeff McDonald: You know, and even then Chris said, you still don’t get the full effect without playing in it, but at least being there on the front row and seeing just how everything is ramped up is helpful. And I don’t I don’t know if Steph made it to a game or not, we’ll have to ask him the next time we see him.
And you brought up Chris, I guess, I guess we’re going to miss him. I don’t I don’t I think it’s pretty, it’s been pretty clear, but just in case people are wondering, I don’t see him coming back now that the Spurs have drafted another point guard.
Mike Finger: Well, to segue into that, um that that leaves the way I have it counted, I believe there are uh 12 spots filled for sure on on a 15-man roster. Um, now that the two first rounders are are penciled in there. Um, that leaves three spots to fill. And you figure one of them is they have a mid-level exception to use where you can go after somebody probably a big man, uh that that people might know a high to medium profile type of guy.
Um, I’m not sure they’re going to be able to get a Brook Lopez or Clint Capela, which is uh some of the names I hear from fans that that they’re really interested in. Like uh that both of those guys would be great. I’m not sure that would happen. I’m going to throw out a name that is not of that level and uh just a just a guess and a guy I think who would really fit here is uh young uh Gerschon Yabusele.
Jeff McDonald: Yes.
Mike Finger: Who I watched with the watched him in Paris a couple of summers ago. If people who watched the the the Olympics remember, and not just the championship game but the whole two weeks where Team France was kind of struggling at times and young Victor Wembanyama was kind of struggling at times, Yabusele for long stretches was the best player on the floor. Like he he was a bad, bad man. And, you know, he’s not going to be a dominant NBA big man. He’s sort of undersized. He might he’s not going to be a starter. Um, but I know Victor loves him and I know the Spurs have a lot of respect for him. And if if that can be done, uh, I think he’d he’d fit in great to get another Frenchman alongside.
Jeff McDonald: That would that would solve a little bit of your toughness issues on the on the front court. I mean, he’s a really physical dude. I remember the game he played for the Sixers against the Spurs in San Antonio just just beat them up. So, yeah, and you know, you saw him in the Olympics, and I came out of that game against the Spurs this summer, this that season going, yeah, that’s the kind of guy they need. That’s the kind of, the kind of guy that’s attainable.
Mike Finger: But you don’t, you don’t think Brook Lopez would give his old college teammate, Mitch Johnson, this That’s that’s the factor there. Like, like this, I think, uh, I don’t know if we have a capologist on the show right now, but I think the mid-level exception is something like 14 million and Brook might want more than that. Um, but he played with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson at Stanford, alongside big man Todd Finger, by the way.
Jeff McDonald: Who I remember.
Mike Finger: Wrote something about it back in the day when Stanford was in the NCAA tournament. I covered that team for a day. Um, but no, that.
Tom Orsborn: Coach Taj.
Mike Finger: That would be cool, yeah. Uh, Brook Lopez, I don’t think had his best year last year. I think his his three-point percentage slipped a bit. His overall numbers slipped a bit. But to be a backup for Victor, like that’s exactly what the Spurs would be looking for. And maybe Brook will cut his old teammate some slack and and give him a deal.
Jeff McDonald: I mean, all the buckets that Mitch Johnson set Brook Lopez up for in college, basically basically made him a lottery pick, right? Like with all the assists and all the.
Mike Finger: Exactly.
Jeff McDonald: Brooks got to pay it back, I think.
Mike Finger: I think that would be I think I think the and this I’ve I’ve read that the Rockets have pushed hard for Brooks uh in the past and might still be pushing hard for them. Although they just re-signed Stephen Adams, so I don’t know if there’s overlap there. But uh that would be that would be a perfect type guy. Uh any any other guesses on the free agent market? We’ll we’ll meet again um.
Tom Orsborn: You think Charles Bassey, I guess?
Mike Finger: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know the future of Charles Bassey. I don’t think he’s going to be a priority.
Tom Orsborn: No, I’m saying I’m not I’m not saying he’s a priority by any means. I’m just saying.
Mike Finger: No, no, I’m no, I’m not saying that you are either. I’m sorry, Tom. Uh but I think that there’s probably a spot where you you figure they have three open spots now. You use two of one or two of them on like a Brook Lopez type, like a Yabusele type. And then maybe that last one. Hopefully, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. No rooting on the podcast.
Tom Orsborn: No.
Mike Finger: No rooting in the press box.
Tom Orsborn: I know what you’re going to say.
Mike Finger: No rooting on press row. You’re not supposed to care, but please bring back Sandro. Like just for my own sanity, just for our own sanity. As someone in there to get you through an 82-game season of covering the NBA, to have a guy who just seems happy to see you. I curl up to the arena. Tom’s never happy to see me. Jeff is never happy to see me.
Jeff McDonald: No, I’m I’m actively unhappy to see you.
Mike Finger: Exactly. Michael C. Wright’s never happy to see me. None of the press has happy to see me. Mitch Johnson’s not happy to see me.
Tom Orsborn: Coyote is never happy to see me.
Mike Finger: Sandro was always Sandro always pretended to be happy to see me. So bring the guy back. The fans love him. Come on, bring Sandro back.
Jeff McDonald: Here’s here’s what I’m going to say. I think if they have the spot, if there’s not a clear other thing they should do with the roster spot, I think he’ll be back. I think he’s the type of guy you bring you bring back if you can.
Mike Finger: He’s the absolute he’s the ideal 15th man, too. I mean at a at a vet minimum. Like you don’t have to play him. When he plays, he’s a joy to watch. Works hard in practice. I should be I should be Sandro’s agent.
Jeff McDonald: You can get him a little more than the minimum too, if you want.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: What happens if he comes if he comes back, Dylan Harper better watch his wheels.
Mike Finger: Well, I know Jeff is uh is trying to get out of New York City to get back to San Antonio for an introductory press conference with Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant this weekend. We will talk about that the next time we see you. We will talk about free agency the next time we see you. There should be some agreements in place, maybe a trade. Until we see you next time, take care of each other and keep it real.
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