点击查看原文：Wemby is back, but could injuries hamstring San Antonio?
Wemby is back, but could injuries hamstring San Antonio?
Columnist Mike Finger and beat writers Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn discuss the start of Spurs’ training camp, with Victor Wembanyama cleared for action, Stephon Castle primed to take another step, and injury updates on De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper.
Suggested reading:
Why Victor Wembanyama is embracing every summer lesson
Well-traveled Wembanyama: “I feel like I need to play basketball now”
De’Aaron Fox expects to sit out preseason
Here is the transcript of the podcast:
[music fades in]
Mike Finger: From a highly secure network of top secret locations across South Texas, this is the Spurs Insider, training camp edition. I’m your host Mike Finger, joined as always by our panel of Express News Spurs beat writers, including Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn. It’s the morning after media day. The crew has reconvened. The gang is back together. Jeff’s already a bit sick of the whole thing. He made it, he made it I think 45 minutes into media day. But it was it was quite an event.
We had the, we had the first day of the Mitch Johnson official training camp era, the first training camp that he’s going to run as head coach. The first training camp not run by Greg Popovich in dang near three decades. We had the return of Victor Wembanyama officially from his deep vein thrombosis, ready to get started at practice. We had Devin Vassell, we had Keldon Johnson, we had the whole crew. Jeff, where do you want to get started?
Jeff McDonald: And David Jones Garcia too.
Mike Finger: I know you’re excited. David Jones Garcia, Tom, good point. That’s that’s for all our devoted listeners.
Tom Orsborn: David Garcia Jones, I’m sorry.
Mike Finger: Okay. Well, we’re already going to get criticism from the from listeners for for sliding him. But um, but Jeff, where where do you want to start? There was there was a lot that happened at media day. Training camp is underway. What what where should, where where did I bury the lead?
Jeff McDonald: The biggest upset of the entire day.
Mike Finger: I know where this is going.
Jeff McDonald: Mike Monroe didn’t show up.
Mike Finger: We expected him to be there. Even though he’s sworn he wasn’t, he swore he’s officially retired this time. We all just kind of thought that, you know, he was, he was the boy crying wolf retirement and was going to show up, but alas, he did not.
He was missed. We we do miss you, Mike. Well done on a long career. Every time it was time for the first question to a new coach or player, we were waiting for Mike to ask the question. Had to have Jeff do it instead. It wasn’t nearly the same.
Jeff McDonald: Nearly the same. And I actually texted Mike last night and said we missed him and he didn’t respond.
Mike Finger: I hope he’s okay.
Tom Orsborn: Well, he’s enjoying life.
Mike Finger: Spurs wise. Or or he lost his phone in the sofa.
Jeff McDonald: Uh, Spurs-wise, what’s the lead? Uh, that’s a good, that’s a good one. It was an eventful media day. I mean, I think the, there’s a lot of things that, there’s a lot of ways to answer that question, but for me, even though there are other things that happened that were consequential, I think just Victor, Victor was the lead. Um, even though we knew he had been cleared for takeoff, cleared for basketball activities a few months ago, um, you know, nothing else that matters with the Spurs matters unless Victor is healthy and on the floor and practicing and playing.
And so, having him there in good spirits, telling us, you know, about his summer, um, telling us that he, both he and a bunch of people with medical degrees are confident that the there’s little chance of his um, deep vein thrombosis reoccurring. Um, so he’s good to go. Um, cleared for takeoff on his third NBA season. To me, that was the, that was the lead of training camp. And you know, there are others too, that I’m sure we’ll get to. Um, because they’re not going to be at full strength even with Victor back, they’re not going to be at full strength to start the season. So we can we can talk about that in a bit too, if you want. But for me, it was Victor.
Mike Finger: Well, the one striking thing about it is on the list of ailments, like he’s, he might be ready to go before several other key players. Like he’s, he’s, he’s all in on on being available. And he’s not going to play a bunch of minutes in the preseason, like that just does not happen. But I think there’s a feeling that he could if he needed to. And it would be a huge upset if he’s not available on opening night.
And just to think back seven and a half months to all the uncertainty that was in the air, all the sort of woe, the uh, the uh, the the panic, the just angst about the future of the Spurs considering that their their franchise player had experienced a blood clot in his shoulder. And I mean that those are scary words. And to go from that point to where we are now, after he’s globe-trotted from China to Japan to Costa Rica to NASA, had this, had had just a a what sounds like a really profoundly moving summer for him and he’s ready to play basketball again. It’s it’s it’s worth sort of sitting back and and soaking that in, I think, Tom.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, what did he say? A world world-class workout, his workout regimen. Um, yeah, he’s ready to go. I mean, I asked him about if he wanted to play more in the preseason and what did he say? You know, it’s time to play basketball. Yeah. Um, so yeah, he’s chomping at the bit.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, that’s what struck me. All the things you mentioned that he did during the summer, which, you know, for me that would be like a whole lifetime’s worth of uh, experiences packed into like three months. Um, where he’s at now in his head is it’s time to play basketball. And so I think that was kind of the the uh, overarching um, headline of of media day for us.
Mike Finger: With a um, with a what he said, a new, he said it changed his life, the both the deep vein thrombosis diagnosis and the experiences he had. He mentioned the the the temple in China in particular. And I wrote about this in the in the newspaper, which you can still buy, actually. I I’m not sure if the the listeners know that, but you you can still get newspapers. And uh, we we write about the Spurs in there almost every day.
Um, but I I found it interesting, Victor talking about how this, the the diagnosis and going into hospitals and how did he say, uh, getting more bad news than he ever wanted to hear from doctor after doctor, that that spurred him to want to live in the moment more. And that’s what led him to want to go to Japan, and want to go to China, and want to go to NASA and all these places. And those things are going to be part of what he does on the court this year, that it’s all about realizing that we don’t have forever. And this is this is how we used to end the podcast, right? The the life lessons. But we’re starting this one with it, the life lessons from Victor. Uh, we don’t have a lot of time and he wants to make the most of it, whether he’s traveling the world or trying to get the San Antonio Spurs back to the playoffs after a six-year drought.
And that’s the segue into the the players around him. And the if there was a newsworthy tidbit from news, from from media day, it’s that uh, apparently Devin Vassell is not going to take the floor in Dallas for the season opener, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. But Jeff, it’s it’s about that hamstring issue, which is the type of injury that can linger for players and I and I guess the Spurs are just making sure that this one gets nipped in the bud to start so he doesn’t have to deal with it all year.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, like you said, it was a little surprising. Like, I was a little surprised by that. I didn’t think he would, a Vassell would be uh, ques— it’s not even questionable. I think the way he phrased it yesterday is he doesn’t think he’s going to be able to be cleared to play opening night in Dallas. So it’s at least doubtful at this point. Um, I think I, I mean, he for sure ruled himself out for the whole preseason.
Mike Finger: And the way he, the way he put it was interesting because he kept reiterating that he’s, he can still move and he’s doing everything and he’s fast and he can, he can uh, outrun streamers that uh, the three hip guys on this podcast had never heard of before. Uh, but uh, so we, we, we were clueless about the whole him versus speed thing, but we we need to catch up, I guess. Uh, but but he said, you know, he he wanted to play and he can play, but more than three weeks away from the opener, he said it’s doubtful that he’s going to play in the opener. It’s all a bit confusing to me, but it sounds like the Spurs have just decided as a group that we are going to take this hamstring issue uh, uh, with the utmost caution and make sure that he’s just not going to be to test it until it’s gone for good and that might be uh, into the first, second, third game of the season.
Jeff McDonald: If uh, if we were a more uh, like hot-takey podcast or or news organization that we were just in it for the, for the clickbait and the rage bait, we might frame it as uh, there’s a rift between Devin Vassell and the Spurs as to whether he’ll be good to go. But not really. But that that it was interesting that basically it sounded like Devin’s saying, I want to play, I’m trying to play, and um, they’re they’re they’re telling they’re telling me I’m not ready. Um, so I in a way that could be seen as some good news if he’s close enough that he feels like he should be out there. Um, but it’s it’s they’re going to be down some ball hand— we mentioned this uh on the last podcast when we were talking about Keldon Johnson’s injury to start the season, they’re going to be down some ball carrier, ball handlers now and um, I guess it’s just Keldon has to play 40 minutes a night, I guess. I don’t know. But it’s…
Tom Orsborn: It’s this run.
Mike Finger: The the flip side of that, Tom, is that the news on Keldon Johnson was a little more optimistic than we might have thought. Like Keldon Keldon did not rule out playing in the preseason or making opening night. And that might be just youthful exuberance on his part. But right now, it sounded to me like there’s a better chance of Keldon Johnson playing in the opener than Devin Vassell, Tom.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, no, I agree. And and Mitch, Mitch Johnson was almost apologetic about the whole thing, you know, about the Spurs, uh, well-known conservative bent when it comes to injuries. Um, he’s almost apologizing for it. But as he said in reference to both Vassell and Johnson, big picture. You know, we’ll be big picture is what he said. Um, you know, it’s a long season ahead and why not be cautious? I mean, why not? But yeah, Keldon, I would suspect Keldon will play in the preseason, possibly, you know, but but I guess they’re really, really going to be careful with uh, Vassell.
Mike Finger: He said the injury to his thumb, his left thumb, which is his shooting thumb, was one of those things where he did not realize that he had what, torn the the the whatever it was, the ligament that until well after it happened. He was surprised that it happened. It was kind of, he couldn’t really describe how it happened in the workout because he didn’t he it was one of those things he didn’t notice at first. Uh, he had the procedure to take care of it. He said he’s wearing some kind of guard, splint, where he’s able to actually shoot with it right now. He’s able to do a lot of things on the court. I think like like Tom said, they’re going to be cautious as they always are. Um, this is both of these stories are kind of the inverse of the of the famed, which we don’t want to get into again with the Kawhi thing. It’s the, the players say they’re ready to play and the team isn’t ready to let them play yet, which is kind of how it’s always been with the Spurs, other than with one guy. But I digress.
Jeff McDonald: Um, it it is a, again, I don’t want to make mountains of molehills, but it is it is an issue if they are going to start the season down um, prominent players like that, particularly Devin Vassell, who was going to be a huge part of the deal for the Spurs. Because if this is a Spurs team that thinks this is the year where we’re at least going to contend for the playoffs, we’re going to push to the playoffs, I mean, every game’s going to count in the West. Every game’s going to count. So if you start slow, that’s a hole that you have to dig out of. The schedule kind of sets up for the Spurs to start kind of quickly, actually. There’s not a lot of playoff teams in the first few weeks. But if they’re down, if if they’re down Devin Vassell and so now, you know, he and Victor only played five games together last year, so when Vassell does come back, then there’s that period where they now they have to reacclimate. Um, you could see where it’s a little rocky at the beginning and you take some some Ls that you might not have taken had everyone had a full training camp to go through, a full preseason to go through, and had you know, was all ready to hit the ground running when the regular season starts. So it is a long season. There’s 82 games, but the ones in October count just as much as the ones in April. So it’s it’s that’s it’s not nothing, is all I’m saying.
Mike Finger: That’s that’s a revolutionary thought. But the to to continue on the hot take theme and the uh and and and the trying to trying to get the uh the clicks, like that that first game against Dallas, that’s a team that’s projected to be right there in the uh, in the middle of the of the conference in the play-in/playoff race with the Spurs. And so that you know, that’s that game could count twice if that’s a team that’s in that 9-10, eight seed race with them at the end. That’s big. That New Orleans game is the second game of the season, and that’s one that you probably need to win. Like those are the those are the games you don’t want to drop when you’re when you’re in the race for those games, for those those seeds at the end of the year. You’re right. Like let’s just let’s just put all the pressure on them right now, right away, and make these games at the end of October into into huge games. And and are the Spurs ruining their future by sitting Devin Vassell too long? Are they are they dooming themselves by not letting Devin Vassell onto the court for these two huge games against the Mavericks and Pelicans? Like they might be. Are are they going to are they going to be haunted by this next April when they missed the playoffs by a single game and they can point back to that game in New Orleans when Devin Vassell was not cleared to go yet? Who who knows? We’ll see.
Jeff McDonald: I I trust them when they want, to be clear, I trust them when they say a guy needs to sit. I think it’s in, uh, they have a lot of smart people up there that are privy to a lot more information than we have. So if they say Vassell needs to sit, then he needs to sit. But, um, the the facts are the facts and it’s going to be harder to win without him on the floor than I think I could see how this could precipitate sort of a more slow start to the season for the Spurs and maybe we otherwise thought. That’s all I’m saying.
Mike Finger: And uh, Mitch Johnson, uh again, not a revolutionary thought, but pointed out yesterday that one of the more underrated commodities in the NBA is continuity. And if the Spurs thought that they had something going for them this year as opposed to recent years, it was that kind of the band was back together that they before these these injuries, you could see some, you know, that that most of the major parts had played together before, even though Victor was coming back from an injury, even though Devin was coming back from an injury, they there was some familiarity there. And now you wonder if that continuity is going to be an advantage for them or not. If Devin Vassell is not able to take the floor, if Keldon Johnson, for instance, doesn’t come back from a calf, if there’s just these these uh, uh bumps and bruises that that aren’t healed yet. And every other team deals with it. And like Jeff said, you you trust that the Spurs know what they’re doing when it comes to this. But you just can never take anything for granted, it seems like.
Jeff McDonald: I mean, you talk about continuity, but the two two guys on the on the team that you most need to be on the same page are Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama, and they’ve played five games together in their entire lives. And they didn’t have, they couldn’t even do open gym together this summer because Devin Vassell was was hurt. Um, they’re not going to get a training camp together because Devin Vassell is hurt. Uh, so they’re going to have to figure it on the fly in games that count. Um, and and they will, I mean they will, but it it is a thing that maybe slows down the progress just a little bit. That’s all I’m saying. I prefaced this whole discussion with, I don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I think I think we’d be kidding ourselves if we said it’s it’s nothing and no big deal that these guys can’t can’t play together off the bat.
Mike Finger: What this leads to, Tom, is, I think you mentioned on the last edition of the Spurs Insider podcast, that uh, one of the compelling stories you were looking forward to covering this training camp was the second season of young Jeremy Sochan. And everything we’ve talked about so far in the what, 17 minutes of this podcast, leads to the idea that a lot might be on young Jeremy Sochan early in the season. He’s not dealing with an injury. He is the other ball handler that does not have an injury issue right now. He is the guy who had a big year last year and actually played most of the games last year. And if the Spurs lean on anybody in the season opener against Dallas and game two against New Orleans and in uh in those first couple of games at home, like it might be Jeremy Sochan. Like he’s he’s going to be, a lot’s going to be on his shoulders, whether Devin and Keldon Johnson come back early or not. I think the Spurs are relying on a big step in improvement on him, for him to continue what he started last year, uh Tom.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, and and he was, Mitch Johnson was asked, you know, by somebody, what what, what what position? What position does the…
Mike Finger: What kind of question was that?
Tom Orsborn: But no, but it elicited a great answer. Uh, and I’m paraphrasing, I don’t know the exact quote, but he said something along the lines of he he’s a really good player. That’s his position. And and it’s true. I mean, Mitch went on to say, you know, he’s got the chops. He’s proven he can handle a lot, you know, uh, from from his high school career when he was a true point guard to Connecticut when he helped lead the, help the Huskies gain a national championship while being kind of a, you know, an off-guard role, a defensive-minded presence, to what he did last year with the Spurs in winning Rookie of the Year where he’s playing a variety of positions and doing all of it well. So, they have a lot of confidence in him and as well they should.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, I think it’s fair to say he’s going to be the starting point guard on night one. I mean, assuming Vassell isn’t there. So, they have no one else.
Mike Finger: Which is notable because if you would have asked me two weeks ago what position he play on night one, I think maybe small forward. It’s it’s depending on how you classify him and Devin, I think those are interchangeable wings. I’m not sure the shooting guard and small forward positions really exist anymore. You you have a you have a lead guard, then you have some wing guys, then you have some post guys. But yeah, those, and and when when I asked Jeremy yesterday, uh, the the stupid question that Tom alluded to me asking uh, Mitch, Jeremy said uh, uh, I play either one or two. He didn’t mention three. Um, but I think that’s all kind of uh, splitting hairs. Like that he he can guard threes, he can guard fours, I think even. He can guard ones. He can play all over the place. And the Spurs just need him early on to create, to put a lot on his shoulders at both ends of the court, and I think he’s up for it.
Uh, he is part of the core. He is important. Jeff mentioned how the key to everything is Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama, that’s not wrong, but Jeremy Sochan is a big, big part of that alongside of it and uh, he’s he’s, I, if if you’re rooting for the Spurs to end that playoff drought, you you’re rooting for a big year from from Sochan.
Jeff McDonald: And I don’t have any huge questions about him. I mean, if if he has to be the starting point guard and the primary ball handler like on the entire roster to start the year for a while, I’d, I’m not super worried about that. It’s more like what happens, where’s the rest of the depth? What happens when he has to come off the floor? Who’s going to take those minutes? And I guess it’s a Jordan McLaughlin question. I don’t… if if Harper’s ready, then it’s Harper.
Mike Finger: Yeah, yeah, if he’s ready, that’s true.
Jeff McDonald: And then…
Tom Orsborn: So much with Harper…
Jeff McDonald: So much with Harper is going to depend, to me, is going to depend on how much of training camp and preseason can he do. Yeah, if the answer is none of it, then it’s going to take a while for them to feel like they can throw him out there in a regular season game. Now, if he does get on the floor for some camp, if he does play in some preseason games, then I could see that happening a lot, lot sooner. But if he’s just a a non-participant in all of all of training camp as a rookie, it’s hard for me to see him like playing against Dallas or playing against New Orleans. Like it’ll be a little while. So…
Mike Finger: I’m going to I’m going to go out on a limb. This can be a, this can be a fun little game. And I’m going to take the side of, this might be a ridiculous side to take considering the Spurs’ history with injuries and caution and all and all that kind of stuff, but I’m going to say Keldon Johnson takes the floor against the Dallas Mavericks in the season opener and and plays more than uh 10 minutes.
Jeff McDonald: Do you think he plays in a preseason game and participates in training camp practices?
Mike Finger: Yes.
Jeff McDonald: That’s the question. Well okay, then I’ll then I’ll…
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, practice is definitely.
Jeff McDonald: It’s it’s if, it’s it’s like my prediction is an if-then-a-then. If he, if he’s in camp, if he’s in preseason, then I can see him playing. But if it’s just nothing, then I don’t know.
Mike Finger: Maybe I I I heard different stuff than y’all heard. Let me just make sure here, but my, I walked out of the the building yesterday thinking that um, the Spurs were far more optimistic on Keldon Johnson doing what you just said, taking part in the in camp and and playing in preseason games than they were on Vassell.
Jeff McDonald: Well, correct. I mean, did I hear the wrong thing there? Yeah, that’s correct because Vassell basically said, I’m not playing against Dallas. He’s basically already told us.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: Dylan seemed, Dylan seemed like he expected to. And again, that might be a rookie not understanding how the league works, but and but Mitch did not rule that out, I don’t think.
Mike Finger: No. Mitch, Mitch I think said that that Keldon was able to do things on the court and whether that means going through the the rough and tumble part of practices, I’m not sure. But I think that it especially when you consider it’s a thumb, like here’s the difference between what Johnson experienced health-wise and Vassell. Johnson is a thing that you have surgery for, you put a little splint on it, and it gets better, and I don’t think you worry, I mean, I I’m I’m stepping out of my uh area of expertise here, but I don’t think that they’re worried about necessarily re-aggravating it. I think it’s just it it heals on its own time. Those hamstring things can just linger forever and I think that’s why they’re being conservative with the hamstring thing. Even if uh, Devin thinks that he’s ready, you just do not want it to turn into a thing where Devin plays a couple nights and looks good for a week and then in the middle of November or the middle of December it comes back. They want it to get all the way away and I think that’s why there’s a better chance of seeing Johnson on the floor. Like Johnson can run up and down and not even handle the ball and uh and and go through drills and that kind of thing in practice without any worrying at all about re-injuring the the the thumb. Uh, Devin can’t do that because the hamstring obviously is is is part of the body that you can’t just rest and do other things. So uh, that’s why, that’s why I’m higher on on Keldon coming back than…
Jeff McDonald: Apparently they have Devin Vassell running 15 miles an hour though.
Mike Finger: So it’s not like he’s… See, I didn’t understand that part either, but that was also in reference to the streamer. Like we have, we have these questions about YouTubers now at Media Day and I’m not, I’m not uh railing against the questions because I’m sure it got great engagement and and the kids love it and and the people out there loved it, but it’s just my eyes glaze over. Who is Speed, Tom?
Tom Orsborn: Man, I don’t know, but the guy sounds like he’s, he should be playing in some league somewhere. So you know, it sounded, sounded pretty impressive, but I don’t know.
Mike Finger: This is how old I am. I I looked him up on Wikipedia yesterday and I read the, I read the entry and…
Jeff McDonald: That already was the oldest sentence ever said…
Mike Finger: I still… Exactly! I read the entry, I I know all about Speed now and I still do not understand who Speed is. Even even though I find out he’s a YouTuber, rapper, uh streamer, video gamer, uh apparently a soccer enthusiast. He’s like, he’s like 20 years old.
Jeff McDonald: So you and…
Mike Finger: And and he challenged Devin Vassell apparently to some kind of race and and Devin gave a great answer and I’m sure that the the gentleman who asked the question about him like got like did something great with it. Like I’m not I’m not uh I’m not against the question. It’s just uh maybe I’m getting too old for this.
Jeff McDonald: You you, so you read up on on this fella on Wikipedia. Maybe you can answer this question. Is his, I guess Speed is not his um, his uh, Christian name, correct? This is some sort of nickname he’s he’s acquired.
Tom Orsborn: Is it because… Darren…
Jeff McDonald: Is it because of his um… Tell them…
Tom Orsborn: Can you tell them, Tom, do you have it up, Tom?
Jeff McDonald: prowess or is it like a drug addiction?
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, I have it up. Darren Jason Watkins Jr. hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio. Okay. Do they call him Speed because of his athletic ability, his his his running prowess, or is it like a drug addiction?
Mike Finger: Speed is short for something, isn’t it, Tom?
Tom Orsborn: Well, it the the full online name is uh, IShowSpeed, all one word. But he goes by Speed, simply Speed.
Jeff McDonald: And it’s that it has nothing to do with drugs.
Tom Orsborn: No. No. I don’t think so.
Jeff McDonald: Okay, I just I just wanted to make sure because this is a family podcast. I don’t want to be talking about uh yeah, NSFW things here.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah.
Mike Finger: Anyway, the if you want, if you want all the info on that, this probably isn’t your podcast. Whichever podcast is talking about Speed and knows about Speed is doing way better numbers than our podcast is. Like it’s it’s our fault for not being more up on this. We understand that.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, yeah.
Mike Finger: But uh, anyway, that’s just that’s the way of the world now. Hey, back uh, back to the depth, back to the depth issue at point guard…
Jeff McDonald: Uh huh.
Tom Orsborn: We’ve forgotten they do have uh a player on the roster that has started several games at point guard. Several regular season games at point guard.
Mike Finger: Oh that’s, that’s your buddy that you uh, that you’ve been hanging out with uh at outdoor establishment.
Tom Orsborn: Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t do that to that poor guy.
Mike Finger: And and I… I I know, I know it makes for a joke… No, but but I mean, you know, maybe this this is this is what all that was about, you know, at some point.
Tom Orsborn: Oh my gosh, Tom. No, I I’m I’m, yeah, I’m just saying that, uh, they they’ll be okay. They’ll be okay.
Mike Finger: Can you imagine if they if they had to go back to Jeremy Sochan and say, can you play some point guard for us?
Tom Orsborn: It would be hard. It would be hard on the young man, but he he can handle a lot.
Jeff McDonald: There’s no way they would, there’s no way they’re ever going to do that.
Mike Finger: I agree. Just for his sake, his green hair will fall out. Jeremy’s, Jeremy was in a good mood yesterday. Jeremy, I think Jeremy’s going to have a, I, now that he’s decided who he is, the Spurs have sort of decided who he is, it’s become clearer that he is not necessarily the second coming of Draymond Green or uh, or a a a a cornerstone of the franchise, I don’t think. I think this could be a good year for him to to figure…
Jeff McDonald: Tell me tell me how you envision his like his best fit with the Spurs.
Mike Finger: I think his best fit is uh a a backup front court player who comes in and can give you some really good defensive minutes, um, and can can guard the other team’s best player, whoever the best player is on the court, for stretches of time and develops enough of an offensive game to where teams cannot just completely ignore him. And whether that means that he can make 35% of his wide open three-point shots from the corner, whether that means he has developed enough of a threat to drive past you and get to the rim, whether he can make any mid-range shots. Like I realize some listeners are out there screaming there’s no way he can do any of that, but I think if he if he just develops enough of an offensive game to keep opposing defenders honest and then can come in and give you some energy again, like I said, keep the keep the Spurs defense at a level when Victor’s off the floor, when the starters are off the floor, that they’re not just getting torched and and uh and just do that, I think he’s a productive guy to have around.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, is that crazy? I think, I think there are still some, I mean, there are still a few people out there who who are wondering like they think he should start. And I just don’t, I I think we’re in agreement that his best role is is like a bench uh juice guy, mostly defensively, but but um, you know, with a little bit of offense like you said.
Mike Finger: There might be a team…
Jeff McDonald: And and you can he can, he can, he can be in some closing lineups for defensive purposes, for sure. But I I don’t see him as like the the starting with that group.
Mike Finger: And the other thing, especially when you look at this year, I kind of feel comfortable saying Harrison Barnes is going to start for this team for as long as he’s on this team. As long as he’s healthy on this team, he’s going to be in the starting lineup. Like they’re and they’re just definitely not going to like just break that streak for no reason.
Jeff McDonald: I agree. I know I know it sounds goofy to people, but they’re not just going to like put Harrison Barnes on the bench for… He does a lot of things that they need in that spot. He fits really well. Um, it’s funny if you go back a year ago to the to the Media Day podcast, I think that was the one when we questioned when Harrison Barnes was going to get pulled out of the starting lineup that he was not going to, or I say we, I I should say me. I was the one who thought that Harrison was just a fill-in in the starting lineup and he proved me wrong. He had a horrible preseason, remember? Yeah, yeah. Couldn’t make a shot. But like opening night, he went for 25 or something against Dallas, it was funny. Correct.
Mike Finger: The the the Sochan starting thing, I think there might be lineups around the league, some teams where you could squeeze him in, but on this Spurs team, it does not work just because of the players. Like there is not room for another player in that starting lineup who shoots under 30% from three-point. And uh, it just does, he does not fit as a starter on this team, on this franchise, I don’t think. Maybe I’ll be wrong about this like I was about Harrison Barnes a year ago, but if I want, if I’m Mitch Johnson and Mitch Johnson’s new assistants and and I’m getting Jeremy ready for what what we as a staff need from him this season, I’m not talking to him about starting. I’m talking to him about embracing those 20 minutes a night, 24 minutes a night when you come off the bench and you just guard the heck out of the best player on the floor and and keep the keep the defense honest at the other end. Learn how to make that open jumper. He talks about kind of recrafting a shot. I will believe it when I see it. He talked about wrist positioning and that kind of stuff.
Jeff McDonald: Well, we’ve seen the video, yeah. We’ve seen the video of it. Like the… We have, but it didn’t, I mean there was still side spin, wasn’t there? Well, it looks pretty good, actually. But you they’re never going to put a video out there in the summer where it looks bad. So you do question, not question, but you know, obviously those are curated. So like you say, that’ll be one thing to watch in the preseason, how that all looks coming off Jeremy’s hands.
Mike Finger: Here’s something else I’ll say about Jeremy and Tom, Tom uh can can speak to this too because he he he knows Jeremy well and has watched Jeremy’s sort of maturation over the past few years. I think that his mindset is in a place where he’s much more willing to understand and accept and embrace the things that I just said that the the coaching staff will will ask of him this year. And I think that there was probably a point in his career when he might have been uh, perturbed or or or or felt slighted by being asked to do something less than start or something less than be a cornerstone piece. I think now he is is in the mental place where he will relish that. Much in the same way that Keldon Johnson has has learned to relish his new role. We we haven’t mentioned yet by the way. But has has learned to relish his new role. Um, I think Jeremy’s ready to do it. I might be wrong, but I I think he is.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, the the defensive stopper role, also the he he likes the instigator, you know, quote unquote, nasty role. Uh, he can, he’s a good connector with uh, with Wemby. Um, my question is, does does Brian Wright want to see more from him this season before committing with an extension or do they get that done or is it okay to just let him become a restricted free agent knowing that he’s not going to get a huge offer from somebody else?
Mike Finger: That’s a good segue, Tom. We did get a a few minutes with Brian yesterday at Media Day. I did bring that up with him and uh I didn’t mention Jeremy’s name specifically and he but he was non-committal about any other uh extensions this offseason. And and he didn’t again, he didn’t mention Jeremy by name, but that’s the one that’s eligible for the extension, is Jeremy. And I I I think that’s the correct course for the Spurs to take.
I mean, he’s as as many uh nice things as I just said about Jeremy, he’s not a guy who you feel like we have to wrap up now uh uh as a franchise and and not risk losing him in restricted free agency next year. If he has a great year and becomes a hot commodity on the restricted free agent market next year, I think that’s probably a good problem to have. Um, but I I see no need, Jeff, to to wrap to to to lock him down with a a long-term extension now. I think you want to see how he does this year and if it gets to a point where you’re fine letting him go, you’re fine letting him go. But he’s not, again, as many nice things I just said about him, he’s not one of the five most important players on this roster right now.
Jeff McDonald: A corollary to all that is, I don’t know if you noticed, but the restricted free agent market was tepid. is the word. Like people are just aren’t biting on those restricted free agents uh anymore. That’s kind of a function of the way the CBA works. So they all end up go, they all sat out there, most of them this summer, sat out there forever and just ended up resigning with their teams. Yep. So I think if you’re Brian Wright looking at that, that that that’s not a big gamble to let uh someone like Jeremy Sochan get to restricted free agency because the odds are very low that he’s going to end up somewhere else.
Mike Finger: I agree. I agree.
Tom Orsborn: And he also uh just housekeeping, you know, he also has a uh a calf injury that could slow him a little in the in the preseason.
Mike Finger: And injuries have been, been an issue with him, not, not long-term type injuries, but just those little nicky-nack injuries that have kept him off the court here and there. Yep. Yep. So that’s something to monitor. Uh, we I’m going through the whole roster. We did not mention Devin Vassell, uh, who also spoke at Media Day, a an almost sure starter for this team on opening night. Um, any any thoughts there, Jeff?
Jeff McDonald: Um, he said all the right things. I mean, I I I think like we’ve had with the questions with some of these other guys that were lottery picks, um, in the pre-Wemby era, how do they adjust to life uh, you know, further down the the pecking order? I mean, there was there was a time when the Spurs were really bad and guys like Keldon Johnson and and Devin Vassell were their go-to guys, their go-to scores. And they were winning 20 games a year, but those guys were getting all the shots they wanted and there was really no bad shot they could take. And Keldon over time has uh, learned to accept and embrace that that bench role. I’m not saying Devin’s going to go to the bench, but I mean, clearly when you have Devin Vassell, when you have Victor Wembanyama, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson coming up, like you’re, if you’re a Devin Vassell, you’re not going to get, you know, 20 shots a night or something or 15 shots a night. So learning how to um, impact the game in fewer shots is sort of, um, kind of where he’s at. And it is a very, there’s a psychological component to that too, accepting that change. I’m not the guy that they’re just going to force feed anymore. I’m going to have to um, figure out where the open ones are. One of one of Devin’s, I mean, strong points back in the day when the Spurs were bad was he was a good contested shot maker. He could hit tough shots. But the way the Spurs are going on offense when you’ve got all these great offensive players, there’s really no need to force shots anymore unless it’s the end of a, end of a clock or the end of a quarter. So just learning to for Devin just to take the ones that were that are there, don’t have to take those contested shots that he’s he’s been pretty good at over the years and, you know, learning to impact the game on defense on the other end of the floor as well. I agree. Um, and one and he said all these things yesterday. So at least he’s he’s saying it and um, hopefully for the Spurs and and for Devin, that’s the way it plays out for him on the floor as well. He’s able to kind of figure out how to make that that switch because I think he’s still kind of, last year, I think he’s still kind of in the middle of making that that switch in his in his head.
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, I think, um, Mitch, um, with an eye toward this season when they have a full complement of players, pushed him to show more in different facets of his game, defense, rebounding, you know, steals, um, you know, playmaking. So he really pushed him last year to to become a better all-around player knowing how it would shake out this season with a with a full compliment.
Mike Finger: Did you do kind of a mental double take yesterday when you walked in and said sixth year?
Jeff McDonald: Yes, I did. I even asked him about that. And and Keldon at seven.
Mike Finger: Uh huh. They’re veterans.
Jeff McDonald: Time flies. They’re veterans.
Mike Finger: An update, a a breaking news update on the Spurs Insider podcast um to a to a news story uh that was raised earlier in the podcast. I just received a text message uh from one Mike Monroe, who we can now report is still alive. So that’s good to hear. It’s a good good way to finish. We started by paying tribute to our old colleague…
Jeff McDonald: We can cancel the silver alert.
Mike Finger: We can cancel. That’s, I don’t think you’re allowed to say that. Um, we we paid tribute to him to start the podcast. Uh the he he, Spurs fans out there that have been reading his coverage for a long time, well-deserved retirement for Mike. We move on though, onward and upward. We have a new team to cover. We’re going to be back with you every week from here here until maybe till June, Tom. Maybe until, we might be covering this team till June. But we’ll see you every week on here where you get your podcast. Glad to have you back on board. Look forward to seeing you next week and until then, take care of each other and keep it real.
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