Spurs Insider Podcast, 2026-06-25 04:04:00
专栏作家迈克·芬格与随队记者杰夫·麦克唐纳、汤姆·奥斯本回顾了马刺在NBA选秀首轮中的两个非常规选择，探讨了杰登·昆坦斯和小塔里斯·里德的发展时间线，并分析了马刺再次闯入NBA总决赛的可能性。
推荐阅读：
以下是本期播客的文字实录：
迈克·芬格：这里是通过遍布南得克萨斯的高度机密的顶级秘密网络为您带来的马刺内幕NBA选秀特别版节目。我是迈克·芬格，和往常一样，由《圣安东尼奥快报》的马刺随队记者汤姆·奥斯本和杰夫·麦克唐纳与我一同主持。杰夫，周二晚上，当马刺队总经理布莱恩·莱特从马刺的神经中枢，也就是马刺做出最新选秀决策的那个房间走出来时，他宣称我们这支本地篮球队有自己的“类型偏好”。而且看起来他们确实有。他们做了什么，他们的偏好类型是什么？
杰夫·麦克唐纳：他们做了什么，谁又是他们的偏好类型？好吧，伙计，我们这就直接切入正题了，不是吗？我，我刚才还在感慨，选秀来得太快了。我们不是好像一周半前还在忙季后赛、总决赛的事情吗？确实如此，对吧？总决赛结束才10天，他们就不得不做出选秀决定了。嗯，这真是个快速的转换。我们已经很久没有经历过这么快的转换周期了。但不管怎样，这算是一个……我不知道你是否想称之为布莱恩·莱特和马刺在冒险的夜晚，但他们确实在那里挥了几次棒。你知道，他们原本只有一个首轮20号签，结果选走了杰登·昆坦斯 (Jayden Quaintance)，一个去年只在肯塔基大学打了四场比赛的小伙子。我认为这是一个风险与回报相当不错的选择，我们一会儿可以深入探讨。紧接着，他们又小赌了一把，通过交易重新回到首轮，获得了第二个首轮签，并用它选择了来自康涅狄格大学的小塔里斯·里德 (Tarris Reed Jr.)，又一个大个子。所以你得到了两个身体对抗强硬、作风凶悍、防守意识出众、甘愿干脏活累活的内线球员，只是类型上略有不同。但是，这就是马刺昨晚的偏好类型，两个这样的球员。而且，这其实是我们之前就想到过他们会在今年休赛期以某种方式解决的问题，那就是为前场增加更多吨位。他们选中的这两名球员中，有一个很可能比另一个更有机会在本赛季就为球队提供帮助。嗯，小塔里斯·里德显然是带着健康的身体报告来的。至于昆坦斯，你知道，他在过去一年多的时间里一直受膝伤困扰，而且昨晚他告诉我们，他仍然需要接受一次清理手术来修复半月板。所以听起来，在他的NBA生涯初期，他不会很快就能登场亮相。但这是马刺队对长远未来感到非常兴奋的一名球员，他可是乐透级别天赋，仅仅因为健康问题才掉到这个顺位。所以，如果他们能在未来的某个时间点让他恢复健康并上场比赛，他们对那个由维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 以及他们拥有的所有那些防守型后卫共同构成的前场防线会是什么样感到无比兴奋。
迈克·芬格：汤姆·奥斯本，你对选秀之夜的主要收获是什么？
汤姆·奥斯本：是的，他们填补了一个需求。我认为他们做得非常好。嗯，你知道，就像杰夫说的，杰登身上确实存在问号，但是，嗯，你知道，他们做了尽职调查。我的意思是，并非好像他们一无所知，就像布莱恩说的那样，周围有医生，医生们和他谈过，他们清楚自己会得到什么，也知道需要承担多大的风险。所以我认为他会没事的。他只有18岁，在受伤之前，他在亚利桑那州立大学时，防守端完全是统治级的表现。嗯，然后是塔里斯，伙计，我喜欢那家伙昨晚说的所有话，关于他拥抱那种身体对抗、勤恳朴实、甘当蓝领型球员的角色，他想成为并且就是那样的球员。所以我觉得，他们在填补文班身后前场阵容深度、满足球队需求这方面，做得确实非常出色。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：而且杰登是这届选秀中最年轻的球员，所以他们有时间等待他成长，然后，嗯，你知道，塔里斯是这届选秀中年龄最大的球员之一，已经是22岁高龄了。他现在甚至比维克托·文班亚马还大上几个月。所以，他可能是那个能更快挖掘出一些潜力的家伙。嗯，我确实认为，当你已经是一支NBA总决赛级别的球队时，在20顺位这个位置找到能立刻帮到你的球员，这种可能性本身就不高。所以，这就是我比较欣赏他们在杰登·昆坦斯身上冒险的原因。你很难在第20顺位选到一个能立刻上场，帮助一支已经足够好到能打进总决赛的球队的球员。就像你看去年的马刺，真的没有多少多余的出场时间可以分配。你没办法，你知道，嗯，所以选一个你可以耐心等待、慢慢培养、等待他完全康复、等待他成长、变得更成熟、积累更多经验的球员，我认为这是使用这个20号签的绝佳方式。嗯，你，你就是在赌上限，你为上限而冒险，希望这张彩票能兑现。因为昆坦斯在100%健康的情况下，很可能今年会是个乐透秀。
迈克·芬格：在我看来，这又是一次选秀，又一个例子，嗯，展现了一个管理层、一个组织、整个团队中没有人担心会被解雇。我在这个播客节目里、《圣安东尼奥快报》上，一遍又一遍地说过。嗯，一个像马刺这样运作的组织的最大优势之一，就是他们的决策者们不必担心要在接下来的六个月内保住自己的饭碗，不必急于展现立竿见影的效果，他们不担心批评和事后诸葛亮。而当你能够以这种方式运营一支球队时，相对于其他那些由时刻担心丢掉饭碗的人运营的球队，你就拥有了巨大的长期优势。从马刺近些年乃至几年前做出的一些交易中，你就能看出这一点，比如他们会在交易中争取六年后的额外首轮互换权之类的。而选择杰登·昆坦斯，再次印证了这一点。这个选择不会立刻带来回报，对吧？这个球员不会马上就抢走卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的出场时间。他甚至可能在赛季开始后的头几个月都无法上场，我是说，不管他膝盖的具体状况如何。他去年就没怎么打球，所以你就算膝盖是健康的，也得花一段时间才能恢复到比赛体型，真正成为一名NBA球员。马刺对此完全没问题。这两个选择也很容易被那些所谓的选秀专家、选秀排行榜所质疑。在两个顺位上，都有一些球员，是那些传统选秀权威人士认为的更好选择。比如，有个来自墨西哥的叫做卡里姆·洛佩兹的家伙，如果马刺在选昆坦斯的位置选了他，那将会是一次市场营销的盛宴。在那个位置选择洛佩兹会是非常容易做出的决定。接下来几年，甚至未来很长一段时间里，杰登·昆坦斯都会被拿来和这个选择作比较。而在下一个签位，又有个来自休斯顿的中锋，本可以在小塔里斯·里德那个位置被选中。那个才是选秀榜单上对应顺位的人。但是当马刺信任他们的团队时，他们会说：“这些才是我们锁定的目标，这些才是我们要选的球员。我们不必担心……” 再说一次，马刺上一次解雇主教练或总经理，已经是30年前的事了。你能相信吗？我无法想象NBA里还有其他球队，或者甚至在职业体育界，能有这么长时间没有解雇过教练或总经理。嗯，我只是觉得这给了你一些其他球队所没有的余地去相信自己，相信过程。那么，这两个具体案例会成功吗？我不确定。我们还不知道。但我认为值得指出的是，马刺这样的球队能够做到这一点，而其他球队做不到。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：就昆坦斯这个选择而言，嗯，具体来说，在布莱恩·莱特治下，马刺以前也进行过类似的赌博，那就是在选秀榜单上明明有看起来更明确的人选时，你却去赌上限，但那些赌博最终都没成功。我指的是，我想到的是像卢卡·沙马尼奇或者约书亚·普里莫那样的选择。嗯，我认为如果要说这次有什么不同的话，那就是当时那个阶段，马刺还在寻找他们的核心球星，寻找建队基石，他们不得不在选秀中做一些疯狂的尝试，在那些你通常选不到像维克托·文班亚马或者库珀·弗拉格这样的建队核心的顺位去赌。如果不采取那种疯狂的、全垒打式的、孤注一掷的选秀策略，你就选不到那样的球员。那就是他们在沙马尼奇和普里莫身上所寻找的，但最终都没成功。我认为现在这个情况，马刺已经拥有了他们的维克托·文班亚马。他们清楚自己是谁，清楚自己需要什么样的拼图，需要填补哪些特定的角色。这大概就是他们现在正在做的。让我们去找到我们能找到的、最适合填补这个角色的球员，而能在第20顺位得到一个，如果一切顺利，一旦恢复健康，就会是乐透级别天赋的球员，伙计，这绝对是一次巨大的补强。也许不是为了2026-27赛季的马刺，但可能是为了27-28、28-29赛季的马刺。如果昆坦斯有朝一日能达到一个水平，他强到足以在这支球队占据大量出场时间，那就意味着这个选择完全做对了，他会成为球队未来计划中非常重要的一部分，如果一切顺利的话。你知道，他在大学只打了28场比赛，其中去年在肯塔基因为伤病只打了4场。所以你很大程度上是在相信他在亚利桑那州立大学第一年的比赛录像，那是他大一赛季的24场比赛，听起来表现相当出色。我是说，他在亚利桑那州立大学创造了大一新生单赛季盖帽纪录，而这仅仅是在24场比赛里完成的。这就是他的效率有多高。如果你看那段时间的一些录像，你会看到一个充满活力的跳跳男，而那时他在亚利桑那州立大学才17岁。布莱恩昨晚提到一个观点我觉得很有趣，他说由于NIL规则的出现，大学篮球总体上年龄在变大。人们留在大学篮球的时间可能比以前更长了。所以你会看到很多22岁的球员，有时23岁，再加上新冠时期出来的，还有24岁的。如果你是一个在亚利桑那州立大学的17岁孩子，而你要对抗的是一个包含了许多成年男子的大学篮球联盟，嗯，马刺队对此非常看重。所以他们真的是在押宝，押宝他们在昆坦斯膝盖受伤之前在亚利桑那州立大学看到的那个他，那就是他们认定他是谁以及他将来在NBA会成为什么样的球员的依据。如果他能变回那个球员，嗯，如果他真能恢复到受伤前的水准，那这个第20顺位的选择绝对会是一支完美的全垒打。
迈克·芬格：我还想到，嗯，回头看看我们一年前做的上一期选秀播客，那时我们讨论的是马刺急需用投射能力来填补的明显漏洞。但这两个新秀，都不是那种人们会谈论他们能成为射手的那种。他们不是射手。他们可能永远都成不了射手。但因为过去这一年马刺阵容的发展方式，你未必需要这个了。我不认为这是个很大的问题。我觉得马刺想要填补的更大漏洞，只是在文班身边增加额外的肉盾。而且你已经有像斯蒂芬·卡斯尔这样的球员，朱利安·尚帕尼、德文·瓦塞尔、迪伦·哈珀也证明了他们能投进球。我认为凯尔登·约翰逊，嗯，在这条线上再往下看，我认为不像一年前人们那么担心马刺的未来和他们的投射均衡性，那时你迫切需要某个球员来提供这个。我认为昆坦斯和里德都是能够做到我们看到的马刺所需要的所有那些事情的人。而且布莱恩·莱特昨晚也提到了这点，对吧？嗯，就是基于总决赛的进程、季后赛的进展，他们需要更多那样的硬度、更壮实的身材、甘做脏活累活的，嗯，那种类型的内线存在感。如果这两个家伙中的任何一个能成长为那样的球员，那对这套阵容来说，都将是一大步的提升。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：没错。如果你还记得季后赛，尤其是总决赛是如何进行的，基本上每次维克托下场休息，都会变成一场灾难。
迈克·芬格：是啊。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：严重到那种程度，就像有一场比赛他打了44分钟？你根本没办法让他坐下来喘口气。而这并非完全是对卢克·科内特的指责，尽管他在总决赛确实打得不好，但科内在整个常规赛期间作为维克托的替补，表现是相当出色的。我觉得他在总决赛时可能脚部有些伤病困扰，没能发挥出全部实力。嗯，但长远来看，拥有更多这样可以在未来使用的大个子，既能和维克托并肩作战，也能在他休息时顶上去，确保球队不会出现我们在总决赛时有看到的巨大滑坡。我认为这就是马刺用这两个签位所追求的。再说一次，也许不是立竿见影在这个赛季，但，嗯，几年之后，他们能在这些球员身上看到这种潜力。
迈克·芬格：汤姆，考虑到目前阵容的构建方式，嗯，而且我记得布莱恩昨晚也提到了这点，就是那些上赛季出场时间很多的球员大部分都会回归。我想唯一可能存在的变数是哈里森·巴恩斯。但是，我是说，你已经有八、九个稳定轮换的球员要回来了。而你冒险选择的这两个新秀，是用来替代梅森·普拉姆利、凯利·奥利尼克、俾斯麦·比永博这些位置的。就是说，阵容底部的那些位置，本来就是给那些上场时间不多的球员的。所以，情况并非是你迫切需要这两个首轮秀立刻进来做出贡献。他们所要填补的位置，本来也不是由那些打了很长时间的球员占据的，因此你大可以在他们两人身上都从容不迫。我觉得里德也许有机会，毕竟正如杰夫提到的，他是个老家伙了，比维克托·文班亚马还要大五个月。他可能相对早一些就能上场。但如果你对昆坦斯保持耐心，让他跟着球队的球员发展教练们，那些过去在培养年轻球员方面相当成功的教练们一起训练，我想，到下赛季结束的时候，或者再下个赛季，这笔投资也许会真正收到回报。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：我还觉得卡特·布莱恩特，卡特·布莱恩特的……
迈克·芬格：我们正在和汤姆说话呢。汤姆有一阵子没发言了。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：哦，抱歉！
迈克·芬格：啊哈。
汤姆·奥斯本：走着瞧吧，嗯，卡特·布莱恩特就是一个模板。嗯，你知道，他们完全可以复制或者效仿去年对待他的那种模式，嗯，就是慢慢把他带起来，观察他如何成长，看他如何融入球队，然后，嗯，你知道，到赛季末段，他们也许会成为轮换阵容末端的一员。但是，是的，他们会保持耐心的。嗯，你知道，健康是目前最关键、最首要的关注点，对昆坦斯来说尤其如此。所以，嗯，是的，但我确实把卡特·布莱恩特看作是他们下赛季可能对这两名新秀所采用的培养模式的模板。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：我刚才想说的是，科内特已经超过30岁了，所以，嗯，你用这两个选秀权，很有可能也在某种程度上是在选他的接班人，不是立刻，而是未来的某个时间点。就像，很可能，我的意思是，也许科内特，他去年夏天签了一份四年合同，我想应该是的。也许他会在这里执行完这份合同。那份合同里有很多非保障薪资、球队选项之类的。也许他会打完那四年，但是，你知道，他会越来越老，速度变慢，嗯，下滑一点。我认为这也是你看待这两名新秀的另一个角度，就是，嗯，也许你已经选中了能够在科内特离队或者效率不如今年的时候，可以履行那种角色的球员。
迈克·芬格：是的。而且再说得长远一点，我认为把卡特·布莱恩特和昆坦斯直接对比，尤其是对昆坦斯来说，可能期望值太高了，因为卡特去年大概圣诞节前后就进入轮换了。对昆坦斯来说，可能需要更长的时间。但是，嗯，这个问题的另一个维度在于，特别是卢克·科内特和凯尔登·约翰逊，他们是那种在漫长的82场常规赛赛季里，你会很喜欢拥有他们的球员，嗯，但不知为何到了季后赛，他们的作用就没那么大了。现在，你有卢克·科内特和凯尔登·约翰逊这种类型的球员帮你撑过82场的常规赛。而如果到了季后赛，他们因为某些原因不再是左右胜负的关键因素，你还有别的选择。也许到那个时候，杰登·昆坦斯已经准备好做出贡献了。嗯，小塔里斯·里德也准备好做出贡献了。你有了更多的选择。去年，当NBA总决赛开打后，嗯，正如杰夫所说，卢克·科内特在场的时间效果不佳，你又不能指望梅森·普拉姆利的那几分钟。你也不会把希望寄托在凯利·奥利尼克的出场时间上。你也不会——尽管俾斯麦·比永博是我的人，我很爱比永博，他是我报道过的最喜欢的球员之一——你大概率也不会指望比永博在NBA总决赛中去追防卡尔-安东尼·唐斯。现在你只是有了更多可用的人手，我确实认为，从更宏大的角度看，杰夫说得对，那就是，嗯，现在有一条长远来看的权力更迭线。当你开始审视阵容中那些超过30岁的球员时，背后已经有年轻球员等着接班这些角色的计划了。而这，又回到了我之前的观点，这就是一个具备长远眼光的组织如何运作的，当你不那么操心如何赢得新闻发布会，不那么操心如何在所有给出选秀评分的机构那里拿到高分，不那么操心如何在六个月后就证明你做出了正确的选择。如果你能在两三年后证明你做出了正确的选择，我想那才说明你正在运营一支相当成功的球队。
汤姆·奥斯本：而且，嗯，顺着这个主题，嗯，布莱恩·莱特昨天，嗯，昨晚，对米奇·约翰逊和达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 给予了强烈的信任票。
迈克·芬格：如果他没给，那才会是新闻呢。[笑声]
汤姆·奥斯本：对，我知道。但是福克斯，你知道，那是一次相当强的信任表态，基本上就是说下赛季他会回归，而且我们会继续寻找方法……
迈克·芬格：他明确那么说了吗？
汤姆·奥斯本：他，他，他几乎就等于明说了，迈克。我的意思是，他说他会，你知道，他们会让他回归，我是说，不是说让他回归，而是他说他们会继续寻找让这三名后卫同时在场的方法。我意思是，他基本上就把他当作下赛季球队未来中非常重要的一部分来谈论的。我不是说这一定会兑现，但，你知道，这就是他亲口说的。
迈克·芬格：我不太确定他原话里有哪句明确说了“我们肯定会让他回来”。我可能记错了，但是，呃，顺便说一句，我确实预期他会回来。我只是不想把这节目又变成另一期关于达龙·福克斯的播客。我们上周已经做过一期了。嗯，总之，我打算跳过这个话题了。是的，那是我们预期会从布莱恩·莱特那里听到的话。而针对米奇·约翰逊的批评简直荒谬。嗯，我们，我们也说过，我们上周也聊过这个了。嗯，任何人，在米奇·约翰逊过去一个赛季完成那样出色的工作之后，还要点名批评他，呃，我都不确定这值不值得我们在播客里讨论两次。杰夫，你还有什么要补充的，关于这些事有什么想说的吗？
杰夫·麦克唐纳：什么？没有，我没问题。
迈克·芬格：好。好的。嗯。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：你在找机会从这个话题脱身，是吧？
迈克·芬格：不，不，我不介意讨论这个。我只是不想让每句话都被媒体聚合转载，而且我不认为有任何……怎么说呢？我，我认为，咱们就直接说吧。关于达龙·福克斯这件事，以及为什么这一切都被提起来的原因是，是，是因为他们有三个控球后卫。[笑声] 这根本不是什么爆炸性新闻。他们有一个需要更多上场时间，并且很可能会期望得到更多上场时间的球员，迪伦·哈珀。我也不希望这段话再被聚合转载。这不是来自迪伦·哈珀的团队在向马刺施加任何压力或者类似的事情。我只是觉得，他想要更多上场时间，这是很自然的。他预计自己会得到更多上场时间，因为他是一名非常非常出色的球员，而且在马刺闯入NBA总决赛的季后赛征程中，他是球队表现最好的球员之一。而且，嗯，尽管在某些时段你可以让达龙·福克斯、斯蒂芬·卡斯尔和迪伦·哈珀同时在场，但这很可能无法成为你的首发阵容，无法成为你的核心阵容，他们三个长时间待在一起，除非你把另外几个人移出阵容，德文·瓦塞尔，嗯，朱利安·尚帕尼。你还想带个大个子进来，多和维克托搭档一会。嗯，我，我只是觉得这个问题，只要达龙·福克斯还在队里，就难以回避。当然他们会，嗯，当然他们会坚定地站在他身后支持他，因为他，他去年是全明星，他，正如我上周所说，他是马刺打进NBA总决赛的重要原因之一。而且，他们当然不会动摇对他的支持。如果能继续围绕他建队，那将是非常理想的。但我认为，只要达龙·福克斯还在队里，问题就一直是：他还会在这里待多久？嗯，我不知道，还有什么要补充的吗？
杰夫·麦克唐纳：我就，我就，就为了留档记录，我把布莱恩·莱特昨晚的原话念一遍，然后大家可以自行解读。至少是那句最核心的话吧。“我们对达龙充满绝对的信心，对他作为一名球员的实力，对我们所做的一切贡献，以及他对这支球队的意义，都毫无保留，这一点不会有任何动摇。” 好了，大家自行解读吧。
汤姆·奥斯本：他还说，他们会继续一起打球，并且对任何需要防守他们的对手来说，都会是一个棘手的对位组合，这暗示着，是的，他会回来。现在，当然，情况可能有变，但那是他所暗示的。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：那，那是紧接着的追问。嗯，你知道的，这支球队最大的问题在于，迪伦·哈珀在季后赛乃至整个季后赛的表现如此出色，你如何，你如何展望，这未来几年会如何发展？布莱恩说，嗯，而且我认为，“他们”，指的是所有后卫吧我猜，“他们会继续一起打球，而对任何需要防守他们的对手来说，都会是一个棘手的对位组合。”
汤姆·奥斯本：是的。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：所以，那些，那些就是我们正在讨论的原话，给那些没看，嗯，在Spurs.com或者其他什么地方播放的布莱恩·莱特原声讲话的人参考。
迈克·芬格：我认为那恰恰是你期待布莱恩·莱特会说的话。而且，那也没错，只要他还在队里，他们就会继续一起打球，而且，嗯，我也不认为，嗯，现在有任何明显的关于达龙·福克斯的交易方案。就像，是的，我想，等到NBA的新赛季年从七月份开始计算，他的合同数字会大幅上涨。嗯。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：是的，那份续约合同届时就会生效。
迈克·芬格：不过，过去十多年我们在NBA里学到的一件事是，嗯，即便你有一个拿着所谓“不可交易合同”的球员，总有办法去操作那种合同的。这一点已经被一再证实，一次又一次。嗯，我只是，我不想让这期节目又变成另一期抨击达龙的播客。我只是想澄清一点，我并认为，嗯，我们所有人都能看到的这个局面，球迷们都能看到，听众们、观众们都能看到的这个局面，在根本上有什么改变。那就是，达龙·福克斯很棒，拥有那三名后卫是一种奢侈，是一件大好事。嗯，你完全可以靠着他们三个，明年再次打进NBA总决赛。我不是说你做不到。我只是说，在某个时间点，嗯，我，我只是怀疑达龙·福克斯会执行完他与圣安东尼奥马刺的这份合同。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：就像你说的，这都源于迪伦·哈珀是个狠角色，是的，他将会需要更多出场时间和更重要的角色。他未来某个时候需要成为NBA的首发球员。而马刺面临的问题——这个问题已经开始了，并且在解决之前会一直持续下去——就是如何做到这一点。到底有没有办法让他们三个同时上场并且行之有效，还是你必须说服其中某个人去替补，而那会很困难，又或者你必须交易掉其中一个？如果最终你必须交易掉其中之一，我想我们所有人都知道，那最可能是哪一个。
迈克·芬格：我认为你很可能说对了。我认为你很可能是对的。嗯，我只是不会，完全排除其他的可能性。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：是的。而且很多这种话，再说一次，都是总经理发言，但布莱恩谈到“看，我们去年靠这套阵容打进了总决赛。我们有点想看看接下来会如何发展”时，这其实也暗示了那一点。他们不会太急于在今年夏天就进行某种伤筋动骨的大规模阵容调整。但，呃，你知道，也许某个时候吧。
迈克·芬格：真不想从这里转换话题，嗯，不过你刚才那番话正好给了我一个自然的，呃，衔接点，我要特意指出来，反而显得不那么自然了。嗯，我，我前几天在报纸上写过这个。我仔细核对了一下，当时还有点惊讶。嗯，我们都知道，过去八年产生了八位不同的NBA总冠军，对吧？就是一个在NBA史上前所未有的，嗯，充满冠军球队平权主义的时代。你是否意识到，在那段时间里，没有任何一支球队能够连续两年闯进总决赛？我是说，我得承认，我对此是有些惊讶的。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：我没意识到。
迈克·芬格：太……即使是那些……我说清楚，不只是卫冕，是没有任何一支球队，从任何一个分区，能连续两年站上总决赛的舞台。在那个八年周期里，我想勇士进过两次，但中间隔了一年。还有谁？凯尔特人也进过两次，但在他们输球的那年和他们卷土重来赢得一切的那年之间，也隔了一年。对此我有自己的理论。现在这轮到我们这支本地篮球队了，嗯，他们将试图成为自2019年金州勇士之后，第一支连续两年闯入总决赛的球队。但你们认为，我现在把问题抛给大家，为什么连那些所谓的崛起强队，比如雷霆，比如凯尔特人，都无法做到连续出线呢？为什么这这么难，而马刺凭什么能改变这一局面？
杰夫·麦克唐纳：我第一反应是，这正说明了联盟通过各种规定试图促成的竞争均势，嗯，比如CBA里的各种规则之类的。而且打进总决赛本身就很难。你看今年的马刺，当时有说法是，“哦，天哪，他们搞砸了，现在他们第二轮要碰掘金了，几乎没可能赢，那对他们是很难对付的对手。”结果他们根本不需要面对掘金。掘金自己被干掉了，你知道。他们有过，你知道，我不是想给任何打进总决赛的球队打星号找借口。但你看看，就像，好吧，你遇到了俄克拉荷马城，但他们基本上一直是一支伤痕累累的残阵，并非最强形态，缺少关键的持球手，因为伤病而过不了关。你知道，你还遇到了没有安东尼·爱德华兹完全健康的明尼苏达。所以，对任何球队来说，想要在当今这个时代打进总决赛，都需要一些多米诺骨牌以正确的方式倒下。如果其中任何一张牌倒的方向不对，你就进不去。而我，我就是这么认为的。不过这是我未经深思就脱口而出的答案。在你问出这个问题后，我思考它不超过十秒钟。
汤姆·奥斯本：你再看雷霆，你知道，他们也在试图增强对抗文班亚马的实力，选了一个7尺3的马拉。嗯。他们将会，你知道，我们可以说他们在和马刺那轮七场大战中是输给了伤病。嗯，所以也许他们会成为像金州和波士顿那样的球队，你知道，不是连续的，但会再次回到那个舞台。
迈克·芬格：是的。而且，关于俄克拉荷马城，我还有另一个有趣的观察，这和马刺在本次选秀中采取的赌博策略有关。雷霆队的萨姆·普雷斯蒂，呃，他们因为在人才评估和所有选秀运作上的操作而获得了大量应得的赞誉。嗯，但他们这次选秀中的动作，某种程度上也展示了采取那种马刺式豪赌的弊端。就像，俄克拉荷马城去年还是前年选了托皮奇，那也是个有伤在身，需要像马刺对待昆坦斯那样，先红衫养伤一年的球员，属于放长线钓大鱼的选择。那次尝试对他们来说没奏效，结果他们现在不得不有点重组，又选了一个打同样位置的[听不清：Bennett Sirt’s]那孩子。嗯，他们去年也选了一个大个子，想让他慢慢在切特·霍姆格伦和以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因身后成长，结果现在看来也许那个选择也不理想，所以现在他们又走回老路，再选一个。我觉得这里的要点是，不是每一次挥棒都必须命中。嗯，即便是像雷霆这样多年来成功命中了那么多次的球队，对吧，他们也会失手几次，但关键在于，你要持续挥棒。而我认为，这就是马刺现在的思路。你要持续挥棒。嗯，你不必非要选择那个在选秀榜单上最符合传统共识的人选。呃，如果你认为杰登·昆坦斯有更高的上限，比卡里姆·洛佩兹更适合你的体系，那你就选他，你不会矫枉过正地说：“我们还是要选最符合传统共识的人，因为我们要顾及我们眼前的、短期的未来。”
杰夫·麦克唐纳：嗯，这几乎就像是，拿雷霆举个例子，也许马刺未来某个时候也会到这个阶段，就是当你已经强到、阵容厚到那个程度，拥有这么多能打球的球员时，再到选秀大会上，你就不会想去选一个也许很扎实，但你知道根本挤不进你轮换阵容的球员。因为你实在太强了。所以你宁可，你宁愿选一个，要么是强到爆炸，非得给他时间不可的潜力股，去赌一把；要么干脆就是个水货，大不了下次再来。选一个可能够格在NBA打球，但还不足以在你队里打球的球员，是没多大意义的。我也不知道，也许有意义吧，也许你可以交易掉那个人。我不知道。我又不是总经理。
迈克·芬格：不，我认为你完全正确。当你拥有，看马刺的阵容，他们有九个球员。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：根本没有多余的出场时间。
迈克·芬格：这九个人下赛季都会有球打，而且你根本不会，没有任何一个人会让你觉得，“哎呀，我们必须把他替换掉，找个能顶上来，让他别再上场的人。” 无论你怎么评价卢克·科内特和他的季后赛表现，他整个赛季对球队起了巨大作用，在82场常规赛的跨度里，你会希望他吃掉那些时间。你并不会，你不是在试图把卢克·科内特摁在板凳上。是啊，你想要的是选一个强到爆炸，[笑声]优秀到让你不得不把卢克·科内特摁在板凳上的家伙，而昆坦斯就是赌的这个。是的。你不想要一个只是，哎，你知道，他可以当你的第十人、第十一人。如果一切顺利，你想要一个能成为你第六人、第五人的家伙，我认为这就是背后的哲学。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：马刺进入休赛期的轮换问题，从来不是“我们如何替换掉某个人”，而是“怎么给迪伦·哈珀更多时间？怎么给卡特·布莱恩特更多时间？”所以，对于这支球队的新秀来说，本来就没有多余的上场时间可分配，我认为，除非那个新秀真的猛得一批。所以，这大概就是他们为什么要赌。
迈克·芬格：是的，我认为你说得对。我认为你说得对。嗯，我们下周会回来，带着……
杰夫·麦克唐纳：会的。
迈克·芬格：是的，因为NBA日程表上还有一个重要的日子即将到来，比以往都早得多，考虑到马刺的季后赛结束时间，那就是自由球员市场的开启，我们下周会谈所有这些。交易季，所有这些事情。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：会疯掉的，天哪。
迈克·芬格：我们可能又不得不谈论达龙·福克斯了，嗯。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：他们将要进行的各种运筹帷幄，各种交易谈判。他们要签下的那些大名鼎鼎的自由球员。
迈克·芬格：是的，重磅签约。
杰夫·麦克唐纳：会很疯狂的。大家记得回来收看哦。
迈克·芬格：是啊，肯定精彩。下期见，保持你的感恩之心大过你的期望。彼此关照，保持真实。
[音乐]
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Why Spurs keep swinging big in draft
Why Spurs keep swinging big in draft
Columnist Mike Finger and beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn review the Spurs’ two unconventional picks in the first round of the NBA draft, discuss the timelines for Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr., and examine the Spus’ chances of making a repeat run to the NBA Finals.
Suggested reading:
Why the Spurs rolled the dice on a pair of big men
Why Brian Wright has full confidence in Mitch Johnson, De’Aaron Fox
Why after run to NBA Finals, Spurs will look to defy history again
Here is the transcript of the podcast:
Mike Finger: From a highly secure network of top-secret locations across South Texas, this is the Spurs Insider NBA draft edition. I am Mike Finger joined as always by San Antonio Express-News Spurs beat writers Tom Orsborn and Jeff McDonald. And Jeff, Tuesday night when Brian Wright, the Spurs general manager, emerged from the Spurs’ nerve center, from the room where the Spurs made their latest moves, he declared that the local cagers have a type. And it seems like they do have a type. What did they do, and what is their type?
Jeff McDonald: What did they do and who is their type? Well, what, man, we’re jumping right into it, aren’t we? I, I was just, I couldn’t believe the draft came so fast. Weren’t we just working like the playoffs, the finals like a week and a half ago? We were, weren’t we? It was 10 days after the finals that they had to make some draft picks. Um, quick turnaround. We’re, it’s been a while since we’ve had that quick of a turnaround. But anyway, it was kind of a night of, uh, I don’t know if you want to call it gambling on the part of Brian Wright at the Spurs, but they did take a couple of swings there with, uh, you know, they were just going to have the one first-round pick at number 20, ended up, uh, taking a guy that played four games last year for Kentucky in, in Jayden Quaintance, which I, I think is a pretty good risk-reward, uh, pick that we can get into in a minute. And then took a little swing by trading back into the first round for a second first-round pick and, uh, taking Tarris Reed Jr. from, from UConn, another big man. So you got two bruising, kind of, uh, rough and tumble, defensively-minded, dirty work kind of big men in, in different sort of packages. But, but two, two guys like that, that’s the Spurs’ type last night. That was their type. And, um, it’s, it’s something we kind of thought they would address this offseason in some capacity, just more size on that front line. One of those players they drafted is probably more likely, um, to help them this year than, than the other. Um, Tarris Reed obviously coming in with a clean bill of health. Quaintance, um, you know, has had knee troubles for the past, uh, year-plus, and still has a, he told us last night still has like, uh, a cleanup surgery to do, uh, to fix a meniscus, so it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be super available at the start of his NBA career. But a guy that they’re really excited about down the road, um, just with like a lottery talent that fell just because of, of health concerns. So if they can get him healthy and on the floor at some point in, in the years to come, they’re really excited about what that defensive front line, uh, could look like next to, uh, Victor Wembanyama and then all those, uh, defensive guards that they’ve got.
Mike Finger: Tom Orsborn, what were your big takeaways from draft night?
Tom Orsborn: Yeah, they, they filled a need. I think they did a great job. Um, you know, like Jeff said, it’s, there’s question marks around Jaden, but, um, you know, they do their due diligence. I mean, it’s not like they, you know, like, like Brian said, there were doctors around there, the doctors talked to him, they know what they’re getting and, and they know what, you know, they, they know how much of a risk it is or isn’t. So I think he’s, he’s going to be just fine. 18 years old, just, uh, completely dominating on the defensive side before the injury, uh, when he was at Arizona State, um. And, uh, Tarris, man, I, I like everything that, that guy said last night about just embracing the bruising, you know, lunch pail, dirty work type of player that he wants to be, I mean, and is. So I think, I think they did a really good job filling a need, you know, providing, uh, depth in the frontcourt behind Victor.
Jeff McDonald: And Jaden was the youngest guy in the draft, so they have time to wait for him to develop and then, uh, you know, Tarris is the, uh, one of the oldest guys in the draft at, at a ripe old age of 22. He’s actually older than Victor Wembanyama right now. So, by, by, you know, a factor of a few months. So, he, he’s a guy that maybe you get a little more out of quickly. Uh, I do think when you’re an NBA Finals, uh, level team already, the chances of finding someone in the 20s who is going to help you immediately is probably, uh, not high. So, that’s why I kind of like that swing at Jayden Quaintance’s. Like, you’re probably not going to get someone at 20 who’s going to step right in and help a team that’s already good enough to get to the finals. Like, if you look at the Spurs last year, there weren’t a lot of extra minutes to go around. You weren’t, you, you know, um, so getting a guy that you can wait on, that you can marinate a little bit, you can wait for him to get completely healthy, you can wait for him to develop, uh, to get older, to get more experience, um, I think that’s a fine way to use that pick at number 20. Um, you, you, you go for the upside. You swing for the upside and, um, hope that lottery ticket cashes, because Quaintance is, uh, at 100% health, is a guy that probably would’ve been in the, in the lottery this year.
Mike Finger: That looked to me like another draft, another example, um, of a front office, an organization, um, just a whole group where people aren’t worried about getting fired. And I’ve said this over and over and over and over again on this podcast, in the San Antonio Express-News, um, one of the biggest strengths of an organization that’s run like the Spurs is run is that guys do not have to worry, decision-makers do not have to worry about looking out for their job in the next six months and showing immediate results, and worried, they’re not worried about criticism and second-guessing. And when you’re able to operate a franchise in that manner, you have a big long-term advantage over other franchises that are, are run and operated by guys who are worried about losing their jobs. And you see that in some of the trades that the Spurs have made in recent and not so recent years where they grab that extra first-round swap six years down the road, what have you. Um, this is another example of a pick that the Spurs made in Jayden Quaintance where you’re not going to show immediate dividends from this, right? Like, this is not going to be a guy who, this is, this is not a guy who’s going to come in and immediately take minutes from Luke Kornet. He might not play for the first several months of the season, I mean, regardless of the status of his knee itself. He didn’t play a whole lot last year, so you figure even if the knee is healthy, it’s going to take a while to get back into game shape and become an NBA player. The Spurs are fine with that. Both of these picks also were easily second-guessed by the, the quote-unquote draft experts, the draft boards. There were some players, there were players at each of those spots where the conventional draft guru wisdom was saying, um, hey, there’s a guy named Kareem Lopez from Mexico who would’ve been like a marketing, uh, extravaganza for the Spurs if they would’ve taken him in the spot where they took Quaintance. Um, that would’ve been the very easy pick there. That’s going to be the pick that, uh, Jayden Quaintance is compared to over the next several years, maybe forever. Um, at the next pick, there was the center guy from Houston who would’ve been the, the, the guy that was available for the Tarris Reed pick. Like, that was the guy on the draft board there. But when the, the Spurs trust their people, they say, “These are the guys we’re targeting, these are the guys we’re going to. We don’t have to worry about…” again. It’s been 30 years since the Spurs have fired either a coach or a GM. Can you believe that? I don’t, I can’t imagine there’s another franchise in the NBA let alone or even in, in professional sports where it’s been that long since a team has not fired a coach or a GM. Um, I just think it gives you some, uh, leeway to trust yourself and trust the process that other teams don’t have. And, uh, if, will this pay off in these two specific cases? I’m not sure. We don’t know yet. But I think, uh, I think it’s worth noting there that, that, that a team like the Spurs is, is able to do that in a way that other teams aren’t.
Jeff McDonald: In terms of the Quaintance pick, uh, specifically, uh, under Brian Wright, the Spurs have taken these kinds of swings before, where there’s maybe a, a guy that seems more obvious on the draft board, but you want to go for upside, and those, those have not worked out. I mean, I’m thinking of, I’m thinking about like, uh, like your Luka Šamanić or your, uh, Joshua Primo. Um, I think if the, if, if there’s a difference here, that was a, that was a period where the Spurs were still looking for their star. They’re looking for their centerpiece, and they were having to take some wild swings in the draft to do, to do it at places in the draft where you’re not going to get, uh, you know, a Victor Wembanyama or, or, you know, a Cooper Flagg or someone to build around, um, without, without taking some kind of wild, wild swing, a, a big grand slam, home run swing from your heels type, pick, and that’s what they were looking for with Šamanić and Primo, who did not work out. I think now in, in this, in this case, the Spurs already have their Victor Wembanyama. They know who they are, they know what, um, pieces they need, specific roles they need filled. And that’s sort of what they’re doing here. Let’s go get the best guy we can find that could maybe fill this role, and at, at 20, if you can get a guy that if it all works out, and he’s, he’s a, he’s a lottery type, uh, talent, once healthy, I mean, that’s a huge, huge, um, addition, maybe not for the 2026-27 Spurs, but maybe the 27-28, 28-29 Spurs. Like if Quaintance is ever at a point where he’s playing, he’s good enough to play big minutes for this team, that means something has gone really right with that pick, and he’s going to be a really big part of what they do, um, if it all pans out. You know, he played 28 games in college and only four last year at Kentucky due to injuries. So you’re trusting a lot of tape on that first year of Arizona State, at that first year of 24 games at Arizona State, which was, was pretty phenomenal, it sounds like. I mean, he set a, uh, freshman block shots record at Arizona State, and only played in 24 games. That’s how productive he was. And if you look at some of the film from that, you see just a bouncy guy that at that time at Arizona State was 17 years old. The point Brian made last night that I thought was interesting is that for the most part college basketball is getting older with the NIL. People are staying in, in, in the, in college basketball longer than they might have, um, previously. So you’ve got a lot of 22-year-olds, sometimes 23 and with, you know, coming out of the COVID era, some 24-year-olds. So if you’re a 17-year-old kid at Arizona State and you’re doing this against a, a college basketball field that includes kind of some grown men, um, the Spurs put a lot of stock in that. And so they’re really banking on what they see from Quaintance’s pre-knee injury, uh, at Arizona State as being who he is and who he’s going to be in the NBA. And if he is that guy, um, he, he’s going to be an absolute home run pick at number 20 if he gets back to being what he was, um, pre-knee injury.
Mike Finger: I also thought that, um, in looking back at, at the last draft podcast we did a year ago, um, where we were talking about what the obvious hole that the Spurs needed to fill with shooting, like neither of these picks are picks where people are talking about them becoming shooters. They’re not shooters. They might not ever become shooters. But because of the way the Spurs’ roster kind of developed this past year, you don’t necessarily need that. I don’t think that’s a huge issue. I think what the bigger hole that the Spurs were looking to fill is just that extra beef next to Victor. And you had guys like Stephon Castle, definitely Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, Dylan Harper proved they can make shots. I think Keldon Johnson, um, on down the line, I don’t think that, uh, you worry as much as, as, as I think people were worrying about the Spurs’ future and their, their shooting balance a year ago where you need that from that guy. And I think both Quaintance and Reed are guys who can do all the things that we saw that the Spurs needed. And, and Brian Wright mentioned this last night, right? Um, just the way the finals developed, the way the playoffs developed, that, that they needed more of that toughness, more of that big body, just dirty work, um, type presence down there. And if either of these guys turn into that, that’s a huge, uh, that’s a huge step for this, this roster.
Jeff McDonald: Right. If you remember how the playoffs went and the finals in particular, it was kind of a disaster every time Victor went to the bench.
Mike Finger: Yeah.
Jeff McDonald: Um, to the point where like what was the game he played 44 minutes? Like you, you couldn’t stand to sit him. And that’s not really an indictment of Luke Kornet, who did not play well in the finals, but Luke was great throughout the regular season being the guy that spelled Victor. I think he was dealing with a little bit of some foot trouble in the finals and couldn’t be his, his full self. Um, but just having more of those guys eventually down the road that you can go to, um, to play with Victor but also play to, to give him a break and you still don’t have that giant drop-off that we were seeing sometimes in the finals. I think that’s what the Spurs are going for with these picks. And again, maybe not immediately this season, but, um, a couple years down the road they see that in those guys.
Mike Finger: And Tom, the way the, the roster is constructed, um, and I think, I think Brian mentioned this last night as well, the, the, the guys who played a bunch last year are mostly coming back. I think the only question might be Harrison Barnes. But, I mean, you’ve got eight, nine rotation guys coming back. These two picks, who you took swings with, are replacing Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo. I mean, the bottom of that roster had some, some spots that were not going to guys who were playing much. So, you, it’s not like, um, you need these two first-rounders to come in and contribute right away. Uh, the, the, the spots they’re filling were not being filled by, by players who were playing much anyway, so you can take time with both of them. I think Reed might be able to, he’s an old guy as, as Jeff mentioned, I think five months older than Victor Wembanyama. He might be able to play relatively early. But if you take your time with Quaintance and just have him work with the developmental guys, the, the guys who’ve, who’ve had a lot of success working with young players in the past, I think that by the end of next year for sure, the year after that, uh, it could really pay off.
Jeff McDonald: I also think Carter Bryant’s, Carter Bryant’s…
Mike Finger: We’re talking to Tom. Tom hasn’t talked in a while.
Jeff McDonald: Oh, sorry!
Mike Finger: Uh-huh.
Tom Orsborn: We’ll see, uh, Carter Bryant is a template. Um, you know, they, they could duplicate or, or, or follow what they did with him last year, um, just bring him along slowly, see how he develops, see how he fits in, and, um, you know, toward the end of the season, maybe they become part of that bottom rotation, um. But, yeah, they, they’re, they’re going to take their time. Um, you know, health is, is, is primary, primarily the main focus right now with, uh, Quaintance. So, um, yeah, but I, I, I look at Carter Bryant as a template for what they might do with these two guys next season.
Jeff McDonald: What I was going to say is Kornet is already over the age of 30, and so, um, you’re probably also drafting his replacement with these picks at some point, not, not immediately, but at some point. Like, probably, probably, I mean, maybe Luke, he signed a four-year deal last, I think that’s right, last summer. Maybe he finishes that here. There’s a lot of like, uh, ungauaranteed money, team options in that. Maybe he plays four years on that contract, but he’s, you know, he’s going to be getting older, slower, uh, slow down a little bit. I think that’s another thing you’re looking at with these guys is, um, maybe you, you’ve picked someone who can fulfill that kind of role, um, once Kornet is either not on the team or is, is less effective than he was this year.
Mike Finger: Yeah. And just more of, I think Carter Bryant might be shooting high with, uh, with Quaintance for sure, because Carter was getting minutes around Christmas last year. It might be longer this time around. But, um, another, another dimension of this is Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson specifically, the type of guys who you love having around over the course of an 82-game season, um, and for whatever reason aren’t as much of a difference maker in the postseason. Now, you have, Luke Kornet and Keldon Johnson, those types to get you through the 82-game season. And if for whatever reason they aren’t a difference maker in the playoffs, you have other options. You can go maybe by then Jayden Quaintance is ready to contribute. Um, Tarris Reed is ready to contribute. You have more options. That, last year once the NBA Finals started, um, as Jeff said, the Luke Kornet minutes weren’t going great and you weren’t going to Mason Plumlee minutes. You weren’t going to go to Kelly Olynyk minutes. You weren’t going, as much as Bismack Biyombo is my guy, I love Bismack Biyombo, one of my favorite guys ever to cover, you probably weren’t going to Bismack to, to chase down Karl-Anthony Towns in the, in the NBA Finals. Now you just, you have more bodies, and I do think, bigger picture, Jeff is right in that, um, this is, there is a, a line of succession now down the road. When you start looking at the over-30 guys on the roster, there is a plan for younger guys to inherit those roles. And that’s how, this goes back to my earlier point of that’s how a, um, an organization with long-term vision operates, when you’re not so worried about winning the press conference, you’re not so worried about winning the draft grades from everybody who gives out draft grades, you’re not so worried about showing that you made the right pick six months from now. If you can show two, three years from now you made the right pick, I think that’s when you’re running a pretty successful franchise.
Tom Orsborn: And, um, continuing on that theme, um, Brian Wright gave strong votes of confidence to Mitch Johnson and De’Aaron Fox, uh, yesterday, um, last night.
Mike Finger: Which would’ve been news if he didn’t. [laughter]
Tom Orsborn: Right, I know. But Fox, you know, he, it was a pretty, pretty strong vote of confidence, basically saying he’s coming back next year, and we’re going to, we’re going to continue to look for ways…
Mike Finger: Did he say that specifically?
Tom Orsborn: He, he, he, he all but said it, Mike. I mean, he said he’s going to, you know, they’re going to bring him back and, I mean, not bring him back, but he said they’re going to look for ways for those three guys to play together. I mean, he was, he was basically talking about him as being very much as part of their future next year. I, I’m not saying that’s going to hold, but, you know, that’s what the man said.
Mike Finger: I’m not, I’m not sure there was a line in there that said we’re definitely bringing him back. I could be wrong, but, uh, and, and I expect him to be back by the way. I just would not, I don’t want to turn this into another De’Aaron Fox podcast. We had one of those last week. Um, anyway, I’m going to move on from that. Yeah, that’s, that’s what we expected to hear from, that’s what we expected to hear from Brian Wright. And the Mitch Johnson criticism is just absurd. Um, we, we said, we talked about that last week too. Um, anybody calling out Mitch Johnson, uh, after the job that he did over the past season, uh, I’m not sure dignifies a, uh, a podcast discussion, a second podcast discussion. Jeff, did you have anything to add, anything to that stuff?
Jeff McDonald: What? No, I’m good.
Mike Finger: Okay. Okay. Um.
Jeff McDonald: You’re looking for a way out of this, aren’t you?
Mike Finger: No, no, I’m fine talking about it. I just don’t want to make, everything gets aggregated, and I don’t think that anything that, how to say this? I, I think that the, let’s just do it. The, the deal with De’Aaron Fox and the reason why, um, the reason why all of this is coming up is it’s, it’s, it’s, there’s, they have three point guards. [laughter] Like, none of this is breaking news. They have a guy in Dylan Harper who needs to play more and is probably going to expect to play more. And I don’t want this to get aggregated either. This is not coming from Dylan Harper’s people placing any pressure on the Spurs or anything like that. I think just think it’s natural that he’s going to want to play more. He’s going to expect to play more because he’s a really, really good player, and he was one of the Spurs’ best players in the playoffs when they went to the NBA Finals. And, um, even though there are stretches where you can play De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper together, it, there’s probably not, that, that probably can’t be your starting group. That probably can’t be your main group, all three of them together, unless you’re pushing out a couple of guys, Devin Vassell, um, Julian Champagnie. You want to bring a, a big guy in there to play along Victor a little more. Um, I, I just think this is, this is something that is going to be an issue for as long as De’Aaron Fox is here. And of course they are going to, um, of course they’re going to stand behind him, because he’s, he was, he was an All-Star last year. He was, he was, as I said last week, he was one of the big reasons why the Spurs made the NBA Finals. Um, and of course they’re going to not waver in their support of him. And it would be great if they could continue to build around him. But I think it’s going to be a question for as long as De’Aaron Fox is here as to how long he’s going to be here. And, uh, I don’t know, is there anything to add to that?
Jeff McDonald: I’ll just, I’ll just, I’ll just, just to, just, you know, for, for, for housekeeping, to enter it into the record, I will read, uh, Brian Wright’s direct quote from last night, and then people can make, make of it what they will. What, well, well, at, at least the money, um, the money sentence. Uh, “We have ultimate faith in De’Aaron and who he is as a player, what he’s been for us, and what he means to this team, and there is no wavering in that at all.” So make, make of that what you will.
Tom Orsborn: And he said they’ll, they’ll continue to play and they’ll be a tough matchup for anybody that has to guard them, implying that, yeah, he’ll, he’ll be back. Now, of course, that can change, but that was what he indicated.
Jeff McDonald: That was, that was, that was the follow-up question. Um, you know, the, the biggest question with this team is, is Dylan Harper was so great in the post-team and, uh, postseason, and how do you, how do you envision him, that playing out the next several years? And Brian said, um, and I think, “They,” meaning all the guards, I guess, “They’ll continue to play and they will be a tough matchup for anybody that has to guard them.”
Tom Orsborn: Right.
Jeff McDonald: So those, those are the, those are the quotes we are discussing for those who did not, uh, watch the raw Brian Wright feed on Spurs.com or wherever that goes.
Mike Finger: And I think that that is exactly what, uh, what, what you expect Brian Wright to say. Um, and it’s true, as long as he’s here they’re going to continue to play, and, uh, and I don’t think, I don’t think, um, there’s any obvious De’Aaron Fox trades out there. Like, yeah, I think, I think by the, uh, once the NBA year starts in the month of July, his number goes up. Um.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah, that, that extension, the extension kicks in.
Mike Finger: One thing that we’ve learned in the NBA over the past decade-plus, though, is that, uh, if you have a, a guy on a supposedly untradeable contract, there are ways, there’s always ways to move a supposedly untradeable contract. Like, that gets proven time and time and time and time and time again. Um, and I just, I don’t want to turn this into another bash De’Aaron podcast. I, I just want to make clear that I don’t think that, um, anything has fundamentally changed in the situation that we all see, that, uh, the fans can all see, the listeners, the viewers can all see, in that, um, De’Aaron Fox was awesome, De’Aaron Fox, having, having those three guys together is a luxury. It’s a great thing to have. Uh, you could get to the NBA Finals again next year with those three guys. I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just saying that at some point, um, that, I, I just doubt that De’Aaron Fox is going to finish his contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
Jeff McDonald: Like you said, it’s all, it all stems from Dylan Harper being a stud and, yes, going to need more, more playing time, a bigger role. He’s going to be, need to be a starter in the NBA at some point. And the question for the Spurs that’s already begun and will continue until it’s resolved is how to do that, whether there’s a way to play all three of them together and it’s fine, or do you have to convince someone else to come off the bench, and that’s going to be difficult, or do you have to move one of them? And if you have to move one of them at some point, we all, we all know which one that’s probably going to be.
Mike Finger: I think you’re probably right. I think you’re probably right. Um, I just would not, uh, completely rule it out.
Jeff McDonald: Yeah. And a lot of this stuff, ag- again, it’s GM speak, but Brian talking about, “Look, we made the finals with this group last year. We kind of want to, we kind of want to see where it goes,” is, it kind of, kind of points to that too. They’re not going to be too hasty to make some court- some sort of massive overhaul move this summer. But, uh, you know, at some point maybe.
Mike Finger: Hate to transition away from this, um, and to, just a natural, uh, segue that you just gave me there, that I’m going to call attention to, to make it less natural. Um, I was, I, I had this in the newspaper the other day. I was kind of surprised when I double-checked this. Um, do you real- we all know that there’s been eight different, um, NBA champions in the past eight years, right? Like, that’s, that’s, this is an unprecedented, uh, time of, of championship parity in the National Basketball Association. Do you realize that during that time no one has gotten to the finals two years in a row? Like, I was, I got to say I was kind of surprised by that.
Jeff McDonald: I did not.
Mike Finger: Like, that’s, it’s been really hard to get even the teams that, I’m not saying repeat, to make this clear, nobody has gotten to the finals two years in a row from either conference. During that eight-year stretch, I think the, the Warriors got there twice, but there was a gap in between. Who else? The, the Celtics got there twice, but there was a, a year in between, between the year that they lost and the year that they came back and, and won it all. I have my theories on that. This now applies to the local cagers, um, they’re going to try to be the first team since I think 2019, the 2019 Golden State Warriors, to go to the finals two years in a row. But why do you think, I’m throwing out there to the group, why do you think it’s, it’s, it’s been tough for teams to get to the finals two years in a row, even the teams that are up-and-coming, like the Thunder, those, those Celtics, uh, a lot of supposedly up-and-coming power, powerhouses have not been able to do that. And, and, and why do you think that is, and why do you think the Spurs can change that?
Jeff McDonald: Off the top of my head, I would just say it points to the, to the parity that the league has tried to foster, um, with various, um, you know, uh, CBA rules and stuff. And, and, you know, it’s hard. It’s hard to get to the finals. If you look at the Spurs this year, I mean, there was this talk about, “Oh, my gosh, they screwed up and now they’re going to have to face the Nuggets in the second round and there’s no way they can make, you know, that’s, that’s a tough matchup for them.” And then they didn’t have to face the Nuggets. The Nuggets got knocked off, you know. They had, they had a, you know, I don’t want to like put, you could put an asterisk by anybody that goes to the finals. But you look at like, okay, you got Oklahoma City, but they were kind of an injured mess the entire time, and not, not, couldn’t, had important guys, not enough ball handling because they were injured, couldn’t get through. You know, you got Minnesota without Anthony Edwards, being at full strength. So it, it just takes some, for any team, takes some dominoes falling the right way to make the finals in this day and age. And, you know, if one of those goes a different way, you’re, you don’t make it. And I, I just, I think that’s all it is. But that’s off the top of my head. I did not ponder this question more than 10 seconds before you asked it.
Tom Orsborn: You got, you got the Thunder, you know, kind of, um, trying to get stronger against Wemby, drafting, uh, Mara, um, 7’3". Um, they’re going to, you know, they, they, a case can be made that they were done in by injuries in the seven-game series against the Spurs. Um, so maybe they’ll, they’ll be one of those teams like Golden State and Boston that, you know, not consecutively, but they’re back again.
Mike Finger: Yeah. And, and another interesting, um, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma City observation that relates to the swings the Spurs took in this draft. Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti, uh, they, they’ve received a lot of deserved praise for their talent evaluation and all the, the moves they’ve made in the draft. Um, the moves they made in this draft kind of show the downside of taking those Spurs-like swings where, uh, Oklahoma City last year or the year before took Topić, the guy coming off an injury that they’re going to have to kind of redshirt the same way the Spurs are going to do with Quaintance where, um, you’re, you’re taking him for the long haul. That did not work out for them, and, uh, now they did, they had to kind of regroup and they took the, the [unclear: Bennett Sirt's] kid, who plays that same position. Um, they took a big man last year to kind of, uh, uh, grow slowly behind Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein, and, uh, now they’re going to go back to that well and take another one because maybe that one didn’t work out as well. I think the point here is that not every swing you take has to connect. Um, even a team like Oklahoma City, which has connected on a lot of swings over the years, right, they miss on a few, but, the, you just keep taking them. And I think that’s, that’s what the Spurs are thinking here. You keep taking them. Um, you don’t go for necessarily the conventional wisdom pick at your spot. Uh, if you think Jayden Quaintance has much higher upside, can fit your program much better than Kareem Lopez did, that’s what you do, and you don’t overcorrect and say, “We’re just going to take the conventional wisdom pick because we’re going to look out for our, our, our immediate future.”
Jeff McDonald: Well, it, it’s almost when, like, to use Oklahoma City as an example, and maybe the Spurs are here at some point, when you’re that good and that deep and have so many guys that can play, and then you get to the draft, like, you’re, you’re, you don’t want to draft someone that might be solid, but you know can’t play for you because you’re just so good. So you might as, you want to draft a guy that’s either going to be so good, like, take one of those swings. Be someone that’s so good that he’s going to have to play for you, or just flames out, and you try again. It doesn’t make a, make sense to, to take someone who’s probably good enough to play in the NBA, but not good enough to play for you. I don’t know, maybe it does. Maybe you trade that guy. I don’t know. I’m not a GM.
Mike Finger: No, I think that’s, I think that’s exactly right. When you have, like, look at the Spurs’ roster. They have nine guys.
Jeff McDonald: There’s no minutes.
Mike Finger: Who are going to play next year and who you’re very, like, no guy among those nine are you thinking, “Oh, we absolutely have to replace him and find someone who can, who can step in, uh, to keep this guy off the floor.” Say what you will about, uh, Luke Kornet and his postseason. He was a huge factor for them all season long, and over the course of an 82-game season, like, you want that guy getting minutes. That’s, you’re, you’re not trying to, to keep Luke Kornet off the floor. Yeah, you want, you want to draft a guy who’s going to be so good, [laughter] so overwhelmingly positive, that you have to keep Luke Kornet off the floor, and that’s the Quaintance guy. Yeah. You don’t want a guy who’s just like, eh, you know, he could be your 10th guy, 11th guy. If, if all works out well, you want a guy who could be your sixth guy, your fifth guy, and I think that’s the philosophy there.
Jeff McDonald: The, the, the rotation questions going into the offseason for the Spurs weren’t like, “How can we replace this guy?” It’s, “How to get guys, how can we get Dylan Harper more minutes? How can we get Carter Bryant more minutes?” And so, there’s no minutes to go around for a rookie on this team, I don’t think, unless that guy is just a stud. So that’s kind of what you’re swinging at.
Mike Finger: No, I think that’s right. I think that’s right. Um, we’ll be back next week with, um…
Jeff McDonald: We will.
Mike Finger: Yeah, because there’s, uh, the, the, the, another NBA date on the calendar that’s coming up way earlier than it used to, in terms of the Spurs’ postseason, is the start of free agency, and we will get into all that next week. Trade season, all that stuff.
Jeff McDonald: It’s going to be nuts, oh my goodness.
Mike Finger: We might have to talk about De’Aaron Fox again, um.
Jeff McDonald: All the, all the wheeling and dealing they’re going to do. All the big-name free agents they’re going to sign.
Mike Finger: Yeah, big signings.
Jeff McDonald: It’s going to be crazy. Tune back in for that, everybody.
Mike Finger: Yeah, it should be a good one. Until next time, keep your gratitude greater than your expectation. Take care of each other, and keep it real.
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