A peek inside the Spurs draft war room | ¡EN Vivo!
no all right welcome everyone to a special LIVE edition of uh Spurs chat with Jeff McDonald and Tom orsborne our Spurs beat Riders and columnist Mike finger who is joining us remotely from the NBA Finals up in Dallas a secure location up there Mike talk to us a little bit about the finals well I’m excited to to be at the finals disappointed not to be there for en Vivo our first first in Vivo that the Express News is doing I know our our crack team behind the scenes has has worked really hard on this we’ve got a lot of uh questions coming in a lot of listeners viewers this time um maybe in the future we’ll be covering some NBA Finals involving the San Antonio Spurs but not quite yet and looking forward to to answering all your questions we’re going to talk about the draft the Spurs as loyal listeners of the Spurs Insider podcast know have two top 10 picks this year number four overall number eight overall that was uh awarded to them as a result of a trade uh with the Toronto Raptors for yaka purle this isn’t the best draft in history that there’s no Victor wanyama in this draft but they could get two pretty good uh prospects in the top 10 here so we’ll talk all about that looking forward to hearing your questions glad Tom orsborne dressed up for the occasion uh looking forward to hear all of his insight and uh let’s do it all right Jeff uh two picks in the draft what are we looking at with with these two picks and what why do they want or what do the Spurs looking for exactly with these two picks to kind of help Victor wiama out you know I think um when you’ve lost uh won 22 games or only 22 games for two years in a row you obviously have a lot of needs like it’s hard to go wrong you’re going to you’re going to feel some sort of need but if you really want to drill down and and what you need the most I think we’ve talked about it a lot you want to upgrade the point guard position even though we love Trey Jones I don’t think the Spurs look at him as the point guard of the future going forward four five six seven years from now with Victor and uh you want to upgrade your shooting because they were one of although they um made more three-pointers last year than any Spurs team in Spurs history um they were also in the middle of the pack in terms of volume and also were near the bottom of the pack uh in terms of percentage so you’re going to want to look at point guards and shooting would be my two uh areas of most need for this team all right Tom you were up there at the combine what did you see from uh those guys up there and who might be able to fit some of those roles well a lot of them stood out in trying to sell themselves is trying to fit that role um Stefan Castle from Yukon uh was the most vociferous as far as trying to say hey I’m I want to play point guard I want to go to a team that needs a point guard a-term point guard and U you know he’s got the skill set to to fit that uh application so to speak so um but yeah you know the combine you watch those guys work at you watch the testing and all that but the best part is the interviews you get some insight into who they are and U Castle was very self assured very aggressive and um yeah so a lot of those guys were like that uh you know just really trying to sell themselves all right and a reminder to our audience uh we’ll be answering questions at some points yeah a few minutes or maybe 10 15 minutes into the into this chat here so uh get in the into the app here and uh put your questions in there and let us know and we’ll answer anything uh Spurs related please Spurs related not about Jeff’s hat or uh anything like that but may baby ask me anything ask him ask you anything well he’ll also answer questions about Pearl Jam as well so yeah so um Mike what what what are you kind of seeing from what the the Spurs need for this draft and what what do you think they’re going to do one really fascinating thing that I think uh Jeff and Tom will agree with me on is just how the perception of the Spurs in this league has changed with the addition of the tall skinny French kid like we are not used to Jeff Jeff and Tom shoot all three of us have been around a long time uh covering this team through eras when they were winning championships every year and uh or at least competing for championships every year and you never sort of heard the Spurs mentioned in that uh Rumor Mill that goes on every offseason and it it’s weird to cover an organization now that as as as one National NBA writer mentioned to me last night the Spurs are now in the rumor Prestige Zone where every every Star that wants his name out there that has an agent that wants to create some kind of stir um every player that feels like he needs to bump up his profile a little bit is going to end up in a uh this guy to the Spurs rumor and it’s a new age in covering San Antonio now because that just wasn’t the case back in the Tim Duncan monob Tony Park ER days and so I think it’s an adjustment for people who cover the Spurs it’s an adjustment for people who root for the Spurs and consume all of this stuff you have to sort of become Discerning in figuring out which of these reports have teeth to them and actually have some substance to them and which are sort of feeding that Beast that content aggregation uh Beast that you know LeBron James has been a part of forever Kevin Durant has been part of forever so sorting through all that noise is is part of the offseason now and to get back I know I avoided your question about what they’re going to do um this is just kind of my way of saying there’s all kinds of things they can do because like Tom mentioned at the combine Stefan Castle is selling himself on being a point guard because he sees that if he can be a point guard with Victor wanyama that could be really really good for him like to be able to throw lobs to that guy like who wouldn’t want to do that so uh this is becoming kind of a destination spot San Antonio is four players around the league and I think that adds just multiple layers to trying to sort through what a a team is going to do in the off season are they going to make these two picks that’s the number one issue that we can sort of talk through today uh they don’t have to they can they can trade one of them for a player they could trade both of them to move up in the draft I doubt they do those things we I’ll open this up to Jeff and Tom I think they’re probably going to make both picks um but I don’t think that’s like 90% sure I I I think that there’s a a significant chance uh a nonzero chance that that they pull off a trade I just think that making 4 and eight is most likely what do you think Jee well when you say this uh New Normal is going to be an adjustment for all of us covering watching fans following the team it it’s going to be exhausting for all of us is what you mean because you if you get on Twitter or any of your I guess it’s not Twitter anymore whatever they call it now if you get on whatever your preferred uh uh wherever you get your quote unquote news and rumors like you’ll see tons of stuff about the Spurs now that I mean it there’s so much of it that that it’s it’s you can’t sort through it all and it can’t all be true and you can leave if you read everything and believe everything you end up leaving more confused or less certain about what might happen than than you were uh when it began so I I think taking everything with a grain of salt and kind of realizing that nobody really knows anything for sure is a good way to approach it and I think what was your question I didn’t answer it well well just to to to add to that um we talk about the peak behind the curtain Peak behind the rumor mill curtain is um there’s for every trade discussed for every deal that that GMS are talking about there’s two sides to it right so when you’re reading these spurs rumors um I feel pretty confident saying that less than 10% of the sourcing is coming from Spurs lane or or the Spurs side of things and a lot of this comes out through agents who might want good things for their clients it could come from other front offices who say hey and and there and this isn’t to say these these reports aren’t true if another front office lets out that hey the Spurs might be interested in uh Darius garland from Cleveland um might be talking to Atlanta about their guards like some of that comes from other teams and uh when the Spurs are in this rumor Prestige Zone as as it was put last night like there’s a lot of different ways for info to get out and uh you know sorting through it can be can be challenging as you said but to get back to will the Spurs make picks four and eight at the end of this month the draft is on June the it’s a two-day draft now uh first day on June 26th second day on June 27th on June 26th in Brooklyn will the Spurs make the number four and number eight selections Jeff and Tom I’d like to talk about the second round picks will they make both their second round picks can you can you stop avoiding the question I I think what you said earlier is correct I mean I think I think the the highest probability is they make them both just because this even though there has been some smoke out there about hey the the the Hawks might everyone seems to think that uh rash zachari rash seems to be emerging as the number one pick but the Hawks might not like might not want him they might want somebody else so there is some smoke about the Hawks wanting to trade down and maybe the Spurs really like reash they can move up and take him but I just don’t think anybody in this draft really moves the needle so much that you want to trade both your fourth and eighth pick to move up a little bit now if there’s a way to make a trade where you don’t you don’t lose that eighth maybe you trade the fourth and keep the eighth and move up and trade something in the future to move up with the fourth pick maybe you look at it that way but if you’re just asking for sheer probability I would say the the the the odds are greatest that they’re going to make both their picks yeah kind of uh when when I was in Chicago for the combine and talked uh Lottery and talked to Brian Wright after uh they wound up with number four and number eight a little bit of a tell from him saying you know in effect that there’s better talent in this in this draft than people think um I don’t know I kind of saw that as an indication that yeah maybe they’ll stick with those two picks and there are some people some players that they see that fit them well and that can be better than uh what people are thinking there’s going to be an All-Star or two in this draft and the reason I say that is because they’re always is there’s never been a draft in history that hasn’t produced at least one Allstar just the trick in one like this like it’s not like last year where got oh that’s Victor wanyama this year you don’t know where that guy comes from he might come at four he might come at eight he might come at 12 he might come at three he might come at any point in that first round but um are we gonna fill out this hour with just you just naming every pick he might come at 18 he might come at 17 he might come at 23 he might come at 24 he might come at numbers if it’s a Spur might come at 29 that’s the do we want to start talking individual players or are there questions in the queue Nick can you tell I some we got some questions in the queue we already answered one uh from J gold we’re here to answer questions in the queue that let let the listeners don’t want to talk to each other we’re sick of that we we do have quite a few questions uh going through uh Jeremy gold had asked about the the packaging the four and eight picks for the number Hawks number one I think we already got his question there uh so let’s get this question from Allan uh he wants to say why not Donovan kinging Klingon how do you say Donovan’s last name correctly Donovan kingan depends on if you’re a Star Trek fan I like Klingon yeah I always I always I’m Star Trek guy so I screw up I always screw up his name I I think he’s they might take steeve Romulan but why not for his question is why not form the second coming of T twin towers and take the big kid from Yukon who wants to take that one how are we gonna do this I I will start it just because um I tend to start these things um oh okay he likes to talk the most yes that is that is a fascinating question and um I guess part of it part part of the answer is that if you remember the way the Spurs started Victor wiim yama’s rookie season was playing along was was having him having him play power forward alongside a big guy uh applying Center doing all that dir dirty work I don’t think Zach Collins has Donovan kangan’s upside but it sort of gives you a preview of what a Twin Towers look might might might look like for the uh for the Spurs and it didn’t go great and I’m not pouring cold water on the possibility that could go better with a different player with a better player but the Spurs played so much better when Victor was playing Center and and the funny thing about that is Victor sort of doesn’t want to be a center or he doesn’t consider himself a center he considers himself a a a unicorn a four that type of guy Center a point Center um but I think it’s it’s it’s that is the concern like you you see all the upside of you know thinking back to the old days Tim and David playing alongside each other and how well that worked for the Spurs and you can sort of squint and see a future where the Spurs just have the paint locked down with Victor wiim minyama and Donovan kingan for the next 15 years and how intimidating and how imposing and how awesome that would be for the Spurs in their future but then the the and we’re gonna this is going to be a common theme with every player we mentioned on this podcast because that’s just kind how the draft works there’s also a downside and that is those two guys just don’t work well together and the the offense uh seemed to be so much more free flowing when Victor didn’t have that big guy in the middle kind of clogging things up last year so that would be my concern in taking Donovan kinging I see the upside but I also see that the Spurs Jeff you can speak to this all the efficiency numbers everything looked better when Victor was playing the five last year didn’t it yeah and I think um as as the questioner kind of alludes to I think a lot of Spurs fans just remember the Glory Days when it was Tim and David playing those twin tower roles and like you said just locking down the paint I mean that’s how they won their early titles was nobody could score on them but the game has changed a lot since 1999 since 2003 and it’s it’s just difficult to run a twin towers kind of configuration especially offensively unless both of those guys are like Victor wiama that that would probably work if you could clone him but I I think the problem with Klan kingan uh right now is just not much offense that um at least in terms of shooting perimeter shooting and they really like you said last year really figured out that it works better if you can get the on offense if you can get the paint clear and let um let Victor have that space to work with um so it really becomes how do you how do you weigh defense versus offense like if if if you have if you if you want to go defense with kingan it’s going to necessarily mean it’s your off is going to take a step back so it’s finding that balance and that that would be the reason not to take Donovan it’s just the the offensive um rawness there all right speaking of offense uh our next question from uh B is it Bon here um he says how about uh freshman Reed Shepard from Kentucky shot over 50% Spurs need shooting is that is that is that your guy Tom you like Reed uh well I did like him until um a draft expert Mike finger really shot him down one Mike finger just obliterated him saying that that he was terrible in the uh I thought you gonna say like tournament appearance like hit and run your combine though didn’t he yeah he he can shoot man he can shoot and and uh I mean that’s that’s his calling card so if Spurs are looking for a shooter at number eight Reed Shepard might be their guy you think Reed Shepard will last to number eight yeah I don’t know Reed Shephard’s Reed Shepard’s not going to last till number eight if you want Reed Shepard you take him at four and you might not get him at four I think Tom is sort of joking about my obliteration of Reed sheeper and that probably that was on a previous edition of the podcast based on one game he had one bad game his entire freshman season in Kentucky finger says he’s dead to me de de dead to me just awful awful that was on a previous edition of the Spurs Insider podcast which uh the newcomers here to inv Vivo if if if the invivo participants don’t know about the Spurs Insider podcast it’s it’s it comes out every Wednesday during the season every other Wednesday in the offseason and we we sometimes talk about stuff like this and sometimes we put our foot feet in our mouths mouths by being too hard on Reed Shepard my my only point with that was and it was uh it was poor no it was it that one game yeah it was poorly made but the the point was like uh like all these guys have pluses and minuses and there’s a downside to all these guys in this not great draft and uh Reed Shepard in the biggest game of his year as a freshman uh kind of was it was a dud in the NCA tournament but that’s unfair because everybody has a dud and you’re not going to Discount uh a clearly awesome NBA Prospect based on one NCA Tournament game that was silly of me uh Mia kulpa what have you uh the Rockets might take him at three like people really like him and uh um he’s he’s a smaller guard he’s not like the reason why I prefer Stefan castle of Connecticut is because of that positional versatility uh Castle can guard probably every position from one to three um he he has a willingness to learn the point guard position I would sort of want to get we can talk more about castle later but um another conversation I was having with somebody last night about the idea of the Spurs drafting a point guard who isn’t a trop point guard and asking you know why is that different than the disaster of the Jeremy Sohan experience last year Well Jeremy Sohan didn’t want to be a point guard like he he agreed to try but Tom you can speak to this like Stefan Castle really really really wants to be a point guard and if he’s not one yet just the desire to want to do it like I think that puts him off on a better start than they had with Jeremy last year and he I think he has more point guard skills than Jeremy did so so to me I take Castle over Shephard if I have that choice I’m not positive that Brian Wright and RC Buford and Greg papovich feel the same way um but yeah I can’t remember what what the question was how we got there but that’s oh it was just about Reed sheeper and I would say just to conclude that discussion I not that they might be able to get Reed Shepard at four but um I think there is some impetus in this draft to go get a guy that can shoot not a guy that you have to teach sh which is everybody they’ve drafted lately besides Victor has been guys you have to teach to shoot and I think it’d be nice with one of these two picks to get a guy that’s already proven that he can he can knock it down even if that’s the only thing he can do so maybe if you don’t get Reed Shepard at four maybe you get like adult and connected eight or something like that they brought in um Boogie Ellis last weekend from USC he’s he’s a smallest point guard along the lines of Trey Jones but he shoots 40 he shot 41% uh last season and 38% from three for his career so yeah I mean that I think that indicates they’re they’re looking they’re casting a wide net looking for Shooters to fill that the one thing that hasn’t changed about the game of basketball is the object is still to make the ball go in the basket so having guys that can do that already is is uh not a bad thing all right we got a question from Andrew here uh it podcast listener by the way he’s following up on right yeah he’s following up on our podcast from that we just spoke about uh being Kellin and a member of the community but he also pointed out that you know if you look at the Trad Mill Kell’s usually the name that is in there for the Spurs to you know kind of package and get one of these bigger Superstars and he wants to know whether or not his standing in the community and what he does extra will help him stay a Spur no not at all no no not at all um like and uh analogy to this would be like Lonnie Walker was the same way like he was just as involved in the they didn’t trade Lonnie but they weren’t going to resign him so if they can improve the team U all the great things that Kellin does in the community aren’t going to mount to Hill beans I mean that’s just the way the way the business goes um we want to talk about why he’s seems to be in all these trade rumors does anybody want to take that are you asking me I didn’t said anybody I you are anybody right first of all I will take a bit of a this is a shock I’ll take a bit of a contrarian View on uh your dismissal of Andrew’s premise there never mind just be quiet the the business of basketball you’re right like uh if if if a trade of Kellin makes the Spurs better then no amount of public service is gonna keep him a Spur but I think that that uh having a guy like Kellen who has been here so long and been sort of the same player he’s been for so along he’s sort of underrated By Us by Spurs fans by lots of people as to like they got him in the 20s of that draft right it was a it was late first round 29 um pretty good like if the night they drafted him if they knew he would turn into what he’s become they take that in a heartbeat um and fact probably would have taken him where they took Luca shamanic if they knew he was going to become what he became right and wouldn’t have waited if you have a guy like that a productive NBA player which he is and he has his aarts like lots of NBA players have but if you have a player like that who wants to be in San Antonio loves being in San Antonio um is beloved in the locker room which he is all those things like it it makes you um not necessarily say that he’s untradeable but it makes you um double check be absolutely sure that the trade that you’re making is going to improve your team and uh I I think it plays in like Brian Wright RC Buford Greg papovich these are human beings who have connections with people and they like the guy and uh you know that’s that’s only natural that you’re you’re going to make absolutely sure that the deal is correct before you get rid of them they’re not looking I think um this is sort of a gray area too when when you hear that someone is on the trade block are the Spurs are are discussing Kell and Johnson deals it’s not because they don’t like Kellin Johnson it’s because other teams value him and uh like he’s right and so um if if you want to make a big deal if you want to make make a significant trade you’re GNA have to get rid you’re gonna have to offer somebody of value and and in a way it’s a it’s a compliment to Kellon that his name is mentioned in a lot of these things because that means that other teams want him so um I I I just think sometimes when you we hear player X is on the trade block that does not mean that that the team of player X doesn’t like him uh sometimes it’s the exact opposite so uh that’s what I’d say there the other funny thing that oh go ahead no no no no no no the other funny thing that happens is the flip side that fans do were like this guy sucks trade him and it’s like well if he sucks how are you going to trade him um yeah but uh just to address the a question do you remember who uh recall who Greg papovich would have called his favorite member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2011 oh that would be Kawhi Leonard no well he oh oh Georgie Hill you’re talking about George Hill was Pop’s favorite player it was a quote he’s my favorite player and do you remember what happened to Georgie Hill in 2011 he got treaded for Kawhi Leonard so if the Spurs have a have a have a you know a a way to trade for a kawhai Leonard type future Kawhi Leonard and the only holdup is they have to trade Kellin Johnson uh they’re going to pull that trigger in a heartbeat um to go to what you said though where Kell’s been so valuable the last few years is just his personality is real and his upbeat personality and keeping everything like light and like I mean you you win 20 games 22 games in consecutive Seasons that has that has the potential to be just a complete draining butt whip of a year day after day after day and you need guys like en who are just happy to be at work you don’t maybe don’t need a team of those guys like you also need some guys that are that are you know upset that you’re losing a lot but the balance is important and this could have been a really these years would have been a lot harder in the locker room if it weren’t for a guy like Kellin Johnson and that that’s important too it’s not it’s not a factor that says you can’t trade them but it is a factor you have to consider so I will agree with you there all right we probably need to answer some more of these questions uh we got quite a few of them Alec wants to know uh why gather all these second round picks if they’re not going to use them and what maybe what are we going to use these picks on they’re going to trade them for Stuff eventually they’re going to trade them for stuff I mean the way they got them is the way they’re going to get get rid of them you know four four second round picks for Josh Richardson Flash Forward four years from now whatever that version of Josh Richardson is that you need to be like the one piece uh to a to a playoff team one little missing piece you can throw four second round picks because they’re just like handy to you there’s there’s pennies laying around you have so many of them I mean if worse comes to worse you can just sell them you know cash is nice too um so they’re not going to make them all they’re just nice it’s nice to have maybe for a team that Scouts as well as the Spurs do you know it’s a it’s a safety net there’s people in the second round that are we know can become Hall of Fame players so the Joker monu they’ve got itones it’s there if they need it it’s it’s the modern n a currency and Jeff put it perfectly it’s the way you acquire um Josh Richardson’s and Doug mcdermitt’s and Jetty osman’s whenever you’re ready to contend and uh uh it’s it’s sort of like um crypto in a way right like that they everyone sort of agreed that these these picks have value that might exceed their actual value but that’s it’s it’s it’s how you acquire players like that and there’s going to come a time maybe not next year maybe not the year after that but in the future when the Spurs just need a Josh Richardson type for a playoff run and when you have all those extra picks lying around that’s that’s how you get them and also like Tom said um for a team that Scouts well if you don’t use the picks and you have like three second round picks in a year second round picks don’t get guaranteed deals right they you can just take three swings bring three guys into a training camp in 2027 and if one of them turns into Trey Jones or manu janoby or whatever you keep them and if the other two don’t you you let those go it just gives you more more at bats in in the draft and uh yeah like like the the questioner is right like they’re never gonna make all neverna make them all and and it’s probably excessive and they’re they’re probably never going to amount to anything but it’s better to have them than to not have them all right we got a couple questions uh about individual players so I’m I’m combo these up a little bit because maybe these this may be uh like talking about pick eight but Carson wants to know about Rob Dillingham and how he he’s not a great defender but does he fit with the Spurs at all and of course then Jil wants to know about Dalton connect and whether or not the Spurs should take him at eight Dillingham uh talking about yeah talking about selling yourself marketing yourself uh when I talked to him at the uh at the com at the um combine he he really tried to sell himself as a great complimentary piece to um to wimy um you know make his life easier would look for him all the time tweeted that quote and maned spur fans eat it up you know how how else did he Market himself at the combine though or anti-market himself yeah refresh my memory didn’t you tell me he uh kind of said I don’t play defense or oh yeah yeah defense that was astonishingly honest yeah he said defense Space Jam that’s not that’s not my jam so to speak but you know um that’s an original Space Jam reference by the way he’s really honest about that and that that of course uh you know and to be fair to uh young Mr Dillingham I think what he was getting at is I can be better in that area yeah maybe you didn’t see it on film but I can be better in that are he wasn’t saying that I suck at it and I’m not going to try he was actually probably saying the opposite in a forum though where you really try to sell your strong suits it was it was pretty pretty wild to hear himing I think the I think the main I mean there’s a lot to like with that guy I think the main question because everyone in this draft is going to have a here’s a reason why not and the main question is just size yeah like the whole point the whole point of uh the Spurs looking for a point guard is I just don’t think Trey Jones has the the size to be your point guard going forward for years upon years in this modern NBA like they list Trey at 61 and I’m not sure that he’s 61 um so they want to they want to increase the size at that position and Dillingham really doesn’t do that um so that would be the kind of the one little little knock on hit he does uh he does shoot much better than Trey Jones yes at least did coming in probably he shoots better than him now uh one you you never know how much stock to put into um the Rises and Falls of prospects in this month leading up to the draft but from everything that I’ve gathered like and Tom I’m not sure if you talk to this guy in Chicago but it sounds like Devin Carter is I was just going to bring him up dein Carter moving done yapping your gums that’s what I was gonna say is moving ahead of Rob Dillingham on the point guard sort of depth chart in the draft and a comp that I’ve I’ve heard for him is Derek white which the SP like Derek white would be a perfect San Antonio Spur right now moving forward and it’s understandable why the Spurs moved on if the Spurs had Derek white they would not have Victor wanyama um but if you could find the next Derek white uh a guy who does the little things uh a productive college player as Derek was at Colorado Devin Carter a productive player Providence at both ends of the floor can make a shot can defend I unless it’s just all smoke these past couple of weeks I I would guess that the Spurs are more likely to take that Carter than Rob Dillingham I I probably agree and I want to talk about Devin Carter for a while even though that wasn’t the question that was asked he was a guy I wanted to make sure we brought up on this thing because um especially when those other point guards are off the board Stefan Castle it sounds like topic his he might fall just because of injury concerns not sure about that but he had a second ACL recently yeah if you get if you get to eight and uh those guys are gone or you don’t you don’t want to take that risk Carter’s the guy that’s really been rocketing up the draft boards and he started out as you know like a defensive specialist like he’s going to play hard on defense he has that he has that dog in him as the uh the young young guys like to say um but last year at Providence he also emerged as like an offensive player too he averaged 19 points a game Big East player of the year he’s going to be one of the best two-way guards in the draft and that’s the kind of guy that the Spurs are looking at and Derek white was the perfect uh comp for him to me it’s a guy that starts off just doing the doing the little things doing the Dirty Work kind of a connector piece but if you get him on the right team um with the where he can just be a piece part part of Derrick’s deal here was he was younger and he they were also asking him to be a number two and sometimes a number one on certain nights and that’s not what he is but you look at him in Boston when he’s older more experienced he’s there three or four just kind of a connecting piece doing all the dirty work um that’s where he’s thriving I think that’s where Derek Devin Carter can Thrive also the other thing I’d say about Devon Carter though is he’s an a athletic version of Derek white he was a combined star this year that that Tom covered out set the record for the three quarter Court Sprint uh was tied for first in the vertical jump like so he’s he’s going to he’s going to give you a lot of athleticism he’s going to play hard uh shoots better than probably any of the point guards uh being talked about in the top 10 um so I think he’s definitely a guy that Spurs fans and and the Spurs certainly um are going to should should keep their eyes on especially maybe at eight yeah you know Derek had that period where he needed to be to believe that he belonged that pop uh pop talked about a lot that was that was uh something they worked on with him for a long time and this guy might be have a mindset just the opposite I going right away all right David has a question that’s kind of similar on the same track what we’re talking about he wants to know you know he says a couple years ago we identified Jeremy soan as being coming into the draft uh as a platonic ideal for papovich based on his life experience and character he wants to know if there’s anyone in this draft that kind of fits that same Spurs mold mean culturally yeah culturally who fits the Spurs culture in this Draft when you look at this when do you got any answers for that I mean it like this is gonna feel like uh like a like I don’t know what but one of the one of the international guys yeah the E thing is international guy draft one the French kid right yeah but I don’t know I don’t know a lot about those guys personally to be able to say like oh they’re pop guys or not pop guys at this point I haven’t talked to them I don’t know how good they are maybe somebody choosing wine and uh you know as a way to introduce as a way to introduce a new name that we haven’t talked about yet but the segue to the international guy who might be there at eight is tjn Salon uh I know nothing about whether like like you guys said what about just wanted to say his name right I don’t know how he’d fit personality wise but it’s another french guy who could come in and and uh and be able to speak to Victor in multiple languages and they apparently towards the end of the playoffs over there in in France he really shot up uh team’s draft boards and would seem to be a guy I believe he’s a he’s a wing type he can shoot he can defend seems to have a lot of spuren qualities to him uh it’s a really good question by the way that that question was very well thought out and and well composed and and and hit on a lot of levels and might be too high brow for us but I just want to compliment I want to compliment the question I think that I think that’s that’s something that the Spurs do consider when they when they make draft picks is personality wise unfortunately the people on this uh in Vivo just haven’t had a chance to to meet some of these prospects and uh and speak to it but but really good question and something that I’m sure Brian Wright and and RC and Dave telop and all those guys are going to consider when they make these picks I’m gonna change my my pick uh my answer and go back to Devin Carter because everyone else everyone else we’ve talked about on this so far is 19 years old Devin Carter’s 22 so he can drink with pop like right off the bat there you go there you go well that’s some there’s something to be said for that I mean pop has lamented quite a bit um the last couple of years you know the oneand done guys come in you got to teach them fundamentals you got to work with them on in a number of areas maturity wise and but mainly fundamentals and uh there’s there’s some guys uh Dalton connect oh they asked about that someone asked about that when he’s glossed over yeah I mean there’s a guy that has some college experience Boogie Ellis five years uh you know those guys are are breaking the mold of what the Spurs have had to go through the last couple of years I think you need to I I think the ideal is to have a combination of those kind of guys when you have so many picks all in a row I don’t think you want to take all night 18 year olds or all 22 year olds I think there’s some yeah there’s some balance you can strike there another positive of having both a four and an eight you can you can take a little out of column A a little out of column B and they might do that what’s next Nick oh we have a we we have a few questions in the same kind of Realm uh JT and Xavier are both kind of hit on the same issue here about the number of picks the Spurs have when you have this many assets uh how do how what’s the appropriate way for the Spurs to use them they have should they trade some of these picks should they go after the bigger bigger names with these picks and we we’ve already talked about whether they should make these too but do they have all these other ones in the future too at what point do they start cashing in their chips I mean it’s hard to just pick a date but it just when it makes sense and how when that makes sense to uh the Spurs front office and when that makes sense to fans might not be the same timeline the same timetable I don’t get a sense there’s a there’s a big push within the Spurs organization to push those chips into the into the center of the pot this summer for instance I mean it’s sure anything could shake loose um maybe maybe some you know Nico yic deser Demands a trade and I’m just making that up as an example but maybe someone really great Demands a trade and then you you jump in but I don’t think the Spurs feel uh compelled to go chasing people this summer I think that’s more of a they’re still building the foundation to where they’re going to add that piece and I would also say like everyone wants the big fish they they want to they want to go trade for like like an MVP candidate and I get the appeal of that um but the Spurs are going to have one of those perennially in Victor wanyama and maybe the best way to use those picks down the road is to trade for uh guys that are Allstars or borderline Allstars but aren’t like your your your top dogs like you’re like like the guy that changed Boston was Drew holiday go get go get whatever the 2027 version of Drew holiday is those picks or um you know even like a a Derek white type guy that that just fills in holes I don’t know that you’re necessarily I mean maybe you’re going to trade for for for Robin to uh Victor’s Batman but I don’t know that you’re necessarily going to have to do that I think I think you can use those picks to trade for better caliber players than you’re going to get in the draft and free agency more ready to go but they don’t have to be Trey young or someone like that who’s who’s already a quote unquote star it’s gonna be a patient build uh pop has said that over and over again how much patience can he have at 70 he’s coaching till he’s in his 90s so those questions came from JT and Xavier Nick yes yes uh so so so just to speak for JT and Xavier here I I I can sort of empathize with the frustration it must feel like as a fan as a viewer as a listener to not get more definitive answers from yahoos like us but the issue is that none of these questions can be answered in a vacuum like you can’t say they’re GNA make a trade for a star in the summer of 2025 as opposed to the summer of 2024 because everything changes like Jeff alluded to maybe Nicole yic gets fed up in Denver and Demands a trade uh maybe this summer like I’m not ruling out the possibility that this summer The the Hawks get so desperate uh get get get so motivated to get out from Trey Young’s contract and start over with their top pick and with the jonte Murray that the price become so uh uh irresistible for the Spurs like they can’t turn it down that of course you have to take Trey young at a cheap price you have to take Darius Garland again from Cleveland because the price is so low and because it makes so much sense I’m not ruling any of that stuff out but I think as Jeff and Tom both alluded to just now I think in in a perfect world that the Spurs take this slow and steady and peak in the 20s 26 2027 range and and extend that Peak for six seven eight years uh there’s other factors that play like so far I’ve I’ve written this we’ve all talked about this Victor wanyama has been the most mature the most patient guy in San Antonio when it comes to this rebuild you never know does do the people around him start getting antsy does he start getting antsy does he say hey it’s time now to go grab a star when we can you never know all this stuff can change but if we’re talking about just the plan the master plan I think it’s it’s show some moderate Improvement this season get add some pieces take these picks add some complimentary players in the in free agency and then uh and then really get ready for for Bear the the following year yeah it’s hard to pinpoint it’s hard to pinpoint the the who you trade for for and when because the situation on the ground just changes so rapidly like if you’d asked the if You’ have told the Toronto Raptors in in the summer of 2016 uh two years from now you’re going to be trading for Kawhi Leonard and win a championship they that would all just be like gibberish to them because why why is kawh Leonard even going to be available he’s under contract and seems to happy in San Antonio stuff changes so quickly um that you don’t know who’s going to be available and when and for what prize all right’s what’s next Nick we got lots of questions uh lot we we covered it a little bit we got lots of questions about people wanting to trade for either Darius Garland dejonte Murray Trey young we talked about that a little bit uh what are the benefits maybe of being bringing back dejonte Murray and some people are asking about the Andrew wants to know about the Chicago picks maybe getting some of those picks back or the Atlanta picks and kind of using those to get the uh a bigger super star I think everyone kind of wants a bigger superstar now we kind of address being patient but obviously some of these guys are available especially maybe in Atlanta skip no steps be patient get it out I mean everything’s going to be what’s the price right like it’s hard again it’s hard to answer these questions without knowing what’s the pr what’s the price for dejonte Murray if I have to give you one first round pick down the road sure I’ve got plenty of those but you know if if they want if Atlanta wants all their picks from that back or most of them back I don’t know if they that if you do that um again it’s a matter of um balancing uh uh like you said not skipping steps not not not unnecessarily skipping steps the Spurs in no hurry that’s all I can that’s the main way I can answer most of those questions is the Spurs are in no hurry to just we got to add a superstar right now this summer or everything’s gonna go to pot all right well gerin has a uh has a has a scenario for you he wants to know whether or not you would give them the fourth and the eight or the fourth pick and a future pick I believe that’s what he’s asking for uh for Deonte or for Trey these the that’s that’s that’s interesting and and there there are pluses and minuses there are pros and cons this this invivo was build on all your social media channels as a peak inside the Spurs Draft room and I got a scoop for you I I’ll give you a peak inside the Spurs Draft room I guarantee you that that in the Spurs Draft room in the Spurs headquarters they they have scenarios where they say if the price for Trey young or de Jon Murray or Darius Garland Falls to this point where it’s only going to cost us this that we will do it I I guarantee you they have that scenario mapped out now it’s probably an unrealistic scenario in every case uh the question if you’re asking Mike finger and Tom orsborne and Jeff McDonald do you trade the number four pick in the two 2024 draft and a let’s say 2026 first rounder for dejonte Murray right now Mike finger says yes like I just think that’s a known qual quantity you know what you have in dejon Murray a guy who fits into your system a guy who will make you bet make you better a guy who sort of fits the timeline he’s going to he’s going to uh to be around for a while it’s not a quick fix and if you’re only giving up the number four pick in a draft where there’s not a a superstar that you’re targeting there sure I do it I’m not sure Atlanta does and I’m not sure Brian Wright agrees with me or Greg papovich agrees with me but if you’re asking me yeah I probably do that now if it’s four and eight in a future first um like I’m not so sure but I’ll open it up to my to my colleagues but yeah a deal like that that sort of makes sense I doubt that deal is available but I think yeah sure like that’d be awesome go ahead my fantasy baseball team’s in last place for like the 50th year in a row so I’m the wrong one to be asking these whatever I say is wrong I would have said no so the opposite is probably correct the the again it depends on on do the Spurs are the Spurs like in love with Stefan castle at four or Reed Shepard at four um dejonte Murray’s more expensive than those guys uh he’s gonna make money he’s gonna make his next extension that’s going to be more expensive than whatever the Reed sheeper or safan Castle extension is going to be uh but I I think there’s something to um showing some improvement to the fans to the listeners of this inv Vivo sure deal to Victor wanyama and all the people around Victor wanyama that were serious about winning those like Victor was he’s he’s he’s better than advertised he’s almost too good to be true in terms of his attitude in terms of his maturity but like last year was hard on him he’s he’d never lost that many games in his life and he if if you asked him right now do you want to stop losing and bring in a guy who can help you start winning he’s gonna say of course so all this stuff factors into it I’m not going to dismiss right again another great great question from a from a listener from a from a viewer uh that that’s you’re kind of on the right track on on the hard questions that these that these Executives that all all the brain behind the Spurs are going to have to consider this week next week in the years to come those are those are tough questions and I’m not sure there’s an automatic answer for any of them yeah I don’t think the Spurs are dismissing anything either I think it’s all on the table um clearly they can’t clearly you can’t lose 60 games again right when you talk about you I think the question becomes do you make a huge move that gets you to 30 but then you’re stuck there and have nowhere to go because you’ve used most of your Capital to make the move to get you to 30 or 35 and that’s that’s what I think that’s the risk of trading for like a Trey Trey young is uh clearly he will make you better next year um but is there is there a cap on that ceiling and if there is there’s you have you’ve lost all your assets to add and and um you know fill in those holes and I know Spurs want to lock themselves into that right now yeah is your move making another step toward building a long-term Championship Contender or is it just to win gam that’s really the thing like the Spurs are trying to build a perennial Championship Contender not let get 50 wins or compete for the Playoffs next year like if you can great but that’s not the overriding goal it’s it’s every move has to be is this going to work out for us four years from now that’s why um a move like I wouldn’t uh be be too quick to dismiss the idea of like a a Darius Garland and like Jeff said earlier Darius Garland is not the the other half of a big two with Victor women darus Garland is a borderline All-Star type but uh and I’m getting all this kind of second and third hand around here at the finals this week it sounds like Darius Garland is more attainable is you you can you can get him for less than you would for the the Atlanta guards and maybe he doesn’t have the immediate impact that one of the Atlanta guards has but it’s a definite upgrade and he does cool stuff that the Spurs need and if you do not sacrifice your future flexibility and if you continue to stay on that path where you’re trying to Peak in 2026 2027 that makes a heck of a lot of sense and it makes the fans happy and it makes Victor happy because it leads to more wins next year I think those are the types of deals that the Spurs are probably pondering right now I think the nuggets are a good comp for maybe what the Spurs want to do and I know the Nuggets did not do well in defending their title this year but you know they’ve got nicolei and who’s their other Allstar they don’t have one right but they have a guy that’s pretty good in Jamal Murray guy that’s pretty good in Aaron Gordon and a lot of guys that do their roles right kind of what the Spurs are looking to build because they have their yic wimy is their yic right and that Aron Gordon deal uh is is a good template for the Spurs it’s it’s someone was pointing out not too long ago it might have been one of the more impactful deals of the past five or six years in the league and it was it was completely under the radar it wasn’t one of those Kevin Durant demands out type of deals it was I think it was a deadline deal um and uh it it it it didn’t steal any of the headlines like Aaron Gordon’s a good player but no one thought oh this is going to define the champ race for the next five years and more and more those type of deals those type of moves are the ones that are building championship teams it’s not going out and getting uh Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to add to Devin Booker like the big three era is over I think I don’t think teams are going to be able to construct their uh it used to be you had to have a big three a quote unquote big three to to compete for a championship I don’t think that’s true anymore I think you have you really have to focus on the team building part of it yeah I want to know is is listener participant gerin Williams is that the birth certificate name gerin that’s pretty cool don’t know he’ll have to answer that one in the in the chat gerin Williams I like that we do have a uh we do have we do have a couple other questions here uh wants to know we were talking about wimy and uh his influence on the team he wants to know how much wimy will have a say in what the picks do what maybe what these picks are or what the Spurs do going forward do they consult him do they say hey wimy who do you want us to take who do you think you will fit with yeah I I I yeah I think R it by yeah I think there’s a way to put this like I I I do think you have to be careful not to get in a situation where he’s calling all the shots but you also don’t want to do something that he’s completely offboard with so there’s a there’s a great area that um everyone involved is going to want to walk but he’s very interested in what’s going on clearly like this is his future this is his team he Victor wants to build a long-term uh Championship contending team here so yeah he’s definitely going to have some say and they’re yeah they won’t do anything that they don’t run by him Bas see the decider no probably not yeah but do they run it by him if he yeah and if he was like absolutely not we cannot do this then I think they would really take that or there’s someone he really wants to uh you know pump up yeah they’re going to listen you don’t you don’t want him to get into the LeBron James area where he’s playing GM and you know doesn’t always work out because you’re just adding your Russell Westbrooks in your giving big contracts to Tristan Thompson yes yes yes I’ve said this before uh but what was a year and a month ago Tom orsborne was in a really secure location uh he he watched the bottery balls drop out and in May of 2023 behind the scenes in that room with Brian Wright and and everybody who had to turn their phones over the moment that last lottery ball fell on the place that precise second the the identity of the most important person in the entire Spurs organization changed and Victor wanyama immediately in that second his opinion mattered more than anybody else from the owner to the head coach to any player in the locker room like he became the team’s future and and like Jeff just mentioned he’s not playing LeBron James GM like I don’t think he’s looking at combine footage or or or maybe he is and and saying we need we need to go with Reed Shepard over Stefan Castle or whatever but you’d be insane if you were Brian Wright to not check with the most important person in the entire organization before you do something major and I don’t think Victor wiama we we’ve gotten to know him pretty well over the past year I I don’t see him as a guy that that is demanding like say so I don’t think he’s he’s calling Brian every day and saying hey you need to clear this with me I think that’s just a courtesy that they give him which makes total sense um and uh like it would shock me if if uh Victor’s sitting there saying you have to trade for my friend Zachary Rashi like you have to do this I don’t think he’s doing that but if I think if he feels strongly about something he’ll he’ll speak up and again the Spurs would be foolish not to consult him on stuff like this when you’re that play and and Duncan was the same way it takes you have to have trust in the organization as well right um to know that maybe I really want to do this but they explained to me why they they can or won’t or why it’s not in our long-term interest and it takes some Trust on the players part to to buy into that all right we only got a few minutes left I’m GNA try to get two lightning round lightning round we going to try to get two questions in here uh we got several people asking Abby as well uh asking when the season starts what two what players won’t be on the roster anymore uh to make room for some of these picks what guys willon we not be cheering on next year when the season starts oh man you want to you want to pick a guy we’ll start with the start with the obvious uh just to review for the for Abby and for the listeners the guys Osman will will be a free agent so he probably will not be back so that would be one guy yeah is is there is is there is Mamu coming back there’s an option there right yeah someone ask just again depends depends on how Camp shakes out people want defini ative answers put say it with your chest as the kids say make a make a make a prediction as to a guy who won’t be there Abby wants to know Abby maybe our first female question of the day we need more uh uh diversity in our questions here like Nick look for more we we we we we don’t want any more jts like like we we want to answer everybody Abby asked a good question here you don’t know what JT is well assuming Jennifer also asked the question about we did did touch on we did touch on her question she wanted to know about Deonte Murray coming back so we got we got her question answered as well but don’t blow off Abby don’t blow off Abby who’s not we said cheddy Osman was there do we give another answer too or what uh uh Devonte gramby back yeah see he might be a guy that’s a candidate candidate to go I I I mean he is there’s an option there or not an option but like he’s not completely guaranteed I do think there’s a scenario where if it works out numbers-wise they keep him around just to have that contract to trade later um but if they need the space he’s a guy that’s easy to um let loose for a little bit of money or not Julian Julian champ penni’s another guy that’s e to guaranteed another easy to let go easy to let go easy to let go if you need the numbers you need the and if they do make a deal Kellin you know almost certainly will be included in the package yeah thank you Abby we did one of the best questions like put it to us and and that that result that resulted in some good answers there from Jeff and now we’re on the record now you’re on the record nervous couple of days we only got we only got a minute left but I’ll end it on a pretty high R question here Miguel wants to know the Spurs are in the in the middle of a rebuilding right here but Greg papovich is an older coach what happens if he retires and they’re still rebuilding and how do they move forward here’s an easy answer he is never retiring he’s like Tom orsborne never retiring um yeah I I agree I see no signs with for pop or you not for me but I see no signs whatsoever that Pops Pops I mean the question is valid though I I was being factious the question is valid when a coach to the oldest coach who has ever coached in the history of the NBA there is always that chance that that it’s it’s it’s going to end abruptly you know so yeah God forbid a medical comes up but but hey he loves it he’s energized he loves working with these kids what happens will be interesting I don’t know that’s a good question I think the reason he’s around a big reason he’s around a big reason a big benefit of having him around still is the is the sort of um gravitas he gives that position you have a guy when you have a guy like Victor wanyama who does he trust the organization well we have pop here and if it’s somebody else in that chair uh maybe it’s a different level of trust I I’ll wrap it up try quick I know we’re we’re hitting the end but but there’s there’s three ways that Greg papovich stops coaching there there to answer Miguel here do we want to go here number one uh the Spurs win a championship under Victor wanyama and and Greg papovich at 80 whatever years old says finally okay that’s it number two is something very sad happens I’m not going to dwell on that but he’s not just gonna retire like it’s gonna be a medical type of thing that he can’t do anymore can’t go anymore the third one is Victor wanyama says I don’t want Greg papis to be the head coach anymore like we’re not close to that yet but that’s the other way that it stops we have that’s we’re being real here if the moment Victor wanyama says I don’t want Greg Greg papic to be my coach anymore Greg papovich probably is not gonna be his coach anymore because Victor wanyama is the most important person in the organization I’m not don’t aggregate this I’m not saying that that’s even close to happening yet but those are the three outcomes for this the way I see it the express news and the San Antonio light used to run a semiannual poll of the most powerful sports figures in San Antonio and yeah it’s no-brainer like we’ve been talking about Victor’s number one we did that poll Nar narrowly beating out Mike finger narrow it’s it’s very close well his his his his mom voted there were some journalists who made that uh Elite poll year after year something like yeah maybe Dan Cook Dan Cook always did yeah well all right Buck Harvey we appreciate everyone’s questions today we need to be wrapping up uh we appreciate everyone coming in thanks for uh Jeff and for coming and thanks for Mike joining us remotely from the NBA finals and thank you as Mike says questions keep uh join us later and keep it real let take us out take it take us out Mike you know what you do better take us out take care of each other keep it real we’ll see you next time there we go
A live roundtable discussion with the Express-News sports department about what the Spurs could do with the No. 4 and the No. 8 picks in the NBA Draft on June 26. Sports editor Nick Talbot leads the panel that includes sports columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn.
