No sleep ’til Brooklyn | Spurs Insider

No sleep ’til Brooklyn | Spurs Insider

from a highly secured network of Top Secret locations across South Texas this is the last Spurs Insider before the 2024 NBA draft we’ve been talking about it for what feels like years if not decades that cannot be possible but it sure seems true Jeff McDonald Spurs beat writer for the Express News is excited about this Tom orsborne the other Spurs beat writer for the Express News is just as excited I’m Mike finger we’re gonna jump right in with all the updates since the last time we’ve spoken Jeff you you now know for sure what the Spurs are going to do let’s no without further Ado without further delay what are the Spurs going to do this Wednesday night in Brooklyn the burrow of New York City in New York state in the United United States of America this week Jeff what what are they gonna do they’re gonna make a couple of first round picks do you know that for sure maybe unless they unless unless they they trade one of them well that sounds great you heard it here first I’ll be honest I’m looking forward to the day because as you mentioned we’ve been talking about what might happen for it feels like months with this draft I’ll be looking forward to the day when we reconvene the next time we reconvene and we can talk about what actually did happen that that that will be fun I think it will we’ll have a lot of analysis coming up next week the weeks Beyond um but but Tom are you are you ready for this to get going the the Spurs it seems like we’ve made light of it but there are infinite options for the local Cagers this week they could they could trade up they could trade down they could make their picks they could make one of their picks um they could pick they could make no picks if they trade for a superstar uh is that what it feels like to you Tom just infinite options it’s just bouncing around I mean there’s so much so much out there so many uh spe so much speculation so many scenarios it’s endless endless I tell you well let me um be because the the listeners are are tired of hearing us bounce around and and and dance around the uh specific possibility that the that the Spurs could handle this week let let me let me put the panel to the test and uh we’re just Jeff please play along I know I know you’re a kudin I like how you’re begging me already this is this is gonna be great just just please try to be professional uh I’m gonna I’m gonna start this off and I’m gonna start with Tom because Tom will be a professional and and he’ll get us off on the right foot um one player at four or eight or other picks this could be number one overall this could be trade down to number 20 overall one player who if you had to uh if you had to place a bet uh that the that the Spurs will draft I’m talking about a potential picture not a trade acquisition a a potential uh draft pick for the Spurs one pick at either four or eight or other who you got Tom I’m going with another Frenchman if he’s if he’s there rash really yeah if it if it if it you know that’s the scenario if he’s there if he’s on the board otherwise Castle you know but since you since you are are this is a great transition Tom you’re professionally doing your job here it perfectly uh leads into a discussion I wanted to have on a podcast this week um Zachary racee has worked out for the Spurs he’s been San Antonio I believe um he’s not looked at as the kind of guy who is likely to be there at four right do you do do you think the Spurs uh and and and again we’re just everybody play along here where nobody aggregate this nobody say that Tom orsborne has a breaking scoop unless maybe he does he can let us know uh do could you see a possibility of the Spurs liking him so much and the possibilities that another Frenchman could add to the Spurs that they would uh they would trade up in the draft to get him I I don’t know if they’d go that far I mean they’ve got the assets certainly and and that’s certainly got to be one of the options they’re looking at but um you know I I’m not saying I would want him uh I’m not saying I wouldn’t want him either but you know I I think Castle would be the better fit for this team um you know if you’re going by need and uh but yeah I mean rash they they they did bring bring him in uh apparently he might have gotten hurt while he was here though that’s what I’ve heard yeah yeah which which could be uh like to be really moav ellant about this that that could end up working in the Spur’s favor if they got a bet if they got the last healthy look at him before he turned his ankle uh could that be an advantage um we’ll see now uh now the now’s the part of the podcast where somebody rigns on the per mock mock everybody’s enthusiasm mo mo I guess we have mock all the mocks I guess we have to do it Jeff McDonald please play along if the Spurs if you had to pick one player for for your Spurs to select in this Wednesday’s draft who who you got Tom’s already like planted the flag on Ras Shay then you you can you can play if that’s your pick that’s your pick well it’s not I was just I was just wondering how the game goes flag no everyone’s available everyone’s available we can pick the same guys twice man I’m still probably going to go because I think uh will be off the table by you also could you you just to be clear on the rules also I could pick yeah you could pick a number eight pick yeah but I think I I think if I I think I’m gonna go with Stefan Castle what we’re building a consensus here I think I think that’s the that’s I think I think that’s the guy fits fits a need a little bit better even though he might be not be a uh true like lead guard right off the bat I think he’s a guy you can build into that maybe and a lot of other good stuff to like about him um you know people love his his uh dogged defensiveness and the thought of him and wimy guarding pick and rolls is probably alluring to Brian wrighton company um you know it doesn’t mean everything but you know to be on a national championship team to be a big part of that National Championship team to be unflappable in a national championship run that’s all good stuff that’s all stuff in Castle’s favor so uh he he might he might be the guy I would guess that that ends up with the Spurs come Wednesday that’s uh that’s a great answer though Jeff I come some sort there there’s there’s no mockery here you’re I feel like you’re tempting me you’re just tempting me no good job it’s almost making me feel bad that I didn’t live up to my uh reputation and you’re going to cause me to do something horrible so just this a sign of personal growth I’m impressed well now see now you can continue to insult me uh I would never insult you uh with you being aware of it the um the issue here is as as longtime listeners of the podcast the the Spurs Insider know is uh I’ve sort of been toting the Stu on Castle horn for uh the months and months and years and years that we’ve been talking about the 2024 draft so it just doesn’t seem fun of me to also mentioned him after uh Tom has has made him his second pick Jeff has made him his his his number one pick for this so I’m gonna cheat a little bit and uh and look more at the number eight pick and uh go the point guard route and let’s say for for some reason either Spurs move up to to grab Zachary racee move down uh go take a take a a crazy uh unpredictable stab at Donovan kingan to to create another twin tower situation which I don’t think is going to happen by the way but uh there are Rumblings out there that they’re at least talking to the guy rumbling let’s say that uh so so so let me look at number eight and say uh some options there could could be uh the great Devin Carter who we discussed often on this podcast star of the combine uh possible Derek white clone uh established college player from Providence defensive stalwart um yeah that like Devin Carter intrigues me if you if you trade down a little bit uh Rob Dillingham of Kentucky um another guy who could fill that shooting point guard situation uh and again both of those you possibly could dangle your eight pick to somebody who wants it below you and grab a Devin Carter or uh Rob Dillingham at 10 or 11 or 12 I I think there’s a lot of possibilities that the Spurs could move down in a draft in which there’s no consensus about who number one is about who the top three are about who number eight is like if somebody really wants whoever it might be at number eight and the Spurs don’t like I I I think that’s a possibility move down I could see them moving up from four and down from eight uh I realize I’m violating the rules of the games of my own game here by not being specific but just trying to paint a picture of all the the ways this draft can go uh any thoughts on uh on Carter or Dillingham from you guys I I I think if the Spurs have not picked up a point guard um you know at at you know the four spot um I think Carter is a guy to really keep an eye on and and Dillingham too I I think it would be Carter over Dillingham on you know just I think you’re probably right yeah I’m just like weirdly fallen in love with Devin Carter in the last month or so yeah I don’t I I don’t know why I can’t articulate it but son of an NBA player that’s what I hear which which also bodess well uh I think Tom Harrow had something not not too long ago about analyzing uh like the the traits that uh the traits that lead to draft success like surprisingly nepotism works out in the NBA sometimes there’s if if your if your dad played in the NBA uh and this is there’s like statistical method to this madness um I think what what Tom did was he broke down the expected value of uh of a bunch of picks going back decades from various universities like very various College programs like the Syracuse picks genda tend to to drastically underperform their value surprisingly like like the University of Texas was one of the top two or three in terms of overperforming and some of this can be skewed by the fact that like Kevin Durant came from Texas stuff like that but um uh uh the the the most telling indicator was if your dad played in the NBA you you tend to outplay your expected value of your pick which uh maybe like Steph Curry skews those numbers but you see a lot of guys who are kids of players that that that play well um I’ve always I’ve always blamed my father for my lack of an NBA career yeah yeah that that makes sense and now you have the statistical data to to to back that up um but yeah so so those are some of the options that the Spurs still have at 4 and8 we’ve discussed this a lot in in recent weeks I still think of guys we haven’t mentioned uh tjn salon and I’m butchering that name another Frenchman who could be there a could be there at a trade down situation uh Dalton connect of Tennessee who we we’ discussed before would not be a shock to see him pick to eight to pick up we don’t mention Alex SAR at all is that because we don’t think he’s going to be there we don’t think the Spurs really are all that interested I uh from this is not original reporting but from everything I’ve heard is like he’s he’s at Washington if Washington at at two if if uh if he’s available there like like I gather that’s his floor and I don’t think the Spurs so that would mean that the Spurs would need to trade up to get him and I have not heard anything along the lines of the Spurs being interested in doing that I think if the Spurs trade up it would be for rashay um in general like we haven’t discussed Reed Shepard by the way but oh yeah because also aren’t we pretty convinced he’s going to go to Houston at three I think it’s again it’s one of those situations where uh Houston will take him at three if Houston makes that pick but I think from the moment Houston landed the third overall pick people have talked about that possibly being like Houston’s in a situation where they might consider trading it so um yeah like I think Reed Shepard is a guy not withstanding the uh the first reference that we had to him on this podcast like three years ago when I slammed him for his horrendous NCA tournament performance sort of tongue and cheek sort of tongue and cheek sort of uh whatever boy uh that that was ages ago no but uh Reed Shepard seems like his his floor history here well the the point I was trying to make back then and we’ve discussed this before is every every player in the draft especially in this draft has reasons not to take him and that would be like a reason not to take him like the last the last look that you it would might be a dumb reason not to take him but uh you know he came up short in a in in a big moment uh I sound I I’m not even convinced of this argument myself like it’s very dumb but uh but the the point is there’s there’s downsides to everybody there’s downsides to rashay there’s downsides to alexar um but but from everything that I’ve seen like if you want Reed Shepard who might be great um you might have to trade up for number four to get him because a team either Houston takes him at three or somebody trades up to get him at three uh before the Spurs get that chance um when I mentioned Reed I was interrupting Jeff I think and I’m sure he’s lost his train of thought but what do do you remember well can you uh I guess what I was going to ask is uh it sounds like a well like how what what what what level of importance do you put on this draft um in relation to the entire wiama rebuilding process like it is it’s it the biggest draft in Spurs history now they’ve got to build it they’ve got two top 10 pck like what do we what is the Baseline just speaking of generalities not specific players what is the Baseline of what the Spurs need to get out of this draft to consider it successful like obviously you’d like to get two future Allstars that would be great that would be awesome two future Hall of Famers at 4 and8 that would that would really jump start the wimy project but that’s probably not realistic like what’s the Baseline for when we look back five years from now we can say yeah they they did a good job I think um I’m I’m gonna slightly Dodge um but it’s I I I think this draft is part of the offseason and I think when you talk about this draft you have to talk about all the different permutations that come along with any trades related to it um and what I would what I would say is this week this week um the last week of June 2024 the Spurs need to acquire a a a starter a a productive starter on on their next competitive playoff team like a guy who will be around when they win and uh I’m not going to say two because maybe you package picks together and uh and and acquire one and a trade or or you you package picks together move up and trade one guy who you’re sure’s going to be around or you make both picks and the second guy you don’t need both picks to work out you need one of them to work out the second guy might become a a nice role player who has and and we mentioned this before at the number eight pick like if you if you end up with a productive role player long-term role player that’s a that’s a success at number eight so to to answer your question as specifically as I can I think this week the Spurs need to acquire a a solid starter that will team with Victor wanyama when they’re winning again and hopefully that’s in the next three years you know with by winning I mean a solid playoff team um that’s not just in the playin but but you know actually competing for stuff does that sound like does that sound uh yeah fa definitely and re reash would fit that bill I think I’m not so sure about castle though I like him a lot and and yeah they could get a starting point guard out of this that would be great but I’m not sure that he’s you know fits everything you just described Mike but R in my mind does what did did did I satisfy your your what you’re looking for to your question there Jee yes I award you uh a 100 Gryffindor points I don’t know what that is I don’t have kids but sounds cool I I I think you definitely can’t draft two guys that flame out right like somebody’s got to be be around from this draft years from now and that might be an argument for using that eighth pick or or both the second of the two picks if you make two picks on like a Devon Carter type that just seems to have a floor where they’re not going to just complete completely bust out you can see you can see a path where even if uh they are what the that guy is what he is um will still help a productive team so that might be an AR an argument for taking someone that you don’t have to develop as much but may maybe doesn’t have the high like Allstar ceiling but you know that guy’s going to be solid for a long time I’m going to I’m going to repeat a maybe terrible um comparison um again I’m not sure if this is even close to fitting but if if Dalton connect becomes Jetty Osman like is that okay at eight to have to have the next Jetty Osman just a just a player you can bring off your bch that’s going to give you productive minutes that can play like a a wing uh uh POS possibly some four um and and can make three-pointers but do nothing spectacularly if that’s who deled connect be comes is that okay I think that’s okay I also think if you want the next cheddy Osman you could probably just resign the current chedy Osman well no you’d get a 20 20-year-old who who 20y old Jed Osman like like I think we can agree that Jed Osman has passed his Peak um anyway he’s like 29 well I don’t know and uh and uh uh the the the draft pick is cheaper than chedy probably would be or maybe not that’s true maybe he wouldn’t be I don’t I don’t know what the market is you’re correct correct anyway um yeah that’s I I think it’s reasonable I look at it like what’s a what’s a rotation like eight players you need eight players to make a solid NBA rotation and the Spurs have their one you could they probably have their three you could probably argue there’s a four or five in there it’s about filling out those other those other spots like maybe you don’t get your two in the draft maybe you do that would be awesome if if one of the guys you draft on Wednesday ends up becoming a viable number two to Victor wanyama I mean that would be great I don’t know that you can go into the draft banking on that but if you could get you know your six your your number six guy or your number three guy or well we already said that number three but you’re number four guy someone like that I think that that shows signs of progress um that moves the ball forward and I think that’s what you’re looking to do with this draft in this off season so I think that’s kind of the one way to look at it I I think that’s a that’s that’s probably a pretty smart way to describe it and rather than what I said about a productive starter on the next winning team if you would rank the Spurs players or or rank like like you just did we’re not talking about the one position or three position you know Point small we’re talking about Victor wanyama is your best guy he’s number one and when you said they already have their three that I’m gonna I’m gonna make an assumption that you’re talking about Devon vasel Sandro Mell yes yes Devon vasil’s probably uh when you’re thinking about what the Spurs are going to become when they start competing again like you you like to slot in Devon Bell as your third best guy maybe um I I think if you can in this draft get a guy who could displace Devon vasel as the third best guy or get your fourth best guy if you can get your fourth best guy on your 2026 team um in this draft I think that’s that’s productive and then maybe you go get number two in a trade somewhere um I guess that’s where you’d have to get them in next year’s draft whatever um but then then things start looking pretty pretty salty for the Spurs if Victor you have Victor wanyama filling that top dog roll somebody in the trade filling the sidekick roll Devon Vel very productive third option somebody in this draft or acquired this week becomes the fourth option you still have your Jeremy Sohan you still have maybe Kellin Johnson which leads into something that I want to talk about a little bit uh who am I missing this part of the future Trey Jones is a solid like seventh or eighth guy um backup point guard type um you’re starting to cook with gas there yeah um people still cook with gas I do uh I know there’s been studies that gas stoves can can lead to uh some some issues which may describe some things about me but uh I like cooking with Tom you like cooking with gas you probably have yeah man gas all the way there you go me and gas all the way which leads us into Kevin kelv Jes gave me a better gas station you grew up with gas Tom in your house yeah yeah yeah like I’d rather be cooking with nuclear fision I used to have to haul in the logs too you know when we went that route oh wow you have to chop chop the wood I never what was that a furnace yeah the old stove stove pipe system yeah wow Thomas Tom Tom is is a connection this is a a remind the kids out there listening to the podcast ask your elders likeor ask your elders for stories about their youth because we’re going to lose them you know Tom’s getting up there and we need to take advantage of every moment we have with with with the elders uh because they’re they’re a living connection to America of yester year and and Tom born here who who who who lived through those days like the 70s the early 70s uh you long long ago like he’s he’s he’s providing us a glimpse of what it was like yeah and you you you would actually haul logs into your home to for what heat or for cooking what what what was going on there Tom when the when the train rumbled through my mother’s hometown of Beaver Falls Pennsylvania uhhuh train train was almost right next to the house MH of the coal the the the cars that would carry coal some of the coal would bounce off and the town’s people in Bieber falls many of them immigrants would would collect the coal bring it inside and use it wow well I mean yeah I mean it people forget people forget what it was like not so long ago people forget well the noreast how to make America great again you need to ask Tom orb I don’t know about that I I don’t think we should Venture there the uh but but the Northeast uh uh they they still have places that where like oil is a heating thing right like we never see that in Texas yes but they use oil for heating their their homes up there which is fascinating whole different world whole different world and somehow their their their system seems to work better than ours that’s true in times of in times of extreme cold and heat yeah uh we we have our own grid which uh you all right creates its own issues uh somebody who still somebody who’s sort of been off that grid for the past few months is our our good friend uh a a guy who enjoys bucolic Ranch farming life outside of San Antonio and his estate which we will not disclose it’s also a highly secure undisclosed location Kelvin Johnson um who because through through known fault of his own is at the center of probably every Spurs trade rumor that you’ve seen this offseason and this leads me to my next question which I will ask you the panel to participate in uh seriously and I’ll start with Tom again uh will Kellin Johnson be in uniform for your San Antonio Spurs at their season opener this October yes or no boy yeah I mean if they’re going to make a trade he’s going to be involved I mean there’s no no question about it U but I don’t think they’re going to make a trade so I’m I’ve got Kellin coming back K coming back that’s a that’s thank you for that Earnest Duff answer Tom and now we’ll move to Jeff my answer is sort of the same I’m always I always answer these sort of conservatively um just in general if you’re asking me is there going to be a trade or not a trade I always tend to lead towards not a trade just that seems to be uh probability wise the the highest probability thing in any situation is hard to a trade what Spurs it is yeah it’s hard it’s hard to make a trade like you don’t just get to trade because you want to or like hey we want to trade Kell Johnson which is not the case by the way but um fans sometimes seem to think that you just decide to trade a guy and then he gets traded and it doesn’t always work that way like someone has to want them the deal has to make sense and for both sides and the money has to line up and lot of cases so there’s a lot of it’s like a Rubik’s Cube to put a TR any the NBA trade together so I don’t think a trade is necessarily likely and so if the trade isn’t necessarily likely um I think I think Kellin will be on the roster to start the season now he may be a guy that um just because he’s on the roster to start the season doesn’t mean he finishes the season like there’s a whole uh trade deadline situation in February that probably Kell’s name will will pop up again at if he’s still on the on on the roster but if you’re asking me when training camp starts um when we hear Kellin Johnson screaming throughout the victory Capital Capital Performance Center in gleeful Joy uh daily then I think the answer is yes I think that’s fair um we’re gonna take like the contrary you want to be the the contrarian here well no no I I I think I agree with this doesn’t make for great um riveting podcast content but I think both of you summed it up there um I I think if we had to put a percentage on it it I might go as high as like 45% that that keldon isn’t here um you’re basically calling it a near coin flip I’m I’m calling it a near coin flip um I’ll I’ll close with this you know we don’t need to keep repeating the same stuff every week over and over again but like uh and and I’m I’m giving no um endorsement or corroboration or confirmation of of this proposal at all like I I’m I’m I I’m not saying at all that Brian Wright or RCB heard of Greg papovich have even considered it at all but just as a fun closing question here uh would a would a the sort of ridiculous uh uh ridiculously convoluted like three four five way trade that in which you trade a pick and Kellen Johnson and come back with a lower pick maybe multiple lower picks and Marcus Smart would that would that move the needle for you at all do you think that would be a good Spurs trade um I will start here just in saying that I think it’s understandable why the Spurs might want a Marcus Smart type player in their organization next year meaning a veteran guy who’s won some games can can impart some lessons to the youngsters still be a productive Defender two-way player smart guy uh I I’m not necessarily sure that Marcus Smart is the Marcus Smart type player that they want that they like like there’s other players like that who who might fit the bill uh so so I will answer my own question first and say that’s not necessarily Preposterous that’s along the lines of deals that the Spurs couldn’t make this week this offseason but I I’m not sure I’m in favor of that one specifically go to Jeff like we said off the air yesterday like like you were saying they they could probably use a Marcus Smart type player just not Marcus Smart yeah and the reason is I I don’t know how to say this without it sounding mean um I’m not sure you want to introduce that that level of uh psychosis into the wimy project you know you don’t want to you don’t want to bring bring in the crazy people just yet people like him people like the teammates like him he’s he’s an intense maybe the word you’re looking for is intensity let’s let’s let’s put it that way rather than psychosis that seems a bit because I I am not a doctor I’m not a psychiatrist I’m not diagnosing anybody yeah uh Tom does that move the needle for you at all trading for for lower trading down in the draft lower picks uh and kelin Johnson picking up Marcus Smart yeah if you can get if you can get a veteran um who can contribute you know we’ve talked about that a a leader who’s more of a contributor than than the veterans they’ve had the the last two years and no knock against Doug mcder no knock against Devonte Graham right but yeah they they need to upgrade that that veteran leader leader type uh have more of a voice in the locker room on the floor you know and and you can back it up with his play credibility yeah I think I think you know Marcus Smart yeah yeah I wouldn’t mind having that uh little psychosis a little little you know Edge yeah I think they they they’ve blacked that Pops Pops you know pops said that several times um they they they could use that nasty again I I I think you guys both did a great job I think we’re hitting our our Midsummer Peak here like there there’s I’m impressed uh there we’re not GNA home runs in the middle of the summer Tom got solid Tom got on the zoom immediately this week uh to to record this like just a a technical Master uh just all over it like no glitches at all Jeff took every question seriously uh gave thoughtful answers very little blowback in terms of like uh uh rudeness or or or sarcasm or stuff like that like I don’t know who we are anymore maybe maybe we’re ready for for a new era just like your local Cagers are we’ll see we’re I’ll I’ll be in Brooklyn this week Tom and Jeff will be at the victory Capital Center talking to all the executives uh we’re GNA have full coverage of the draft on expressnews.com uh before we talk to you again it will be July and there could be some pre- agent moves going on we’ll have a lot to talk about when we see you next time until then take care of each other and keep it real [Music]

Columnist Mike Finger and Spurs beat reporters Jeff McDonald and Tom Orsborn talk about the endless possibilities awaiting the Spurs at the NBA draft in New York, including a French complement to Victor Wembanyama, an NCAA champion or trading out of the draft altogether.

*Suggested reading:*
With no sure things, NBA draft possibilities are endless for Spurs: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/no-sure-things-nba-draft-possibilities-endless-19539609.php_
In an unpredictable NBA draft, Spurs have their work cut out for them: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/nba-draft-preview-picks-19539233.php_
Spurs draft: 10 names to know for No. 4 and No. 8 picks: _https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/nba-draft-10-names-watch-19539331.php_

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