Mitch Cumsteen

I honestly don't know and I never asked about it. It may have been the expanded role thing, but my gut is that they just didn't want to pay him what he wanted. He had been there so long that they probably felt they knew all of his tricks and techniques, and didn't need him any longer. I would hope they picked up something from him after 17 years. I know nothing about the new guy, Jimmy Baron, other than he's got his work cut out for him.

So... I guess I'll get this started. This figures to be a pretty well scrutinized offseason, although I don't expect them to make any major moves - just fix some things around the edges. And I don't think there's much use in speculating about the draft until the lottery and we see how things shake out with both their own and the Toronto pick. So other than endless bullshit Trae Young and Darius Garland trade rumors, what do we have to look forward to? Team Needs: They have to get more outside shooting. They have to reduce their turnovers (much of that is on Victor, btw). They have to get better defensively overall. They could definitely upgrade point guard (as well as just about every other non-Victor position, if we're being honest). I think they need another bruising big. Mostly, they need some vets who know how to win. They check all those boxes combined with internal growth and barring injury, they are vying for the play-in even in this brutal conference just because Wembanyama is that fucking good. And getting better at a frighteningly rapid pace. The Roster: Again, it would shock me to see any major moves. That's just not their m.o. Here is how I see the roster shaking out with the 15 spots: 1. Wemby - they should probably keep him around for another year to make sure last year wasn't a fluke. 2. Vassell - will almost assuredly be back. 3. Jones - will almost assuredly be back; would be solid backup in an ideal world and not your starter. I was starting believe in his three point shooting post all star break. Then he went 3-19 in the final five games. Woof. 4. Collins - they can't move off his contract without sending assets. The Wemby/Collins lineups were a disaster early, but in hindsight I wonder how much of that was due to point Sochan and/or Wemby just starting to feel his way in the league. We saw more of those Collins/Wemby combos late and they weren't nearly as atrocious. 5. Keldon - he's always the name brought up in trades but I don't know what they could get for him. He's underperforming his contract on one hand, but is a such a strong culture guy on the other. It doesn't make sense to unload him unless some other team falls in love with an undersized forward who doesn't finish well, is inconsistent from 3, is sporadic on defense and carries a pretty bad cap number. Yeah, he's not going anywhere. 6, 7, 8. Sochan, Wesley and Branham - you have to give these guys at least 3 full years before making a decision on them. All three have had their bright spots and plenty of horrific moments, but they are each only 20 years old. It's waaaaay too early to give up on any of them. Don't make me go through the list of really young guys who stunk for two years before turning it on in year 3. 9. Sidy Cissoko - he's on a two year deal and another really young guy (just turned 20) who almost assuredly will be back. No way they punt on him. 10. Mamu - they gotta bring him back on a cheap deal, right? Right? Probably? Maybe? 11. Spurs first round pick 12. Toronto's pick or their own second rounder (#35 overall). If they can get that SRP on a two way or move it altogether, it opens up another roster slot. Barlow is another 20 year old who has shown quite a bit of growth. Can't they put him on another two way? That would help free up a roster spot as well. I'd imagine they'd like to keep him, all things considered. So that leaves three spots, four if the Toronto pick doesn't convey. I think they move off Graham although the success of his archetype (undersized no defense playing point guard chucker) in limited sample size around Wemby may be instructive for future roster construction (vis a vis Rob Dillingham in the draft). They would have won more games playing him over Wesley and probably Jones (or alongside Jones) in crunch time. Bassey can't stay healthy, so they probably cut him too. Cedi? I think he's a goner. They have to upgrade from Champagnie who actually had some moments lately, especially defensively. But he's got two more years plus a third year team option at a paltry $3 million per. I just have a suspicion that they're going to keep him much to my chagrin, but otherwise he seems like good ballast to be used for matching cash in a trade. Free Agency: It's a piss poor free agency class and they don't have a ton of cap room, even if they clear some salary moving off Graham and Bassey. As much as they could benefit from Malik Monk or Grayson Allen, I think they're long shots to even pursue either. Scratch Allen - he just signed a relatively cheap extension in Phoenix. D'Angelo Russell may also be out of their reach. Same with Hartenstein. I don't see them pursuing big names on the downsides of their careers like Klay Thompson or Demar Derozan or even Tobias Harris. But they have to add some floor raising, tone setting vets and outside shooting. Nic Batum would be a dream for me - he's French, won't be expensive or require a long term deal, is clutch, can shoot from outside, and is a tremendous defender even at 35. They should be looking at low cost guys who know their role in the vein of Justin Holiday, Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, Andre Drummond, Robert Covington, Monte Morris, Kyle Anderson, etc. Will Toronto pick up Bruce Brown's option? Will Memphis pick up Luke Kennard? I wouldn't mind them kicking the tires on either of them should they be available. Finally, there is still the Pop question. You just never know when he's going to pull the plug on this thing. If that happens -- and I don't think it will -- then we're looking at a whole new batch of issues. Finally, I'll leave you with 30 minutes of Wemby doing ridiculous shit. GSG.

Just watched it on a whim with zero expectations. It took me a couple of minutes to get into it but I thought it was great. I’m in.

Not necessarily. If the lakers lose to New Orleans and then beat the winner of GS/SAC then it would be LA vs OKC.

True. But they’re moving into territory where they’re more likely to be 6 or worse than top 5. Whatever. Maybe the karma will be good.

Charlotte won. If the spurs lose they lock up a three way tie for the third worst record pending the blazers losing. Going to be sooooo pissed if they fuck around and win this thing today.

Thank God. They need that L tomorrow to keep pace with Portland.

His mom sure made it with MJ’s kid.

That probably cost them three spots in the draft but totally worth it.

lol

Wemby… no words.

They called him "the Poly Whisperer" as far back as when he was at USC. It's a stupid nickname and not nearly as cool as Johnny Patron but he has historically killed it in that demo. Yes, I absolutely 100% expect Texas to see a major uptick in Polynesian recruiting. Look at these names: https://247sports.com/coach/johnny-nansen-735/alltimerecruits/

Holy shit the Harden trade was an absolute fleecing. The Rockets own the Nets 1st or swap in 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027. Harden played a grand total of 80 games for the Nets over two half-seasons. The Nets then traded him for 57 total games of Ben Simmons, his bad back, and atrocious contract which somehow still has one more year and $40 million on it. The Nets also got a FRP that they traded for Royce O'Neil and another 1-8 protected pick from the 76ers. Absolutely brutal.

Since he hasn't played a single down and I haven't observed practice, really can't say. It's probably more about the strong Poly ties with me than Akana himself, I don't like USC, BYU, Utah and Oregon pretty much cornering the market on the best Islander/Islander heritage players. What the hell are you talking about? His new position coach / Co-DC is Samoan born who brought over a pacific islander transfer from Arizona and seems to be taking the lead on poly recruits across the board.

Is that this year or next? I'm seeing that they get the 2024 BKN pick unprotected as a stand alone from the Harden trade. Then their own 2024 pick goes to OKC unless it's 1-4, and then they keep it and OKC gets their 2025 second round pick.

Is it a swap? Wouldn't the Rockets have both their own and the Brooklyn pick if they move into the top 4?

Please God no.

You could always unblock futureman and spider2ybanana if you're feeling froggy. Or stab yourself in the dick with an icepick.

Adios, motherfucker.

Denver has got to be the prohibitive favorite, at least in the conference. They dicked around the first half of the season and are still going to wind up with homecourt in the west. Jokic is just unbelievable. I don't know how you defend him. He can run over you and power to the basket just about anytime he wants, and his touch around the rim to about 8 feet is just incredible. I don't think he ever misses one of those little floater/runner things he puts up. He can shoot the three. You run dribble hand offs with him all day. The Murray/Jokic pick and roll -- which they can run with either one as the screener -- is lethal. And then you have Porter, Murray, and KCP all who are knock down shooters around him with Gordon as the dunker. And oh yeah, Jokic just happens to be the best passer I've seen since Magic. He'll just pick you apart. They are so tough to beat because they are going to get a good shot in crunch time damn near every time down the court. The other thing that makes Denver so tough is how well their role players know and play their role. Michael Porter Jr used to go off and try to do more than he should. He's so settled in now into what he does and so damn efficient. Same with Gordon and their bench guys. Denver is going to be a really, really tough out.

So Taylor won't sell the team to ARod because his group won't spend into the second apron? Like Glen Taylor is Jeff Balmer or something? This is just bizarre. Maybe Taylor is just looking for an excuse not to sell to them. Maybe he'd like to run the team after he sells it, since he's done such a stellar job over the past ~30 years.

Only if his name was Oso Gonzales.

Adding Bailey and Motte to the RB mix really complicates things.

A few thoughts about the game last night and the off season as we wind this thing down: 1. The outside shooting has been a glaring problem all season, but they are losing just as many games because of turnovers. 25 last night. Vic had 9 on his own. So many of them live ball, too, which are just disastrous. When Philly cranked up their pressure and started picking up Jones full court, the Spurs wilted and the offense came to a grinding halt. I can't imagine how many more games this team would have won just by shooting league average from distance and being league average in taking care of the ball. They aren't that far off from flirting with the play in next year if they get those things cleaned up. 2. It was troubling that Tre Jones couldn't get around an old ass Nic Batum 50 feet from the basket. Aside from that, even after going 0-3 from 3 last night he's shooting a blistering .483 from distance since the all star break. He shot .278 from 3 from the beginning of the season until the ASB. Which one do we believe is real? His three year trajectory from distance: yr 1 - disregard because he only took five 3's in limited action yr 2 - .196 (on 51 attempts) yr 3 - .285 (on 158 attempts) yr 4 - .349 (on 175 attempts including the recent post ASB flame throwing) Is he a legitimate answer at point next season if he can't shoot 40%+ from three? 3. And speaking of Batum... he's exactly the type of vet this team needs next year. He was so good down the stretch - clamped down on Jones to change the game defensively and then hit big three after big three in the clutch. He's supposed to be retiring this year, but he's only 35. I wish they could talk him into sticking around for another season and come to SA to tutor his countryman. 4. I have lots of thoughts on Branham, Wesley and Sochan that will surely be covered in the off season thread, but I know everybody is going to be eager to dump one/some/all of them this summer. My position is that they have to give all three of them at least another season. I think you should know just about everything you can about them after 3 years, but there are so many guys who take the leap in year 3. Just this season... Jalen Green, Johnathon Kuminga, Jalen Johnson come to mind. Coby White and Lauri Markkanan took even longer. Everybody is impatient because of Vic's accelerated timeline but they can't be too hasty to cut bait with these kids.

It don’t make a shit.