I believe Jabari will take another huge leap next year I don't really see Jalen significantly improve these part 3 seasons. His shot efficiency actually got worse compared to the first year
I think you are being overly pessimistic. We may have a top 5 bench in the league this year. Amen and Sengun are rising stars. If Jalen breaks out we immediately become a problem for everyone. We have lots of flexibility to add a star at the deadline this year or next offseason. Having Tari, Amen, Cam, and Adams for a full year is a tremendous upgrade in talent over last year. Who knows about Sheppard? I agree we won’t catch OKC, Minnesota, or Dallas this upcoming year. Memphis is a Morant blowup or injury away from sucking. We are building a team that is ten deep. Only OKC comes close to that kind of depth in the West. Our bench sucked most of last year and still won half our games.
All this talk about Wemby and the Spurs still had as many wins last year with him than the year before. I do not trust the SA FO at all; what have they done lately than just having Wemby fall into their lap? Although the Murray trade might work in their favor
They went 41-41 and should have won more games being last in win differential; could have easily been a 50 win team last year despite losing alpi, tari, and not having steven adams https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/...view-paul-george-pat-riley-los-angeles-lakers
The Spurs front office is pretty good. They have drafted well, especially for where they have picked - Vassell at #11, Keldon Johnson at #29, Tre Jones in the second round and even Sochan I think will be a good player. They also have done a really good job of collecting assets - they potentially have four first round picks in 2025, in 2026 they have a Hawks pick swap, in 2027 they have two first rounders, in 2028 they have two more first and two more in 2029 - plus they have additional swaps in 2030 and 2031. They also have a really good cap situation. So, they have the top young player in the league, 3-4 young players they can deal for value, a bunch of draft assets and cap space.
Just a reminder that having the best player does not mean you will automatically be the better team long-term.
Primo was bad and they took Vassell(while he's not bad) over Haliburton, they keep wanting to try the Sochan experiment at PG, and more recently they traded away the 8th pick for a 6th grader instead of immediate help around Wemby. They also just got old ass CP3 and I get it for a mentor role but I don't think they do anything for a while and when they do, it's time to pay Wemby
I don't think that I am being overly pessimistic at all. The Mavs, Thunder and Spurs all have genuine franchise players and that goes a very long way in the NBA. Until the Rockets develop or trade for one, they will be fighting a long-term uphill battle. The good news for the Rockets is that they have players like Green or Sengun that can become franchise players.
Primo was a bad pick, but that was mostly because he turned out to be a weirdo. They did pass on Sengun and Murphy though. As for passing on Haliburton, it was a mistake but 9 other teams passed on him and Vassell is still a top 5 player in his class. So, while the Spurs are not perfect, they still overall draft well. They tried Sochan at point guard knowing that it would lead to another lottery pick, and felt it was worth the risk. I think Sochan will be an All Defense type player long term. They are being patient building around Wemby, or so it appears from the outside - but they are linked to players like Lauri Markanen right now, and will be to others and will look at free agency next year.
I guess; you got reports that people want to play with Wemby: He wants to win as soon as possible: I just don't see a path to them doing so right away unless they hit on their picks from the hawks or some disgruntled star wants to play with him now. You already got insiders saying he might want out soon: https://www.sacurrent.com/arts/soci...-wembanyama-wants-out-of-san-antonio-33991987
I'm more concerned about Sengun and another young player developing into a star than playoff seeding. If we tanked all those years and not end up drafting a generational player (which is not looking likely atm), then we would have tanked for nothing. Expect big trades to happen next off-season if JG is still terrible, Sengun hits a wall, none of our other young guy seem to have stepped up. If we had drafted Wemby last year, we wouldn't even have to worry about the future but unfortunately, we have yet to draft someone who is going to be a clear future superstar.
I’m not worried. If Jalen plays up to his potential, we can handle any of those squads. Also need to replace Dillon with Tari or Amen
Ramona S. and others are speculating about Wemby wanting out. They want him to get to LA as soon as possible because it gives them something to write about. Wemby is 20 years old and just completed his rookie season, it is very unlikely he is going to be asking for a trade anytime soon, especially when he wanted to be drafted by San Antonio. The Spurs have the assets to trade for a star that wants to come to play with Wemby - between their young players and their draft capital. They also have the cap space as well. A lot of their future is going to ride on whether Stephen Castle develops - he is possibly the most talented player in this draft, but he has some weaknesses. If he develops, he is an excellent compliment for Wemby and Sochan. The Spurs are not perfect - and they are not as far ahead of the curb as they were 20 years ago, but they still know and teach basketball very well and in general they draft well. I think that combo with a player like Wemby makes them likely to be elite soon, if they avoid serious injuries.
it's not our fault really; how many stars were there in our drafts? Barnes? maybe Chet but that frame is scary? We wanted rightfully but he was never going to make our pick
Maybe I should have said overly optimistic for SA and Dallas. Wemby is not a shoe in as a superstar in my estimation. They have some decent players around him, but are probably at least 3 years away unless a true superstar like Giannis forces his way to them. Doncic plays no defense and Irving is a time bomb. The new cap rules are going to hamstring them in the near future. Minnesota and OkC are definite problems for everybody as long as SGA and Ant stay healthy and don’t bolt. Memphis is good but not great when they have JA. I’d be scared to death to have my future hooked to that guy. We have at least 3 guys with star potential in Sengun, Amen, and Jalen. 4 more guys that should be fairly elite role players. Lots of trade assets and a great cap situation. Even if Jalen doesn’t pan out, I believe we will be contenders by the 25/26 season
This is the crappiest list of available free agents I can remember in a while. I’m perfectly fine with the rockets sitting this out. I wish we’d add an impact shooter to spell Jalen, but unless we make a consolidation trade it would be hard for most of these free agents to crack our rotation.
