The jdeleonpsn1's Podcast

The San Antonio Spurs currently have 18 players under contract when including Joe Wieskamp's two-way deal. This means the Spurs can still add up to two more players for training camp and the preseason.

Benjamin Bornstein and Jonas Clark talk about Austin Spurs players or players that played for the Spurs during Summer League that could end up on the training camp roster. Training camp kicks off next week with the preseason schedule soon to follow.

Ben and Jonas mention names like Nate Renfro, Kenny Williams, Kaleb Johnson and Khyri Thomas among others.

Note: This was recorded prior to Petar Božić being named head coach of the Austin Spurs.

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In Spurscast episode 629, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writers Benjamin Bornstein and Jonas Clark discuss the latest San Antonio Spurs topics: 

Players with Austin Spurs who might get a training camp invite

Austin Spurs players who may end up getting the vacant two-way roster spot

Who will replace Matt Nielsen as the Austin Spurs’ Head Coach?

Players with Austin Spurs who might get a training camp invite

The San Antonio Spurs currently have 18 players under contract when including Joe Wieskamp's two-way deal. This means the Spurs can still add up to two more players for training camp and the preseason.

In the episode, there's a conversation regarding players with Austin Spurs experience who might get training camp invites for the San Antonio team.

The Spurs' roster though will have to be set at 15 players on full NBA deals and two two-way players by October 18, after the conclusion of the preseason.

Austin Spurs players who may end up getting the vacant two-way roster spot

Now that Keita Bates-Diop has signed a full NBA contract, the Spurs have an open two-way roster spot available. There's a discussion in the episode regarding players who have Austin Spurs experience that would be good candidates for the Spurs' open two-way roster spot.

Who will replace Matt Nielsen as the Austin Spurs’ Head Coach?

In early September, the San Antonio Spurs announced Matt Nielsen, who was the head coach of the Austin Spurs, had been hired as an assistant coach with the San Antonio organization.

With Nielsen now in San Antonio, the question becomes who will replace him as the Austin head coach? The podcast discussion looks at a few G-League coaching candidates that can take over in Austin.

Another note to watch is if the new G-League head coach for Austin will be someone who is able to help Wieskamp and possibly Joshua Primo develop, in the event San Antonio sends Primo to Austin during the regular season.

 

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In Spurscast episode 628, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Collin Reid discuss: 

The Spurs waiving Chandler Hutchison

The Spurs re-signing Keita Bates-Diop

More roster moves that need to be made by the team before opening night of the regular season

Chandler Hutchison waivedLast Saturday the San Antonio Spurs waived Chandler Hutchison and they kept his $4 million salary on their books for this coming season.

With the team needing to get the roster down to 15 players and two two-way players by October 18, plus Hutchison being in the final year of his contract, the roster move wasn't too surprising.

Keita Bates-Diop re-signsTuesday the Spurs re-signed Keita Bates-Diop, who was on a two-way contract with the team last season. Bates-Diop's new deal is for two years at the veteran minimum, with the second year being non-guaranteed.

Bates-Diop will likely be third on the depth chart at small forward behind Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell.

With Bates-Diop re-signed, the team now has 17 players on guaranteed contracts. The team will have to get the roster down to 15 players on guaranteed deals by October 18, 2021.

Bates-Diop on the team also puts the Spurs up to 18 total players on contracts when Joe Wieskamp's two-way deal is included. This means the team can still invite two-players to training camp.

More roster moves that need to be waivedAs mentioned above, the Spurs now need to either waive or trade two players by October 18.

Thaddeus Young's name has been mentioned in trade rumors already. The Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Orlando Magic all have trade exceptions large enough to absorb Young's $14.1 million contract.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could also absorb Young's contract by opening cap space. The Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly have interest in Young, though San Antonio would have to acquire players to trade Young to either Cleveland or Phoenix.

Though there's no reporting that the Spurs are looking to trade or waive Al-Farouq Aminu, his $10.1 million contract is discussed in the episode.

Teams that have large enough trade exceptions to absorb Aminu's contract are the Pelicans, Celtics, Magic, Nets, and Mavericks.

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In Spurscast episode 627, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs founder Michael De Leon discuss the latest San Antonio Spurs news: 

Which players are most likely to be waived or traded before opening night of the regular season?

The latest Thaddeus Young trade rumors

Ben Simmons wanting out of

Philadelphia

A cap space projection for the Spurs next summer

Who is most likely to be waived or traded before opening night of the regular season?

With Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Chandler Hutchison entering the season on the final year of their contracts, they appear to be the most likely players to be traded or waived before the first game of the regular season.

The Spurs currently have 17 players on guaranteed deals. Before the opening game of the regular season, they have to get the roster down to 15 players on guaranteed deals. This means two players either need to be traded or waived before the opening game of the season.

Latest Thaddeus Young Trade Rumors

The Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers are two teams reportedly interested in trading for Young.

In order for the Spurs to trade Young to a team over the cap, San Antonio would have to take back a player or two to make the salaries match in a potential deal.

Three teams with trade exceptions large enough to absorb Young's $14.1 million salary are the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans, and Orlando Magic.

Ben Simmons wants out of Philadelphia

Several media outlets are reporting Ben Simmons has told the Philadelphia 76ers he wants to be traded and there's reports he may not show up to training camp, which is less than four weeks away.

Since the Spurs reportedly had interest in Simmons around draft time, their name has come up among the favorites to land Simmons in a trade when looking at the betting site BetOnline.AG.

Cap Space for next Summer

The Spurs are projected to be able to open $32.9 million in cap space next offseason, if they waive all players on non-guaranteed deals, allow all free agents to walk, and land the 6th pick in the lottery.

 

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In Spurscast episode 626, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Benjamin Bornstein discuss: 

The Spurs’ Las Vegas over/under for wins

An update on where the team stands and decisions still to be made

Lonnie Walker IV heading into next season

The Spurs' Las Vegas over/under for wins

BetOnline.ag recently released the over/under for wins for all 30 NBA teams. The Spurs' over/under for wins was 28.5 wins.

If the schedule played out based on the over/under win projections, the Spurs would finish 13th in the Western Conference and be in position to land the 6th overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery next summer.

Update on where the team stands

While training camp doesn't begin until late September, the Spurs still haven't completed some reported deals. The team still needs to sign Bryn Forbes to his contract and the Spurs need to sign Joe Wieskamp to a two-way contract.

Keita Bates-Diop is also still a restricted free agent, with the opportunity to return to the Spurs on a two-way contract if he accepted the qualifying offer.

Before the opening game of the regular season, the Spurs will have to either waive or trade two players because teams can only take 15 players and two two-way players on their roster into the regular season.

Once Forbes and Wieskamp sign their deals, the Spurs will have 17 players and one two-way player on their roster.

Lonnie Walker IV heading into next season

This offseason the Spurs can either extend Lonnie Walker IV's contract before the first game of the regular season or if he plays out the season, he'll be a restricted free agent next offseason.

In the podcast episode, there's a discussion using AI models from ProFitX reviewing Walker IV's progress last season and the areas where he's projected to improve in the coming season.

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In Spurscast episode 625, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs founder Michael De Leon discuss the latest San Antonio Spurs topics: 

The Spurs’ schedule release

Drew Eubanks’ contract guaranteeing

The Spurs officially signing Jock Landale

Joe Wieskamp agreeing to a two-way contract with the Spurs

Shot creation stats from Josh Primo, Tre Jones, and Devin Vassell at Summer League

The Spurs' Schedule Release

Friday the NBA released the full 82 game schedule for the Spurs. The Spurs will have 14 back-to-back sets next season, with the majority of those sets coming in December and January.

January (17 games) and December (16) will be the Spurs' two months with the most games, followed by March (14), November (13), February (10), and then October (6) and April (6).

In late December and early January, the Spurs will go on a seven-game road trip. Then in February, the team will leave for the annual Rodeo Road Trip for eight games.

Drew Eubanks' Contract Guarantees

The Spurs had until Friday, August 20 to waive Drew Eubanks before his $1.7 million contract for the coming season was fully guaranteed.

Once Bryn Forbes officially signs his deal, the team will have 17 players on the roster with fully guaranteed deals. Two players will either have to be waived or traded before opening night of the regular season.

Jock Landale Officially Signs with the Spurs

Jock Landale officially signed with the team Thursday evening. According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, Landale signed a two-year deal at the minimum. The first year is fully guaranteed and the second year is non-guaranteed.

Joe Wieskamp Agrees to Two-Way Contract

Joe Wieskamp has reportedly agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Spurs per to the Athletic.

Wieskamp was the Spurs' second-round draftee from the 2021 NBA Draft and he played in eight games at the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Summer Leagues.

Shot Creation Stats for Primo, Jones, and Vassell at Summer League

The last topic on the podcast is a conversation about Josh Primo, Tre Jones, and Devin Vassell being three of the top 13 players in shot creation at Summer League according to data from Synergy.

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In Spurscast episode 624, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs founder Michael De Leon discuss: 

The Spurs’ completing sign-and-trade deals to land Doug McDermott, Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, and future draft picks.

More free agency moves waiting to be completed.

Initial Las Vegas Summer League observations on Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, Joshua Primo, and Joe Wieskamp

Spurs Complete Sign-and-Trade Deals with Pacers and Bulls

The San Antonio Spurs have officially acquired Doug McDermott and future second round picks in a sign-and-trade deal with the Indiana Pacers.

The Spurs also completed the sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls to send DeMar DeRozan to Chicago, and in return, the Spurs acquired Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a future first, and two future second round picks.

More free agency moves on the way

More Spurs free agency moves need to be completed, including the team officially signing Zach Collins, Joshua Primo, Bryn Forbes, and Jock Landale.

With the way the Spurs' transactions have been completed, the Collins signing is likely next.

Once all the official signings are complete, the Spurs will have 17 players on the roster. More moves will be needed to either trade or waive two players to get the roster down to 15 players by opening night in October.

Initial Las Vegas Summer League Observations

The Spurs have completed two Las Vegas Summer League games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls. Devin Vassell played in both games, but was injured in the first half of the game against Chicago. He finished with 23 points against Minnesota on Monday.

Tre Jones made his Summer League debut after sitting out the Salt Lake City Summer League in concussion protocols. Jones dropped 16 points with eight assists against Minnesota and then 23 points in the game against the Bulls.

Joshua Primo only played in the Monday game against Minnesota and Wieskamp played in both games.

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In Spurscast episode 623, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Collin Reid discuss: 

The Spurs’ free agency week where they agreed to terms with multiple players and acquired other players in trades

What the Spurs would now need to do to trade for Ben Simmons

Why more changes to the roster have to take place before opening night of the regular season

Salt Lake City observations on Devin Vassell, Joshua Primo, and Joe Wieskamp

The Opening Week of Free Agency

The Spurs will reportedly acquire Thaddeus Young, Al-Farouq Aminu, a future first round pick, and two future second round picks in a sign-and-trade deal that will send DeMar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls.

The Spurs acquired Chandler Hutchison and a 2022 second round pick from the Washington Wizards in a five team trade. The Spurs sent the draft rights of 2015 first round draftee Nikola Milutinov to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Spurs agreed to terms with Doug McDermott on a three year, $42 million deal. They agreed to terms with Zach Collins on a three year, $22 million deal, and they struck a deal with Jock Landale of Australia for two years. The last agreement came with former Spur Bryn Forbes agreeing to return where he started his NBA career in San Antonio.

In the episode, each agreement is discussed and why the Spurs might be able to send Young out in a future trade months from now.

Along with DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Patty Mills, Trey Lyles, and Gorgui Dieng have all moved to different teams as well.

Keita Bates-Diop is still a restricted free agent in free agency, though the Spurs have until August 13 to pull his qualifying offer without his permission.

What would a Ben Simmons to Spurs trade look like now?

With the Spurs' cap space now gone, a discussion takes place in the episode of what a new trade deal would look like if the Spurs had more interest in trading for Ben Simmons.

More Roster Changes on the Way

Once all the Spurs' signings and trades are made official, the team will have 17 players on the roster (not counting the two two-way spots).

This means before the opening game of the regular season, the Spurs will have to get the roster count down to 15 players.

The Spurs currently have Drew Eubanks on a non-guaranteed deal with a guarantee date of August 19.

Even if Eubanks were waived, the team would still have to waive or trade a player to have the roster ready by the opening game of the regular season in October.

Salt Lake City Summer League Observations

The last part of the episode focuses on Devin Vassell's increased playmaking in Summer League and initial impressions of Joshua Primo and Joe Wieskamp's first Summer League games.

 

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In Spurscast episode 622, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Collin Reid discuss the latest San Antonio Spurs topics: 

The Spurs drafting Joshua Primo and Joe Wieskamp

Breaking down the team heading into free agency

Discussing the Spurs’ reported interest in Ben Simmons

Looking at a few free agents that could fit with the Spurs

The Spurs drafting Joshua Primo and Joe Wieskamp

The Spurs made a surprising selection Thursday evening by drafting Joshua Primo with the 12th pick in the NBA Draft. The Spurs also selected Joe Wieskamp with the 41st pick in the second round. Hear why the organization drafted each player and what the roles of the players could look like next season.

Breaking down the team heading into free agency

With free agency officially beginning Monday, August 2, the Spurs are likely to have 11 players on guaranteed contracts. This would leave the team with just four open roster spots and two open two-way spots.

The Spurs also have an August 1 team option to decide if they'll keep DaQuan Jeffries on the roster for next season, or decline the team option.

From there, there's a discussion of the Spurs' upcoming free agents - DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Patty Mills, Gorgui Dieng, Trey Lyles, Keita Bates-Diop, and Quinndary Weatherspoon.

The discussion around DeRozan's free agency explores the different teams interested in signing DeRozan, and what potential sign-and-trade packages could look like.

Discussing the Spurs’ reported interest in Ben Simmons

The Spurs reportedly contacted the Philadelphia 76ers regarding what a trade package could look like for Ben Simmons. According to reports, the 76ers wanted a young Spurs player, four future first round picks, and three picks swaps. The 76ers reportedly want a James Harden-esque trade package for Simmons. In the podcast, there's a discussion regarding this trade rumor.

Looking at a few free agents that could fit with the Spurs

Some players discussed as free agents that could fit with the Spurs are Kelly Oubre Jr., Otto Porter Jr., Furkan Korkmaz, John Collins, Jarrett Allen, Lauri Markkanen, and Kelly Olynyk.

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In Spurscast episode 621, Spurscast host Paul Garcia, Project Spurs writer Benjamin Bornstein, and former Project Spurs writer Trevor Zickgraf discuss the following San Antonio Spurs topics: 

Team USA’s opening loss in group play to France at the Olympics.

Reports of DeMar DeRozan and the Lakers having mutual interest in free agency.

A deep dive on first-round picks with the Spurs’ 12th pick.

A hypothetical scenario if the Spurs trade up in the draft.

Analysis over the second round pick with the Spurs’ 41st pick

Team USA’s opening loss in group play to France at the Olympics

Team USA fell to France in their opening game of group play against France 83-76. Keldon Johnson played nine minutes and finished with one rebound, one assist, and one foul.

Reports of DeMar DeRozan and the Lakers having mutual interest in free agency

A report earlier this week mentioned DeMar DeRozan could have interest in the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, even if he had to sign for less than he earned last season. Now a new report notes the Lakers are expected to have interest in DeRozan this offseason.

A deep dive on first-round picks with the Spurs’ 12th pick

Players mentioned in the discussion:

Moses Moody, Jalen Johnson, Kai Jones, Usman Garuba, Davion Mitchell, Alperen Sengun, Josh Giddey, Keon Johnson, Corey Kispert

A hypothetical scenario if the Spurs trade up in the draft

Though the Spurs aren't linked to these rumors, they do have the cap space in the event they wanted to see if they could acquire the 10th pick from New Orleans with Eric Bledsoe, or the 9th pick from Sacramento with Buddy Hield or Marvin Bagley III.

Analysis over the second-round pick with the Spurs’ 41st pick

Players mentioned in the discussion:

BJ Boston, Isaiah Todd, Herbert Jones, Juhann Begarin, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Kessler Edwards, David Johnson, JT Thor

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