Summer Time Spurs
Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, and Josh Primo have had some nice moments this summer. After two seasons of nothing to get particularly hyped about, it sure is easy to get sucked into overanalyzing their play against future G-leaguers and draft picks.
The absolute best thing about the Summer and Development leagues is that they provide game time. Basketball players need to play basketball and getting reps for the next generation is critical — but only if they are high level and meaningful. There is clearly a talent gap there, but for Jones — who did not get more than a sniff of time in the regular season — and Primo — a guy who is young and played a narrow role in college — these minutes were crucial.
Jones showed he can do some things, and Primo showed he has more than catch-and-shoot skills. We had some confirmation of the good things and from here on out it is just about getting time and putting in work.
The game can be unglamorous like that.
I saw that Bleacher Report had some rumor about the Spurs and Ben Simmons
San Antonio was open to discussing Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV before the draft, sources said, and the Spurs added more enticing future draft capital in their sign-and-trade that delivered DeMar DeRozan to Chicago. Could the starting points of that package be enough to truly intrigue Philly? Portland's eventual interest, as always, would factor heavily into any further discussions, too.
I thought the Spurs would need a *DeRozan* to trade, but the gettings from the DeRozan sign-and-trade would be *slightly* intriguing chips for the right team. I do not know that Philly is that team. It is best not to dwell too much on this rumor because while Ben Simmons-as-star-guy is interesting but I do not know if that completely makes sense for anyone. Simmons is good and young, but trading away some of the guys that make the possible Simmons-Spurs partnership thrive puts the squad in a weird spot. The Spurs are always kicking the tires on trades and things but do not pull the trigger often.
The Delta variant has dimmed my enthusiasm for the season more than any rebuild or reload or what-have-you. Getting back to “normal” was so close there for bit. Now it seems we are farther away than every before. The prospect of at-least a half-full AT&T Center was exciting.
The only good I can take away from the rising number of COVID cases in Bexar county and the nation is that many people have been inspired to get the vaccine that were otherwise hesitant. I know at least two of them in my own personal extended circle. Some of the organizations are taking a harder stand against anti-vaccinators than they otherwise would have. School districts across the state are ignoring the Texas governor’s mandates and requiring masks. It is time that the Spurs and Bexar County upgrade from “strongly encouraging” masks to requiring proof-of-vaccination for games in October. Better to require it now, and get ahead of everything than wait until a week before or something.
Stay safe out there.
Can't wait to see how the Spurs show up, pretty excited for new season.