Now why is that? https://t.co/Z9TlbiP3zW pic.twitter.com/AtnmRa2XBr

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) July 10, 2025

Is it just me or is this a bigger deal than they are making it out to be? For a player with his injury history it seems like it could be. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp. pic.twitter.com/Yz8vxBlp06

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2025

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

Yep. Hell if nothing else take the consensus best guard still available from our thread here.

jteagle said:

---

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

---

They should be going and poaching from the Memphis scouting tree, those guys have been killing it.

But our front office is too insular and nepotistic to think outside the box.

FTAG 2000 said:

---

jteagle said:

---

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

---

They should be going and poaching from the Memphis scouting tree, those guys have been killing it.

But our front office is too insular and nepotistic to think outside the box.

---

Guess where Summer League coach, assistant coach and director of player development Mike Noyes came from

https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/spurs-summer-league-coach-mike-noyes-20761393.php

Yep. Too insular and nepotistic.

Mitch went out and got Sean Sweeney from the Mavs - their very well regarded defensive mastermind. Also grabbed Corliss Williamson, who also has no ties to the Spurs coaching tree.

jteagle said:

---

Is it just me or is this a bigger deal than they are making it out to be? For a player with his injury history it seems like it could be. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp. pic.twitter.com/Yz8vxBlp06

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2025

---

No injury of his is a bigger deal than the others because he has 4 injuries at any given time.

If it's not his eye, it will be a calf. Two weeks later it will be a tight back.

By the all-star break he will have played 19 games, but if he can juuuuuuuuuust get healthy..... /Mavs fans, probably

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

jteagle said:

---

Is it just me or is this a bigger deal than they are making it out to be? For a player with his injury history it seems like it could be. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp. pic.twitter.com/Yz8vxBlp06

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2025

---

No injury of his is a bigger deal than the others because he has 4 injuries at any given time.

If it's not his eye, it will be a calf. Two weeks later it will be a tight back.

By the all-star break he will have played 19 games, but if he can juuuuuuuuuust get healthy..... /Mavs fans, probably

---

I don't really think this is a big deal in the grand scheme. Doesn't seem like the type of thing that would be a lingering problem like his achilles tendonitis or knee issues.

The weird thing is... why did they wait three months to fix a detached retina?

Guitarsoup said:

---

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

jteagle said:

---

Is it just me or is this a bigger deal than they are making it out to be? For a player with his injury history it seems like it could be. Maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp. pic.twitter.com/Yz8vxBlp06

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2025

---

No injury of his is a bigger deal than the others because he has 4 injuries at any given time.

If it's not his eye, it will be a calf. Two weeks later it will be a tight back.

By the all-star break he will have played 19 games, but if he can juuuuuuuuuust get healthy..... /Mavs fans, probably

---

I don't really think this is a big deal in the grand scheme. Doesn't seem like the type of thing that would be a lingering problem like his achilles tendonitis or knee issues.

The weird thing is... why did they wait three months to fix a detached retina?

---

I wouldn't be shocked if doctors thought it could fix itself with time. This was probably the plan all along. Avoid surgery and see if it heals on its own, start cutting if it doesn't

FTAG 2000 said:

---

jteagle said:

---

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

---

They should be going and poaching from the Memphis scouting tree, those guys have been killing it.

But our front office is too insular and nepotistic to think outside the box.

---

Yep, Memphis is killing it. In the same time frame I mentioned, they have had 2 second round picks that have made a contribution and one of those is on another team. Perception that other teams do it better is overexaggerated.

Guitarsoup said:

---

FTAG 2000 said:

---

jteagle said:

---

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

---

They should be going and poaching from the Memphis scouting tree, those guys have been killing it.

But our front office is too insular and nepotistic to think outside the box.

---

Guess where Summer League coach, assistant coach and director of player development Mike Noyes came from

https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/spurs-summer-league-coach-mike-noyes-20761393.php

Yep. Too insular and nepotistic.

Mitch went out and got Sean Sweeney from the Mavs - their very well regarded defensive mastermind. Also grabbed Corliss Williamson, who also has no ties to the Spurs coaching tree.

---

I'm excited about Sweeney. And in general, Mitch going outside the house for a badly needed injection of coaching talent and new ideas.

Not sure what those have to do with our stale front office and scouting department.

As mentioned, we have a decade plus drought in the second round, where teams like OKC, Memphis, etc. are hitting on rotational pieces. We're going to need some of those type hits over the coming years given the cap situation, to sustain a contender.

I'm not sure what's controversial about that.

Guitarsoup said:

---

FTAG 2000 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

FTAG 2000 said:

---

jteagle said:

---

AggieEP said:

---

To continue beating a dead horse, we could have also used 38 on someone just to eat a roster spot. 3 million for McLaughlin seems steep for a guy who won't hopefully play any meaningful minutes. Could have easily taken another swing at hitting the jackpot with a 2nd rounder.

---

I hear what you're saying, and it sounds good in theory but here are the facts.
Out of the last 16 drafts, Tre Jones is the only 2nd round player drafted by the Spurs to have a significant impact. They have actually had better luck with undrafted players than 2nd rounders.

---

They should be going and poaching from the Memphis scouting tree, those guys have been killing it.

But our front office is too insular and nepotistic to think outside the box.

---

Guess where Summer League coach, assistant coach and director of player development Mike Noyes came from

https://www.expressnews.com/sports/spurs/article/spurs-summer-league-coach-mike-noyes-20761393.php

Yep. Too insular and nepotistic.

Mitch went out and got Sean Sweeney from the Mavs - their very well regarded defensive mastermind. Also grabbed Corliss Williamson, who also has no ties to the Spurs coaching tree.

---

I'm excited about Sweeney. And in general, Mitch going outside the house for a badly needed injection of coaching talent and new ideas.

Not sure what those have to do with our stale front office and scouting department.

As mentioned, we have a decade plus drought in the second round, where teams like OKC, Memphis, etc. are hitting on rotational pieces. We're going to need some of those type hits over the coming years given the cap situation, to sustain a contender.

I'm not sure what's controversial about that.

---

It's fine to just admit you hate PATFO because of your political stances and how they clash with Pop. I'm not sure what is controversial about that.

The Spurs have done an absolutely fantastic job in the front office of selling off assets, drafting and rebuilding the team from scratch over the past 5 years.

You will never give them credit because your politics get in the way. Something you used to bring up relentlessly on here.

---

Yeah, I disagreed with Pop politically. That has nothing to do with my current (and continued stance) regarding the front office.

Last true hit on a second rounder:

Last playoff win: 2019.

Add in there bad extensions to Vassell, and this bang up list of draft picks over the past ten years:

Branham, Wesley, Primo (LOL), Samanic, Lonnie, Milutinov

And we're supposed to high five and say they're great because they got Wemby and Harper thanks to lucky ping pong balls?

Meanwhile, our primary competition in the west (Denver, Houston, OKC, Memphis) are loading up, and also finding contributors in the second round while we flush those away for cash considerations.

But yeah, you're right, you convinced me - they've been doing a great job all these years. Silly me.

And by the way, I posted on here and gave them credit for things like drafting Bryant, our bigs, etc. That doesn't change the fact we've been lighting the second round of the draft on fire for years now. Yeah we're leveraging some of those in trades, which is great. But you're going to have to hit on some seconds here and there to fill out that roster due to the cap and aprons.

Not to mention that during this supposed decade-long second round drought we drafted Tre Jones and Chimezie Metu, both guys who have/had healthy NBA careers.

The Spurs haven't been hitting on second rounders because they've consistently had multiple first round picks. It does seem like in the second apron era it is going to be more important to draft well in the second round. But clearly that hasn't been a necessity for the Spurs recently.

Honestly, the only thing the Thunder and Grizz do that I admire is they seem to be hyper-aggressive in trading up to get a guy they like. The Thunder have done that a couple times including 3 years ago to get JDub. Memphis did that this year to get Coward.

Beyond that, it's pretty unfair to call out the Spurs FO and say they've just made some obvious picks. The Grizz did elevate their status by "lucking" into Morant and JJJ (top 3 picks). And OKC did make the luckiest trade of all time ending up with by far the best player in the exchange. There's no chance anyone on either side of that trade could have predicted the player SGA has become. Even with him they still stunk for a couple years and landed high picks (Chet, Giddey, Topic). The Spurs are on a very similar trajectory IMO.

Jalen Williams, Thunder agree to rookie max extension worth up to $287M - via ESPN https://t.co/J2hDpnpQzU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 10, 2025

And JDub gets the max, too. If he hits All-NBA again, it's 30%.

I think multiple things can be true here.

1st, us long time Spurs remember taking Tony in the late first, Ginobili in the second and getting Kawhi at 15 in the trade with Indiana. We remember and know that value can be found anywhere in the draft with good scouting. Recently though, we've not seemed to hit on any of those kinds of picks. Our late 1sts haven't really turned into much and we've done nothing with our 2nds. This naturally leads to a bit of disappointment knowing that there's always a chance of hitting gold.

Partially this is a return to reality, most teams don't draft hall of famers in the 2nd round, and it's unrealistic to think the Spurs could keep doing that... but... there's always a chance so why not shoot your shot and see what happens?

2nd, the rebuild seems to be going well and putting us in position to compete for a long time. So I don't look at point 1 and call the rebuild or the front office a failure. And I don't think that's FTAGs intention either. I think that like me, he sees some perhaps missed opportunities to find guys that can help us win now. I'm high on the Spurs chances to compete next year, but I can still look at the FOs performance and wonder if there weren't other moves out there as well.

Finally, no organization is perfect. As guitar brought up, OKC hasnt hit on every move either. We know we hit a home run with Wemby, and we're hoping that Harper is just as successful. It's not like we've drafted Anthony Bennett or Kwame Brown when we've been in the top 5. So criticism like mine and FTAGs is just kind of shooting around the margins and hoping for incremental improvements. I am 100% sure that selling 38 for cash considerations is a LAME move from a fan perspective. Flipping 8 last year for a Minny swap far in the future is also lame for a fan base that grew accustomed to consistent excellence.

Every successful build starts with some sort of boon on assets. OKC started with drafting KD, Russell, Harden, and Ibaka in subsequent drafts. Those assets set them up for everything that has happened over the last fifteen years.

The Spurs were at a huge disadvantage having our big 3 retire and then Kawaii turning into a POS. Its actually a miracle they've done what theyve done. They turned two very late first round picks (White and Murray) into valuable trades that set this team up to have multiple chances to hit on picks or make trades. Obviously, the lottery luck probably trumps every smart move theyve made. In reality, just avoiding the collosselly stupid move is quite an accomplishment for most organizations.

The White and Murray trades haven't really born any fruit yet. From an asset collection standpoint we did well, but the first Boston pick from the White trade didn't hit and the Atlanta picks are still on the way. If they are better than us this year then we don't even get their pick this coming year.

I think we'll end up as winners in the end of these, but the just is still out.

We hope Carter will be good but we don't know that yet.

2008and1 said:

---

OKC greatly benefitted from Kawhi demanding PG13 to go to the Clippers.

---

Also the Kawhi trade was about a year before the dam burst on the ridiculous amounts of draft picks included.

But Kawhi basically told LAC that trade for PG13 and get both him and PG13 so those picks were more or less for two super stars, but only one team benefits

Guitarsoup said:

---

2008and1 said:

---

OKC greatly benefitted from Kawhi demanding PG13 to go to the Clippers.

---

Also the Kawhi trade was about a year before the dam burst on the ridiculous amounts of draft picks included.

But Kawhi basically told LAC that trade for PG13 and get both him and PG13 so those picks were more or less for two super stars, but only one team benefits

---

For sure it was a trade for 2 super stars. Doesn't take away that OKC profited greatly from that move.

Re read your post. I'll say reality is it takes a lot of luck for most teams not named the Lakers to find success. The spurs are in a good spot now, but had we not landed the top pick in the wemby draft we would still be looking at more seasons of misery on the level of the Hornets or Wizards.

The roster is clearly upgraded in the past two years, I'm not a potbanger at all, super excited about the upcoming season.

It's just that I can be pumped about the direction of the team while also wondering why we didn't at least take a stab at finding another contributor at 8 last year or 38 this year. You can say "whose playing time are they going to take" and that probably sounded good in your head, but if you hit the jackpot, and 38 turns into an all star, who the eff cares who loses playing time, you just drafted an all star. You make room for dudes that can play.

Outside of Wemby, no one has proven that they are 100% part of some future Spurs dynasty, we hope some guys start making the jump soon, but I can't take someone serious who wouldn't jump in a second at the opportunity to upgrade over Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson. Now was a player like that out there at 38... probably not, the odds tell us that it's extremely unlikely that anyone in the 2nd round is going to be a star in this league, but as I said, the Spurs used to have a reputation for being the team that did maximize the value of their late 1sts and 2nd round picks, so it's a bit jarring for us to not even have any interest in taking a stab at it considering the fact that the dynasty was built on the back of good scouting and shrewd drafting.

This whole conversation is the dumbest thing on this Spurs thread, we don't have to worship PATFO and praise everything the FO does to be Spurs fans. I see no issue with Spurs fans discussing a variety of opinions on personnel moves and exploring a variety of what if scenarios. Personally, I think this team would look much better with Buzelis as the backup 4 right now, but we'll never know. Personally I wish we'd drafted Raynaud and seen if his 20 and 10 game as a stretch 5 translated at all to the league. But we didn't, and now we can watch those guys play elsewhere and time will tell if the FO made the right decisions or not on pushing out those assets until later. When the Minny swap in 2031 ends up at 2 overall, I'll eat crow, but you all are going to have to remember that for 6 more years to hold me accountable.

Bryant with 3 blocks on one possession.

Herb jones is getting a 3-year $68 million extension. I feel like that puts Jeremy somewhere at $18-$20 million/year. I kind of see him going to RFA.