There appears to be a three-way competition for the Spurs‘ final roster spot, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The team has 17 players with guaranteed contracts, and it looks like the decision will come down to forwards Luka Samanic, Keita Bates-Diop and Al-Farouq Aminu.
Samanic, 21, was taken with the 19th pick in 2019, but hasn’t established himself in San Antonio, playing just 36 games in two seasons. The Spurs have an October 31 deadline to pick up his option for 2022/23, but they may decide to part with him before then. Coach Gregg Popovich gave Samanic a start in Friday’s preseason game, and McDonald described the results as “mixed.”
“He hasn’t played very much, so his is more of a confidence game and understanding what it takes to be a player,” Popovich explained.
Bates-Diop, 25, signed a two-year, $3.5MM contract before training camp began, but only this season is guaranteed at $1.7MM and he has been slowed by a hamstring injury. Aminu, who was acquired in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade, is owed $10.1MM this season in the final year of his contract. Knee injuries have limited him to 41 games over the past two seasons and he recognizes that he has an uphill fight to make the roster.
“That’s your whole life,” he said. “You go to one camp and maybe there are 100 guys. Even from high school, everyone is competing. We understand the business of whatever the case can be.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- Drew Eubanks‘ place on the roster appears secure, even though the Spurs could easily afford to unload his $1.76MM salary, McDonald adds. Eubanks has steadily improved throughout his three seasons with the organization, and Popovich recently called him “a poor man’s Dave Cowens.”
- Free-agent addition Doug McDermott feels suited to the Spurs’ new offensive philosophy, which is based on movement with fewer set plays, McDonald notes in a separate story. The 29-year-old is with his sixth NBA team, and San Antonio is counting on him to boost its outside shooting. “The system is great because it’s a lot of random basketball, and that’s what my game is built for,” he said.
- Popovich is enjoying the challenge of coaching young players after so many years of having a veteran team, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The coach also praised the progress of Lonnie Walker, saying he has added game-related knowledge to his athletic skills (Twitter link).
One of the best runs by a team for the past 25 years, but it’s hard to say that it’s time for a reboot. Time to stock up on picks and move assets/take on bad contracts. Time to execute the process.
Have you looked at the roster? They’ve been “rebooting” for 3 years.
They held on to DeRozen and Aldridge when they could’ve traded them – in denial when perhaps they should’ve committed to the reboot “3 years” ago.
That amazing run they had ended two years ago. Although what’s even more amazing is the fact that the Spurs have missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the 54-year history of the franchise (ABA/NBA).
“Poor mans David cowens” . Why did pop do him like that ? Lmao!
Cowens was great fun, back when only a few teams made it to tv… Celtics kept winning.
Aminu is guaranteed the $10mil, is he not? A lot of money to waive away.