Spurs Rumors

Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Southwest Division

Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.

This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.

We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Southwest Division. Let’s dive in…


Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are carrying some role players on eight-figure contracts whose names will likely come up in trade rumors in the coming months, but there’s no need for the team to make any major moves before the regular season begins.

Given that team salary is well over the luxury tax line, Dallas could either add a 15th man or leave the spot empty for now — the club is more likely to fill its open two-way slot, with camp invitees like Gueye, Hall, and Wright perhaps vying for consideration.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets will have to trade or release at least three players before the regular season begins, but seem to be in no rush to make those moves quite yet.

Brown, Burke, and Chriss – all acquired from Dallas in the Christian Wood trade – are among the players whose roster spots are in jeopardy. If Houston wants Fernando and/or Cauley-Stein on its regular season roster, more than three players with guaranteed contracts will need to be let go.

Once the Rockets start parting ways with players on guaranteed salaries, they could fill out their 20-man offseason roster with camp invitees and perhaps one more two-way player.

Memphis Grizzlies

Green, who is recovering from a torn ACL and may not return until the spring, is the most obvious odd man out for the 15-man regular season roster, but it’s possible the Grizzlies have other plans. Green, whose $10MM expiring contract is already guaranteed for $6.96MM, could be useful as a trade chip or even as a rotation player in the playoffs if he’s able to make it back.

If they want to retain Green, the Grizzlies could look to make a minor trade involving a player like Santi Aldama, Killian Tillie, or Xavier Tillman to create room on the roster.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans made their big 2022 addition at the February trade deadline when they acquired McCollum, so it’s no surprise they’ve had a quiet offseason. Still, it’s almost been eerily quiet in New Orleans, with their second-round pick (Liddell) still unsigned, and a reported two-way agreement for Seabron still not finalized.

The Pelicans’ 15-man regular season roster, at least, looks pretty set — most of Alvarado’s minimum salary is guaranteed and he’d be a lock to make the team even if it wasn’t. So it’s mostly a matter of determining who will fill the two-way slots.

It’s possible those spots are simply earmarked for Liddell and Seabron, but Liddell tore his ACL during the Las Vegas Summer League, so the team may prefer he signs a G League contract and spends the season rehabilitating in Birmingham, while reserving a two-way slot for a player who can actually contribute on the court.

San Antonio Spurs

With approximately $30MM in cap room still available, it’s possible the Spurs still have another move or two up their sleeves before the season begins.

For now, there’s a bit of a roster crunch, but if San Antonio were to trade, say, McDermott and Richardson to Los Angeles for Russell Westbrook and draft picks, then bought out Westbrook, that would create the roster flexibility necessary to carry Bates-Diop, Jones, and one more player (perhaps Johnson) in addition to the 12 others on guaranteed deals.

If the Spurs don’t make any trades and want to keep Bates-Diop and Jones, they’ll have to cut at least one player with a guaranteed salary.

Spurs Sign Alize Johnson To Camp Deal

AUGUST 26: The Spurs have officially signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.


AUGUST 16: The Spurs have reached an agreement on a one-year contract with forward/center Alize Johnson, agent George Langberg tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski says the deal is worth $2MM, which suggests it’s a minimum salary contract. Johnson’s minimum this season is $1,968,175. The contract will be a non-guaranteed camp deal, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).

Johnson, 26, has bounced around the NBA since being selected with the No. 50 pick in the 2018 draft, appearing in a total of 72 games for Indiana, Brooklyn, Chicago, Washington, and New Orleans, including 23 in 2021/22 for the Bulls, Wizards, and Pelicans. He averaged 1.8 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 7.2 minutes per contest last season.

The Spurs are already carrying 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with Keita Bates-Diop and Tre Jones also on standard deals. San Antonio would have to trade or release one of those 15 players in order to make room for Johnson on the regular season roster in October.

Lakers’ Beverley Acquisition Makes Westbrook Exit More Likely

The Lakers‘ acquisition of Patrick Beverley on Thursday makes it more likely that Russell Westbrook will be off the team’s roster by the start of the season, a source close to the situation tells Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

According to Buha, a trade involving Westbrook is one possibility. Another would see the Lakers take the approach the Rockets did with John Wall last season, sending him home while the team continues to explore the trade market.

In addition to making Westbrook more expendable by giving the Lakers another veteran point guard to insert into their rotation, the trade for Beverley unites two players who have had their share of issues in the past.

Westbrook suffered a major knee injury in 2013 when Beverley attempted to steal the ball from him as Westbrook was calling a timeout. The two guards have since shared some choice words for one another in press conferences and on social media, with Beverley calling Westbrook “trash” during a game this March.

It’s not out of the question the two guards could make peace, but Buha refers to their feud as one of the NBA’s “most rancid” beefs, suggesting Westbrook has never forgiven Beverley for his role in that ’13 injury. If that’s the case, it would be further incentive for the Lakers to move on from Westbrook before the season begins.

One NBA executive who spoke to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes there are three “obvious” trade partners for the Lakers in any Westbrook deal. The Pacers and Spurs have the cap flexibility to make a deal work, while the Jazz have the highly-paid veterans who would be required for salary-matching purposes.

All three of those teams are in retooling mode and could be motivated to trade a productive player or two for Westbrook if significant draft compensation is attached to him — the former MVP would be unlikely to actually suit up for any of those clubs if he’s traded.

Myles Turner and Buddy Hield are the most obvious Lakers targets in Indiana and have been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason. Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson are among the Spurs players who could appeal to Los Angeles. And even after acquiring Beverley, the Lakers could have interest in other vets on Utah’s roster, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, and/or Malik Beasley.

All of those teams would be seeking at least one first-round pick – and probably two – from the Lakers in order to give up useful players in exchange for Westbrook and his oversized ($47MM+) cap hit. L.A. only has its 2027 and 2029 first-rounders available to trade due to the Stepien rule.

Reports last month indicated that the Lakers weren’t willing to offer both of those picks to the Pacers for Turner and Hield, but perhaps they would become more inclined to meet Indiana’s asking price after acquiring Beverley without surrendering any draft compensation.

Western Notes: Wieskamp, Lakers, Jazz, Wolves, Rockets

Joe Wieskamp‘s new two-year deal with the Spurs, which was officially announced today, includes a guaranteed $2,175,000 salary for 2022/23 and a non-guaranteed $2,200,000 salary for ’23/24, Hoops Rumors has learned. The team completed the signing using cap room in order to give Wieskamp a greater raise than his Non-Bird rights allowed.

If Wieskamp remains on the contract through the 2022/23 league year, he’ll be in line to receive a partial guarantee of $500K for year two on August 1, 2023. His full second-year salary would become guaranteed at the start of the 2023/24 season.

Here are a few more items from around the Western Conference:

  • Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show (video link), Shams Charania of The Athletic said that Jazz guard Patrick Beverley and forward Bojan Bogdanovic are two potential trade targets worth keeping an eye on for the Lakers. With a Kyrie Irving trade looking less likely than ever, the Lakers will likely focus on scenarios where they could potentially move Russell Westbrook and draft compensation for two or three solid rotation players, Charania notes.
  • The Timberwolves have officially confirmed that Jon Wallace is their new director of player personnel and GM of the Iowa Wolves, announcing the hiring today in a press release. The Timberwolves’ deal with Wallace, who worked with Tim Connelly in Denver, was first reported earlier this month. “I have spent many years with Jon and know his basketball acumen is going to benefit the Timberwolves organization as a whole,” Connelly said in a statement.
  • The Nets’ truce with Kevin Durant isn’t great news for the Rockets, who own several Brooklyn first-round picks and swaps in the coming years, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. While the Nets’ long-term future remains far from certain, the value of those picks in the short term will probably be limited as long as Durant and other stars are still on the roster, Feigen observes.

Spurs Re-Sign Joe Wieskamp To Two-Year Deal

AUGUST 24: The Spurs have officially re-signed Wieskamp, the team announced today in a press release.


AUGUST 22: Free agent swingman Joe Wieskamp is re-signing with the Spurs on a two-year, $4.4MM contract, his agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wieskamp, 22, appeared in 29 games as a rookie last season, averaging 2.1 PPG in 7.1 MPG. The University of Iowa product was the No. 41 overall pick of the 2021 draft.

Wieskamp was a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer. He spent the bulk of the season on a two-way contract but was signed a standard contract in early March.

He was ruled out of Summer League action due to an ankle sprain.

On a rebuilding team, Wieskamp will fight for minutes at both wing spots. He was a 41.2% 3-point shooter in three seasons with the Hawkeyes and could be a rotation factor if he provides that threat in the NBA.

The terms of Wieskamp’s contract indicate he’ll be earning more than the minimum on his new deal, but it’s unclear whether both years are fully guaranteed.

Spurs Rookie Jeremy Sochan Discusses Health, EuroBasket, Alamodome Game

Spurs rookie forward Jeremy Sochan is fully recovered from a COVID-19 infection and is confident he’ll be 100% healthy for training camp, reports Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.

Sochan was unable to suit up for San Antonio during the team’s Las Vegas Summer League showing this year due to the novel coronavirus, but after weeks of working out, he says he is wholly recuperated ahead of training camp.

“I have been working out here daily,” Sochan said. “My body is feeling great.”

The 19-year-old was selected by the Spurs with the ninth pick in the 2022 draft out of Baylor, where he was named the 2021/22 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. Though his college numbers were fairly modest, Sochan’s defensive upside and athleticism make him an intriguing long-term prospect. In 30 games during his lone college season, he averaged 9.2 PPG on 47.4% shooting, 6.4 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.3 SPG.

Here’s more from Sochan’s conversation:

  • The 6’9″ forward discussed the mental health routine he has been employing to keep himself centered since his Baylor days. “If I am going through something or if I have a string of games where I am not playing well or my shot is not falling, normally I try to communicate with the people around me, talk about it and try to solve stuff like that instead of keeping it to myself and having it eat me up,” Sochan said. “Communication is definitely key for me.”
  • Though he is now healthy, Sochan has opted to not suit up for the Polish national team in this year’s FIBA EuroBasket competition, which will tip off in Germany on September 1. “Of course, it is always an honor to play for the Polish national team,” said Sochan, who is eligible because his mother is Polish. “But this is going to be my first season in the NBA, playing 82 games. I’ve never done that before, so I think just being ready, being in the environment, being in San Antonio, is important to have the best season I can have.”
  • Sochan became more excited about his rookie season following the NBA’s release of the regular season schedule this week. He singled out two games in Austin and one against the Warriors, the reigning 2022 champs, at San Antonio’s 65,000-seat Alamodome on January 13, as highlights. “It’s really exciting, because there’s going to be a lot of new people coming to watch,” Sochan said of that game at the Alamodome.

Spurs To Play Four Home Games At Alternate Sites

  • The Spurs will play four home games in sites other than the AT&T Center, the team announced in a press release. In addition to hosting the Heat in Mexico City on December 17, San Antonio will return to its former home in the Alamodome on January 13 and will play a pair of games in Austin on April 6 and 8. The games are part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebration. “Hosting these four games is part of our vision to purposefully engage and celebrate our entire Spurs following from Mexico to Austin, while fostering the next generation of fans,” said RC Buford, CEO for Spurs Sports & Entertainment.

Heat, Spurs To Play In Mexico City In December

The NBA will return to Mexico City this season for the first time since 2019, with the league confirming in a press release that the Heat and Spurs will play a regular season game at the Arena CDMX on December 17.

According to the NBA, the game will be the league’s 31st in Mexico over the last three decades — the Rockets and Mavericks played the first preseason game in Mexico back in 1992. The Spurs, who will likely be the “home” team, have made an effort to market themselves in the country in recent years, having also participated in games in Mexico in 2017 and 2019.

“We have played six games in Mexico City and every time thousands of Spurs fans showed up, making us feel loved and right at home,” Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement. “We are grateful for our loyal fans in Mexico and are thrilled for the opportunity to play in front of them as part of our 50th anniversary season. This is one way we continue to purposefully engage and celebrate our growing number of fans in Mexico.”

The COVID-19 pandemic derailed the NBA’s plans to play in international markets during the last couple seasons, but the league appears set to make up for lost time in 2022/23. In addition to the Mexico City showcase, the NBA has also announced a regular season game in Paris, as well as preseason contests in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.

Jeremy Sochan Won't Play In EuroBasket

  • Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan has decided to bypass an opportunity to play for Poland in the EuroBasket tournament, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Sochan, who didn’t play during Summer League after being placed in health and safety protocols, will focus on getting ready for his NBA debut. “After long discussions with the San Antonio Spurs, my agent and family, we decided that I should stay in San Antonio and continue preparing for my first season in the NBA, the most important and longest season of my career so far,” Sochan said in a statement released by the Polish Basketball Association.