Summer League Watch: Jarnell Stokes

It was recently announced that D-League MVP Jarnell Stokes will join the Spurs summer league roster.   Stokes is being compared Memphis Grizzlies' Zach Randolph which great since the Spurs just traded Boris Diaw.

 Watch Jarnell Stokes 2016 D-League MVP Highlights  

Spurs Add depth, signing athletic center Dewayne Dedmon

With the news that fan favorite Boban Marjanovic has signed with the Detroit Pistons,  the Spurs immediately turn their attention to the athletic 7 footer Dewayne Dedmon.


You can Watch  Dewayne Dedmon Highlights  

Who is Bryn Forbes - A look into the latest Spurs prospect

If your wondering who is this year rising prospect in Summer League the name Bryn Forbes comes up. Forbes is a 6'3" guard from Michigan State. He known for his 3-pt shooting prowess. His talents is put on display against the Sixers.

More Scouting reports about Bryn Forbes

Bryn Forbes Scouting Report

Davis Bertans: The Spurs potential replacement to Matt Bonner

With Matt Bonner leaving as a free agent, the Spurs potentially have his replacement in the person of prospect Davis Bertans from Latvia.

His scouting report goes like this:

6-foot-10 small forward. 21 years old. 

Strengths: elite shooting, size and length for position. 

Weaknesses: unproven as a defender, lacks strength. 

The Spurs are a team are a team that it's know for its perimeter shooting specially beyond the arc and Matt Bonner has been their designated "stretch 4" for some years. Bertans comes in having a more elite shooting and obviously much younger and has some room to improve.

Spurs signs Pau Gasol for 2 years 30 Million

For the second straight season,  the Spurs added a marquee free agent in their ranks.  This time it's all-star center Pau Gasol.  With future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan leaning into retirement, the addition of Gasol fills the potential void in Duncan's potential retirement. 

Spurs Off-season Review So Far

Free Agency

The San Antonio Spurs are only the fews teams that are active in the NBA free agency. Most of their recent moves was to retain majority of their 2013 roster with the exception of Power Forward / Center Aron Baynes. The Spurs manage to retain Boris Diaw and Patty Mills for 3 more year while Matt Bonner gets to re-sign on a veteran minimum rate for one year. 

Summer League has showcase the talents of 1st round draft pick Kyle Andersen as well as the continue development of Jeff Ayres and Austin Daye. Guard Bryce Cotton also flashes some of his play making skills along with the improvements of small forward DeShaun Thomas.

With most of the key contributor back for several year, I won't be surprise if the Spurs end up in the finals or hopefully win the 6th title. 

Kyle Anderson: San Antonio Draft Pick 2014

The 2014 NBA draft was finished weeks about and the Spurs was able to draft one of the most versatile forward in the draft class in UCLA's Kyle Anderson. By most experts, Kyle Anderson is compared to the Spurs Boris Diaw: 6'9" Power Forward who can handle and pass the ball like a point guard. To learn more about Kyle Anderson, let's watch his scouting report video:



 And here are the analyst reaction of the Kyle Anderson pick:

Some Highlights of Kyle Anderson

Dick Vitale compares Kyle Anderson to a less talented version of Magic Johnson

Patty Mills agree to 3 year deal despite injury

The San Antonio Spurs and backup point guard Patty Mills has agreed to a three-year deal despite the initial reports that Mills will be out for at least 6 months because of a shoulder injury. Regardless of the injury the Spurs was able to secure his services for 3 more seasons. 

We can only hope he recovers from that injury as he is also a key role player in the Spurs championship run last season.

Josh McRoberts: Potential Spurs free agent signing

With the potential of losing Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw, the Spurs will likely look into free agency to at least replace one of them and I found a potential replacement in Charlotte Bobcat power forward/center Josh McRoberts. McRoberts has decided to opt out of his contract to become a free agent.

For those of you who do not know Josh McRoberts. I think this video would speak for itself.



You notice in this video his game play fits perfectly with the Spurs: He can shoot 3's, can pass the ball effectively and can also play the post like most Spurs big men.

Potential Offseason Signing the Spurs should do

The San Antonio Spurs recently concluded their 2013-2014 season by capturing their 5th NBA Title over the defending champions the Miami Heat. The challenge now add new pieces to sustain potential loss of free agents and to point out which once are to be retained.

Potential free agents to retain:

Tim Duncan

-Sure he maybe on his wrong side of his age but Duncan has defied father time for quite sometime now and he still has the desire to play as long he desires. He still remains effective and consistently plays at a high level despite his age. Duncan is still the leader of Spurs and a one of the core members of this championship team. So retaining him at a reasonable rate would make sense.

Kawhi Leonard

-Although Kawhi Leonard's contract will end in 2015, extending his contract this early makes more sense as his skills has improved so as his value to the team. Kawhi is being groomed to be one of the core players and potentially replace either Duncan or Ginobili once they retire.

Boris Diaw

-Diaw's performance in the playoffs has been one of the key factors in the Spurs championship run. If they can retain Diaw that would at least retain one of the role player who is already adept to the Spurs style of play.

Patty Mills

-Another key contributor in the success of the San Antonio Spurs championship. Having Patty Mills

would also provide Tony Parker some relief without a drop off from the point guard or shooting guard position.

Potential Free Agent to sign.

Pau Gasol

-This would be the biggest free agent that the Spurs could sign as long as he can afford the salary he wants. Gasol would be the option if the Spurs can't retain Diaw. He'll likely take some of Duncan's time during the regular season. There are several articles that support this potential signing.

SportsWorld.com

BleacherReport.com

Potential Player to acquire via Trade 

Kevin Love

-With the potential for the Spurs to lose Duncan and Diaw in free agency or retirement, the Spurs would like to get a proven big man who is hungry to win a championship ring and that would be Kevin Love. Love can shot either in the post and also from the perimeter which would offset the loss of either Diaw or Matt Bonner and according to SportsWorld.com the Spurs have the cap space to sign him a new contract and the wealth of assets that they can trade for him.

Potential Rookies to bring in.

Ryan Richards

-I have been hyping Ryan Richards for quite some time now and it's time for Richards to come in and learn from Tim Duncan. 

Redemption Complete: Spurs Win the series 4-1 to capture the NBA Title

The San Antonio Spurs has finally avenged their loss to the Miami Heat last year as they won the 2013-2014 NBA Title in dominant fashion 4-1. The Spurs has been most fundamentally sound team all through out the season and they have a chance to repeat as their roster is practically deep and knowing R.C. Buford he can get talented player to either offset the loss of potential free agents or improve more on depth. 

The upcoming free agents are Tim Duncan (player option), Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, Matt Bonner and Aron Baynes.  Duncan and Parker will likely re-sign with the Spurs as they are core of this franchise. Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard will likely be extended as early as this upcoming offseason and among the free agents they will want to retain Patty Mills and Boris Diaw as both had significant contributions to the success of this team. 

Spurs Vs. Thunder Preview

The Western Conference Final will be another classic match as the San Antonio Spurs will once again battle the Oklahoma City Thunder lead by league MVP Kevin Durant. It will be a rematch of the 2012 Western Conference Finals but this time both rosters has significantly improved. 

The Spurs are still lead by the big three of Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker but as most Spurs fans know the continued improvement of Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills,Danny Green and Tiago Splitter has been the key to a 62-10 record. 

The Thunder as always is lead by Durant and Russell Westbrook with the compliments of defensive stalwarts like Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha but unlike in 2012, this Thunder roster has been bolstered by the presence of Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Steven Adams. 

The match up that I'm gonna follow closely is between Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant. Kawhi Leonard has been the Spurs top defensive player who is usually assigned to the  opposing team best player. In last year's NBA Finals, Kawhi did very well guarding LeBron James to the point that James struggled with his field goal percentages during that series. 

Game 1 will be played in San Antonio on Monday May 19, 2014 ( May 20th in Manila).

Ryan Richard: The Next Big Man to Shine for the Spurs

As of writing, the NBA off season has been quite busy with the Spurs re-signing starting center Tiago Splitter   for 4 years and  star guard Manu Ginobili for 2 more years. Spurs has added another perimeter shooter in the person of Marco Bellineli from the Chicago Bulls for 2 years. The recent NBA draft didn't generate much fan fair as the Spurs selected the 6'9" Small Forward Livio Jean-Charles from France in the first round and 6' 7" Deshaun Thomas another Small Forward from Ohio State. Jean-Charles will remain in Europe to hone his skills more since he is just 19 years old.  Thomas will most likely join the Las Vegas Summer League. 

But one player I am most excited about is Ryan Richards from Great Britain. Richard was drafted in the 2nd round by the Spurs in the 2010. He checks in at 6'11" 229 lbs. yet he is fast and explosive to the paint. Here's a video of this play with the  BC Vienna team in the Austrian League (on which they recently won a championship).

As you can see on this video. Richards reminds me of Blake Griffin but less flashy. He has the potential to be Tim Duncan's heir apparent. With Duncan's mentoring and Coach Pop coaching, the sky is the limit for him.

All of this will be realized when we see him play in the upcoming Las Vegas Summer League. I would hope that he will show improvements because of his two years of playing in Euro leagues.

Welcome to Spurs Watch

I have been following the San Antonio Spurs since 1999 and never rooted any other team even though the most famous player was drafted by a team from the state of Ohio and later took his talent to the south beaches of a Florida city (I think you know who I am referring) and the other has been with a California team since the day he was drafted and was able to take his team to several championships. 

A true fan never leaves his favorite team even though the team has suffered some ups and down every season. I was actually proud that last season's Spurs squad was seconds away from winning a 5th title but fell short because of the heroics of the league MVP (yet some would say otherwise but I won't go there since I though they desired the championship anyway).

Starting this off season I will be posting some new about the latest updates about my favorite San Antonio team which includes some personal insights on some of the players (and prospects).