Tag: Brian Wright

Has San Antonio Spurs general manager Brian Wright done well this offseason?

The Spurs’ roster looks very different after just a few weeks. But is it better?

Has San Antonio Spurs general manager Brian Wright doing well this offseason? The Spurs front office exec has managed to add a pair of experienced veterans in former Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes and Golden State Warriors short-timer floor general Chris Paul to the roster with a minimal outlay of assets.

The team turned their No. 4 overall pick into University of Connecticut combo guard Stephon Castle, their No. 36 overall pick into Ratiopharm Ulm point guard Juan Nunez, and their No. 48 overall pick into University of North Carolina forward Harrison Ingram. Not a bad haul in the eyes of many!

The host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast, Jeff Garcia, took a closer look at Wright and Co.’s work this offseason for San Antonio with guest Jack Thompson, formerly of San Antonio Sports Star. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Grading the Spurs performance in the 2024 NBA Draft

Grading the San Antonio Spurs moves during the NBA Draft.

The San Antonio Spurs selected Stephon Castle with the fourth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. They then traded Rob Dillingham, who was selected eighth, to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Harrison Ingram was the final addition to the Spurs roster after being selected with the 48th overall pick.

San Antonio’s decision to trade a lottery pick for future draft considerations raised some eyebrows on draft night. It’s been the biggest talking point surrounding Brian Wright’s decision-making regarding who he selected and how he navigated the overall draft. Nevertheless, the deal has been done. San Antonio will now focus on developing Castle and Ingram.

In a recent YouTube video by “TSR Sports,” they graded the Spurs’ moves throughout the two-day draft process, including the decision to trade Dillingham and to draft Castle at number four.

You can watch the full video to see how the Spurs were graded for their moves during the NBA draft by clicking on the embedded video above.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=8 tag=16]

Brian Wright explains why the Spurs traded Rob Dillingham

Brian Wright explained why he traded the San Antonio Spurs eighth overall draft pick.

The San Antonio Spurs traded the eighth overall draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves. who selected Rob Dillingham. Brian Wright’s decision to trade away a lottery pick for future draft considerations caused a stir within the Spurs fanbase, as many questioned the decision-making when San Antonio is a rebuilding roster.

During a recent news conference, Wright explained his thought process behind the trade. He noted how he believed the deal gave the Spurs the best chance of developing and maintaining a competitive roster in the coming years. He believes the Spurs got good value from the trade, despite the questions it raised from outside the organization.

“Those decisions are always difficult ones,” Wright said. “You do all the work on the draft, and there’s (sic) definitely players that you like. But, you have to weigh the calculus on what’s best for, ultimately, the future. We felt like the package that we got was one that made sense to move off of the eighth pick for… I think just in isolation, in a vacuum, we felt like it was fair value for what the eighth pick was.”

Only time will tell whether Wright made the correct decision to trade the eighth pick. If Dillingham has an impressive rookie season for Minnesota, he will likely face criticism.

Nevertheless, Wright made a decision that he felt best and will be judged on how that plays out in the coming years. For now, the Spurs will be focused on incorporating Stephon Castle and Harrison Ingram into the roster and developing them into NBA-level talents that can complement Victor Wembanyama.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=8 tag=16]

Spurs plan on being ‘strategically aggressive’ this offseason

The San Antonio Spurs plan on being “strategically aggressive” this summer.

The San Antonio Spurs have a real chance to improve their roster this summer, and if they want to put Victor Wembanyama in the best position to succeed, that’s what they need to be focused on doing. Whether it be through the NBA Draft, in free agency, or on the trade market, the Spurs need to be staying active.

Obviously, the most important thing the Spurs need to do this summer is make the right moves. Not just any moves. The right ones. They can’t afford to put the wrong pieces around Wembanyama, as it would waste years of his prime.

Per Mike Monroe of The Athletic, Spurs GM Brian Wright said that the team plans on being “strategically aggressive” this offseason. (H/t Jonah Kubicek of Inside the Spurs)

“Every year we try to be aggressive, but you have to be strategically aggressive, right?” Wright said. “Because of all the things you’ve tried to establish to give yourself ways to build, you want to make sure that you have different ways you go forward.

San Antonio is ready to push forward, but they’re going to do so carefully.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Spurs GM Brian Wright on how to build around Victor Wembanyama

San Antonio Spurs GM Brian Wright says there’s more than one successful way to build around Victor Wembanyama.

When the San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, their future was set. At least, a big part of it was. They won the right to select Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick, and that’s exactly what they did. And throughout his rookie season, Wembanyama hasn’t just lived up to the hyped surrounding him, he’s exceeded it.

Now, the Spurs face the challenging task of building a successful team around Wembanyama. With how great the big man is, winning with him may not prove to be too difficult, but putting the perfect set of talent around him won’t be easy. They need to take a careful approach and figure out what works best for both Wembanyama and the team.

That said, Spurs GM Brian Wright recently spoke about how there isn’t one single way to build around Wembanyama. (H/t Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News)

“I don’t know that there’s one blueprint,” Wright said. “He’s so dynamic that I think you can build the thing in a lot of different ways and so we’ve got to keep chipping away with that.”

This summer should be all about finding the right team to help Wembanyama win both now and for the foreseeable future.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

“You look historically with the guys …

“You look historically with the guys that we’ve had here,” Wright says about Sochan. “He kinda reminded me a little bit of Boris, just kinda worldly. His interests and hearing about how he thinks about basketball, but life outside of basketball, really lined up with what we kinda hoped to be and what we hoped the environment and culture to be. So we think he’s going to add to us both on and off the court.”

Numerous key decision-makers from …

Numerous key decision-makers from around the league were spotted during the first two days, including Denver’s Tim Connelly, Dallas’ NIco Harrison, Memphis’ Zach Kleiman, Charlotte’s Mitch Kupchak, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti and the San Antonio duo of R.C. Buford and Brian Wright. Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, fresh off his own recent stint in the league’s health and safety protocols, was also briefly in attendance.