We're definitely bringing Champagnie back on such a low cost. No clue what we do with Bassey. No way we keep Graham.
Barlow is almost certainly gone (we didn't extend a QO). Mamu is now a RFA bc we did extend a QO to him so I'd expect him to come back
I agree we likely bring back Champagnie, especially as most think Keldon is on the block.
Barlow's agent requested that we not give him a QO so he could shop around better.
Mamu may come back, but really depends what else happens. We could pick up a couple players via trade or FA that make him expendable. He's kind of a backup option.
Mamu seems to be a lock to come back. No many teams have much cap space, and I don't think many teams would go after that type of player. Now I do think the spurs have to give him a decent contract. But the order of operations is yet to be determined. Mamu is a good role player. He may be a great role player for the spurs.
I feel like Keldon's tenure as a spur is just about over. It's way too quiet and I respect that a lot. I feel like both sides are handling this super professionally.
I know that everyone wants to trade him, but I m not convinced that he can’t be a third or fourth option on a contender. He has a good contract too, that is a bargain for his production. I don’t think other teams will give us a bunch in return either.
This is just tea leave reading. It's not personal. He does seem to be the odd man out. You should be able to get a decent return or bring in the right fit for him.
I also think he may not actually be stoked about his role but is a professional. I think the spurs may want to get ahead of that. Because that's his role and it's not going to change. This is vic team and this is what needs to happen in order to maximize that. Even if the spurs don't get a outstanding offer but the right trade for them I think they will take it.
I've been watching the league a for a minute. I don't think the spurs run it back with keldon. I think that would be best for both sides. Nothing personal at all.
Since he would be less than the MLE, TPMLE, BAE, it kind of doesn't matter how many teams have cap space. He is a depth guy and lots of teams need depth big men every year. He is essentially a backup option for us.
Somebody said Bassey bought a house immediately after his exit meeting with the brass. If true, that signals that he's been told he's staying, I assume.
That Collins contract is so bad. That little stretch of good play before he got the extension turned out to be fool's gold.
Now we need to attach assets just to dump his ass.
For such a shit roster of g-league level talent, it's surprising that the Spurs have fewer space than the Thunder. They're just as young and have a supermax player.
> That Collins contract is so bad.
It really is not. It is two seasons at about 11% of the cap. It would be easy to move if the Spurs wanted to move it.
> That little stretch of good play before he got the extension turned out to be fool's gold.
He shot 50/48 last year after the ASB and his defense numbers improved.
He doesn't fit well with Wemby and had an awful start of the season, but he isn't as bad as Spurs fans make him out to be either.
Wouldn't surprise me to see him traded, especially if the Spurs trade for Brook Lopez or sign Goga Bitadze. Only a 2y deal at about 11-12% of the cap, so it doesn't cripple anyone.
Collins contract is designed for him to function as salary filler in a trade next year ('25-26). So my bet is still that's how it'll go (seems like we're planning to really start pushing to be better than so it makes sense). But you never know.
Reading the tea leaves it looks like they're angling to trade for someone. I wonder if they know who? or if they are making an offer and seeing if they can come to an agreement or if they will have to push it to the trade deadline.
We took on 1 season and 2.8M of salary this year of Graham for 4 second rounders and cash in a season where the Spurs knew they had to hit the salary floor with an extremely young and low-paid team.
Isn't the salary cap basically irrelevant? There's hardly any restrictions to go over it from what I can understand and virtually every team is over it. What matters is the 1st Apron at 178 mil
> Isn't the salary cap basically irrelevant?
Not even remotely. Teams under the cap like us, Philly, Orlando, etc have a lot more options. There are different levels of what you can do based on cap space or room under the various aprons.
> There's hardly any restrictions to go over it from what I can understand and virtually every team is over it.
There is more flexibility and many teams won't even get to the luxury tax, let along the 1st apron.
> What matters is the 1st Apron at 178 mil
Both aprons and the luxury tax matter, and if you do not manage your money well, your team quickly falls apart - i.e. Denver over the last two years because they didn't have the money to keep key players on their championship team like KCP and Bruce Brown.
According to [this](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/_/year/2023/sort/cap_maximum_space_optimized), there wasn't a single team under the salary cap this year. And you still have no trade and buyout restrictions as long as you're under the 1st apron
Right, after they use their cap space, they are not under the cap anymore. The 76ers just signed Paul George and a bunch of other coveted free agents because they had the most cap space. So they have a big advantage in having cap space.
We're definitely bringing Champagnie back on such a low cost. No clue what we do with Bassey. No way we keep Graham. Barlow is almost certainly gone (we didn't extend a QO). Mamu is now a RFA bc we did extend a QO to him so I'd expect him to come back
I agree we likely bring back Champagnie, especially as most think Keldon is on the block. Barlow's agent requested that we not give him a QO so he could shop around better. Mamu may come back, but really depends what else happens. We could pick up a couple players via trade or FA that make him expendable. He's kind of a backup option.
For sure. Mamu will be someone to consider after we do all our wing shopping. Hopefully we get a starting 3&D like KCP or Naji Marshall
Mamu seems to be a lock to come back. No many teams have much cap space, and I don't think many teams would go after that type of player. Now I do think the spurs have to give him a decent contract. But the order of operations is yet to be determined. Mamu is a good role player. He may be a great role player for the spurs. I feel like Keldon's tenure as a spur is just about over. It's way too quiet and I respect that a lot. I feel like both sides are handling this super professionally.
I know that everyone wants to trade him, but I m not convinced that he can’t be a third or fourth option on a contender. He has a good contract too, that is a bargain for his production. I don’t think other teams will give us a bunch in return either.
This is just tea leave reading. It's not personal. He does seem to be the odd man out. You should be able to get a decent return or bring in the right fit for him. I also think he may not actually be stoked about his role but is a professional. I think the spurs may want to get ahead of that. Because that's his role and it's not going to change. This is vic team and this is what needs to happen in order to maximize that. Even if the spurs don't get a outstanding offer but the right trade for them I think they will take it. I've been watching the league a for a minute. I don't think the spurs run it back with keldon. I think that would be best for both sides. Nothing personal at all.
Since he would be less than the MLE, TPMLE, BAE, it kind of doesn't matter how many teams have cap space. He is a depth guy and lots of teams need depth big men every year. He is essentially a backup option for us.
Somebody said Bassey bought a house immediately after his exit meeting with the brass. If true, that signals that he's been told he's staying, I assume.
Thanks for posting this!
That Collins contract is so bad. That little stretch of good play before he got the extension turned out to be fool's gold. Now we need to attach assets just to dump his ass. For such a shit roster of g-league level talent, it's surprising that the Spurs have fewer space than the Thunder. They're just as young and have a supermax player.
> That Collins contract is so bad. It really is not. It is two seasons at about 11% of the cap. It would be easy to move if the Spurs wanted to move it. > That little stretch of good play before he got the extension turned out to be fool's gold. He shot 50/48 last year after the ASB and his defense numbers improved. He doesn't fit well with Wemby and had an awful start of the season, but he isn't as bad as Spurs fans make him out to be either.
We need to get Collins off the books as leverage for something
That won't be free. Could cost a first. Probably not worth it.
Gotta be somewhere better for Collins than here, he's a decent player - someone must want him
Wouldn't surprise me to see him traded, especially if the Spurs trade for Brook Lopez or sign Goga Bitadze. Only a 2y deal at about 11-12% of the cap, so it doesn't cripple anyone.
Collins contract is designed for him to function as salary filler in a trade next year ('25-26). So my bet is still that's how it'll go (seems like we're planning to really start pushing to be better than so it makes sense). But you never know.
I thought incomplete roster charges only went up to 12, no?
14 now since they expanded the rosters. You have a 14 minimum and a 15 maximum and the three two-ways do not count.
I don't think you're accurate on the cap mechanics. I am fairly certain IRCs only exist if you're under 12.
You could be right. But an incomplete roster charge not being charged for a team below the minimum required roster spots doesn't make a lot of sense.
I have a feeling they sign Haywood Highsmith. Not sure why just think they do
He would be a solid choice, especially if they move Keldon. I still prefer Naji Marshall, personally.
Awesome article! The salary drops pretty quickly from 1st pick to 4th to 9th.
Reading the tea leaves it looks like they're angling to trade for someone. I wonder if they know who? or if they are making an offer and seeing if they can come to an agreement or if they will have to push it to the trade deadline.
Graham and zack Collins Jeez, bad management And of course they will not get any free agents
We took on 1 season and 2.8M of salary this year of Graham for 4 second rounders and cash in a season where the Spurs knew they had to hit the salary floor with an extremely young and low-paid team.
Isn't the salary cap basically irrelevant? There's hardly any restrictions to go over it from what I can understand and virtually every team is over it. What matters is the 1st Apron at 178 mil
> Isn't the salary cap basically irrelevant? Not even remotely. Teams under the cap like us, Philly, Orlando, etc have a lot more options. There are different levels of what you can do based on cap space or room under the various aprons. > There's hardly any restrictions to go over it from what I can understand and virtually every team is over it. There is more flexibility and many teams won't even get to the luxury tax, let along the 1st apron. > What matters is the 1st Apron at 178 mil Both aprons and the luxury tax matter, and if you do not manage your money well, your team quickly falls apart - i.e. Denver over the last two years because they didn't have the money to keep key players on their championship team like KCP and Bruce Brown.
According to [this](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/_/year/2023/sort/cap_maximum_space_optimized), there wasn't a single team under the salary cap this year. And you still have no trade and buyout restrictions as long as you're under the 1st apron
Right, after they use their cap space, they are not under the cap anymore. The 76ers just signed Paul George and a bunch of other coveted free agents because they had the most cap space. So they have a big advantage in having cap space.