Brian Wright on Team Future

This is the Locked On Podcast Network celebrating ten years of your team every day . Picture this, a curve in the road, a change in plans. Well, what do you say? With the all new Audi Q three , the answer's always yes . Yes to adventure , yes to escape , yes to performance , yes to comfort , yes to right now . Because saying yes without hesitation , that's real luxury, the all new Audi Q three made for the Yes life. A vacation rental shouldn't come with surprises. It should come with Verbo Care and twenty four seven live support. If the hot tub's broken, that's a verbal care thing. If my teenager starts calling me Leslie, that's a family thing, Leslie. Verbocare and twenty four seven live support. If you know you're, verbo term supply Zerbo. com slash trust for details . All right, you all wanted front court depth . You got front court depth. The spurs go big literally and figuratively in the first round of NB the A draft, let's talk about it right now . You are locked on Spurs, your Daily San Antonio Spurs podcast , part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day . Hello and welcome back to Locked On Spurs. My name is Matthew Tyne and thank you as always for making us a part of your day on today's show . Brian Wright spoke with the media last night after the draft certainly had some things to say about the first round last night. He also had a few things to say about Mitch Johnson and Dearin Fox and everything that San Antonio went through in the finals. We'll get to that . We're also going to take a look at how San Antonio's picks from last night fit along side the current roster. They are first round picks after all. They have guaranteed contracts. They are in San Antonio for the foreseeable future so we can afford to look at the fit right away first of all we got to talk about San Antonio's draft class last night. Like I said at the top, you guys wanted front court help San Antonio felt the exact same . The Spurs draft two big men in the first round. Jaden Caintons out of Kentucky and Terrace Reed Jr. out of Yukon , a guy who by the way did not cross p aths with Steph Castle while Castle was at Yukon because anyone who stays in college basketball longer than a year these days stays in the same spot . UCon was his second home terrace reed, that is, his second home during his collegiate career . But first we got to talk about Jayden Aquintons because he's the guy that is , I guess you could say getting the most attention , raising the most flags, if you will, Jayden Aquintance is an eighteen year old big man out of Kentucky, like I said . This is a guy who reclassified in high school. So his freshman year , which was played at Arizona State, like I said, everybody changes schools . Freshman year was played at Arizona State was basically the year that he should have been a senior in high school . He did not enter the draft last season because he was too young to do so. He did not meet the age requirement to enter the twenty twenty five draft . But here's the other thing with Jade and Aquintance, the eighteen year old out of Arizona State and Kentucky . The reason there are red flags is because this guy has an injury history. He tore his ACL in F ebruary of last of last year. So twenty twenty five , as well as his meniscus . He transferred to Kentucky, only played four games, I believe, at Kentucky before , shutting it down essentially. There had been lingering pain in his what turns out to be a little bit of a meniscus situation . He slid down draft boards because of it. There are even teams out there it sounds like who removed him from their draft boards entirely because of the red flag surrounding the injury history . Something that we see happen fairly often in the NBA well really in any professional sports draft drafts. The injury stuff scares people off and especially when you're talking about a big man , I think that adds a different element to it . We talked to Jayden last night. He said it does look like he's going to need to have a little bit of a cleanup with his meniscus and that and if that is the case, this is going to be something that keeps him out a while. So don't expect to see him in summer league. I'm not going to go nearly as far as to say he's going to, you know, redshirt or put on the proverbial red shirt for his rookie season in San Antonio . But he if he does have to go under the knife again, it will be a little while before we see him in a spurs uniform. Well outside of tomorrow , Thursday when the when the rookies are introduced and they may have a jersey around somewhere to put on or at least hold up . But I digress . San Antonio feels really confident in his prospects , not just to get past the injury, but to have a long career. Bryan Wright, as I said, spoke to the media last night talked very confidently about what the medical professionals behind the scenes are saying and their confidence level in in James Quinton's having a long career . I'm just going to say this upfront . It's understandable that anyone would have red flags about injury situations like this . Torn ACLs and lingering pain in the meniscus afterward not something you really want to hear. There's no question about that. But keep in mind these teams and one of the reasons they even take them off their draft boards , these teams are making serious investments in these guys , multiyear multi million dollar investments in these players . And the Spurs in particular a organization, a franchise, a front office that is generally very conservative about this kind of thing . They're not going to make that investment unless they have the utmost confidence in it paying off at some point. It's a risk, yes , but it is a calculated risk that they are willing to take to hear them speak so confidently to understand that there are doctors behind the scenes that are looking at this and giving it the green light. This is one of those situations where if you're a fan, you kind of obviously you have no choice now, but you kind of have to trust in what the medicals are saying in what is happening behind the scenes and as Brian Wright put it their ability to help as far as a player goes there's a reason why the Spurs took him this is a high upside swing. I already mentioned the age . This dude is incredibly young , physically a specimen at eighteen years old, six, ten with a seven five wingspan. He's got Kawa Leonard size m , jumps out of the gym, great athleticism , intimidating shot blocker and Dunker has these flashes of playmaking, these flashes of off the dribble stuff , even a little bit of shooting stuff. If you if you look really closely and by the way , the first thing that he mentioned in his Zoom interview with us last night was that at the top of his list of things that he's going to be working on it's going to be shooting there is some offensive stuff in there if you look closely. It's there but it is the area of his game that is going to be scrutinized, I guess the most , the area that people are going to be watching most closely. The defense , the physicality , the athleticism, all that is there in spades and there is a terrifying all right if you want to say tantalizing potential for a front court that features Webeminamya and acquaintance . And the idea that anybody could score on those two if they venture anywhere near the paint seems almost impossible to me. It already seems impossible to me when I just walk by Viktor Wimbinyama. I don't understand how anybody scores on that guy . If these two guys if acquaintance is healthy, if this pans out , the idea of playing those two guys next to one another is terrifying, frankly. And the reason it would work playing those two guys together, that is, the reason it would work is because Victor Wimbyama can stretch the floor . The idea that you can play Victor on the perimeter , Jaden Aquintons is not going to be a liability in terms of getting in his way. He can come over from the dunker spot. He can be a screen setter. We've already seen Victor Wimbinyama as the ball handler in pick and rolls . Think about a pick and roll featuring Victor Wimbinyama with the ball in his hands and Jaden Aquintons rim running, jumping, finishing lobs, attacking the offensive glass, whatever the case might be . The reason the Spurs are taking this risk is because this guy is a top ten NBA talent, lottery talent at worst and they're looking at the age . They're looking at the only reason that he slipped is because at eighteen years old , he's got to go in and potentially get his knee cleaned up a little bit . They're confident that they're going to be able to take care of that aspect of things because they believe that frankly, the upside is worth it. The upside the reward is worth the risk . And when you're drafting and you're you're kind of down there in the twenties, it's not like you're in the top five and it's like these are the guys that don't stray from this or you know in last season's draft in last summer's draft Dy,lan Harper is the gu y. Don't stray from that. Steph Castle for at four the year before easy. Just do it . This is a slot where you can afford to take a little bit of a risk . Considering the roster flux ibility you currently have, considering the cap flexibility you still have, you still have the assets in terms of exceptions that you're going to be able to use once free agency starts . This is still a place and this is still a time where you can afford to take risks . And what helps it out a lot is that you also drafted a guy who's ready to go right now who basically plays the same position. We'll talk about Terrace Reed Jr. next . Today's episode is brought to you by Odoo. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together , one app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other. That's where Odu comes in. Odu is an all in one business management software that brings every part of your business together in one powerful platform. From sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, everything works in one place , helping your team move faster, stay organized, and focus on growing the business instead of managing software. The best organizations know that success isn't just about talent. It's about having everyone working toward the same go al. And that's true in sports just like it is in business. Like one thing that's always stood out about the Spurs organization is that they always have everybody pulling in the same direction. It wasn't just Tim Duncan or Greg Popovich, just like now, it's not just Webinama or Mitch Johnson or Brian Wright, it's a coordinated effort across the entire organization that has made it successful and continues to do so. Great organizations win because operations matter and that's why you should get ODU. Try for free today at Odu. com slash locked on that's OD . com ash locked on . This is Tyler Meccaf with locked on NBA draft with no ceilings . Everyone talks about the top ten, but real difference makers often come later in the draft, players who deliver huge draft value. On this week's value board presented by State Farm, we're highlighting prospects projected outside the top ten who could make a major impact for their team. Because whether you're building your roster or protecting your home, the right fit at the right price can make all the difference. This week's value board presented by State Farm features Baylor Wing Cameron Carr. Few players in this draft have cars , shooting, defensive, and athletic capabilities. He's the exact type of wing who elevates stars, fits in any system, and can provide a ton of value to whatever team he goes to. That's this week's value board presented by StateFarm. State Farm is here to help you find the right coverage that fits your life and budget. Talk to a neighborhood state farm agent or go online to stateform . com to get personalized coverage that works for you . All right, we are back in just a reminder about the everyday or club . If you're a die hard , you can get locked on spurs ad free with members only discard discord access by joining the everyday Air Club. Join at lockdownspurs dot supercast. com and by the way, if you're new to locked on spurs , please be sure to like and share our videos and certainly subscribe here or wherever you get podcasts if you are enjoying the show. All right , it's time to get to Terrace Reed. These dudes are at the opposite end s of the age spectrum . Jayden Cuinton, eighteen years old , Terrace Reed Jr. twenty two years old. He will be twenty three by the time the season starts and as Brian Wright said last night after the first round , it is clear the Spurs have a type and it is clear they went into this draft a type and let me tell you T,errace Reed Jr. in terms of immediate impact and availability or at least like theoretically when you're talking about the kind of player you want to come in right away or who could , you would think potentially come in right and contribute . This is the exact type of player. Terrace Reed is a four year player is leaving Yukon after his senior season heading to the NBA draft . He is a monster rebounder. This is this and just keep in mind the things that San Antonio needed, especially when you watch the NBA finals , even and this applies to J ayden acquaintance as well, but again, we're uncertain about how quickly he's going to be in the mix of things . But Terrace Rejr healthy, ready to go . Excellent rebounder, a not a supreme athlete the way that acquaintance is, but has the same sort of dimensions. He is a long armed , strong strong player who is going to be a force at the basket defensively . As I said, a monster on the glass. He had he had a tournament game, an NCA tournament game just a couple of weeks ago or last month or whenever where he had twenty eight rebounds. I believe he had thirty one points and twenty eight rebounds or twenty seven rebounds or something like that . He is a master at carving out space and six hundred ten to sixty five . He has the strength and the physicality that can that can really wreak havoc on the glass and San Antonio needs that so badly. Next to Victor Webinyama. We've talked about and you saw it again the struggles at times despite San Antonio being a really good defensive rebounding team statistically throughout the course of the regular season and even during the playoffs, although that number did come down , but we saw what happens with teams or against teams that have the added size in the front court, not just at the center position but also at the four . J sustort of the combination of players that they could play together or guys they'd bring off the bench in the case of the Nicks, you have a guy like Mitchell Robinson . We saw the way San Antonio struggled especially late in games to cover the glass . This is a guy who can not only back up Webinama alongside Luke Cornet, but he can play with those guys. He can play at the five while the other plays the four in the case of Cornet I donte',t know how much those two are going to be able to play together necessarily just because of and again we'll see what happens in free agency. I'm not sure Cornet is going anywhere. He's on a great contract and he is a helpful big to have in your stable, especially with the youth and current uncertainty with acquaintance . But Taras Reid should be a guy that can come in right away and contribute. The other thing about Tarrace Reed Jr. that is really and I think this probably has something to do with maturity, age, IQ, that kind of thing been around the game a little bit longer , playing at high level. Look, if you come out of Yukon and the Spurs put a lot of stock in the programs that you're coming from, the guys who are coaching you , we already know that they're pretty keen on guys out of Yukon . They've got a pretty good one on their team already , but they're they're high on stock. They're high on blue blood stock. The guys who come from programs like UCON and have the experience of players like Terrace Reed Jr. This to me is so is so interesting from the standpoint of like if San Antonio they can do any number of things considering what their draft just looked like. You can be careful with Victor and they do obviously want to be careful with Victor. They want to preserve his body even though you're going to want to sort of if you've learned anything from the postseason, you know that this that endurance is going to have endurance and strength are both going to be things that Victor works on over the off season because you see how critical it is down the stretch of important games . However , having a Terrace Reed Jr. Having a Jade Acquaintance, these are guys who in theory are going to be able to not only take up those depth spots, give Victor a little bit more of a break when he needs it. So instead of having to play forty four minutes in a game, maybe you can play thirty eight, thirty nine , max out at forty , something like that. Even if you're shaving a few minutes off the rotation , you're you're in good shape. You're in better shape, at least. The other thing with Aquaintance and Terrace Reed, and I think that this is even more critical . What we saw in the Oklahoma City series and then again in the New York series, especially when Kat was on the floor without Mitchell Robinson is that when teams employ stretch bigs, so I know he didn't, he like hardly even shot the ball the later the series went, but you have a guy like Ched Holmgren in Oklahoma City and Jaylen Williams the Jay Will, not J ubb, the big who can stretch the floor. You saw Oklahoma City go five out and you saw just Luke Cornett struggle so mightily in space . But you also saw even though Victor was very impactful . We know his ability to cover from the rim to the three point line. But what we also saw when he is tasked with defending more of the court when he is tasked with having to stretch all the way out to the three point line . There is the threat of him being blown by especially for, you know, with a guy like Carl Anthony Towns who's so good off the dribble so physical getting to the rim. We saw those problems emerge for San Antonio if these two guys pan out the way San Antonio expects them to at the very least hopes they do, it's going to give so much relief to Victor on the defensive end. It should save his energy in a massive way because yeah, he's he's still going to be asked to defend out to the perimeter Victor is , but if he knows that he has two guys whoever obviously they're not probably not going to be on the floor at the same time. They're largely the same type of player, but you have one of two guys behind you able to help at the rim, whether it's Reed Jr. or acquaintance, two shop blockers, two bigs who can cover the basket when you're away from it , that's going to provide such a relief for both Victor Wimbinyama and the Spurs. Again, you know, one of the things I spoke on before this draft was this is a team whose depth was to a degree exposed. I h ate talking about I hate the word exposed , but in the sense that as I mentioned , when we talk about this team is ahead of schedule, all that , a lot of times people assume that means age. It means like, oh, these guys are way ahead of their skis. They're, as Brian Wright said last night, they took the keys and drove real fast with the car . But I at least am not talking necessarily about this young team is playing better than we expect them to play . When I say ahead of schedule, I'm talking about from the roster building perspective that last year was sort of year one of the true build toward contention. Once they traded for Deren Fox, you knew that that was coming. Like there is no more soft tanking or messing around or develop ing. It's full go now . So that was just year one . There was still a lot of work to do. They still have a bunch of draft assets . As we saw last night, they utilized some of them to move up in the draft to get Terrace Reed Jr. And now they're moving forward. They've added depth in the draft. They have the ability, as I said at the top to add to the roster in free agency and look , they're in really good shape right now and a lot of credit should go to look. I know that there are going to be concerns about acquaintance and I get that . So this is sort of one of those beaut in the eyy ise of the beholder things. If you if you are the type who likes risks, you love what just happened to the spurs in the first round. If you're not, if you if you would rather see a guy who's going to be on the court day one, maybe you're a little bit queasy about what just happened . But at the very least , what they did in terms of upside, in terms of the swing they took , it's something else. Let me tell you it's something else. All right, let's get to a little bit more of what Brian Wright had to say last night right after this break . Today's episode is brought to you by indeed workplace chaos past due deadlines. You need help, but good help is hard to find. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, it's time to try sponsored jobs. Indeed sponsored jobs helps you reach the right people with the skills and the experience and in the location you're looking for so you can get back to running your business . 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For more information, seekalci dot com slash regulatory All right, final segment of the day and we are going to get into some Brian Wright quotes, conversations. We don't get to talk to him very much during the course of the year. Like usually it's like two times max. We get to talk after the draft, sometimes before the draft, but usually it's just after the draft and then and then potentially, you know, around media day at the start of the season, like when they've had a chance to go through their whole off seas off season and all that and so it's always , I guess important to get as much as much out of the guy as we can. We got about I don't know, close to fifteen minutes with them last night . Obviously had a ton to say the draft class that they just had. And basically , one of the things that we talked about on Tuesday or that I talked about on Tuesday was that this was just because San Antonio is a contender, just because they're they were three games shy of winning the NBA finals that they're right there that this wasn't a situation even though it might appear appear that way because of how it all unfolded, but this was not a situation where they were they were drafting for fit . In their eyes that's not something that you want to do . I joked a little while ago as I as I take this Kalci banner off the screen for the YouTube viewers , I joked a little while ago that that he kind of laughed at the front of the interview saying it looks like we have a type hu,h ? Well , it's true . They drafted two big physical athletic players . One incredibly young with high upside, another one who is just now established. And this is one of those things where when they left the NBA finals and when I talk about like the idea of best player available, I'm also every season is different. And Brian Wright said this as much said as much every year they learn from the process of the year before. They make tweaks to it. They identify kind of what they're looking for in any individual draft. And while team success came faster than anyone expected, the organization planned to stick to a more and this shouldn't be necessarily a surprise , but decided it wanted to stick to a more methodical, more analytical approach . And you know , it is something that has worked well for them. And they're not going to pass up on the chance to find the types of players that they know are going to help win at the at the level that San Antonio is expecting to win now . This was a draft that considering the idea of drafting methodically continuing with the best player available approach . This was just it just happened to be a really good draft for the types of players that San Antonio was looking for this draft beyond we all know that Darren Peterson and AJ Debenza and Camboozer like we know what the top of this draft was always going to look like and we know that those three dudes are like franchise altering type players, franchise centerpiece type players . But because they got so much attention, I'm not sure enough attention was paid to the fact that this was a really deep draft class with a bunch of different player archetypes , useful player archetypes when it comes to especially like post season type play . And I really think it showed out last night and I felt that after a while it just became let's say after the lottery right around there. It really became unpredictable because you're looking at teams that could use the certain player types that were still on the board. I even think that like there are guys still left over for the second round tonight that are going to be interesting . Although that the second round is a crap shoot. It is like the definition of a crapshoot. It could be a team a team could be honing in or homing in on something that they want or a team could be like holding an auction for their second round selections like the the second round is can be bizar re. So we will see what unfolds there tonight. But I think one of the areas I've already sort of sprinkled in some Brian Wright draft talk throughout this episode, but I think the thing people are most interested potentially to hear about. And I'm not sure if there was any reason to expect that he would say otherwise , but last night Brian Wright was asked about Darren Fox and his performance in the finals and whether or not it raised concerns about , you know, longevity of his tenure in San Antonio or what the team is expect ing and he just voiced extreme confidence in Deren Fox a finals performance obviously where he's playing through an injured ankle but Bri,an Wright basically said there is no wavering in what they in their confidence and commitment to Dear and Fox going forward. Like I said , you know, I I know that that is something you wouldn't expect him to come out and say otherwise necessarily , but it really genuinely has been the theme and the feeling with those guys ever since the end of the draft. He said the same thing about Mitch Johnson basically saying like at the end he and I thought that this was important and I think something that we talked about on this podcast for sure is that this whole operation is incredibly young and the whole team, not just the team, but the coaching staff , the front office , they learned a lot about what they were . They learned a lot about what they needed to address, what they needed to correct and and I just in general , there was a lot of confidence that was given to Deren Fox and Mitch Johnson . He did say sort of toward the end of the night the you're not promised or guaranteed anything , but I know the group that we have, this is a quote from Brian Wright, by the way , you're not promised or guaranteed anything, but I know the group we have is committed to doing the work and staying together and that's what we'll do. So if there are any questions out there about