Beef, Becky, and Basketball: A Post-Vegas Chat with Jeff McDonald
Matthew Tynan: There’s a lot to talk about after a crazy Spurs offseason and Summer League, so I’d like to start here: Jeff, what are your thoughts on this Drake - Meek Mill beef, and who ghostwrites for you?
Jeff McDonald: I’ll answer your question with a question: What is a “Meek Mill?” Also, my ghostwriter is my cat. I thought everyone knew that. In fact, Mrs. Whiskerton is typing this right now.
This got off to a weird start.
MT: It is not on you, Mrs. Whiskerton, to determine what is and isn’t weird. This is how adults talk. Also, I’m told cats are incapable of speaking in third person, so I know it’s you, Jeff.
OK. Transition. How was Vegas? I have to say, after three or four years of going, I missed the musty smell of the casino, losing my money at $5 blackjack tables, making enemies at said blackjack tables before eventually becoming best friends, and the annual random drunken Mike Bibby sighting. Not so much the basketball, but the debauchery.
JM: Um, I was told what happened in Vegas pretty much had to stay there. It’s federal law. So I can’t help you there. I don’t want to be arrested by the Las Vegas sheriff, who I am told is an Elvis impersonator.
As for Summer League on the whole, I’ve become shocked at the kind of turnout that event is beginning to draw. I remember covering games in gyms that were basically empty. Now there’s a 10-person line at the snack bar at all times, blocking the path to nachos.
I heard the Spurs did really well, but I left on Wednesday so I don’t know for sure.
MT: Just added another trophy to the trophy case. No big deal. Well, except for the whole Becky Hammon thing. That was cool to see. You got a chance to talk with her, how was she behind the scenes? Obviously, nationally, it’s been a big story, but I’m sure she was just sort of business as usual, yeah?
JM: She’s a cool customer, man. It was a really fun Summer League to cover in that regard. Obviously, it was a big national story, so it was interesting to see her work that crowd. Some of the photos to come out of those first couple games, with Hammon running a timeout huddle and 30 sets of male basketball player eyes on her intently, were really powerful.
But it was also interesting to hear her eventually get to talk about basketball.
The first two postgame pressers included a lot of broad, swooping “what does it mean to be a woman NBA coach” questions. I was starting to wonder A) When are people going to stop asking that question? and B) How long before she just snaps?
By the third postgame presser, every question was about basketball — What were you looking for here? What did you think of that guy? What’s the next step for Kyle Anderson? etc. It was nice that it eventually felt commonplace. Hammon started to be looked at as “just a coach,” which is what I think she wants.
MT: She’s handled this stuff so well. Like, she clearly realizes the importance of what she’s doing — the impact it has on a larger scale — but you know she gets tired of this stuff. I think it speaks to her next-level professionalism, that she can deal with all the attention without losing her composure, and then turn around and focus on her job. And oh yeah, coach a team to a Summer League title.
I have my fingers crossed that, at some point during the upcoming season, Pop gets tossed from a game and hands her the reins as he leaves the court. That honor might be given to Ime Udoka, and he’s clearly earned his spot, but that’d be awesome to see Becky running up and down an NBA sideline, if only for a couple of quarters.
Speaking of Kyle Anderson, what are your thoughts? He won Summer League MVP, but there really seem to be mixed reactions to his game. Yeah, he’s really slow and his jumper is unreliable, but I like him. He’s skilled, long, and he’s got some fun, Paul Pierce mixed with Boris Diaw-like junk to his game. He’ll be a liability if paired with bad defenders on the floor, but fortunately the Spurs have plenty of ballhawks on the perimeter. I’m curious what his role will be this season.
JM: I feel like any discussion about Summer League should be prefaced with “It was only Summer League, but …”
So: It was only Summer League, but it felt like an important step forward for Kyle Anderson. He pretty much owned the court there in Vegas. Yes, the competition there isn’t anything close to what he will face in the NBA. But him dominating Summer League is a better sign than not dominating Summer League.
I feel like we know what he is at this point. He’s slow. He’s not a great defender. He’s got a great basketball IQ. He’s a playmaker. If Pop can figure out a way to maximize those pluses in rotations that mask those minuses, he can be a contributor.
Let’s be clear: The Spurs don’t need Kyle Anderson to be a 20-minute player this season. But if he can give you solid 10th-man minutes, suddenly the depth issues we assumed the Spurs would face if they went all-in on LaMarcus Aldridge aren’t nearly so daunting.
MT: OK, by mentioning that depth, you’ve allowed me to segue to my favorite part of Summer League: Jonathon Simmons. He’s the next silver-and-black mythical unicorn Spurs fans hoped James White and Pops Mensah-Bonsu would pan out to be — a crazy athlete who can seemingly dunk on anyone from any part of the floor. Except he might just be able to play.
I thought he looked really good in pick-and-rolls, staying tight around screens and then exploding downhill past defenders. He showed he could pull up and shoot or fly to the rim, and he also showed he has decent vision. They used him as the passer in that Hammer set the Spurs run so often — the Manu role. Again, it’s Summer League, we know that. He also dribbled a bit loosely and made some errant passes that will result in quick turnovers the other way at the NBA level and a warm seat on Pop’s bench, but man I’m really intrigued.
San Antonio really likes these journeyman types, who’ve had to prove themselves in difficult spots. It gives them a toughness they seem to like. I wasn’t there for the summer of Gary Neal, but this sort of reminds me of that. What do you think?
JM: It was only Summer League, but …
Yeah, Simmons is interesting. You could definitely see the specific set of skills that led the Spurs to lock him up before the rest of the league got a look at him in Vegas. I think he’s got a chance to make an impact, particularly as a bench defender.
Truth time: I am naturally skeptical of guys who just drop out of the clear blue sky. Like, if Player X were so good, why is he available to everyone for next to nothing? (We can have the same discussion in a bit about Boban Marjanovic).
Most of the time, this instinct proves correct. Sometimes, it doesn’t. You mentioned Gary Neal. His Summer League was like Simmons on steroids. No athletic dunks, obviously, but the guy (Neal) simply couldn’t be stopped by Summer League defenses.
Neal put together an unbelievable week that year, and even then, I remember interviewing him after the final game at Thomas & Mack and thinking, “Well, he was great but that’s the last time I’ll ever talk to THAT guy.” As a rule, I never, ever, ever buy the summer hype.
And yet, I was clearly wrong in Neal’s case. The Spurs signed him a few days later, and he went on to become a productive role player for them for a few seasons.
Simmons is different in that the Spurs locked him down before Summer League even started, so we’re certain see him again in the fall. It will be interesting to see how he fits with an actual NBA team against actual NBA competition.
With Marco Belinelli gone, the Spurs could really use another bench shooter. Though Simmons hit nearly 40 percent of his 3-pointers in the D-League last season, I’m not sure he’s really that. I’m curious to see how Pop manages all these new parts on his bench, which are different than many of the parts he’s had at his disposal the past few seasons.
Swapping a Marco Belinelli type for a Jonathon Simmons type is quite a pendulum swing.
MT: And that’s generally a good rule. It feels like we reiterate every year that you just take everything you see at Summer League with a grain of salt. BUT. Simmons jumped off the screen to me, no pun intended. He was the best defender on the floor for the Spurs, and he was relentlessly attacking the paint with great efficiency on the other end. To be clear, I’m not saying this dude is gonna be San Antonio’s Sixth Man or anything, but he certainly is interesting.
I’m with you in that I’m not sure he’s a spot-up shooter. I mean, it does appear he has the ability to shoot — he took 2.5 3-pointers per game and, as you mentioned, shot 40 percent — but he looks like that secondary slasher or PnR guy who can manufacture secondary offense when the initial attack creates opportunity. I honestly don’t know much about the guy’s style aside from what we just watched, but yeah, I highly doubt he’ll be running off screens and launching a bunch of 3s, Belinelli style. We’ll just have to see. If anything his defense will get him on the floor at times, especially on those Manu rest nights.
You mentioned Boban and your skepticism for the “fall out of the sky” types — I guess he’s had injury issues in his foot, which is kind of terrifying in a guy that size, and he’s just not particularly great at any one thing. But, he’s freaking gigantic, and he’s apparently serviceable in most areas. If he gets deep in the paint, he can dunk without jumping; if you attack the rim against him, his 9-foot-7 standing reach gives him the ability to block almost anything, and it’s not like the Spurs are gonna throw him out high defending pick-and-rolls; and he’s supposedly got a decent set shot from the elbows. Who the hell knows, though? If anything, taking a shot on a 7-foot-3 dude as your fifth or sixth big man is probably worth the risk, especially when you talk about giving Duncan off nights or allowing either he or Aldridge or Diaw or West or Bonner to play away from the monster centers in the NBA.
Suddenly, this roster is taking on a seriously flexible life of its own. There was concern after much of the Foreign Legion left, but the group the Spurs have assembled can mix and match in a lot of different ways. By the way, OF COURSE Pop went Serbian this summer. Marjanovic AND Milutinov? I see what you’re up to, Gregg.
JM: I was talking about this with (Dan) McCarney on his podcast yesterday. This roster is going to be interesting from a “sportswriter covering it” standpoint. It’s a mix of guys we have (almost literally) seen play together for 15 years, and in some cases guys we have never seen play in an NBA game in their lives.
I don’t know how Simmons will translate exactly (except defense usually translates). But I REALLY don’t know what to make of Marjanovic. I mean, I’ve literally never seen him play live. I know he is big. I’ve heard he is fairly skilled for a person of size. I’ve heard he has the mobility of a parking meter. At any rate, I don’t wring my hands too much about what you’re going to get out of your fifth big man, especially during an offseason when you’ve added LaMarcus Aldridge.
That said …
I thought the Spurs needed a “true” center on the bench unit. Size-wise, Marjanovic fits the bill and then some. The Spurs need someone to bang a few minutes with the Dwight Howards and Zach Randolphs of the world, because LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t want to, and Old Man Duncan shouldn’t. Can Marjanovic do it? I’m not sure he can or can’t. Allegedly, that wasn’t really his thing in Europe, where he was viewed as more of an offensive player than defensive player. But that was Europe. He’ll have a different role here.
It seems like, at worst, you should be able to park him in front of the basket and he can defend something. But the book on him in Europe was “looks like he should be a rim defender, but isn’t.” Again, can he adjust to being that here? Time will tell.
Mostly, I’m just fascinated by the size. Like, I really want to see this guy in person.
MT: A couple of years ago, on All-Star Saturday in Houston, I was on the floor and walked right by Yao Ming. It was a mind-boggling experience; I couldn’t believe someone could be so massive. We spend a lot of time around really tall humans. Tim Duncan fits that bill, and this dude is four inches taller than he is! That’s the difference between like, Kawhi and Cory Joseph (enjoy Canada, good sir).
Just by virtue of the fact Boban is that tall, I feel like, under Pop’s coaching, he’ll serve at least some purpose defensively. Still, I’m just spit-balling. I really have no clue. I’m not saying he can be Roy Hibbert or anything, but just park him around the rim and teach him the verticality stuff, and maybe he can amount to something.
You brought up: It’s going to be a lot of fun to cover the Spurs this season. The dynamics, both on the court and in the locker room, will be fascinating to watch. Honestly, I’m just glad Matty B’s coming back, otherwise I would’ve likely boycotted. Arguably their best move of the offseason.
What else do you want to talk about, Mrs. Whiskerton?
JM: Other than the fact that I hate the new Whiskas recipe? Too much tuna. Yuck.
We haven’t mentioned David West yet. I thought that was the move that took the Spurs’ offseason from “best-case scenario” to “better than the best-case scenario.”
This team is going to be fascinating to cover because it’s a little different, stylistically, than the ones we’ve covered in the recent past. The 2014 championship team was built on depth and chemistry and players who knew each other’s next move before they made it.
This team will have that, to a degree, but it also has a bunch of new faces that will take time to adjust.
With the addition of Aldridge, it feels like a hybrid of the beautiful game Spurs and the star-powered Heat that met in the Finals a few years ago. This team doesn’t quite have the star power of LeBron-Bosh-Wade, and it also doesn’t have (at least on paper) the depth of the 2014 Spurs team. It’s a mix of both approaches. It’s going to be weird and fun to see how it all comes together.
Though I believe there will be some growing pains at first, I don’t think we’re looking at a struggle the way, say, last year’s Cavaliers struggled to adjust out of the gate to the arrival of LeBron and Love. Aldridge’s arrival doesn’t require a complete remaking of the system, and there is enough corporate knowledge coming back to smooth the transition. But the West is still going to be a bloodbath, the Southwest Division alone is going to be a royal rumble, and anybody who thinks they can pick a hands-down favorite out of that mix is kidding themselves.
MT: Total oversight on my part. The David West signing is such a nice glue piece. It really ties the room together. We’d heard along the way that it was a real possibility, but I kept saying to myself, “No way that guy takes the minimum.” Then, boom, the Spurs kept Spurs-ing, as the kids on the Internets and Twitters say.
We’ve never really seen this. There are a lot of new faces mixed in with some old ones, but the Spurs iterations that have been so successful in recent years featured a ton of roster continuity. But, I personally feel Aldridge and West are perfect fits. I especially think the former is going to be lethal in San Antonio’s offense, and he’s a much better defender than people realize. He doesn’t exactly want to do the Tiago Splitter dirty work, but everyone has to buy in with this group. You know Pop made that very clear in his meetings with him. The floor-spacing is going to be impeccable, where before there was a lot of Splitter and Baynes clogging things up around Duncan and Diaw. Now, everyone can shoot the ball. And I do agree, there will be growing pains. Injecting a high-usage guy who might figure to be your No. 1 offensive option will take a little time. But he’s a smart dude.
I don’t know if we ever truly built this up enough: Had the Spurs not landed Aldridge, we might have been looking at the end of this entire run. We marvel at the fact San Antonio was able to build a bridge to the post-Duncan era without dropping into NBA purgatory, but when you glance around the West, it’s difficult to imagine San Antonio having enough to take out the Warriors, Thunder, Clippers or Rockets, not to mention three out of four of those teams. They HAD to get him.
Next year there are more free agents, sure, but everyone and their dog (oops, sorry Mrs. Whiskerton … cat!) is going to have cap space next summer. The likelihood of winning a league-wide free agent battle for someone like Al Horford was going to be slim. They had less competition this offseason and enough flexibility to get this done, and they freaking crushed it. It really is unbelievable, not just because of the way they did it, but that they were able to avoid what would’ve been a borderline catastrophe had they gotten nothing in the wake of the Splitter trade.
Kind of crazy to think about: The end of an era was potentially on the line, and by luring one guy to San Antonio, they’ve extended it for the near future and seemingly far beyond.
JM: Had the Spurs not landed Aldridge, there is a decent chance they would not have made the playoffs next season. I know it sounds crazy for a team that has made the playoffs 75 straight seasons, but I think the danger would have been real.
The bottom of the West is no joke, and teams like New Orleans and Phoenix and Utah are only getting better. OKC, obviously, is going to be right back in the mix next season. Without Aldridge — and no really suitable alternative out there by the time he made his decision — yeah, you’re probably looking at the end of the Spurs’ run.
MT: You know what else this means? No more early May vacation for you! Hope you enjoyed it!
JM: I did! Thanks for asking!
MT: Two final thoughts:
1) I’m really hoping we’re going to see (and I bet we will) a Simmons-Green-Leonard three-man unit. They’ll just wreck opposing perimeter offenses.
2) I can’t wait for the Parker-Manu-West-Duncan Grumpy Old Men lineup.
JM: We’re going to see a lot of Leonard as the small-ball 4, I think. It’s the way the league is trending. I talked to one scout after the Aldridge signing that said the LaMarcus-Leonard combo at the 4-5 was going to be lethal.
I like your old-man lineup, but Pop can’t play it after the third quarter. It’s past everyone’s bedtime.
MT: So long as they’re out of Luby’s by 5-5:30 p.m. on game nights, I think they should be OK.
Follow San Antonio Express-News Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald on Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN
