twotonkatrucks

There’s been a small but vocal contingent of fans on r/nba that is putting forward the narrative that Spurs are a selfish team. They’re especially vocal on Spurs game threads, though the same narrative have started to bleed out to normal r/nba.

This is a misconception born out of people’s desire to see Wemby get more touches (sometimes it feels like these folks won’t be satisfied until Wemby gets the ball on literally every single possession). The statistical evidence all strongly point to the contrary.

Spurs in fact not only have the lowest isolation play frequency in the league, they also have the highest assist percentage.

Spurs problems are manifold but selfish plays are NOT one of them.

Some highlights from the article:

[T]he list of players who make sense on the court next to Embiid and Maxey, and are worth surrendering draft picks and cap space for, is extremely short.

…

Instead, assuming the Sixers are playing well and that Embiid is sold on their direction, next offseason is when they’ll have an opportunity to upgrade in a major way, without sacrificing some of their most valuable assets at the trade deadline. Everyone knows they will have max cap space—and then some, after including P.J. Tucker’s deal in the Harden trade—and here are the biggest names about to enter free agency: Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Klay Thompson, and DeMar DeRozan. (Because this is the NBA and anything is possible, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Jrue Holiday are also, technically speaking, on that list.)

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If the Sixers do preserve their cap space, it would also open the door to absorbing a max contract via trade this summer—some star who’s sick of his current situation, or on a team that’s experiencing buyer’s remorse. (Here’s where the new collective bargaining agreement will rear its head.) Taking this path would dramatically widen Morey’s options, which is when his brilliance usually shows.

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