A fans perspective

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The Spurs conundrum

Reading the headline you might conclude this is a reference to the strained calf of the San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyma. That is a serious matter but eventually it will be resolved, after a few weeks rest and conditioning he should be able to return to the court. The conundrum I am referencing is the “overload” at the guard position. Back to last season, D’Aaron Fox wanted out of Sacramento, he didn’t want to return to Texas of course that’s what occurred. In February 2025, the Spurs made a trade acquiring Fox. This was done despite the fact they had drafted Stephon Castle who would be named NBA Rookie of the Year. In the June NBA draft the Spurs selected Dylan Harper, technically they now have three point guards, Fox, Castle and Harper.

All three players are quite young, unlike some teams that might have a seasoned veteran ahead of a rookie. Fox is 27, Castle is only 21, and the youthful Harper is just 19. You can probably see the issue: Spurs coach Mitch Johnson might try one of these point guards at shooting guard, but that could create problems down the line and delay development. For example, the Lakers once drafted point guard Norm Nixon, who performed well, much later the Lakers had an opportunity to draft Magic Johnson. For a while, both Nixon and Johnson played together successfully, but ultimately, Magic had to take charge, as history shows. This situation suggests that, for the Spurs’ continued progress, a trade may eventually be necessary—although it's difficult to say who that might involve.

They have no clue

It’s funny to me, those who claim knowledge on a subject and haven’t a clue. They wish to provide you their opinion of a subject without actually providing any proof. One of those is an issue I’ve read about in various circles for the last 10 years are so…”Nobody is watching NBA basketball on television.” Since we are fully into the 2025-26 NBA season I thought it appropriate to lay some numbers on you. The guy next door to you proclaims loudly, “Nobody is watching the NBA anymore, they quit when Michael Jordan retired.” The truth is I’ve heard that and similar stories how the NBA has been flushed down the toilet. I try to refrain from discussions on money however there are times I find it necessary, this is one of those times. As for the claim “Nobody is watching the NBA,” ask them this question?

Why is there a $76 billion 11-year contract in place as you are reading this? Longtime broadcast partner TNT was outbid for the broadcast rights, I am unsure if it was Prime or Peacock streaming but they are now a family member. Holdover ESPN remains however games return to the NBC broadcast network for the first time since 2002 NBA Finals. Ask your neighbor if the NBA is  such a losing proposition why was there a fight to acquire broadcast rights whenever the contract expires? In addition if the game is losing viewers why are advertisers so willing to offer huge sums of money to acquire the rights to these games? No company spends sums of money without holding a belief they will receive revenue in return. The NBA is full of human beings, it’s not bullet proof. Mistakes will occur at times, that fails to take into account the fact the game remains a viable revenue source. From AI Overview, “There is no single "ad rate a minute" for an NBA game, as costs vary widely based on factors like the network, the game's importance, and time of year. However, national NBA broadcasts generated about $1.52 billion in ad revenue for the 2025-26 season, and this spend is projected to increase.”

The spotlight was smaller

Last season the spotlight shone intently on Duke’s Cooper Flagg, it’s shine was lesser on Flagg’s former teammate Kon Knuepple. Flagg was reported to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft which turned out to be correct. What was unexpected, the fact that Knueppel a 6-foot 6 inch small forward would be the 4th pick in the first round of the draft. Knueppel arrived at Durham was rated a 5-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals, On3 and ESPN ranked him a 4-star prospect. Its possible Knueppel might have had an easier transition to the college game with so much focus on Flagg.

As we moved closer to the 2025 draft Knueppel’s stock began a slow rise toward the top. Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets Knueppel’s been inserted into the starting lineup as his former teammate Flagg with the Mavs. Early in the season a number of names have been mentioned as candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year. Of course Flagg has been mentioned but so has former Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe of the Sixers along with Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner and surprise…Kon Knueppel. If we look strictly at the point per game total Knueppel is slightly ahead of Flagg as this is written. Of course this is early in the NBA season and there is no guarantee Knueppel will finish the season ahead of Flagg but it is interesting, nevertheless.

I hope

Although Off the Dribble contains a great deal of opinion my hope is it makes sense, I’m going to take you on a ride from a recent letter from I believe is an NBA fan. Laker Deandre Ayton’s outstanding game against his former Blazers team was covered by ESPN and it solicited this response. “Ayton doesn’t have elite foot speed as some post players” which left me totally baffled. His letter sent me to a dictionary, what is its definition of the word? Merriam-Webster provides us several definitions, the one of focus is “superior in quality, rank, skill, etc. an elite performer…an elite athlete…an athlete with elite skills.” Okay I hope you see the direction I’m headed and my confusion.

I could state Nikola Jokic the 6-foot 11 center for the Nuggets is considered the best post player in the NBA today. The Joker as he’s nicknamed does a bunch of stuff very good, one of those things missing from his game in my view is elite foot speed, of course that’s my opinion. I read a description of Ayton’s game against the Blazers from a variety of sources, nowhere did I read Ayton being compared to any of the NBA’s past greats and certainly not Jokic. I am going to conclude the letter writer was considering a portion of Ayton’s past history dealing with his focus on the game. That has been an issue, as for other areas of his game I don’t believe foot speed was ever an issue of concern. Fantasy NBA is not part of my activities however I thought I would check it out for 2025-26. They list Tier-1 through Tier-5 for their centers, Ayton is listed as a Tier 5 center which again based on his past is no issue for me.  I could say to the letter writer, please prove proof over your opinion after all I have one as well.