Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

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Spurs center Charles Bassey injured, out for remainder of season

San Antonio Spurs center Charles Bassey underwent additional testing today in San Antonio that confirmed a non-displaced fracture in his left patella. The injury occurred during the first quarter of last night’s Spurs-Magic game at the AT&T Center.

Bassey will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 NBA season.

The Spurs are 18-50 this season, which is the second worst record in the Western conference. They will officially miss the 2023 playoffs.

Bassey was averaging 5.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.

Spurs add Sandro Mamukelashvili, waive Isaiah Roby

The San Antonio Spurs they have claimed forward Sandro Mamukelashvili off waivers.

In addition, Mamukelashvili has been converted to a standard NBA contract and the team has waived Isaiah Roby.

Mamukelashvili, 6-10/240, most recently played with the Milwaukee Bucks on a two-way contract before being waived on March 1. This season, he appeared in 24 games with the Bucks, averaging 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds, also seeing action in 11 G League games with the Wisconsin Herd and posting averages of 19.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 30.6 minutes.

From Tbilisi, Georgia, Mamukelashvili was selected in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft (54th overall) by the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the Bucks on draft night. Prior to the NBA, he spent four years at Seton Hall (2017-21), where he earned 2021 Big East Co-Player of the Year. The former Pirate averaged 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 23.7 minutes in 104 career games.

Roby appeared in 42 games for the Spurs, averaging 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.9 minutes after being claimed off waivers by San Antonio on July 5, 2022.

Mamukelashvili will wear No. 54 for the Silver and Black.

The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.

Spurs add Julian Champagnie off waivers on a two-way contract

The San Antonio Spurs have claimed forward Julian Champagnie off waivers on a two-way contract.

Champagnie, 6-8/220, was most recently on a two-way with the Philadelphia 76ers before being waived on Feb. 14. He appeared in two games with the 76ers and 18 G League games with the Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.5 minutes.

Champagnie went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft after spending three years (2019-22) at St. John’s University, where he garnered All-Big East First Team honors as a sophomore and junior. The former Red Storm forward averaged 16.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.7 minutes in 88 games.

He will wear No. 30 for the Silver and Black.

The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.

Spurs sign Gorgui Dieng

The San Antonio Spurs have signed center Gorgui Dieng.

Dieng, 6-10/265, has appeared in 17 games with the Silver and Black this season, averaging 3.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 9.8 minutes. He started the season with the Spurs before being waived on Jan. 5. Dieng re-joined the Spurs signing two 10-day contracts on Jan. 8 and Jan. 20. The 10-year NBA veteran has played in 614 total games and holds career averages of 7.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.2 minutes with Minnesota, Memphis, Atlanta and San Antonio. The native of Senegal was originally selected in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft (21st overall) by the Utah Jazz and before being dealt to the Timberwolves on draft night.

The Spurs roster now stands at 17 players.

Spurs trade Josh Richardson to Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has acquired guard Josh Richardson in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Devonte’ Graham and four future second round draft picks.

Richardson, 6-6, 190, has appeared in 42 games (six starts) for San Antonio this season, averaging 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 23.7 minutes per game while shooting .436 from the field and .357 from deep. Drafted 40th overall by Miami in the 2015 NBA Draft out of the University of Tennessee, the eighth-year NBA veteran has appeared in 480 career games (312 starts) with Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and San Antonio, averaging 12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 29.2 minutes per game. Richardson has also appeared in 30 career playoff games (nine starts) throughout his career, averaging 7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25.2 minutes per contest.

Graham, 6-1, 197, who was originally acquired by the Pelicans from the Charlotte Hornets via trade on August 7, 2021, played in 53 games off the bench this season, averaging 5.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. Graham appeared in 129 games (63 starts) for the Pelicans over the last two seasons, averaging 9.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 23.0 minutes per game.

Raptors trade Khem Birch and draft picks to Spurs for Jakob Poeltl

The San Antonio Spurs have completed a trade with the Toronto Raptors, acquiring center Khem Birch, along with a 2024 first round draft pick and second round picks in 2023 and 2025, in exchange for center Jakob Poeltl.

Birch, 6-8/230, is in his sixth NBA season and holds career averages of 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while playing 17.1 minutes per game in 282 total appearances. After attending training camp with the Miami Heat in 2014, the Canadian center spent three years playing in the G League, Turkey and Greece. He made his NBA debut in 2017 with the Orlando Magic, where he spent his first three-plus seasons before joining the Raptors in 2021. Birch will wear No. 92 for the Silver and Black.

Poeltl was acquired by the Spurs in a trade with the Raptors on June 18, 2018. In four-plus seasons with the Silver and Black, Poeltl appeared in 326 games, averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.40 blocks in 22.9 minutes while shooting .622 (1,267-2,037) from the field. In the last two seasons, Poeltl started all but one of his 114 appearances, averaging 12.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.8 minutes. The Austrian owns the Spurs franchise record for single-season field-goal percentage after shooting .645 (187-290) from the floor during the 2018-19 season.

For Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, the rebuild continues

The San Antonio Spurs have been rebuilding in recent seasons. But for those who have followed coach Gregg Popovich’s entire tenure with the team, recent seasons, and especially this one, have been a different kind of time. Via the San Antonio Express-News:

From Day 1 of this season built to lose, Popovich’s positivity has not waned.

It is a feature not lost on Spurs players, who are trying to ride out a developmental season as best they can.

“I’m sure it’s frustrating, coming from a lot of success and winning a bunch of championships,” center Zach Collins said. “He doesn’t show that to us, though. He’s always very positive. He’s always telling us how to get better.”

For a coach who has won more NBA games than anyone in history, the past four Spurs seasons must have felt like something of an out-of-body experience.

From 1997-98 through 2016-17, Popovich’s Spurs never won fewer than 50 games or the prorated equivalent. The 1998-99 squad won 37 games in a season shortened to 50 because of a labor dispute.

The Spurs are 14-35 this season, which is the 14th best record in the Western conference.

Their leading scorers so far in 2022-23 are Keldon Johnson at 21.5 PPG and Devin Vassell, who has played in just 29 games due to injury, at 19.4 PPG. Other Spurs are all scoring below 14 PPG.