Tobias Harris didn’t need much convincing about what the Spurs are trying to build.
San Antonio had competition for the veteran forward this offseason, but Harris saw the Spurs as the best fit for the one thing he still wants most in his career.
“I have one goal that I would love to accomplish through the rest of my career,” Harris said, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “That’s to win a championship.”
That goal, along with the Spurs’ roster and direction, made the match feel natural to Harris. San Antonio wanted a versatile scoring forward to pair with Victor Wembanyama and its group of guards - De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper - and the feeling was mutual.
Fox called Harris’ arrival “big for us,” while Keldon Johnson said the 34-year-old’s “presence has been felt already.” Head coach Mitch Johnson also praised the veteran’s character, saying that his “reputation precedes him as a human being and as a player.”
Harris said the fit made sense on every level.
“I look at the talent of the group, the trajectory of the team and just the willingness of wanting and striving to win a championship, and all those things align with me personally,” Harris said. “We fit in terms of what I bring to the table, but also in terms of what the team is striving for and where they want to get in the years to come. In my opinion, it’s a perfect match.”
Elsewhere in the Southwest, Dallas still has some roster math to sort through if Dwight Powell is going to land on the Mavericks’ 15-man regular season group. Christian Clark of The Athletic notes that there isn’t an obvious candidate to be pushed out. The Mavs are likely reluctant to move any of their lowest-paid players - Marcus Sasser, Sergio de Larrea, Tarik Biberovic, and Moussa Cisse among them - and while Caleb Martin could be moved, Clark writes that the front office probably wouldn’t want to attach draft assets just to shed his two-year, $19.4MM deal.
In New Orleans, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said at media day, via Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required), that he doesn’t have a specific win total in mind for the 2026/27 season. Still, he made the team’s expectation plain: the Pelicans would “like to be a playoff team.”
That would be a sharp jump for a team that went 26-56 last season, but there’s a different feel around camp this year. New head coach Jamahl Mosley called the Pelicans’ fully healthy roster “huge,” according to Walker (subscription required).
Houston also has plenty to sort through this fall. William Guillory of The Athletic laid out the biggest questions facing 11 key Rockets players, including whether Fred VanVleet’s return can clean up the team’s clutch-time problems and whether free agent pickup Bogdan Bogdanovic still has something left.
And in Memphis, the first day of Grizzlies training camp brought at least one encouraging update. Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Zach Edey has been medically cleared after ankle surgery.
In Other News...
Rockets Starting Five May Hinge On One High-Stakes Backcourt Battle
Houstons expected starting group for next season already has a clear shape, with Kevin Durant joining Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Fred VanVleet in what looks like a formidable opening five. After finishing last season 52-30 and positioning itself as a serious Western Conference contender, the Rockets are entering the new campaign with the kind of front-line talent that gives the roster real upside before training camp even starts.
The bigger question sits in the backcourt, where VanVleet is coming back from an ACL injury and his status will help determine how Houston sorts out the point guard role. If his return does not fully lock down that spot, Reed Sheppard and Marcus Smart are the names most likely to push into the conversation, leaving one of the teams most important jobs as the most closely watched battle on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Is Already Fueling A Rockets Debate This Offseason
Kevin Durants offseason has already become a talking point in Houston, and not just because of what he might bring to the Rockets on the floor. Durant and Paolo Banchero have worked out together multiple times, giving the young Orlando star a chance to study the way Durant approaches his training and the intensity he brings to those sessions. Banchero has also talked before about the motivation and advice he has picked up from Durant and Carmelo Anthony, which only adds to the sense that the veteran scorers influence still stretches well beyond his own team.
Around Houston, though, the connection has prompted a familiar debate about where that mentorship should be going. Kendrick Perkins publicly took issue with Durant spending that kind of time with Banchero rather than directing it toward some of the Rockets younger pillars, a sentiment that lands in a city eager to see its core take the next step. For a team trying to build around rising talent, even an offseason workout can turn into a larger conversation about leadership, priorities and who should be getting the benefit of Durants time. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Face A Big Kyrie Irving Question Ahead Of Deadline
Kyrie Irving is on the comeback trail in Dallas after missing last season with an ACL injury, and the Mavericks are even talking about getting him into preseason action. His return alone would be notable, but the bigger question around him now is whether he stays put long enough for the season to really get going, with NBA chatter already shifting toward what his market could look like before the February deadline.
For Houston, the conversation matters because the Rockets are still sorting out their backcourt and trying to judge how aggressively to press their championship window. NBA insider Jake Fischer has floated the possibility of Irving moving before the deadline, and while no offer or decision has surfaced, the idea of a front-line talent becoming available is the kind of development that can quickly reshape the market for a team like the Rockets. [Read more 🡒]