The San Antonio Spurs’ Summer League showing against the Golden State Warriors did little to quiet the questions around their draft approach. Golden State rolled to a 98-69 win, and San Antonio’s two first-round picks didn’t take the floor: Jayden Quaintance won’t play this summer, while Tarris Reed Jr. is sitting out back-to-backs.
Even without them, the Spurs needed more than they got. Only Hyunjung Lee and Emanuel Miller reached double figures, while Golden State got a steady 13 points from Lachlan Olbrich. On the other end, 11th overall pick Yaxel Lendeborg made his presence felt for the Warriors with two blocks and a steal.
Lendeborg has already flashed plenty in Summer League. In his first game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he was perfect from the field, going six-of-six overall and four-of-four from 3-point range.
That kind of two-way impact is exactly why the Spurs are being second-guessed. Coming into the offseason, San Antonio was looking for a defensive-minded forward who could stretch the floor next to Victor Wembanyama. The team ended up with Tobias Harris and also added Reed and Quaintance as depth pieces, but the argument here is that the Spurs could have aimed higher.
Lendeborg was viewed as the clean fit. To get him, the Spurs would have had to move up, but the belief is they had the assets to do it. A deal with the Warriors or another team ahead of them was there for the taking.
It’s not been a total miss for San Antonio this summer, but the roster would have benefited from a player who could help right away. Quaintance is out for at least the next six months, and Reed may provide a few spot minutes. Still, there were forwards available who were ready to contribute now.
As Lendeborg put it about his time at Michigan: "I wanted to develop pro habits," Lendeborg said of his time at Michigan. "So I feel like I accomplished all those things in Michigan, and I locked into a different version of myself that I didn't know was inside."
In the end, the Spurs simply chose not to part with the assets needed to land him.
In Other News...
Spurs Missed On A Dream Target For One Frustrating Reason
The Spurs spent part of the offseason chasing a forward they believed could have fit neatly into their frontcourt plans, with Rui Hachimura drawing interest from San Antonio and several other teams before the market settled. Golden State, Minnesota and Brooklyn were also in the mix, a reminder that Hachimura had plenty of options as he weighed his next move.
San Antonio ultimately had to pivot after missing out, and the answer came in the form of veteran forward Tobias Harris, a steadier addition who helps address the same area of need. The Spurs would have liked to land Hachimura and keep building around a younger, more versatile look, but the search for frontcourt help did not end with one swing. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Send Tarris Reed Jr. A Tough Message Right Away
Tarris Reed Jr. already has a clear early-career assignment in San Antonio, and it has little to do with putting up points. The Spurs took Reed alongside Jayden Quaintance in the 2026 NBA Draft, bringing in the former UConn and Michigan big man with the expectation that his value will come from defense, rebounding and a physical presence around the basket.
In Summer League, coach Corliss Williamson made the message plain: Reeds lane is the gritty stuff, not a featured offensive role. For a Spurs roster that already has plenty of scoring to go around, the rookie will need to earn his way by doing the dirty work and showing he can hold up in the details, with a chance to push into the regular rotation if those traits translate once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Suddenly Face A Lineup Decision That Could Disrupt Their Chemistry
The Spurs are staring at one of those early offseason choices that can quietly shape everything else, and it centers on the starting power forward spot. Tobias Harris brings the kind of veteran rsum that usually makes a coach think twice, while Julian Champagnie has already shown he can fit cleanly alongside the rest of San Antonios core.
Champagnies case is rooted in how well the Spurs looked with him in the first unit, where the group around De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama clicked at a high level. Harris still has value, especially as a scorer who could change the tone of a second unit, but the bigger question for San Antonio is whether it keeps the chemistry it found or makes room for experience at the expense of continuity. [Read more 🡒]