The Portland Trail Blazers have spent plenty of time looking like a team that wants to borrow from the San Antonio Spurs’ blueprint, and this summer they added another layer to that idea by bringing in a pair of players with Spurs ties.
Portland signed Micah Potter, who played for the Austin Spurs, and also added Lee Hyun-jung, who was San Antonio’s Summer League standout. Both joined a Blazers roster that already included Jeremy Sochan and Sidy Cissoko, two young players the Spurs moved on from despite the promise they showed.
That fits a broader pattern for Portland. Last season, the Blazers claimed Blake Wesley after he was cut by the Washington Wizards. They also have leaned on players such as Jrue Holiday, Matisse Thybulle, Deni Avdija, and Robert Williams, all of whom arrived after their previous teams let them go for pennies on the dollar.
The Blazers’ roster-building approach has already drawn comparisons to what San Antonio has done so well. The Spurs returned to the NBA Finals in 2026 with a team built largely through the draft, landing core pieces like Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson with their own picks.
San Antonio also found value in places other teams overlooked. Julian Champagnie, for example, was cut by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023 before signing a "prove-it" deal with the Spurs. He beat expectations and developed into one of the team’s better shooters.
Portland, meanwhile, has tried to uncover similar value. Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan were all drafted by the Blazers and became important pieces right away. The same goes for the veterans and reclamation projects who have filled out the roster.
There is also a little extra edge to this matchup. The Blazers and Spurs had a chippy first-round playoff series, and that has helped fuel the sense that the two teams are becoming rivals.
The question now is whether Portland can make the same kind of second-chance bets San Antonio has turned into wins. The Spurs have had far more success finding players who thrive in their system than the other way around, with Bruce Brown, Danny Green, Patty Mills, and Matt Bonner among those who were nearly out of the league before landing in San Antonio.
Maybe the Blazers can be the team that changes that pattern.
In Other News...
Spurs Face A Big Wembanyama Decision As Markkanen Buzz Returns
The Lauri Markkanen chatter around San Antonio is picking back up, and it comes at a moment when every move the Spurs consider is being measured against the bigger Victor Wembanyama timeline. The idea has obvious appeal on paper: Markkanen would give the roster another high-end scorer and size to pair with the young core, while Utah would be weighing a veteran star against a longer reset and the kind of package that can shape a rebuild.
For now, though, this remains firmly in the realm of speculation, with no deal or official movement to report. The Spurs can keep imagining the fit and the Jazz can keep listening, but the real question is whether San Antonio is ready to turn that buzz into an aggressive push or keep its assets in reserve as the next phase of the roster takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Spurs Face Big Development Test With Their Next Coach
The Austin Spurs have a new voice in charge as Chris Kent takes over the franchises developmental bench, bringing a rsum built around player growth and G League experience. Kent spent time as an assistant coach and director of player development at Florida State, and he has also coached in the NBA G League with the Windy City Bulls and Rip City Remix, a background that fits the Spurs long-running emphasis on turning raw talent into usable pieces.
His arrival comes with the kind of expectations that follow this job in San Antonios pipeline: keep players moving forward while adapting quickly to a roster that can change from week to week. He succeeds Jacob Chance, who moved on after leading Austin, and the next stretch will reveal how Kents mix of college development work and pro experience translates to the day-to-day demands of the G League. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs May Have Found A Real Rotation Question Worth Watching
David Jones-Garcia is back in the mix for a closer look, and for the Spurs that alone makes him worth tracking heading into next season. After appearing in just five games for San Antonio last season before an injury, he has moved on to international duty with the Dominican Republic and is trying to keep building on the flashes that made him interesting in the first place. The appeal is straightforward: he has shown the kind of scoring touch that can translate into a useful bench role if the opportunity is there.
Jones-Garcias path, though, is still a work in progress, which is why his summer matters. The Spurs may have some playing time available for him next season, and a reserve scoring job would be a real opening for a player trying to carve out a place in the rotation. How he looks in the qualifiers will help shape that discussion, especially if he can steady the parts of his game that have been less reliable lately. [Read more 🡒]