Spurs Starter, Wednesday, August 7, 2024: Austin Spurs Announce Local Player Tryouts

Your daily briefing on what's going on with the San Antonio Spurs, including news, draft & more.
Austin Spurs' Sidy Cissoko looks to pass during a game on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Austin Spurs' Sidy Cissoko looks to pass during a game on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

Happy Wednesday, Por Vida fans! Welcome to your morning Spurs Starter.

As the San Antonio Spurs continue to navigate their offseason following the draft and NBA 2K25 Summer League, so, too, will the Austin Spurs.

This summer, players from the Spurs' G League affiliate got the chance to suit up on behalf of the team with a chance to sign one of two available 2-way contracts. They ended up going to David Duke Jr. and Harrison Ingram, but there still may be spots available — just not with the mainstay roster.

Wednesday morning, Austin announced it would be hosting local player tryouts for the G League squad on Sept. 7 at St. Michael's Athletic Center on Barton Creek Boulevard.

Players who attend will go through a series of drills and exercises while the front office scouts, looking for up to three players to invite to training camp in the fall. Since 2013, 12 players from this kind of tryout have gone on to make the opening-night roster with the squad.

Check in at St. Michael's Athletic Center on Sept. 7 begins at 8:30 a.m. Central, with the tryouts running from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. Registration is required for attendance.

Now, on to the headlines:

THE NEWS

1. LOOK: BLAKE WESLEY COACHES AT JR. NBA/WNBA BASKETBALL CAMP

San Antonio Spurs guard Blake Wesley is continuing to carve out a role for himself with the young team, but he's also matching the brand of the team he plays for in another way: Giving back to the youth through coaching and mentoring.

Read the full story at the link above.

2. READ: WEMBANYAMA, FRANCE ESCAPE CANADA IN MEN'S QUARTERFINAL

The San Antonio Spurs big man didn't do much offensively against Team Canada, but he did come up big when his country needed him the most.

Read the full story at the link above.

France power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrates after defeating Canada in a men’s basketball quarterfinal game.
Aug 6, 2024; Paris, France; France power forward Victor Wembanyama (32) celebrates after defeating Canada in a men’s basketball quarterfinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

3. READ: LAURI MARKKANEN SIGNS EXTENSION, ENDS OFFSEASON SAGA

After an offseason-long saga, Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen signed a five-year, $238 million extension to remain with the team through 2029. The San Antonio Spurs are now officially out of the sweepstakes, but they aren't too worried.

Read the full story above.

THE DRAFT

Now that the 2024 NBA Draft is over, you can check out the newest Spurs and what they might bring to the team next season and down the road. Below are the some stories about the rookies selected:

Round 1, Pick No. 4: Stephon Castle

Round 2, Pick No. 36: Juan Núñez

Round 2, Pick No. 48: Harrison Ingram

THE SCHEDULE

There are 78 days until opening night of the 2024-25 NBA season, but the San Antonio Spurs have more to look forward to prior to that. The regular season schedule has yet to be released, but the entire preseason schedule — also still a ways away — has.

There, the team will get its first chance to hit the floor with a complete roster. Also of note, Victor Wembanyama and Team France are competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Below is a list of dates and start times (all in CST) for both sets of games:

San Antonio Spurs Preseason

Oct. 7: Home vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Tipoff at 7 p.m.)
Oct. 9: Home vs. Orlando Magic (Tipoff at 7 p.m.)
Oct. 12: Home vs. Utah Jazz (Tipoff at 7 p.m.)

Oct. 15: Away at Miami Heat (Tipoff at 6:30 p.m.)
Oct. 17: Away at Houston Rockets (Tipoff at 7 p.m.)

Team France Olympic Slate

Preliminary Games:
July 27: France vs. Brazil (W 78-66)
July 30: France vs. Japan (W 94-90)
Aug. 2: France vs. Germany (L 85-71)

Men's Quarterfinal:
Aug 6: France vs. Canada (W 82-73)
Aug. 8: France vs. Germany (Tipoff 10:30 a.m.)

AROUND THE NBA

Catch up on some of the league-wide headlines below:

Also, be sure to follow along with Spurs On SI's NBA tracker, with more detailed breakdowns of major league news and updates.

THE CLOSER

Check out our homepage for more news and follow us on the platforms below. Thank you for tuning in and enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.


Published
Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.