Matches made in Spurs heaven

David Lee: meant to be

It might be easy to forget, but back in 2005 the New York Knicks drafted David Lee with the 30th pick that was obtained from the Spurs in the Nazr Mohammed/Malik Rose trade. Although the Spurs chose not to draft Lee with the 27th pick that year (they used it on Ian Mahinmi), there has been that odd connection between the two ever since.

Now that they are together at last, SAEN’s Jeff McDonald reveals Lee’s fascinating journey to get here. From a stat-seeking All-Star with an ego the size of the Big Apple, to learning to sacrifice for the sake of his team on the way to a championship with the Warriors, Lee has learned just what it takes to be a Spur.

Pau Gasol: also meant to be

A player that seemed to have an even more obvious place on the Spurs is Pau Gasol. While he never had the ego problems Lee had in his early career, Gasol is also learning to ignore the stats and simply focus on doing whatever it takes to help his team win, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY.

Patty Mills Q&A

Patty Mills sat down with NBA.com’s David Aldridge for his weekly Q&A segment on Morning Tip. Topics discussed include Australia's performance at the Rio Olympics, his heritage, his leadership role on the Spurs newly revamped bench, and more.

Have a little shade to go with that swagger

While we’ve already gone over Paul Flannery’s excellent piece on Kawhi Leonard, hidden between the lines was the possibility that Pop was throwing a little shade at Steph Curry with that quote about his appreciation of Kawhi’s on-court manner. While he could just as well be referring to many superstars in general, Andrew Kennedy of Clutch Points points out (no pun intended) that the shoulder shake/chest beating is Curry’s signature celebration. Gotta love Pop.

Stat of the Day

LaMarcus Aldridge’s shooting is already way up from last this time last year, which is not surprising given he is no longer the newbie on the team. The Spurs will definitely need his shooting in top form come playoff time, so if he trends in a similar direction to last year (without hurting his hand again), this is a pretty good sign:

Have a good one!