Spurs Notes: Harris, Donovan, Wembanyama, Harper, Gillespie

Tobias Harris was the Spurs’ primary free agent addition over the summer, but the veteran forward will be sidelined for Tuesday’s regular season opener in Oklahoma City as he continues to recover from a left calf strain, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.

“He’s ramping up, he’s improving, he’s progressing,” head coach Mitch Johnson said after Monday’s practice. “But I would say he still needs some more progression on the court. You get on the court (coming off an injury) and there’s quite a bit of layers you have to work through, whether that’s how many people are on the floor (with you), the amount of contact, the amount of activity, distance, speed, etcetera.

“So he’s progressing well. We feel really good about it. He is ready to go and really wants to be out there, and I think he’s right where he needs to be.”

Harris suffered the injury early in training camp and missed all five of San Antonio’s preseason games this fall. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $30.8MM contract with the Spurs in July after a solid two-season run with Detroit.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

• After spending the past 32 years as a head coach (21 in college and 11 in the NBA), Billy Donovan joined San Antonio this summer as the Spurs’ top assistant. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, who was an assistant under Donovan at both the University of Florida and in Oklahoma City, praised one of his mentors ahead of the regular season opener, Orsborn adds in the same piece. “There’s a reason he’s doing it,” said Daigneault. “He loves to coach. He loves basketball. He loves competing. He loves being around it. … I don’t know how many people, if I’m being honest, are humble enough to go in the (Naismith) Hall of Fame in September (2025) and then take an assistant coaching job in (July 2026). But he’s one of them. He’s a unique, original guy. That’s just the latest example of it.”
• Star center Victor Wembanyama enters his fourth NBA season as the betting favorite to win his first Most Valuable Player award, according to Scott Phillips of The Athletic, who cites multiple sportsbooks. NBA general managers also view Wembanyama as the overwhelming favorite to claim his first MVP after the French big man finished third in voting last season.
• Rising young guard Dylan Harper will be part of the starting lineup in year two after thriving in a bench role last season. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick converted 34.3% of his 2.6 three-point attempts per game last season, but says he’s “very confident” in his outside shot after he went 8-of-14 (57.1%) from long distance during the preseason, as Orsborn writes for The Express-News. “I’ve worked at it all summer, so there’s no reason for me to be hesitant,” Harper said of his perimeter shooting. “No reason to pull back. Biggest thing is just taking the right shots at the right time.”
• Coach Johnson praised two-way guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie on Friday, Orsborn tweets. “He’s got a really good way about him for a rookie who’s a two-way,” Johnson said of this year’s 42nd pick. “Typically, that’s a survival spot…(but) he does a really good job of having this quiet confidence and competitiveness while still being comfortable in his own skin.”