The Spurs are in the middle of a fantastic stretch. They have not only won 10 of their last 13 games, but also gotten Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama back, and defeated the Thunder to reach the Emirates NBA Cup championship game against the Knicks.

With so many big things happening, some smaller but far from insignificant news can slip by. So here’s what you might have missed while celebrating the great stretch of Spurs play.

The Spurs’ schedule will continue to be rough for a while

After a nice, five-game homestand, the Spurs have played nine of their last 10 games on the road. Their last home game was on Dec. 2 against the Grizzlies, but it was the first game of a back-to-back that took San Antonio to Orlando. Since they made the Cup quarterfinals, one of their unscheduled games ended up being in Los Angeles. Then they travelled to Las Vegas to face the Thunder and will play against the Knicks in the championship game. In total, they have played in 10 different states in their last 10 games. The team has tracked the schedule and it’s been brutal.

Unfortunately, things won’t get much better for a while. They’ll return home to face the Wizards on Dec. 18, but will immediately jump on a plane to Atlanta to face the Hawks on the second game of a back-to-back. They’ll travel to Washington after that before coming home to host the Thunder. And then, they’ll travel to Oklahoma City for their Christmas matchup with the reigning champions. As Marilyn Dubinski pointed out, outside of the two Vegas games, the last time the Spurs didn’t travel between games was Nov. 20.

Every team has tough stretches in their season. Things eventually normalise. The good news is that this year the schedule has become tougher because the Spurs advanced in the cup, and they have responded well to travelling and playing away games. But everyone, from coaching staff to players, is probably counting the days before the next homestand by now.

The Spurs waived Riley Minix and signed Kyle Mangas to a two-way contract

On Friday, Dec. 12, the Spurs announced that they had signed Kyle Mangas to a two-way contract after waiving Riley Minix.

Minix, who went undrafted in 2024, has been with the Spurs for a while, as he had his contract converted into a two-way on October 2025 and suited up for one game with the big team that year. He entered restricted free agency after his first season and was retained by San Antonio on a two-way deal, suiting up for three games in the current season. The sharpshooting forward spent time in Austin, averaging 15.5 points on 39.4 percent from beyond the arc to go with 6.4 rebounds for the G League affiliate. He also had a fantastic moment in Summer League, when he hit a game-winner.

There has been some discussion about the move in The Feed, after reader txinlaca shared the news:

It’s a somewhat strange move, as Mangas is a quality player but lacks the size that made Minix intriguing. The guard, who also spent time in Austin last year, has been terrific this season, to be fair. He’s averaging 18.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and five assists while shooting 41.1 percent from beyond the arc in 10 G League games. The issue is he’s a 6’4 combo guard and the Spurs have a younger version of that player in a two-way contract in David Jones-Garcia. He’s clearly worth a closer look, but the positional overall is real.

There’s also the question of the Emirates NBA Cup prize pool. If the Spurs lose to the Knicks, every player on a standard contract gets over $200,000. If they beat them, they get over $500,000. Two-way players get half of that sum each. That is a lot of money in general, but especially for the fringe guys on the roster. Does Minix get that money? Does Mangas? Do they split it? It’s unclear, but hopefully the front office considered it before waiving Minix.

Everybody loves Dylan Harper

Dylan Harper has been having a fantastic rookie season. So much so that the questions about his fit with the other guards have largely subsided and have been replaced with praise. His teammates have been quick to point out just how big of an impact he’s making as a rookie, with De’Aaron Fox comparing him to some impressive names.

The media has also taken notice. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Rob Mahoney couldn’t contain their excitement about Harper in a recent podcast.

Harper was the second overall pick, so he was never going to fly under the radar, especially with the Spurs doing well. But it’s good to see that even though he likely won’t get the minutes or touches to be Rookie of the Year is getting praise not only for his potential but also his contributions to a winning team.

Mitch Johnson and Jeremy Sochan are cool

Jeremy Sochan has fallen out of the rotation. His role has been shrinking since the end of last season but he was still getting minutes. Then, as the team got healthier, that stopped. He’s not seen the court in the last two games and only played under four minutes in the game prior.

It could cause chemistry issues to bench a guy who was a full-time starter for the first two years he was in the league, but it seems that Mitch Johnson is on top of it.

It’s good to hear there were no locker room issues leading to Sochan’s demotion, but it’s not surprising. Sochan has been cheering for his teammates in these past few games. Hopefully, he’ll get another chance to prove he can contribute before reaching restricted free agency in the summer.