2 Spurs players in danger of losing starting job in 2024-25 training camp
Yesterday at 12:50 PM
The San Antonio Spurs have something great brewing, and they’ve been more than content to go the slow burn route in building a contending team around generational prospect Victor Wembanyama. They have stuck to their guns amid rumors linking them to blockbuster trades for All-Stars such as Trae Young, and this seems to be the play when it comes to creating a sustainable contending team. Just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 2024-25 season figures to be another year where the Spurs are going to prioritize the development of their youngsters. Jeremy Sochan, Stephon Castle, and Malaki Branham figure to be major parts of the rotation, while the hope is that Devin Vassell improves even further and becomes an All-Star-level player (or even something close to that caliber).
But the Spurs know that it’s helpful for every young team to have serviceable veterans that could both help provide some insurance in the event that the youngsters’ development stall as well as provide some leadership in the locker room. Bringing in Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes does plenty to help the Spurs in that regard.
But now, the Spurs have plenty of rotation questions to answer. Just how much will they lean on their youngsters in the name of development, especially with trusted veterans such as Paul and Barnes now on the roster? Which of the Spurs’ players will have to give way as a result?
In this exercise, we will take a look at the Spurs’ potential starting lineup for the 2024-25 season and determine which starter of theirs last season is most likely to lose out on a starting spot.
Analyzing the Spurs’ potential 2024-25 starting lineup
Prior to training camp, naming just two players as guaranteed starters feels right. Only Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell are certain to start for the Spurs as long as they’re healthy. This is pretty much self-explanatory.
The Spurs brass has high high hopes for Vassell, giving him a new huge contract that runs until the 2028-29 season. Vassell is a three-level scoring wing with some off-the-bounce oomph, and at 24 years of age, there is plenty of room for him to grow.
This leaves three other starting spots that are more up in the air. However, the power forward starting spot seems to be safely in Jeremy Sochan’s hands. Sochan is a favorite in the Spurs organization; they even tried him out at point guard, to mostly negative results. His versatility on both ends of the floor allows him to fill many gaps for the team, and last season, he started in 73 out of the 74 games he played. Suffice to say, his spot in the frontcourt alongside Wembanyama appears to be secure for now.
That leaves two starting spots up for grabs — point guard and small forward. And as hinted at above, the Spurs addressed these two positions with their moves this offseason, therefore relegating Tre Jones and Julian Champagnie to bench roles.
Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes reinforce the roster
Acquiring Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes the way the Spurs did was such a no-brainer. Paul, the future Hall of Fame point guard, signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal — a bargain even though Paul has declined considerably. The 39-year-old floor general has natural playstyle synergy with Victor Wembanyama, with the Spurs’ franchise cornerstone likely to feast on easier shots now that he’s playing with one of the greatest playmakers in NBA history.
The point guard position was the biggest question mark for the Spurs last season. The organization is fond of Tre Jones, but not fond of him enough to deem him as their long-term point guard. Their decision to experiment with Jeremy Sochan at the point tells us as much. Jones still ended up starting 48 games and there were clear improvements for the Spurs when Jones did assume that starting role, but it’s clear that he’ll be moving to the bench, at least to start next season.
Perhaps later on in the season, the Spurs could end up starting Jones again, or maybe Stephon Castle even plays himself to a starting role. Selected with the fourth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Spurs certainly hold Castle in a high regard as a prospect, and he will get plenty of opportunities to develop. But will he play well enough to earn minutes from Gregg Popovich, someone who’s famous for showing tough love to rookies?
As for the Spurs’ starting small forward position, they opted to roll with Julian Champagnie to end last season, bringing Keldon Johnson off the bench in the process. Harrison Barnes’ arrival will relegate both to the bench on a full-time basis.
Barnes may not be the flashiest player, but he provides a solid floor of production (he averaged 12.2 points on 47/39/80 splits last season). All he will need to do as the starting three is shoot open shots, defend, and give a bit of production off the bounce (Barnes can get to the free-throw line a ton), and Barnes should fulfill his role without much fuss.
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