After a few good moves, the San Antonio Spurs have officially elevated themselves from a rebuilding team to a frisky, young core. Already, the NBA world is expecting the Spurs to leap toward playoff contention next season. Even if they are ready for the franchise’s first playoff berth in the 2020s, they’ll be far from a finished product.
We don’t know what the team will look like by the time they are ready to compete for an NBA title again... but I’d like to make a guess! Well, at least I’d like to say
what the somewhat realistic best-case scenario is. After years of linear development (because that’s how it always goes, right?), this is what the Spurs will look like the next time they hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. (Oh, and PS. I’ll only be covering players on the current roster. No hypothetical acquisitions allowed.)
In the future, the Spurs will be led by Victor Wembanyama. You may be thinking, of course, that’s who leads them now. Sometimes you need to state the obvious, okay? Wemby at his peak will grow another 2 inches to be 7-foot-7, but the Spurs will list him at 7-foot-3. He’ll be a multi-time MVP and DPOY, averaging 28+ points, 13+ rebounds, and 4+ blocks while shooting 50/40/90 splits. He’ll be a dominant, go-to player who many consider to be the best player in the NBA. Those are high marks to reach, but the funny thing is, it doesn’t seem completely far-fetched (besides his height, that was a joke.)
The Spurs will play three “guards” in their rotation. Sometimes they’ll be together, other times they’ll stagger their playing time along other wings and bigs. It’s called roster flexibility. Ever heard of it?
De’Aaron Fox will be the lead guard, maintaining his youthful legs in his early 30s. He’s aggressive at the point of attack defensively, distributes the ball well, and gets to the rim better than anyone else on the roster. He’s not a sharpshooter, but at 37% from three, he’s respectable enough to make defenses guard him from three.
Dylan Harper will join Fox in the starting lineup and give San Antonio a versatile combo guard who reaches the heights previously achieved by another big guard, Cade Cunningham. He’s a walking paint touch, a good passer, and a threat defensively with his length and strength. His spot-up shooting he showed at Rutgers, translates to the NBA, and he’s able to knock down 40% of his C&S threes. He still isn’t a reliable pull-up shooter, but he has enough tools in his bag outside of that shot to be a 20+ point per game scorer.
Stephon Castle has ditched the positional tag and is one of the best Swiss-Army Men in the NBA. He draws comparisons to Andre Iguodala with his stellar defense, slashing ability, and on-court leadership. He does a bit of everything while shooting 35% from three, making him playable in the starting five alongside Wembanyama. Oh, and Mac McClung retires from the dunk contest, and Castle wins back-to-back dunk contests, one of which he wins on a dunk where he jumps completely over Wembanyama, who is now a whopping 7-foot-9 (he grew 2 inches in three paragraphs).
The last member of the starting five is Carter Bryant, who has evolved into the second coming of Kawhi Leonard (defensively). Not only is he the best perimeter defender on the roster, but he is a knock-down shooter, savvy cutter, and does the dirty work on the offensive and defensive glass. Despite being one of the best defenders in the league, he never wins a DPOY as his French teammate hogs them all.
The bench unit is really fun too. Jeremy Sochan is notorious around the NBA as a lovable enforcer who frustrates opponents and brings joy to his fans with his antics. He’s still not a knockdown shooter, but he makes the open ones. I know you want me to say he becomes the Aaron Gordon to Wembanyama’s Jokic... but I’m not going to do that because I don’t want to be too predictable.
Devin Vassell is one of the league's most exciting flamethrowers off the bench. He swings games with his three-point and pull-up jump shooting. Keldon Johnson gains back a bit of the weight and goes full-bodybuilder mode. He’s absolutely jacked and uses it to get downhill and punish defenders in the paint. He’s back to being the Big Body. Julian Champagnie is a Danny Green type who one day actually does finish a poster slam that breaks the internet. Luke Kornet starts shooting threes again and writes the next great American novel. Only to be one-upped by Wembanyama, who writes the next great French novel about an alien who grows to be 8-foot-tall (supposedly NOT based on a true story).
That’s a totally realistic scenario that the Spurs can hit in the next few years (can I use the sarcasm font here, too?)
In all seriousness, the Spurs now have one of the most exciting cores in the NBA, and the flexibility to make it successful long term. Even if they don’t reach insane heights, they should be a consistent playoff force for many years to come.
More from poundingtherock.com:
- Taking a look at draft prospects through Spurs-colored glasses: The Frontcourt
- Why the Jalen Duren/Mark Williams to the Spurs rumors make sense
- Building the Spurs back into a contender starts with the 2022 NBA Draft
- The benefits of the Spurs trading a pick for immediate help
- Report: The Spurs could trade up for Keegan Murray
- Open Thread: Join in Spurs NBA Draft Party
- Pounding the Rock’s 2022 NBA Draft Lottery Big Board
