Jordan McLaughlin came to the Spurs as part of the trade that put De’Aaron Fox in a Spurs jersey. The Silver & Black lost Tre Jones, Zach Collins, and Sidy Cissoko, but gained a clutch starting point guard to pair with Victor Wembanyama while offering a veteran presence to the young squad.
While the inclusion of McLaughlin may have had the appearance of balancing salaries or rosters, the Spiurs saw something in McLaughlin that led to signing him for an additional year over the past summer.
After the
summer acquisition of Dylan Harper, it looked as though minutes for Jordan McLaughlin may never materialize, but the guard who turned 30 yesterday has shown what being ready is all about.
Any time J-Mac (as he is affectionately known by his teammates) is called into action, he is ready.
As Jacob Douglas pointed out regarding McLaughlin’s contributions to Wednesday night’s game:
“McLaughlin is just solid. He came in and did his job for 9 minutes, playing pesky perimeter defense, taking care of the ball, and playing within the flow of the offense. He’s about all the Spurs could ask for in a fourth guard.”
He may not get many minutes, but what he does with them keeps the Spurs machine grinding away. Without Stephon Castle on Wednesday. Dylan Harper got his third start of the season. And this left room to rotate McLaughlin in off the bench.
Afterward, Carter Bryant, who shined in his 25 minutes, gave credit to his teammates and a special shout to McLaughlin.
“J-Mac has been a big part of that for me. He’s been like, ‘Just trust your work, understand your time is going to come. Keep being confident in yourself’…We have a lot of guys that when their name is called upon, they do a great job. Like J-Mac does a lot of stuff. Every time he gets an opportunity to play, I admire J-Mac so much because he doesn’t get the opportunity to play too much. But every time he goes in he’s steady. He’s constant…he’s very detailed…you never see him get high or low whether he’s have a great game or a terrible game, by his body language you can never tell. So I respect him a lot and I look up to him for sure. ”
As the Spurs go into the playoffs, minutes can become even more scarce at the end of the bench. While staying healthy is paramount for the marquee players, staying ready is the key to McLaughlin’s role.
Happy belated birthday, J-Mac. Thanks for all you do and here’s to staying ready and willing when your number is called. May there be many opportunities.
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