Interesting - can you expand on this? I don't agree here, but wanted to hear your thoughts.
I think I can see your argument more with Vassell - he represents one of the less valuable archetypes in basketball very prone to being overrated as a primarily offensive shooting guard with minimal creation and minimal defensive versatility. The upper end of his archetype is Devin Booker and he's drawing dead to ever becoming as good as him. Other guys of his archetype like Jalen Green, Demar DeRozan, and Zach Lavine have not affected winning nearly as much as their contracts dictate. He's smaller than a Khris Middleton so he inherently has less defensive versatility. His primary value as a tough shot maker is limited by his size and non-elite athleticism. In that sense, I agree somewhat although I would argue that he has shown enough improvement as a playmaker this year to continue to invest in him. Still, if you could get all of his skills in a guy who's actually wing-sized, that'd certainly be more ideal.
Sochan I think I'd disagree with a little more. To me at least, a fully realized and developed Sochan (like 7-8 years from now) is basically a guy who can guard 2-4 full time and is switchable 1-5 in spurts defensively. He's potentially a powerful antidote to the rising new breed of big creators who the Spurs will inevitably encounter in the playoffs. We've seen his success already against guys like Scottie Barnes and Luka, but this also applies in the future to guys like Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, SGA/Jalen Williams, Tatum, Cooper Flagg (?) etc. I'd say his handle and passing are already at least above average for his size and age, and as long as you believe in his ability to fix his jump shot to league average you have a guy who offensively can attack a rotating defense and act as a vital cog in a dribble-pass-shoot offense.
While you can certainly find adequate big wing defenders, the potential to combine that with a versatile offensive piece is more rare and that's what I'm hoping to see from Sochan. Can he protect the rim and handle true bigs down low? No but that probably comes down to roster construction and the need to pair him up with another big wing. I get that if you don't believe in his ability to ever develop into a league average shooter that that significantly limits his fit with the roster, but I disagree that a fully actualized Sochan isn't a good fit with Wemby. I guess I envision a T-Wolves style defense with a GOAT rim protector flanked by 2 elite perimeter defenders in the future. Pair a guy like Sochan with someone like Castle or Devin Carter in this year's draft, let it percolate for a few years, and I think you have a legit chance to build a top 1 defense.
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