The San Antonio Spurs Are HIDING The NBA’s Next Great Scorer

[playblair]

http://youtu.be/7S0QWIIe6gs

[John B]

Stealth tanking baby!

[CGD]

I hope Spurs aren’t one of the teams lining up to throw stupid money at Reeves. We gotta see what we have with Malakai first.

[ChumpDumper]

Never going to be a GREAT scorer shooting threes like that.

[Joseph Kony]

i'm actually pretty high on Branham tbh. I'm all for starting him at PG and seeing how it goes

[Obstructed_View]

He is such a smart, efficient scorer, and he does it without relying on speed or strength. You could see him scoring 20 points a game for the next 20 years.

[exstatic]

Never going to be a GREAT scorer shooting threes like that.

Devin was also a 40% 3 shooter in college, and it took him until year 3 to hit that in the NBA. With his great form and 83% FTs, it’s only a matter of time.

[slick'81]

He was low key savage down the stretch

[CorrectCrusader]

Love Branham, which is funny because I liked him less than Wesley during the draft process.

[exstatic]

Love Branham, which is funny because I liked him less than Wesley during the draft process.

Not an uber athlete, but proof that you don’t have to be one to score buckets in the NBA.

[BatManu20]

My pet cat from day 1. Was stoked when he fell to us at pick 20. I think he’s going to be a really good 6th Man for us moving forward, and one who will start for us plenty of times too when we rest guys. Could eventually become a full-time starter depending on what roster moves we make in the future. He just turned 20 a couple weeks ago and already plays like a vet. He’s only going to get better as a scorer with experience. Once that 3-ball starts falling at a good rate, he’s going to be a really good 2-Guard. His defense will likely never be great, but it can improve enough with coaching to where he’s not a huge liability. And Wemby will likely help all our Guards defensively with his absurd length. I’m excited about his prospects moving forward tbh.


vY5vUVhvI8k

[Atl Spur]

#22 is a bucket! Will be solid off the bench

[rjv]

branham's development is just one more reason to be pumped about the upcoming season.

[Mugen]

Excited for Branham tbh. I think he's going to be great off the bench this year. I don't think he'll ever be a good NBA defender but there were questions about Jamal Murray's defense as well and he just made some huge plays on that end in the WCF. Plus if Wemby pans out, you'd have the ultimate eraser when it comes to hiding shitty defensive players tbh.

[John B]

Not an uber athlete, but proof that you don’t have to be one to score buckets in the NBA.

Luka moves glacial. It’s overused but Branham has the old man’s game. He gets a quiet 20 pts because he’s just so efficient. There’s an argument that starting him could put the fire on him, BUT for the sake of Wemby getting good touches, Spurs need a true PG, especially while getting Wemby transition. I know Wemby can create for himself, but having true PG will help him more, set him up better, at least until he gets NBA strong.

[RC_Drunkford]

I'm very high on him. Looks like he will be able to average 20 in his sleep. His 3-point shooting will come around, but I want to see is him getting to the line more. He averaged 10.2 PPG with only 1 FTA per game. He can definitely up that. Also a smart cutter on offense. Defense will determine his ceiling. As the season progressed he made some plays here and there. Maybe there's still potential on that side of the ball, although that would be surprising.

[spurraider21]

he has great touch, shoots good FTs. tells me the 3pt efficiency can get a lot better. definitely has the looks of a good 6th man/combo guard

if he was a better defender i'd be more inclined to think of him as a viable starting prospect

[Cry Havoc]

Something every player in the entire NBA coming up into free agency in the next 3-4 years has to be thinking about now: How much easier would success be in the NBA if I had a 7'5" monster behind me on defense who's also enough of an offensive threat that he could be drawing doubles in his first month in the league?

[Philthemage]

If he can become like a Kris Middleton, I'd be very happy

[exstatic]

If he can become like a Kris Middleton, I'd be very happy

He doesn’t have near the defense for that.

[barakz21]

Seeing as he scores a LOT from midrange, are you guys not worried he might become DDR 2.0? From the games I’ve seen though, he’s not necessarily a ball stopper unlike DDR. That being said, there’s a lot of games I haven’t seen.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Seeing as he scores a LOT from midrange, are you guys not worried he might become DDR 2.0? From the games I’ve seen though, he’s not necessarily a ball stopper unlike DDR. That being said, there’s a lot of games I haven’t seen.

He shoots more shots from 3 than anywhere else, so no.

[exstatic]

He shoots more shots from 3 than anywhere else, so no.

Yeah, once his 3 ball comes around, he’s a true three level scorer, something DeRozan never was.

[Obstructed_View]

Seeing as he scores a LOT from midrange, are you guys not worried he might become DDR 2.0? From the games I’ve seen though, he’s not necessarily a ball stopper unlike DDR. That being said, there’s a lot of games I haven’t seen.
Per 36, Malaki attempts three times as many threes per game as DD, and he is a 20 year old rookie. Drmar's midrange game isn't the problem, it's that he flat refuses to shoot threes and that he pounds the air out of the ball. Like you said, Branham doesn't do that. Branham was so good last year I expect him to be far more useful than DD next season.

[spursparker9]

His tear drop floater is really close to TP

[CGD]

He needs to fix that ugly Leandro Barbosa 3pt shot mechanics

[exstatic]

He needs to fix that ugly Leandro Barbosa 3pt shot mechanics

At the volume Malaki shoots, I’ll take Barbosa’s 38.7% all day.

[TDMVPDPOY]

for all this scoring to happen, spurs really need a pass first pg who can also spread the floor....

[BackHome]

I am not to sure about that as I see Wemby touching the ball a lot he is going to be hit with a ton of double teams so easy pass to wide open man. Well at least that what I am thinking to be honest I am having a hard time figuring out what I want more out if my PG - Passing Vs Shooting Vs Great Defender Vs Penetrating. Wemby is such a Unicorn it makes it kinda hard to figure out who works best with his style and not 100% on how Spurs will use him

[The Truth #6]

Some arc in his shot and a boost in his confidence, and next year could be a great season for him. He has the work ethic and temperament. Rarely gets rattled, except on D, when he gets beat. That’s his weakness. Doubtful he’s ever a two-way player, but he should still be a great steal at 20. And again, if his confidence finally catches up with his talent, his other areas could improve, like leading the pnr and running the offense in stretches. So like Sochan, I’m not sure what his ceiling is yet. But it could easily surpass Devin.

Anyway. Just rambling.

[kobyz]

We need to model his game to become our future PG, to be Steve Smith type big PG...

[onechance87]

If branham can shoot the 3s consistent...Dude can be real good.

[Atl Spur]

MB was a steal!

[Mr. Body]

Seeing as he scores a LOT from midrange, are you guys not worried he might become DDR 2.0? From the games I’ve seen though, he’s not necessarily a ball stopper unlike DDR. That being said, there’s a lot of games I haven’t seen.

He's more decisive. DDR would size up the defense, be a ball-stopper, like you say. Branham gets his actions going very quickly. DeRozan's midrange seemed more on the wings and sides, whereas Branham really wants to get into the lane, where he's potentially more dangerous for dump-offs or getting all the way to the rim.

[Mr. Body]

I want more engagement and focus on defense. He gets out of plays too easily. I want him to fight over screens, try to learn to anticipate movement and not be shit in lateral defense. He's maybe the worst defender on the team and we really need improvement there.

I want more production outside of scoring. More rebounds, especially. He's not a bad passer, mostly out of his own actions, so I think his assists will be okay. Would love to see him draw more fouls.

His three-pointer will get better. I feel it's largely a strength issue. In college, his threes were always toeing the line. I don't expect him to be a movement shooter from deep or have incredible range, but do think he'll be a good spot-up shooter.

His handles are way better than I expected and his touch in the midrange and around the basket are really good.

[Obstructed_View]

And his defense is already better than Derozan's

[Extra Stout]

I expect him to show a lot of progress defensively in his second year.

[ambchang]

He reminds me a little of Rudy gay. a better passer though. Obviously will take a few years to get to gays level but that effortless scoring is unique.

[Obstructed_View]

Malaki really rounded into shape as the year went by. He and Sochan had great rookie years. The Spurs could end up with five rookies that become rotation guys. That's unheard of.

[dbestpro]

One thing that has not been discussed is how much better players are going to be because of Wemby. I think MB is one of those guys who gonna get a ton of open looks and great help defense from Wemby so much so his confidence is gonna go sky high and he will become an assassin shooter.

[Obstructed_View]

One thing that has not been discussed is how much better players are going to be because of Wemby. I think MB is one of those guys who gonna get a ton of open looks and great help defense from Wemby so much so his confidence is gonna go sky high and he will become an assassin shooter.
One would think a text went out to each player saying, "Come to camp with a three," or "You're a rebounder now" in anticipation of hitting the ground running with Wemby.

I expect a jump from all the young players, and that still includes Devin and Keldon.

[Dejounte]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Branham might be on the trade block and come draft night, he might be the one included in a trade package. This is purely based on instinct, nothing else. To me, it makes sense— it was always going to be between him and Vassell and I think they’re going to pull that trigger sooner than later. This is the advantage of picking best talent available regardless of if that talent’s skillset is similar to one already on the roster. The team has options to move in different directions without skipping a beat. I think there will be an initial outrage if this happens, but in the end will probably be the best move to make if it’s for a guy they really like. Branham is really redundant with Vassell here, strictly future-speaking. So them playing Branham as much as they have and Branham really making the best of that opportunity really worked out well for the Spurs.

[JPB]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Branham might be on the trade block and come draft night, he might be the one included in a trade package. This is purely based on instinct, nothing else. To me, it makes sense— it was always going to be between him and Vassell and I think they’re going to pull that trigger sooner than later. This is the advantage of picking best talent available regardless of if that talent’s skillset is similar to one already on the roster. The team has options to move in different directions without skipping a beat. I think there will be an initial outrage if this happens, but in the end will probably be the best move to make if it’s for a guy they really like. Branham is really redundant with Vassell here, strictly future-speaking. So them playing Branham as much as they have and Branham really making the best of that opportunity really worked out well for the Spurs.

Spurs are not trading Branham this draft.

[Dejounte]

Spurs are not trading Branham this draft. Not a chance.

Teams have to give up something they don’t want to give up in order to get something they want.

Folks dream of letting go of players their team has maximized, but where is the draw for other teams to want those players if they’ve already reached their ceiling?

In order to reap the rewards of being patient, you have to take measured risks. Like I said, drafting best available has allowed the Spurs to be in this position of opportunity and they might as well take it if there’s a player they like even more.

[Obstructed_View]

Teams have to give up something they don’t want to give up in order to get something they want.

What exactly do you think they want? The only way giving up Branham for a draft pick makes any sense is if you think his rookie year was a fluke. I wouldn't trade him for a single player in this draft.

[Seventyniner]

Teams have to give up something they don’t want to give up in order to get something they want.

Folks dream of letting go of players their team has maximized, but where is the draw for other teams to want those players if they’ve already reached their ceiling?

In order to reap the rewards of being patient, you have to take measured risks. Like I said, drafting best available has allowed the Spurs to be in this position of opportunity and they might as well take it if there’s a player they like even more.

Agreed. I would view a Branham trade as similar to the Spurs trading George Hill in 2011. It's not that they don't like him, it's that they think who they are getting is worth the price. That doesn't mean whoever the Spurs pick (assuming Branham is traded for a pick in this draft) will necessarily be as good as Number Two, of course.

[Dejounte]

What exactly do you think they want? The only way giving up Branham for a draft pick makes any sense is if you think his rookie year was a fluke. I wouldn't trade him for a single player in this draft.
I have no idea what the Spurs want nor will I pretend I do. I don’t agree that the only reason to give up Branham is if his rookie year was a fluke. The Spurs could believe it was legit but think another player in the draft could have an even better rookie year or future. The Spurs could both like Branham and want to trade him (reluctantly) at the same time if they like a player enough. They understand you can’t hope to rip other teams off all the time.

[JPB]

Teams have to give up something they don’t want to give up in order to get something they want.

Folks dream of letting go of players their team has maximized, but where is the draw for other teams to want those players if they’ve already reached their ceiling?

In order to reap the rewards of being patient, you have to take measured risks. Like I said, drafting best available has allowed the Spurs to be in this position of opportunity and they might as well take it if there’s a player they like even more.

Spurs are still not trading Branham, they see the same potential as everyone here. He could be a part of SA future and there's no one on this draft worth taking the risk of losing Malaki for a potential bust. And if we're talking about getting a vet, I'm not sure the NBA value him the same way we (rightfully) do since he's ours and we've seen him play all year long. Same for trading up actually or just getting another lottery pick, so not sure what he could bring back anyway.


Agreed. I would view a Branham trade as similar to the Spurs trading George Hill in 2011. It's not that they don't like him, it's that they think who they are getting is worth the price. That doesn't mean whoever the Spurs pick (assuming Branham is traded for a pick in this draft) will necessarily be as good as Number Two, of course.

Totally different context with that 2011 spurs teams who was a contender and could afford the risk of losing what was would always be high end role player in Hill for what they saw as a potential better player (Kawhi). That 2023 spurs team is still in rebuild mode and you should first appreciate and try to develop what you see as a potential nice player (Malaki) instead of already gambling after his rookie year for another rookie with no guarantee of success. If the newbie busts, you lost Malaki and maybe another pick... Consolidate your core and then eventually take risks, spurs are not in that position right now.

[BacktoBasics]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Branham might be on the trade block and come draft night, he might be the one included in a trade package. This is purely based on instinct, nothing else. To me, it makes sense— it was always going to be between him and Vassell and I think they’re going to pull that trigger sooner than later. This is the advantage of picking best talent available regardless of if that talent’s skillset is similar to one already on the roster. The team has options to move in different directions without skipping a beat. I think there will be an initial outrage if this happens, but in the end will probably be the best move to make if it’s for a guy they really like. Branham is really redundant with Vassell here, strictly future-speaking. So them playing Branham as much as they have and Branham really making the best of that opportunity really worked out well for the Spurs.Thats a big limb. Spurs tend to develop potential rather than roll the dice that they can parlay it into better potential. Especially players who have shown that they’ve got a real chance of developing into a legitimate player.

[Mr. Body]

Even if the team wanted to move Branham, this is maybe the worst time to do it. First, I see no overlap between him and Vassell. Branham is clearly the bench guy and his role seems very defined, as does Vassell with the starting unit. In fact, figuring out Branham and Wembanyama together at the same time, for any minutes they might share, is a key issue, since they use some of the same areas of the court. Vassell, the starter, and Wembanyama don't.

But Branham's stock isn't clear right now. I know other teams' commentators took note of him throughout the season, but it's not clear how good he can be. So you're selling short on his potential. Meanwhile, he fulfills a role the team really can use while, from the other side, his potential is unclear. Like, he could become really, really good. Maybe he caps out at scorching bench units, maybe he's just a very good rotation piece, maybe he winds up agitating for a starting role and winds up getting moved to make him happy, but each of those end results are higher than where he is now. You're selling the acorn instead of the oak.

[stephen jackson]

Malaki is Michael redd reincarnated he needs to be kept above all else with sochan

[The Truth #6]

Playing on the Spurs last season didn’t bump up his perceived value in my opinion. To me, he has more value to us than what we would receive back. So I think he’s undervalued. Keldon and Vassel might be overvalued. Hard to say. If Vassel was already under a new contract I think he might have a better path to a potential trade.

But I imagine they will let Victor play with all of these guys, and then to some degree see who plays best with Victor and then go from there.

[mo7888]

Personally, I don't think they're trading Branham nor do I think they'll need to include him to get a deal done unless we're moving into the top 5 or so and even then I think they can construct competitive packages without him in there. All that being said, if they love someone enough that high then I'm not opposed to doing it. I just don't see the need or want to on our part.

Edited to add: I also don't see it as an either or between Devin and Branham. They can easily play Devin at the 3 and Branham at the 2 and move Keldon. There are many ways to construct this team.

[Russ]

Malaki is Michael redd reincarnated he needs to be kept above all else with sochan

It would be hard to argue with that (the two needing to be kept part, anyway).

[Dejounte]

Personally, I don't think they're trading Branham nor do I think they'll need to include him to get a deal done unless we're moving into the top 5 or so and even then I think they can construct competitive packages without him in there. All that being said, if they love someone enough that high then I'm not opposed to doing it. I just don't see the need or want to on our part.

Edited to add: I also don't see it as an either or between Devin and Branham. They can easily play Devin at the 3 and Branham at the 2 and move Keldon. There are many ways to construct this team.

It’s not about if they can play together, they can. It’s about whether they should. Their shooting tendencies are nearly the same, that there’s too much of an overlap. Don’t you feel like it was too much of a coincidence that when one of them was injured, the other one wasn’t? And then when the other one became available, the other one all of a sudden wasn’t? Tbh that was all by design to see how well Malaki would fit in Devin’s role. Both are dynamic scorers and the best partner on the wing for each is a specialist who won’t take away their shots and would play defense so that they’re not worn out on offense. If Devin is playing with Malaki and Devin is focused on scoring, do you think Malaki will pick up the slack on defense? When it’s the other way around, Devin could probably pick up the slack but that’s not utilizing his strengths at all.

They barely played together this past season and that wasn’t a coincidence.

[rascal]

Personally, I don't think they're trading Branham nor do I think they'll need to include him to get a deal done unless we're moving into the top 5 or so and even then I think they can construct competitive packages without him in there. All that being said, if they love someone enough that high then I'm not opposed to doing it. I just don't see the need or want to on our part.

Edited to add: I also don't see it as an either or between Devin and Branham. They can easily play Devin at the 3 and Branham at the 2 and move Keldon. There are many ways to construct this team.

Keldon is the one they should look to trade now while his value is at its peak. He would have the most value and he won't get to 20+ points a game again.

[TD 21]

Personally, I don't think they're trading Branham nor do I think they'll need to include him to get a deal done unless we're moving into the top 5 or so and even then I think they can construct competitive packages without him in there. All that being said, if they love someone enough that high then I'm not opposed to doing it. I just don't see the need or want to on our part.

Edited to add: I also don't see it as an either or between Devin and Branham. They can easily play Devin at the 3 and Branham at the 2 and move Keldon. There are many ways to construct this team.

Exactly. Way too much reading into and attempting to reverse engineer something that hasn't even happened yet.

Sure, when the team is ready to contend or at least attempt to, it'll almost certainly not be with their top three wings consisting of these two and Johnson in large part due to their sub par defense, but for now they're fine and they have enough quantity and quality of draft capital to acquire a late lottery pick without sacrificing any.

[Obstructed_View]

Malaki is Michael redd reincarnated he needs to be kept above all else with sochan
I completely agree with that comparison.

[mo7888]

It’s not about if they can play together, they can. It’s about whether they should. Their shooting tendencies are nearly the same, that there’s too much of an overlap. Don’t you feel like it was too much of a coincidence that when one of them was injured, the other one wasn’t? And then when the other one became available, the other one all of a sudden wasn’t? Tbh that was all by design to see how well Malaki would fit in Devin’s role. Both are dynamic scorers and the best partner on the wing for each is a specialist who won’t take away their shots and would play defense so that they’re not worn out on offense. If Devin is playing with Malaki and Devin is focused on scoring, do you think Malaki will pick up the slack on defense? When it’s the other way around, Devin could probably pick up the slack but that’s not utilizing his strengths at all.

They barely played together this past season and that wasn’t a coincidence.

Conversely, If Devin is playing alongside Keldon and Devin is focused on scoring Keldon isn't going to pick up the slack on defense? I see Devin as potentially a very good 2-way player, and I see Malaki as a potential higher end offensive scorer. I see Malaki as more the Devin Booker to Vassell's Mikal Bridges.

As for them being 'injured' when the other was playing, I think that had more to do with ping pong balls than anything else.

[Mr. Body]

I find "their shooting tendencies are nearly the same" to be confusing. They use different parts of the court and don't really overlap there much at all. Maybe between the FT line and top of the key; otherwise they operate differently.

That said I don't think they'll necessarily see a ton of time on the court together. Maybe they'll try it out.