How close is Blake Wesley to overtaking Tre Jones ?

[objective]

One bright spot this season besides Wemby of course is the substantial improvement of Blake Wesley who didn't even look like an NBA player coming to the season.

His defensive focus is great to see

He even seems to my eyes to be finishing better and not passing up every opportunity to finish like earlier.

And his playmaking is standing out to. He seems like a Zollins whisperer and is able to get him the ball in the spots he seems to like

It's now a situation where I'm tiring of seeing so much Tre and want to see more Blake.

He's not perfect at all and the progress is slow, but could there be a point this season where he deserves to start and get the most minutes at point guard? Now that doesn't mean Pop would start him because Pop, but could he be credibly deserving to get the starting job?

[scott]

I would hope not at all, but not as a knock on Blake. The lineups with Tre and Wemby have been very good - and I want to continue to foster and improve upon that, not take a step backward to experiment with Blake as the starter.

I think letting Blake run the second unit is great, and we should continue to foster his development that way, maybe even extend his playing time a little bit with that unit and a little bit of run with the first unit. But let’s not sacrifice the development of the first unit just to further develop Blake Wesley.

[z0sa]

Blake Wesley = mid 2000s Lindsey Hunter. Guy who can come off the bench, shut opposing PGs and maybe a few SGs down. NOT the future, no knock on him.

[RC_Drunkford]

about as far as the Spurs are from the playoffs

[Kawhi Duncan]

Not even in the same stratosphere... Tre is one of the best passers and floor generals in the NBA and a great finisher for his size... Wesley is good at neither

[spursparker9]

Not even in the same stratosphere... Tre is one of the best passers and floor generals in the NBA and a great finisher for his size... Wesley is good at neither

Tre is in his 4th year. Wesly just on his 2nd year. Give him time.

[dbestpro]

Wesley will be cut this summer. Killian Hayes is a better defender and passer and more mature at the old age of 22. Branham may not be long for the team either.

[tmtcsc]

Wesley will be cut this summer. Killian Hayes is a better defender and passer and more mature at the old age of 22. Branham may not be long for the team either.

I’d be just fine with both those things happening.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

about as far as the Spurs are from the playoffs

:lol

:tu

[Atl Spur]

I’m liking old Wesley and his progression now��

[poopbox]

I'm not so sure Wesley is even that good of a defender...it just stands out that he isn't as bad as the other sieves we have on this team. In the long run I just don't think their is a real place for him. Tre is an actual backup point guard, and once we either draft, sign, or trade for a starting point guard, I don't see how Wesley stays on the floor.

[rankingtear]

Tre looks like a staple of the roster moving forward unless he demands to start. Wes could be buried again as soon as next draft.

[spurraider21]

Not close but his progress is nice.

his defense looks better than it is now but the potential there is pretty outrageous tbh

[exstatic]

Wesley will be cut this summer. Killian Hayes is a better defender and passer and more mature at the old age of 22. Branham may not be long for the team either.

KH is worse than both of them. He was the worst player on a team that included James Wiseman.

[The Truth #6]

Maybe mirror Tre's minutes to VW, and let Blake get the rest of the time. That would still be a big jump. I'm ok with that. I ran some numbers and it turns out the Spurs aren't winning a title this year. So more Blake, sure.

[MannyIsGod]

Wesley is no where near as good as Tre right now. Blake has made good progress, but is still very much a work in progress. He at least looks like an NBA player currently and is playing some solid defense. Blake has a much higher ceiling than Tre, but he's no where near overtaking Tre just yet, and Tre Jones isn't a starting caliber pg. I hope that Blake continues his improvement and I hope that he becomes a solid rotation player in the NBA. That would be a success for him. Anything beyond that would be gravy.

There's zero reason to start him until he plays extremely well with the 2nd unit.

[BackHome]

Wesley is no where near as good as Tre right now. Blake has made good progress, but is still very much a work in progress. He at least looks like an NBA player currently and is playing some solid defense. Blake has a much higher ceiling than Tre, but he's no where near overtaking Tre just yet, and Tre Jones isn't a starting caliber pg. I hope that Blake continues his improvement and I hope that he becomes a solid rotation player in the NBA. That would be a success for him. Anything beyond that would be gravy.
There's zero reason to start him until he plays extremely well with the 2nd unit.

+1

[Atl Spur]

KH is worse than both of them. He was the worst player on a team that included James Wiseman.

I still think you take a cheap 30 game look; if he doesn’t excite you nothing lost

[Leetonidas]

Not particularly close. But he is definitely improving at an impressive rate. Maybe next season or the season after if he keeps improving his handle and touch at the rim

[Leetonidas]

Wesley will be cut this summer. Killian Hayes is a better defender and passer and more mature at the old age of 22. Branham may not be long for the team either.

Didn't he tear his ACL and mess up his MCL awhile back? Probably why he sucks now. Damaged goods tbh

[RC_Drunkford]

I’m liking old Wesley and his progression now��

you like everybody. Kinda like the neighborhood hoe

[exstatic]

Didn't he tear his ACL and mess up his MCL awhile back? Probably why he sucks now. Damaged goods tbh

MCL only, and he was back on the court in 5-6 weeks, no surgery.

[jjspur]

I can see that Wesley has improved - and that's great, but he's still at the level of a 13th, 14th , 15th player on the roster of a pretty bad team. Jones has absolutely nothing to worry about. If Wesley got waived tomorrow, it wouldn't phase me one bit. There are players just as good playing in the G league right now. There are players just as good as Wesley that were waived yesterday as well. So for for all those Wesley fans out there that say he has a bright future with the spurs, I wouldn't hold my breath. We have one or two first round picks and 3 possible 2nd round picks in the next draft, one of who could easily take his place, not to mention that we have a crapload of future 2nd rounders which we could use to improve our back end of the roster. Like I said, he's improved a bit, but is it enough, time will tell.

[PhantomDashCam]

One bright spot this season besides Wemby of course is the substantial improvement of Blake Wesley who didn't even look like an NBA player coming to the season.

His defensive focus is great to see

He even seems to my eyes to be finishing better and not passing up every opportunity to finish like earlier.

And his playmaking is standing out to. He seems like a Zollins whisperer and is able to get him the ball in the spots he seems to like

It's now a situation where I'm tiring of seeing so much Tre and want to see more Blake.

He's not perfect at all and the progress is slow, but could there be a point this season where he deserves to start and get the most minutes at point guard? Now that doesn't mean Pop would start him because Pop, but could he be credibly deserving to get the starting job?

I’m not sure if this was a typo. but to go from arguably one of the worst players in the NBA to a rotation worthy one in a year is extremely fast progress.
I look forward to when Blake enters the game too as there is a potential there to be a formidable force if his game keeps improving like it has.
Nobody on this team has the ability to beat their initial defender to spots off the dribble quite like Blake.
Loved that we saw a floater from him against Orlando.

[sfernald]

I have yet to see him make a layup so maybe when he accomplishes that we can think about it.

[SouthernFryd]

I have never seen a PG so afraid to score as Wesley. I mean, he'll sometimes get by someone...and then turn all the way around and run back out to the 3 point line. He just wants to give up the ball...which ain't a horrible attribute for a pg. But, at some point, you gotta score.

And yeah, I like his defense, except when he goes for steals. Like all the Spurs youngbloods, they all go for steals, which always puts them out of position if they don't make the steal, which they usually don't.

So, as far as taking over from Tre, shouldn't be close. But, then again...it's POP. He had Sochan running point. That should put to rest every person who thinks Pop is a good coach. He ain't He just ain't.

Overall, the team is just f'ing horrible. lol

[z0sa]

I have yet to see him make a layup so maybe when he accomplishes that we can think about it.

Blake is actually a great finisher and very athletic. If only he were about 3-4 inches taller, we'd have our Bruce Bowen 2.0

He's one of the only prospects on this roster worth another year or two of development. He's got all of the natural talent on the defensive end and if he can have even a mid (for a bench PG) offense, he'll be a keeper.

[Atl Spur]

I have never seen a PG so afraid to score as Wesley. I mean, he'll sometimes get by someone...and then turn all the way around and run back out to the 3 point line. He just wants to give up the ball...which ain't a horrible attribute for a pg. But, at some point, you gotta score.

And yeah, I like his defense, except when he goes for steals. Like all the Spurs youngbloods, they all go for steals, which always puts them out of position if they don't make the steal, which they usually don't.

So, as far as taking over from Tre, shouldn't be close. But, then again...it's POP. He had Sochan running point. That should put to rest every person who thinks Pop is a good coach. He ain't He just ain't.

Overall, the team is just f'ing horrible. lol

What better season to give developing players live reps? Next year hopefully we see different lineups

[sfernald]

What better season to give developing players live reps? Next year hopefully we see different lineups

Hopefully?

[RC_Drunkford]

He's so quick, I wish he could make lay ups. He'd be a force. I think him always giving up the ball is mostly Pop telling him not to drive cause he can't finish.

[Bill_Brasky]

Intriguing player for sure. We need him to keep developing, needs to be able to knock down open shots.

[TrainOfThought5]

Hopefully?

next year we’ll be one Wemby injury away from The Top pick in the draft.

[Gagnrath]

I have never seen a PG so afraid to score as Wesley. I mean, he'll sometimes get by someone...and then turn all the way around and run back out to the 3 point line. He just wants to give up the ball...which ain't a horrible attribute for a pg. But, at some point, you gotta score.

And yeah, I like his defense, except when he goes for steals. Like all the Spurs youngbloods, they all go for steals, which always puts them out of position if they don't make the steal, which they usually don't.

So, as far as taking over from Tre, shouldn't be close. But, then again...it's POP. He had Sochan running point. That should put to rest every person who thinks Pop is a good coach. He ain't He just ain't.

Overall, the team is just f'ing horrible. lol

Ben Simmons was a tiny bit more scared tp score for awhile.

[CGD]

Blake is actually a great finisher and very athletic. If only he were about 3-4 inches taller, we'd have our Bruce Bowen 2.0

He's one of the only prospects on this roster worth another year or two of development. He's got all of the natural talent on the defensive end and if he can have even a mid (for a bench PG) offense, he'll be a keeper.

What Blake are you talking about? Sure he’s improved some, but he has a loooong way to go before we can call him a “great finisher.”

[z0sa]

What Blake are you talking about? Sure he’s improved some, but he has a loooong way to go before we can call him a “great finisher.”

The same one who got a steal and dunked over two or three Nets in transition last night.

https://bleacherreport.com/videos/527512-blake-wesley-throws-it-down

[ismael-robert]

The same one who got a steal and dunked over two or three Nets in transition last night.

https://bleacherreport.com/videos/527512-blake-wesley-throws-it-down

Ok he can dunk the question is can he finish layups

[John B]

I have never seen a PG so afraid to score as Wesley. I mean, he'll sometimes get by someone...and then turn all the way around and run back out to the 3 point line. He just wants to give up the ball...which ain't a horrible attribute for a pg. But, at some point, you gotta score.

And yeah, I like his defense, except when he goes for steals. Like all the Spurs youngbloods, they all go for steals, which always puts them out of position if they don't make the steal, which they usually don't.

So, as far as taking over from Tre, shouldn't be close. But, then again...it's POP. He had Sochan running point. That should put to rest every person who thinks Pop is a good coach. He ain't He just ain't.

Overall, the team is just f'ing horrible. lol

Pop is giving him a role both to minimize his mistakes and and able to stay out there. Wesley is far from a complete player. Defensively he is already an elite. Offensively he can break defense with his dribble penetration and kick to an open man, but will attack the rim when open. It’s not being afraid. The kid has plenty of dog in him (remember the pre-draft tryout, getting on with, I suspect, Malaki). Pop loves that dog in him, coaching him on the sideline every time and Wesley attentively listening. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out in the off-season completely a different player.

[MannyIsGod]

The same one who got a steal and dunked over two or three Nets in transition last night.

https://bleacherreport.com/videos/527512-blake-wesley-throws-it-down

Ok now post the highlights from his blown dunks recently as well. He has improved but calling him a great finisher is laughable.

[z0sa]

Ok now post the highlights from his blown dunks recently as well. He has improved but calling him a great finisher is laughable.

I haven't honestly seen him blow too many dunks. I remember one from recently but that's it.

I admit calling him a "great" finisher is probably hyperbole :lol But acting like he's trash at finishing also just as hyperbolic. He's a terrific dunker and can do so in traffic. Given some more time, I think he will be an above average finisher. Might not have many shots in the paint, but the shots he will get should go in at a high clip.

I'm more than willing to keep him just for his D, though. Especially if we get somebody (a PG) like Trae Young, who obviously sucks at D. Maybe he can be hidden on someone while Blake comes in or Blake can at least harass people when trae would get a breather.

[objective]

I’m not sure if this was a typo. but to go from arguably one of the worst players in the NBA to a rotation worthy one in a year is extremely fast progress.
I look forward to when Blake enters the game too as there is a potential there to be a formidable force if his game keeps improving like it has.
Nobody on this team has the ability to beat their initial defender to spots off the dribble quite like Blake.
Loved that we saw a floater from him against Orlando.

I phrased it clumsily

The defense came on fast, that looked like an NBA skill

The other parts like finishing, floater/mid range, shot selection, I think that's coming slowly but is improving incrementally

[barakz21]

Might just be me, but seems like Blake is shooting better from 3. Don’t get me wrong, I still shudder at the thought of him shooting them, but seems like he’s made more 3s in the past few games on minimal attempts. I was at the Nets game last Saturday, and I think the biggest thing that jumped out at me was he seemed a bit more decisive.

[Mr. Body]

Impressed by some of the God-tier SpursTalk-special shit-level takes in here.

[KingKev]

Pop is giving him a role both to minimize his mistakes and and able to stay out there. Wesley is far from a complete player. Defensively he is already an elite. Offensively he can break defense with his dribble penetration and kick to an open man, but will attack the rim when open. It’s not being afraid. The kid has plenty of dog in him (remember the pre-draft tryout, getting on with, I suspect, Malaki). Pop loves that dog in him, coaching him on the sideline every time and Wesley attentively listening. I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes out in the off-season completely a different player.

Agreed. He has intriguing attributes you just can't teach. I don't really ever read or see Pop speaking his praises however.

[spurraider21]

Might just be me, but seems like Blake is shooting better from 3. Don’t get me wrong, I still shudder at the thought of him shooting them, but seems like he’s made more 3s in the past few games on minimal attempts. I was at the Nets game last Saturday, and I think the biggest thing that jumped out at me was he seemed a bit more decisive.
i swear, im not trying to be a jerk, but things like shooting %'s are pretty easily available :lol

he's hitting just over 17% of his 3's this year. in the last 3 games, he has gone 1-1, 0-1, and 1-2, for a total of 2-4. so sure, he's hit 50% of him last 3 games, but the sample pales in comparison to the full season

[Kevin]

He still looks a SG with some PG skills. If can hit his three's he would be a perfect fit next to Trae Young if that were to happen.

[JPB]

I haven't honestly seen him blow too many dunks. I remember one from recently but that's it.

I admit calling him a "great" finisher is probably hyperbole :lol But acting like he's trash at finishing also just as hyperbolic. He's a terrific dunker and can do so in traffic. Given some more time, I think he will be an above average finisher. Might not have many shots in the paint, but the shots he will get should go in at a high clip.

I'm more than willing to keep him just for his D, though. Especially if we get somebody (a PG) like Trae Young, who obviously sucks at D. Maybe he can be hidden on someone while Blake comes in or Blake can at least harass people when trae would get a breather.

Wesley is not bad at finishing, he's absolutely awful for an NBA player. Still badly blew 2 OPEN layups yesterday, and missed another dunk. It's like he's having a mental block everytime he's getting close to the rim.

[LeBowen]

He still looks a SG with some PG skills. If can hit his three's he would be a perfect fit next to Trae Young if that were to happen.

Just a reminder, SG stands for Shooting Guard.

[Ariel]

Wesley is not bad at finishing, he's absolutely awful for an NBA player. Still badly blew 2 OPEN layups yesterday, and missed another dunk. It's like he's having a mental block everytime he's getting close to the rim.
I'm more worried about his shooting. If he can shoot, his defense is enough to keep him on the court, and playmaking is a bonus. But if he can't shoot, defenders will sag off of him and getting to the rim and finishing will be much tougher.

[spurraider21]

wesley looks nothing like a SG :lol

he's less effecitve on-ball than on-ball. the only reason you might think he's a SG is because at times he kind of just looks confused when running point. he looks like a point guard learning how to run a pro offense.

[z0sa]

Wesley is not bad at finishing, he's absolutely awful for an NBA player. Still badly blew 2 OPEN layups yesterday, and missed another dunk. It's like he's having a mental block everytime he's getting close to the rim.

He was fouled on the dunk attempt. Another layup miss was in transition and he was also lobbying for a call there but didn't get it. He’s raw but not terrible, at least at finishing. That is the least concerning part of his game on offense tbh. His three point shooting and free throwing are actually worthy of the vitriol ..

[Seventyniner]

There are 329 players who have played at least 400 total minutes on the season; Wesley has played 415.

Wesley shoots 46.2% of his shots at the rim (0-3 feet), which ranks #39 on that list. He is second highest player on this list that isn't a big.

Wesley makes 68.8% of his shots at the rim, which ranks #163 on that list. Taking out players listed as PF or C, he ranks #82 out of 209 players.

This is a simplistic take based only on the stats, but the numbers suggest that he is very good at getting to the rim (the eye test bears that out) and is above average for his position at finishing there. Fast break stats skew this a lot, though, and I don't have a way of breaking those out.

[Ariel]

There are 329 players who have played at least 400 total minutes on the season; Wesley has played 415.

Wesley shoots 46.2% of his shots at the rim (0-3 feet), which ranks #39 on that list. He is second highest player on this list that isn't a big.

Wesley makes 68.8% of his shots at the rim, which ranks #163 on that list. Taking out players listed as PF or C, he ranks #82 out of 209 players.

This is a simplistic take based only on the stats, but the numbers suggest that he is very good at getting to the rim (the eye test bears that out) and is above average for his position at finishing there. Fast break stats skew this a lot, though, and I don't have a way of breaking those out.
Lots of Wesley's shots are uncontested dunks in transition, though. That should account for a large portion of the successful shots. In halfcourt it's a different story.
PS: I replied before reding your last sentence :lol

[Seventyniner]

Lots of Wesley's shots are uncontested dunks in transition, though. That should account for a large portion of the successful shots. In halfcourt it's a different story.
PS: I replied before reding your last sentence :lol

Wesley is shooting 50/81 on twos this year. 11 of those makes are dunks, though I know of at least two that were in the halfcourt from what I remember of games I have watched.

He is 33/48 at the rim on the season. I will assume for now that 9 of his 11 dunks have been in transition; taking those out makes his shooting numbers 41/72 on twos overall and 24/39 at the rim (61.5%).

Of course this assumes that all of his non-dunk makes were not in transition, which is certainly not true. However, I don't know how to find transition versus non-transition stats.

Also keep in mind that all the player stats include transition shots. Unless Wesley is getting a very disproportionate number of his attempts at the rim in transition compared to other players (quite possible but again I don't know where to find these stats), the stats as shown are a valid comparison.

The eye test tells me that he is still a below average finisher, especially because the stats don't show shots that he probably should have taken and didn't, but he's still far better than he was last season.

[z0sa]

There are 329 players who have played at least 400 total minutes on the season; Wesley has played 415.

Wesley shoots 46.2% of his shots at the rim (0-3 feet), which ranks #39 on that list. He is second highest player on this list that isn't a big.

Wesley makes 68.8% of his shots at the rim, which ranks #163 on that list. Taking out players listed as PF or C, he ranks #82 out of 209 players.

This is a simplistic take based only on the stats, but the numbers suggest that he is very good at getting to the rim (the eye test bears that out) and is above average for his position at finishing there. Fast break stats skew this a lot, though, and I don't have a way of breaking those out.

That's where he's always going to shine, though. Transition baskets, breakaways off steals, using his athleticism and length to hound people in the backcourt - I don't see why anyone would take the position of "well he gets all of his dunks in the fast break!" thinking it's a bad thing. So what? That's great! At least, that's what I'd say.

[The Truth #6]

By minimizing his at the rim attempts in the half court and prioritizing fast breaks, I have to imagine that helps his averages, which is not a bad thing necessarily, as he was really horrible at
finishing at the rim in the half court, and he's really good at hounding ball handler and getting breakaways, shots almost no one else on the team was getting.