Most improved Spur next year from last NBA season.

[widowmaker]

I say Sandro I hope he gets much more playing time

[LeBowen]

Can't see Keldon getting rid of tunnel vision or becoming a good defender in his sixth season.
Jeremy better improve, otherwise he's not worth . Made zero improvements other than his FTs since he was drafted.
Malaki is borderline useless and Blake is a lost cause.
Collins needs to be traded asap.
Champagnie should improve his consistency.

Devin is the one I expect to make another jump. He got used to Wemby and he won't need to create that much since we finally got an actual point guard.
I expect a 22ppg season on good efficency.

[FutureMan]

I said Sochan but I hope the majority of this lists feels the pressure and is better for it. This seasons decides a lot for basically everyone on this list.

Keldon - needs to be the shooter he was back in 2021-22. Coincidentally, that was the last year we had a starting PG so maybe that’s the secret for him added with the work he appears to be putting in this offseason.

Devin - is he a #2 option or not.

Sochan - shooting and defense or he should be moved to a bench role.

Malaki - needs to be almost a Luke Kennard or Duncan Robinson level shooter to remain in the rotation.

Wesley - shooting, more than anyone else shooting. If he can’t figure this out next year’s option should not be picked up. Same can be said for Cissoko.

Collins - needs to revert back to Collins of 2022-23 AND bring his fouls down.

For me, if the Spurs are truly interested in winning then these players fix those things or they are gone by the trade deadline or next offseason if a trade needs to wait until then. All of these players were drafted by the Spurs, except Collins, during a time when it was more acceptable to lose. IMO that time is over. Can these players be winning players? That’s the question.

[R. DeMurre]

Gotta go with Sochan. If he's starting with CP3, Devin, Barnes, and Wemby he'll be the 5th option on offense, which will give him the opportunity to do the dirty work of rebounding/boxing out/setting picks/ball movement etc without the pressure of being a lead player. Him focusing on D and being a junkyard dog on O probably plays best to his highest potential.

[R. DeMurre]

The sleeper pick here would be Mamukelashvili... if he can find a way to integrate a solid 18mpg with the same level of effectiveness that he had in the last month of last season, he could be a valuable super sub.

[John B]

I’m rooting for Wesley because he has that dawg in him from day 1. His open court defense is already elite and if he can get his offense going, he’s going to be a solid role player in a championship team.

I agree that Sochan will have a more defined role with CP3 having the ball and setting up people, helping Sochan to focus on defense and opportunistic scoring coming off defense.

Vassell needs to be the 2nd All-Star and I think he will get there. With the eyes on Wemby, and CP3 finding people, Vassell will get more open shots. I think Vassell adds another 4-6 points on his average making him an All-Star

Keldon has a chip on his shoulder with all the trade rumors, him giving up his jersey number. If he could channel all that energy to becoming a great 6th man. But the Spurs need to win to make it easier to swallow that bitter pill.

And for the rest. Tre is a good backup PG but needs to get stronger defensively. Bassey and Collins for that backup C should be good. We haven’t really seen enough of what Bassey can do. But Mamu seems to have developed a good chemistry with Wemby and could be playing more minutes. Champ seems to be the more aggressive than Branham. Too bad since Malaki has the more natural scoring touch but seems the definition of nonchalant.

[exstatic]

The sleeper pick here would be Mamukelashvili... if he can find a way to integrate a solid 18mpg with the same level of effectiveness that he had in the last month of last season, he could be a valuable super sub.

There was a method to the selections. Everyone was either a FRP by SA or was signed to a multi year contract at some point for basketball reasons. I purposely omitted any older veterans that we got from other teams, and Mamu, because for the second straight season, SA only offered him a one year contract. That doesn’t say a lot about their thought for his future in SA. I like Manu, and he has some good qualities, but he doesn’t play much defense, and while his shot looks nice, it goes in less often than Zack Collin’s shot. The one I was on the fence about was Sidy. My thought is that he only got the guarantees he got to cover his buyout in Spain. He’s pretty bad, and shoots at a level blow Ausar/Amen. I see him as gone next summer.

[KingKev]

I’m rooting for Wesley because he has that dawg in him from day 1. His open court defense is already elite and if he can get his offense going, he’s going to be a solid role player in a championship team.

I agree that Sochan will have a more defined role with CP3 having the ball and setting up people, helping Sochan to focus on defense and opportunistic scoring coming off defense.

Vassell needs to be the 2nd All-Star and I think he will get there. With the eyes on Wemby, and CP3 finding people, Vassell will get more open shots. I think Vassell adds another 4-6 points on his average making him an All-Star

Keldon has a chip on his shoulder with all the trade rumors, him giving up his jersey number. If he could channel all that energy to becoming a great 6th man. But the Spurs need to win to make it easier to swallow that bitter pill.

And for the rest. Tre is a good backup PG but needs to get stronger defensively. Bassey and Collins for that backup C should be good. We haven’t really seen enough of what Bassey can do. But Mamu seems to have developed a good chemistry with Wemby and could be playing more minutes. Champ seems to be the more aggressive than Branham. Too bad since Malaki has the more natural scoring touch but seems the definition of nonchalant.

I don't see him anywhere near this bro but I really hope you and DV prove me wrong!

[Pauleta14]

I think it'll be Devin, he went from being potentially THE guy, to now be behind Vic and Cp3, barely any hype behind even Castle (makes sense/novelty) or Sochan.

If he managed to improve his playmaking as he said he would focus on, he could become the side kick a lot of us are still pescimistic he can be.

It's just a bet, my wish is that Sochan is that guy, he's the one the team needs the most to improve.

[ismael-robert]

Tre, Bassey, mamu

[rankingtear]

Sochan can't really build on his late rookie season sucess because a huge part of it is using him closer to the basket. The arrival of Wemby takes a lot of it, so instead of steady progress we see him stagnate but the reality is he is much better perimeter player than he was in his rookie year. His natural playstyle clashes with Wemby but by the end of the year he is the 2nd best pairing with him. Sochan is also hitting his middies to counter how he is guarded and functioning as the offensive hub before he was shutdown.

[Dejounte]

What took away from Sochan a lot was him being the lone defensive playmaker last season (aside from Wesley in spurts). Having Castle there at the same time will allow him to be more selective with his matchups and exert less energy on defense. Having more energy on offense means more creativity to flow. Domino effect.

[exstatic]

Tre, Bassey, mamu

There was a method to the selections. Everyone was either a FRP by SA or was signed to a multi year contract at some point for basketball reasons. I purposely omitted any older veterans that we got from other teams, and Mamu, because for the second straight season, SA only offered him a one year contract. That doesn’t say a lot about their thought for his future in SA. I like Manu, and he has some good qualities, but he doesn’t play much defense, and while his shot looks nice, it goes in less often than Zack Collin’s shot. The one I was on the fence about was Sidy. My thought is that he only got the guarantees he got to cover his buyout in Spain. He’s pretty bad, and shoots at a level below Ausar/Amen. I see him as gone next summer.

Didn’t mention Bassey, but there’s usually a “gap” season after ACL surgery when the player is not yet confident in the knee.

[rankingtear]

I think Sidy would outlast 4-5 of these guys. His archetype would likely remain cheap and more useful than a lot of these players when the team is good and the cap is filled out. Him and Julian would stay with the team longer than a lot people think.

[exstatic]

I think Sidy would outlast 4-5 of these guys. His archetype would likely remain cheap and more useful than a lot of these players when the team is good and the cap is filled out. Him and Julian would stay with the team longer than a lot people think.

Julian yes, Sidy no, IMO. Sidy is just pretty bad. I don’t see them keeping him over a second rounder in next years draft. As usual,we’ll have two and keep one, in addition to our two FRPs.

[couchman]

Sochan is the obvious choice with a 3rd year leap and a PG putting him in better positions.
Vassell is the dark horse who might have another leap if he can become more efficient.
Both guys should benefit greatly from CP3 if the Point Gawd can stay healthy

[jjspur]

I'll be surprised if Sidy makes it past the trade deadline. There's always a surprise cut or trade before the beginning of the season for a lot of teams and maybe (probably) one of those players is better than Sidy. If the team really wants to improve, I do believe his days with the spurs are numbered.

[SpurSpike]

I'm going with Blake, he suffered an injury early in his career and has not had the same amount of playing time as Branham. I feel Branham and Blake get kinda lumped together here as possible busts which seems kinda unfair as one has had much more opportunity than the other. So I Hope to see Blake get more opportunities and really grow this year and maybe carve out a role for himself.

[thOOdee]

I see many are saying champs may not get a whole lot of playing time, but if he gets any where near gary neal minutes, and can get neal production, I can see him being pop's new pet, and I don't think that's too much of a difficult task for champs. Would love it though if sochan get's most improved.

[spurraider21]

think it kind of has to be sochan since he has by far the biggest cominbation of room to grow and opportunity to showcase said growth. like obviously wesley/branham can get better but how many minutes will they get? will they be given huge responsibilities when on the floor? on the other hand, the spurs are going to continue throwing Sochan at other team's best scorers on most nights.

his defensive consistency needs improvement. he has games where he is disruptive as (remember one of the OKC games last year in particular) but then so many games where im not sure he has any real impact there at all. rebounding is part of this equation as well

offensively it just has to be his ballhandling, even more so than the shooting. right now he always looks down when dribbling because of the lack of confidence in his handles. this has led to him having very poor vision when on the move, and he doenst make use of his above average passing ability as a result. obviously improving to his jumper would be welcome but is not the single most important aspect of his game. if he's playing the 4 alongside good shooters in paul/vassell/barnes/champagnie, etc, and with wemby at the 5, i dont think the 3 point shot from him will be as monumentally important as some here make it seem

[itzsoweezee]

I don’t think Sochan has the skills needed to take a jump at his position. Vassell, on the other hand, just needs to be consistent. He’s gotten better every year. I think he takes the next step — plays within his self, moves off the ball a bit, and takes consistent advantage of the attention paid to wemby with better guard play to get him the ball in scoring position

[John B]

Wemby is the projected to be the favorite to win the MIP next season with +850. DPOY, All-NBA, what else??

[CGD]

Wembs

[Limguogolo]

(Collins is ready for a new Dynasty.)


Voted for Sochan. After being manhandled by Pop, logic would dictate that he stabilizes his game. And it is generally a decisive year where players perform well.


That being said, I hope that the best progression, like the others, remains Victor despite everything. I'm afraid that with the arrivals and the new roles assigned to everyone that these players simply won't find enough time to express themselves on the floor.

[Fireball]

Wemby is the projected to be the favorite to win the MIP next season with +850. DPOY, All-NBA, what else??

What do you think about second year players even being considered for MIP? Should it not reward players make a leap during other steps in their career instead of the most obvious one?