if sochan plays 40mpg and goes 0-200 from 3 for the season, the spurs should still comfortably get into the playoffs. In fact, it would be this franchise's biggest shame.
On Bryant though, I think chalking stuff up to summer league is just coping, the guy is terrible on both ends. Two years in g-league seem like a minimum but even then I don't see the value in him, he's not cidy that you can say he's a specimen, he's just slightly taller than most guys his weight, but his length isn't special in today's nba.
So you think he sucks on both ends of the court?
absolutely. gets beaten on every possession then goes for a wild block attempt, which against summerleague compe ion can sometimes make him look good, but in the nba he'd get called for a foul EVERY TIME. And he's still fouling a ton, even with lottery pick bailouts.
only starting ?
I'm inclined to not worry so much about the shooting. He shot well in college, and his mechanics are respectable. Obviously there's some chance that he can't adapt to the new 3P line or that his season at Arizona was a fluke, but I'll take the position that this is a sample size thing that is bound to revert closer to his mean. The important thing is that he stays confident and keeps firing...there were a couple times last night where he was open and then hesitated to shoot, and that's the sort of thing that concerns me more.
People need to relax a bit tbh. He was always going to be a bit of a project. It's not some death spell if he has to spend a good amount of his rookie year in the G-League. Anyone who thought this guy was going to be starting or playing 20+ mpg right off the bat was delusional in the first place.
I said after the draft that I thought Bryant would spend a lot of time in Austin. I haven’t seen anything to change my mind, in fact I’m even more certain of that now. Offensively he is pretty lost. I don’t think it would serve him well to stash him in the corner and shoot open 3s. He needs to learn how to attack close outs, make a pass off that attacked close out, and he needs to learn how to beat a man off the dribble. I think it would be beneficial for him to have a longer leash to make mistakes over 30+ minutes a night there rather than a few minutes here or there in SA. Then he can scale his game down to fit in.
As for his defense, I agree with the notion that it’s being overrated. The highlight clips are spectacular, but he does get best off the dribble and relies on wild Chase down blocks. The rotations can be a little slow, which is not un expected for a rookie. He is getting pretty handsy on the perimeter. Unless he’s on OKC, he probably won’t get that kind of deference from the refs.
Yea no way to sugarcoat it. He's been absolute dog offensively. Defense is overrated too, but I'm more worried about the shooting. Through 5 Summer League games, he's:
8/40 shooting (20%) and 4/25 from 3 (16%). Awful.
Worse than that, he looks pretty lost out there offensively. Doesn't know what to do when he has the ball and usually just fires up a bad contested shot. His attempts aren't even close to going in. None of them. All but one of his makes have come off dunks and lobs. No reason to panic and overreact just yet, but he definitely needs to spend a lot of time in Austin this season tbh. He's super raw. A lot to work on for the Rook.
He is very young. His mental game needs a lot of work, but I believe he will figure it out. I certainly wouldn't call him a bust
Pretty much. He's going to take time.
On offense, I'm less worried about the shots not going down as what shots he's taking. The hesitation is fine. He's learning when to shoot and doesn't believe in himself. Okay. My things are that he can't blow by defenders. With his athleticism he should be a paint touch almost all the time and he gets jammed instead, forcing him into turnaround midranges, which are just bad shots.
I'd want him to work on his handles constantly. They're far too rudimentary, almost Reed Sheppard level (gotta get a dig in). He's not even at the point of adding counters. He just can't do anything on the court right now. Again, that's fine. He needs to put the work in.
Last edited by Mr. Body; 07-15-2025 at 09:23 AM.
The ball handling was not bad, except he almost gave away when he slipped and caused a jump ball. Already he’s an elite defender who prides himself on defense. But he needs to develop more self-creation in Austin. He has good form and it’s just a matter of getting open shots.
Who would you guys rather have: Bryant or Salaun?
I would say his ball handling is pretty poor. He can't break down a defender at all.
Drake Powell tbh
Spurs will obviously try to develop every aspect of his game, but I doubt he'll ever need to break defenders down in actual games.
Catch and shoot, off the ball movement, cuts, vertical threat and being able to attack a closeout with a straight line drive will be his game.
I don't see any reason why he shouldn't learn. Especially at least making teams pay if they come out hard to contest his three ball. I don't want a lottery pick to be consigned to a 3&D anyway.
Yep. A 3-and-D player at pick 14 is a fine outcome, but that shouldn’t be the goal. Danny Green was a uva player for a championship team, but it sure would have been nice if he could dribble, pass, finish at the rim. The same for Bowen. Those two just didn’t have it in them to be more than that, and that’s OK. Maybe Bryant follows the same path, but there’s no reason for that to be determined in the next year. Let him play and develop in Austin.
Just keep him away from Sochan’s shooting coach, and away from Sochan too.
Because I don't care how bad SL is, Sochan's skillset still doesn't translate as a primary option at that level. How dificult is it for YOU to grasp that concept?
Let's be honest... Bryant is your typical Brian Wright mid-round, raw, "tools" pick. All of these guys were sub 10ppg career scorers in college (Vassell did put up 12.4 ppg his second year as a starter, his average is drug down by his freshman year)
2020 Pick #11 - Devin Vassell - S, 63 GP, 30 GS, 25.0 pts/100, 9.6 reb/100, 3.3 ast/100, .475 / .417 / .720, 10.9 bpm, 6.4 obpm, 4.2 dbpm, 124.7 ortg, 94.1 drtg
2021 Pick #12 - Josh Primo - Fr, 30 GP, 19 GS, 19.4 pts/100, 8.0 reb/100, 2.0 ast/100, .431 / .381 / .750, 3.7 bpm, 1.6 obpm, 2.1 dbpm, 107.8 ortg, 98.7 drtg
2022 Pick #9 - Jeremy Sochan - Fr, 30 GP, 1 GS, 21.4 pts/100, 14.8 reb/100, 4.1 ast/100, .474 / .296 / .589, 8.0 bpm, 3.6 obpm, 4.4 dbpm, 111.7 ortg, 89.8 drtg
2025 Pick #14 - Carter Bryant - Fr, 37 GP. 5 GS, 19.2 pts/100, 12.1 reb/100, 2.9 ast/100, .460 / .371 / .695, 8.8 bpm, 3.5 obpm, 5.3 dbpm, 116.5 ortg, 100.1 drtg
Brian just can't help himself with these guys. They are all decent swings in the mid round (well, except one of them) and Vassell has become a decent NBA player at least. I see Bryant having the same career as Sochan, being a plus defender (though Bryant has a ways to go but I like his intensity and tools) and it will all depend on whether he can shoot.
It's a fine outcome, okay sure. But saying that he shouldn't be developed more than that is kind of weird.
Now that I've had some time to think about it, I'm not that impressed at all.
Outside of one of two handfuls of great defensive players, he hasn't done much out there. He's been horrible on offense and on defense, if he doesn't make a good play, he's getting blown by and tries to recover and make a play (fortunately, he is making some great recovery plays).
You're still fixated on Sochan. It was about summer league being bad. Bench players across the NBA would look like stars in summer league. A bench squad would obliterate a summer g league team. A g league team would beat a summer league team. The majority of NBA players( the best 300 or so players in the world) absolutely have enough skill set to score in summer league as a primary option. Which was the original argument. You can't magically change the entire situation to say if I don't give them the ball they won't score.Because I don't care how bad SL is, Sochan's skillset still doesn't translate as a primary option at that level. How dificult is it for YOU to grasp that concept?
I think you both should get a room and discuss your Gorgonites Team takes on private.You're still fixated on Sochan. It was about summer league being bad. Bench players across the NBA would look like stars in summer league. A bench squad would obliterate a summer g league team. A g league team would beat a summer league team. The majority of NBA players( the best 300 or so players in the world) absolutely have enough skill set to score in summer league as a primary option. Which was the original argument. You can't magically change the entire situation to say if I don't give them the ball they won't score.
No, they don't. You say I'm fixating on Sochan, but I gave you Ben Wallace as an example of a hall of famer that wouldn't be a primary option in summer league either.You're still fixated on Sochan. It was about summer league being bad. Bench players across the NBA would look like stars in summer league. A bench squad would obliterate a summer g league team. A g league team would beat a summer league team. The majority of NBA players( the best 300 or so players in the world) absolutely have enough skill set to score in summer league as a primary option. Which was the original argument. You can't magically change the entire situation to say if I don't give them the ball they won't score.
You can agree or disagree, but saying I'm fixating on "X" or "Z" player is re ed. I'm clearly telling to you that certain NBA players don't have the skillset to put up big scoring numbers in Summer League or the G-league, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are bad, they are just not scorers. Is that clear to you?
I swear to God if you respond again with the "you are fixated on Sochan
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