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Don’t see the return of Vassell really impacting winning much. Just means less minutes for Branham.
I could really see Branham pushing Vassell out of the starting lineup next year.
Agree. Devin’s injury help the tank cause and Pop’s milking it
Don’t see the return of Vassell really impacting winning much. Just means less minutes for Branham.
I could really see Branham pushing Vassell out of the starting lineup next year.
Not if they want to win. I’ve been big on Malaki as long as anyone, but his defense stinks. His best fit is off the bench microwave scorer.
Losing Jakob was a big step in us improving out lottery odds. Our defense is now truly abysmal. If a game is close, Vassel could ruin it by making buckets in the clutch. Better to not take that chance. He’s shown he’s got game and he is not the tanking type. He needs to be on the IR the rest of the way. Sochan, however, should still play. He is raw enough to make mistakes that lose games while still developing into his upside. Just unleash all the rookies.
I agree other than that we aren’t going to be compe ive anytime soon, even with Wemby. Year 3 and Vassell is yet to become an impactful defender. If Branham keeps this offensive trajectory and Vassell doesn’t up his D Branham will replace him quickly I feel.
The trio of Keldon, Vassell and Branham isn’t going to be playable on a winning team.
He’ll be on minutes restriction but won’t be shelved. He is playing for a contract remember as he is extension eligible this off-season. We are firmly in the bottom 4. No need to shelve him.
I doubt Vassell has to play more minutes to convince PATFO to offer him. Vassell is no longer playing for contract. And it is the best interest of the Spurs, tank wise, to shelve Vassell.
He’s getting an offer but I’m sure he wants to maximize that with his play. Instead Branham is showing how replaceable Vassell really is which means they may nit be inclined to offer as much.
Is he worse than Devin Booker at the same age?
I have to disagree. Vassel is a good defender that is a good three point shooter. He is adding playmaking to his skill set. Branham is a good scorer, but he is not near as good a defender as Vassell. They are not playing the same position in the NBA. Vassell is getting a max contract on his rookie deal. What have we seen from his play that warrants anything else? And the Spurs have plenty of room to sign him. We won't be a playoff team after next year, even if we get the top pick. This team will take a lot of time to improve. David Robinson and Tim Duncan were not 19 year olds coming into the league. They were full grown men and so they could help create these huge turnaround on wins after a losing season. This team will be in the lottery for at least another year or two, but that is on Vassell's timeline. The only person that possibly is not on that timeline is Keldon, but even still I think he can be a good player on a championship team, just not top 3. But Vassell can be a top 3 player on a championship team, just not a top 1.
At this point there is no way even with the higher salary cap that Devin has earned a contract as big as Keldon's. I think he needs to show that he can be more consistent on both ends of the floor. He's a starter on the Spurs, but I doubt any contenders would consider him more than a 2nd or 3rd man off the bench.
Devin is better than Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton, Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, De'Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, Terance Mann, Marcus Morris, Dillon Brooks and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Vassell is a more complete player than Keldon. Don't let Spurs bad defense fool you. Spurs are tanking and could play so much better. When I see Pop bursting his jugular, then I'd say they are trying to win, but nah. And Vassell don't need to play any more minutes to prove anything. Devin has shown enough to get that contract.
Vassell was touted as being an elite help defender out of college. He has not shown this to date. Additionally, he is a subpar on ball defender.
His rookie max is 25% of the salary cap I believe. Assuming 133mm cap this summer that puts him in line for 33mm/yr. He won’t sniff near a rookie max extension. He deserves more than Keldon as he has shown to be a more consistent shooter. I bet they start at 4yrs/80mm and see where the chips fall. At 4 yrs/90-100m I bid him adieu.
Last edited by KingKev; 02-24-2023 at 03:19 PM.
I cant remember any recent Spur's rookies scoring like Branham has the past month and that includes Murray and White. Most of those guys didn't show this type of scoring ability until their third or fourth years. Exciting stuff. Too bad his defense is awful and he has size limitations.
It really is shocking to see Malaki score so effortlessly and then look so helpless and childlike on defense. He’s trying harder but not sure it’s making a difference.
I don’t Malaki will ever be average on defense but Devin has at least potential for improving on D though little actual realistic reason he will want to given our tanking and lack of accountability.
For all these reasons I see Jeremy as our best prospect.
Amazing how much people are exaggerating how bad Malaki is performing on defense. It’s not McDermott bad. It’s not Patty Mills bad. Just because it isn’t good, doesnt make it bad. He might be slightly below average, but he’s not bad. And then people say Vassell’s defense (at least this season) is good? I’m convinced people are still going by college scouting reports when they make analysis like this.
“Bad” to me would be being bullied by a more physical player on offense, blown assignments, ball watching, overhelping, repeatedly makes dumb fouls or bites on pump fakes — a pattern I’m seeing from Wesley. So if there’s anyone who has been “bad”, it’s Wesley.
Last edited by Dejounte; 02-24-2023 at 06:39 PM.
And I’m not condemning Wesley either. That’s the point of these player assessments. Nothing is black and white. Players see growth. These are critiques for the present time.
With that said, like I said when we drafted Malaki: I believe his offensive upside is higher than Vassell’s. He’s much more fluid and plays within the flow of the offense.
People also aren't taking in consideration that Malaki is a rookie that's been focusing on his confidence on the offensive end. I think people judge him a little harsher, like he's older than he is, because he has a mature OG game. He's got time to work of his D this summer.
branham's D is pretty bad lol. he just doesnt look athletic enough to stay in front of people. he does have 6'10 wingspan, and given that he's just 19, he CAN get stronger, and that could be the basis of his defense. but he's going to have to lean on those traits because he just doesnt look comfortable with change of direction on defense, something that White was always amazing at. on top of that, he's not adept at rotating, has poor positioning all the time, etc. a lot of work to be done there
Defending Malaki’s poor defense is the hill you want to die on? It’s not like I dislike him as a player, in fact, he’s my second favorite player on the team after Jeremy. But I’m not gonna act like he’s great at defense or even average. I know defense is hard to quantify from what I’ve been told, but just looking at some of the individual defensive rankings he is ranked worse than McDermott, but better than Keldon.
Making one reply about this subject (i divided it into three for convenience typing on my phone) is not me dying on a hill. Second, I explicitly said his defense was below average and nowhere in my post did I set an expectation of others to “act like he’s great on defense or even average”. Taking metrics on a player who has not consistently been a starter all year, let alone getting the same amount of minutes he is now is called taking bad data.
Ok. Fair enough. But you seem to be adamantly arguing a mild point then.
He's a rookie playing in a tanking team not even trying on defense with a coach who couldn't care less.
I believe from the moment the tank was acted, spurs staff decided to focuse on rooks confidence and OG, barely focusing on defense. I'll wait next year in a team maybe a bit more more compe ive and a staff really emphazising on defense to judge the kid.
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