California Summer League shows glimpses of what the Spurs bench might become
The California Class Summer League in Sacramento may have
gone on without the introduction of Victor Wembanyama, but it left the door
wide open for other members of the summer squad to make an impression.
One thought was stirring during the Spurs second appearance
on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers — this could be what the second
string looks like sometime next season.
Is it safe to assume that the starting line-up would include
Wembanyama, Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell?
There is plenty of options coming off the bench including
returning players like Charles Bassey, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Zach Collins, and
Doug McDermott.
There are also new acquisitions in Lamar Stevens, Reggie
Bullock, and Cedi Osman.
But the combination of Julian Champagnie, Malaki Branham,
Blake Wesley, Dominick Marlow, and Sidy Cissoko show signs of what could
develop as the season moves forward.
As a unit, they are raw, but have the synchronicity to
evolve as one, which could make them invaluable as the season wears on.
The Spurs must have some strong feelings regarding
Champagnie as he was awarded a 4-year contract. Either the Spurs believe in his
longevity with the team or know he will be valuable as a trade piece down the
line.
One strength of the Spurs 2014 championship was having a
great bench. While the starting unit of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Tiago
Splitter, Kawhi Leonard, and Danny Green often got outscored at the beginnings
of games by their counterparts, the bench of Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, Boris
Diaw, Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, Aron Baynes, and Cory Joseph elevated the
Spurs past the competition, proving the value of a bench as opposed to putting
in guys to rest superstars.
While it early to make mountains out of molehills, it is never
too early to enjoy watching the young players shine.
Outside of Webmanyama, who are you watching as the summer
extravaganza begins in Sin City?
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