San Antonio Spurs projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
San Antonio Spurs starting shooting guard: Devin Vassell
Devin Vassell is very high on the list of most underrated players in the NBA. It has been easy for NBA fans to ignore San Antonio the last couple years, but with Wemby dragging the spotlight over the Spurs, expect Vassell’s national reputation to balloon exponentially.
The Florida State product was far and away the Spurs’ best player when healthy last season. Listed at 6-foot-5, Vassell was originally pitched as a defensive maestro when the Spurs selected him 11th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. And Vassell has delivered on that front; with his 6-foot-10 wingspan, Vassell is a switchable wing who has proven highly disruptive in passing lanes.
That said, Vassell has been far ahead of the curve on offense. He averaged 18.5 points on 55.0 TS% last season. He’s an efficient pull-up shooter on the perimeter who can terrorize rotating defenders on drives to the cup, using his long arms to extend and avoid contests around the rim. His 3.6 assists per game don’t do justice to Vassell’s passing acumen either; he’s comfortable leading the offense with the ball in hand.
Primary backup shooting guard: Malaki Branham
Malaki Branham took his long leash and ran with it last season. He started in 32 of 66 appearances as a 19-year-old and averaged 10.2 points per game. A strong 6-foot-5 wing still growing into his frame, Branham is already a confident pull-up shooter with the explosiveness to get downhill and score around the basket. He’s a fan of floaters and he makes promising reads as a passer, often locating his big in the dunker’s spot.
The Spurs won’t have as much of a runway for Branham with a healthy Vassell next season, but he should still get plenty of reps off the bench. He can fall into tunnel vision at times and he will need to round out the rest of his skill set around the scoring flashes, but Branham certainly looked the part of a rotation piece as a rookie.