On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs announced that point guard De'Aaron Fox would be shut down for the season as he undergoes surgery on his finger. The news did not come as a surprise, as he has been playing hurt since October, but it does mean that the Spurs' three best players are now Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and rookie Stephon Castle.
In other words, a playoff run is not in the cards. However, the Spurs were active at the trade deadline, acquiring the All-Star point guard to pair with their generational big man, who has also been shut down for the season with blood clots. It's very clear that the Spurs are looking forward to next season, but they have to confront one strict truth.
The Spurs will boast a core of Wembanyama, Fox, Castle, Vassell, Sochan, Harrison Barnes, and Keldon Johnson next season. They have expiring contracts and some cap flexibility, and they could pull off a trade. Of course, they have two draft picks in the first round, their own and one from the Atlanta Hawks, so their core, in some way, will grow this summer.
However, with Fox in his prime and Wembanyama already a top-ten player in the world, next year simply cannot be a building year. The Spurs need to put their foot on the gas.
They have two All-Stars. They have role players who are limited but are really quite good at their strengths. Castle's ceiling could be an All-Star, and he is easily the best rookie in the league this season.
Related: Spurs to Take on Hornets in Race to the Bottom
The expectation this year was to make the Play-In Tournament at the very least, and then Gregg Popovich's stroke put that on hold before Wembanyama's blood clot issue sealed that coffin. Next season, with plenty of high-level talent, the Spurs need to set their sights on making the playoffs outright as a top-six seed in the Western Conference.
If Wembanyama is really a top-ten player, that shouldn't be too hard of a challenge. This year, we wrote about "learning" and "growing pains" and were really quite patient. Next season, the expectation will be to win and lay a blueprint for future playoff runs. The clock is ticking.
Check out the Inside the Spurs home page for more news, analysis, and must-read articles.
Related: De'Aaron Fox Reveals Spurs Motivation Moving Forward
Copyright 2025 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 11:19 AM.
Sports Pass is your ticket to Kansas City sports
#ReadLocal