The stars shine bright in the playoffs, where rotations are tightened and the ball is in the hands of the anointed, but this postseason provides a reminder that the role players matter if the goal is to contend. Top-end talent is a must, but a championship team needs contributions from less heralded and cheaper guys.
With Victor Wembanyama in place, De’Aaron Fox to handle the ball in the perimeter, and the second overall pick in the draft, the Spurs are entering a period where they should be set in terms of star power. If Stephon Castle makes a leap, they could even have it in spades. But their inability to find diamonds in the rough in recent years is a little concerning, thinking about the future.
It’s surprising that this is even a worry for San Antonio, since the franchise was among the best at finding value late in the draft and in the free agency scrap heap. They were the “who’s that guy?” kings back in their contending days. Naturally, it was easier to focus efforts on finding good role players with a championship core in place. In fact, it’s possible to say that without one, the complementary pieces won’t reveal themselves. Luguentz Dort wouldn’t be as valuable on a team that asked him to create because it lacked perimeter stars and a guy like Aaron Nesmith wouldn’t shine with an improving but still in-development squad the way he does in the well-oiled machine that is the Pacers. Talent is great, but especially for complementary pieces, fit is the key that unlocks their true value.
Still, one of the biggest problems the front season has had in recent years is finding or developing good role players. They picked Derrick White in the last year of Manu Ginobili’s career, before Kawhi Leonard demanded a trade. Since then, there were some big misses in the first round (Josh Primo, Luka Samanic), and, outside of the lottery, only Keldon Johnson seems to be a hit. They found Tre Jones in the second round, which was a safe but smart pick, but they didn’t unearth any gems, unless Harrison Ingram makes an unexpected leap any time soon. No one outside of the lottery selections, except for maybe Keldon, would be in the rotation for any of the best teams in the league. Some are already out of the NBA and it wouldn’t be shocking to find others following them soon. The Spurs have not been great in the margins of the draft recently.
There is one find in free agency that restores some of the faith in this front office’s ability to find talent where others don’t see it. Julian Champagnie was waived by the 76ers, picked up by the Spurs, and signed to one of the best non-rookie scale contracts in the league. Champagnie is not some hidden star, but he’s a 23-year-old undrafted player who has already given San Antonio 3,700 minutes and could realistically be in the rotation for an expensive team looking for a cheap 3-and-D guy. Other than him, however, there haven’t been many success stories. Drew Eubanks and Jock Landale are still around the league, but not getting many minutes. Keita Bates-Diop is in China. Trey Lyles has had a nice career in Sacramento, but he was a former lottery pick and not an obscure find, as was Zach Collins. Maybe Sandro Mamukelashvili and Charles Bassey can still turn things around, but it doesn’t seem likely.
Normally, worrying about a non-contending team finding complementary pieces would seem like putting the cart before the horse, and the Spurs do have a way to get affordable talent to put around the core as it gets expensive. They have two lottery picks incoming in this draft and many potentially high first-rounders in the upcoming years, due to swaps. Players who would not be cheap or come off the bench in their prime could fill the spots that normally go to the role guys that San Antonio has not had the luck or the opportunity to find yet. Recycling through young guys on rookie contracts to fill the rotation instead of finding diamonds in the rough could work for a while.
Eventually, the Spurs will need to find their own Ty Jeromes, Andrew Nembhards, and Naz Reids, just like they found Patty Mills, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter in the past. As affordable rookie contracts turn into expensive extensions, it will be paramount to do so to build something durable in a cost-conscious franchise and a league that penalizes spending and restricts transactions.
Hopefully, the Spurs’ brain trust will show it still has the eye for underrated talent that allowed it to surround its stars with great complementary pieces, and the misses of the recent past are just the result of the inherent uncertainty and turmoil that comes with rebuilding.