The Spurs struggled in 2023-24, and it certainly wasn’t Victor Wembanyama’s fault.
The San Antonio Spurs were one of the most intriguing teams heading into the 2023-24 campaign because of the arrival of a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama. Despite having low expectations, the Spurs garnered several national television contests because the whole world was excited about what Wembanyama could bring to the table.
Wembanyama has not disappointed as he will be the runaway winner for Rookie of the Year, while possibly being a legitimate contender for the Defensive Player of the Year as well. Even if he is on a stellar rookie season, San Antonio has only won a total of 20 outings, which means there are still a plethora of concerns to rectify for their organization.
Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and head coach Gregg Popovich are some of the building blocks for their organization for years to come. With that, here are some pieces they must ponder on for the offseason.
The person most to blame for the abysmal campaign of the Spurs is starting forward Keldon Johnson. He was a first-round selection in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he has not been a consistent threat in their first unit. The ascension was decent until the 2022-23 season as he averaged 22.0 PPG on 45.2% shooting from the field.
The expectation was for his numbers to elevate to another level, especially with the arrival of Wembanyama, but that has been far from the case. The number of games he has started dropped from 63 to 27 as Popovich has seen his struggles with the current squad. His points have plummeted to 15.7 PPG, and he continues to become a subpar outside shooter with a 34.6% clip from three-point range.
He has three more years in his contract, so the front office must figure out soon if Johnson is part of their long-term plans.
Jeremy Sochan
Another first-round pick who has been struggling is former Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan. At the start of the season, he had a tough adjustment as the starting point guard of the Spurs, which was not completely his fault. However, his weaknesses were heavily exposed as he could not set up the schemes and plays of San Antonio on a consistent basis.
Furthermore, it was easier for defenses to sag off on Sochan because he is only a 30.8% shooter from Rainbow Country. The defense and relentlessness to fight on every possession was still evident on a nightly basis as Popovich has started him in 73 out of the 74 games played. Even if he has been moved to the 4 playing alongside Wembanyama, Sochan will need to be more well-rounded and versatile if he wants to find his niche in the NBA.
Zach Collins
Zach Collins is an underrated headache for the Spurs this year. The coaching staff had a terrific vision of starting Collins with Wembanyama on the San Antonio front court so Wembanyama does not receive the pounding and bruises on the defensive end. This particular strategy turned out to be a disaster because Collins was a non-factor in that role.
The spacing of San Antonio was horrendous because their wings are not shooters, and there are two bigs who are clogging the lane. Collins was a reliable marksman last year as he recorded 37.4% from long distance on 0.9 conversions per game, but that clip drastically dipped to 31.3% this year. The Spurs just signed him to a sizable extension in the offseason, so it would be difficult to pay a backup big man $35 million for the next two seasons.
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