Place Your Bets On Blake Wesley To Lead The San Antonio Spurs To Greatness Once Again
The San Antonio Spurs don’t care about winning. Not after All-Star PG, DeJounte Murray was shipped to Atlanta. The Spurs are trying to rebuild; retool a system that has been synonymous with winning for over 20 years. With that comes a chance to develop new stars. Finding the next Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, or Tony Parker is not an easy task by any account. Of course, it can be done. That is especially true with an organization such as San Antonio.
If a betting man were to throw down his life savings on the new face of the franchise, probably best to go all-in on Blake Wesley. Not exactly who you’d think of first? That’s a fair thing to ask yourself. Wesley wasn’t thought of as a 1st round pick going into the college season. A 4-Star recruit from South Bend, Indiana, Wesley opted to stay local and attend Notre Dame. The Irish have had some moderate success in the collegiate basketball landscape as of late, however, Wesley seems to be the biggest prospect to come out of the ACC school in years.
Standing at 6’5, Wesley is a very intriguing talent to NBA evaluators. He has the size of a true combo guard in today’s NBA. While many might view Wesley as a scoring guard (evident by his robust scoring numbers in the Sumner League), Wesley shows a lot of promise, not only as a scorer but as a facilitator. He shares a very similar game to what Murray brought to San Antonio. A scorer at heart; a player who sets up his teammates at the right moments.
The Spurs are in uncharted territory. They are in the midst of a rebuild. This is a franchise associated with winning. Going into a season knowing a playoff berth is not going to be the main goal (I suppose last year was the same), can’t be familiar territory for fans in San Antonio. Wesley is of upmost importance in this rebuild. The Spurs have Keldon Johnson, a fringe All-Star talent who is going to be on a lot of shortlists for Most Improved Player this preseason, he is primed for a breakout. There is Baylor forward, Jeremy Sochan, a rookie who can evolve into an All-NBA defender. Add to the mix, Malakai Branham, another rookie scoring threat like Wesley that burst on the scene at Ohio State last season. Last but not least, Josh Primo, a sophomore guard who is going to earn a lot more minutes and opportunities this year with departures of certain players.
In all honesty, and this isn’t a dig at any of those names, this will be Wesley’s team. Johnson and Sochan aside, as they play primarily as frontcourt options, Primo and Branham aren’t the overall talents that Wesley is. Primo has a fundamental feel for the point guard position; he’s not a real scoring threat. Branham could be a true dominant scorer; he’s not a passer nor is he a sure thing to be that true elite scorer. Wesley, he’s about as solid as you can expect from a rookie. Branham and Primo (despite the latter playing in his second NBA season) are more mysterious in terms of an NBA floor or ceiling.
Wesley has a solid basketball IQ. He’s able to play the point as it is intended, with that precision of Tony Parker, and, while some may disagree, has the scoring upside of Manu Ginobli. I can’t envision a scenario where he is not an All-Star in 3 years. Wesley’s size (as stated previously) gives him a distinct advantage, and as someone who has all of these attributes, he will make a seamless transition to the Spurs style of play.
I’m still of firm belief that Johnson, a breakout player in the Bubble and improved overall last season, is going to be the focal point of the team for a good portion of the season. San Antonio, who again are in unfamiliar territory with losing, are going to look to develop him and feature him as the star. That is until Wesley is ready to breakthrough.
Look at how DeJounte Murray was brought along. It was rather slow and at a comfortable pace (eerily similar to most of the Spurs stars outside of Duncan). At that time, the Spurs thought winning was more prevalent than developing. While they still did plenty of the latter, the main goal was the victories. Now, it would appear the main goal is development to garner those victories, creating a new dynasty in the West. Wesley doesn’t need to step up instantly. He’s not a top pick. Most can expect him to sneak under the radar, given he wasn’t even San Antonio’s first or second first round pick.
That scenario allow Wesley time to adjust to the league. While this might be a stretch, it will allow him and Johnson the opportunity to be the league’s next dominant championship duo. Murray, as good as he was, wasn’t thought of as an All-Star guard when drafted. Wesley isn’t either, although outside of the first 4 or 5 picks, who is in the NBA?
San Antonio knew when they took him on Murray he was capable of great things, that’s obvious when a team selects anyone. Murray being traded to Atlanta to pair alongside the most dominant scoring point guard in the league today (yeah, I said it), wasn’t exactly what many thought would occur on his draft night. Him being seen as the centerpiece for a massive all-in trade. Perhaps, that’s the path for Wesely? He will be given a long leash and a lot of time to grow. He’s not expected to win or produce right away. San Antonio isn’t going to make a massive deal to trade him either, as he, and all of these other additions, will be used as pieces for a dynasty.
We can’t say for sure if San Antonio has success in this semi rebuild. Winning is not a given in the NBA, or any sport. They most certainly have the players and staff in place to achieve success sooner rather than later. The franchise has done this before. Wesley is going to be a, if not the catalyst for that spark. You can assure yourself of that.
Image Source: Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
