By Marilyn Dubinski | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-07-16 03:02:38
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
随着马刺阵容深度的增加，他们的三名三年级球员中有两人还有很多需要证明，如果他们想长期留队的话。
总的来说，圣安东尼奥马刺队在选秀和自由球员市场上所做的事情正是球迷们希望他们做的。他们选中了未来潜在的控球后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)，并在他们最薄弱的位置——控球后卫和前锋——上增加了老将克里斯·保罗(Chris Paul)和哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)，他们也应该都能帮助马刺解决外线投篮和组织进攻方面的问题。
仅仅是这些引援就为我们展望下赛季的轮换阵容创造了一些有趣的讨论话题。我们已经知道保罗将成为首发控球后卫，这意味着特雷·琼斯(Tre Jones)将成为他的替补，但首发阵容还会如何变化呢？为了巴恩斯的交易腾出空间而幸免于被裁掉的朱利安·尚帕尼(Julian Champagnie)可能会被移到替补席，但谁来取代他呢？卡斯尔会立即被安排到首发阵容中担任无球的角色吗？还是巴恩斯会成为首发球员？
不管发生什么，老将的加入肯定会让马刺队比上赛季更有深度，第二阵容大概率由琼斯、凯尔登·约翰逊(Keldon Johnson)和扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)领衔（称我为乐观主义者吧，但我相信他会恢复到2022-23赛季的状态），再加上卡斯尔、巴恩斯或尚帕尼的某种组合，这取决于首发阵容的安排。更不用说，还有三个空余的名单位置可以用，马刺队可以用这些位置来增加阵容深度，或者重新签下像桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukelashvili)、查尔斯·巴斯(Charles Bassey)或赛迪·奥斯曼(Cedi Osman)这样的被放弃的球员。
话虽如此，我发现自己在猜测下赛季的潜在轮换阵容时，忽略了几个名字：马拉基·布拉汉姆和布莱克·韦斯利。虽然后者在他两年的职业生涯中一直进进出出轮换阵容，但前者通常都在轮换阵容中，无论是在首发还是替补角色。然而，在考虑轮换阵容时，我总是忘记布拉汉姆，这可能说明了一些问题。
在布拉汉姆的两个赛季中，他都是开局缓慢，然后才扭转局面，但上赛季对他来说仍然有点二年级新秀墙的意思。尽管他的三分球命中率从30%跃升至近35%，但他的其他数据都有所下降，包括他的整体投篮命中率、场均得分和上场时间。他不是一个好的组织者，场均只有2次助攻，而且作为一名射手被选中，他在过去两个赛季中更多地是马刺队糟糕进攻的一部分，而不是解决方案。
至于韦斯利，他在职业生涯仅仅两场比赛就遭遇了膝伤，他的新秀赛季表现不佳情有可原，但任何希望在他第二个赛季看到更多表现的人都会感到失望。由于2023年夏季联赛的表现不佳，他在常规赛中的几乎所有数据都出现了下滑，唯一值得注意的提升是他的两分球命中率（这只能是在经历了一个灾难性的新秀赛季后才会出现，他在篮筐附近的命中率排在整个联盟的倒数）。他仍然很粗糙，缺乏纪律性，但他的运动能力和防守意识确实提供了一些引人入胜的地方。
在正常情况下，我们会假设布拉汉姆和韦斯利都会得到他们应得的四年时间来证明自己，然后再做打算。不幸的是，部分原因是时间线的变化，他们中的一个或两个可能无法获得完整的四年机会。随着马刺队幸运地选中了维克多·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)，重建进程加快了，而保罗和巴恩斯的加入表明，虽然马刺队没有反应过度，但他们正在加快速度，这将不会是一个完全自然而然的重建过程。
再加上马刺队明年可能有2到4个首轮选秀权（他们自己的和老鹰队的选秀权，以及潜在的公牛队前10顺位保护和黄蜂队前14顺位保护），以及2027年的两个选秀权，他们可能很快就会没有名额给任何没有证明自己的年轻球员。现在，在所有仍在履行新秀合同的球员中，布拉汉姆和韦斯利发现自己最接近这种危险的境地。
马刺队在2024-25赛季开始前还有24个小时的时间来执行他们和杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)的第四年球队选项，虽然索汉肯定会被执行，但布拉汉姆和韦斯利中的一个或两个可能就没有那么幸运了。据悉，马刺队似乎正在按照一年的时间线运作，假设他们希望在2025年自由球员市场更加激烈的情况下保持薪资空间的清洁。
巴恩斯的加入对他们明年的薪资空间造成了1700万美元的损失，他的合同还剩两年。如果他们不执行布拉汉姆和韦斯利的第四年选项，那么在2025-26赛季，他们将节省近1000万美元的薪资空间。即使马刺队执行了他们的第四年选项，也很难想象他们在两名球员都没有取得巨大进步的情况下还会与他们续约。否则，他们将在2026年成为自由球员。
这并不是说马刺队应该放弃这两名球员中的任何一个。他们每个人都有一套独特的技能，并且仍然有另一个层次可以解锁，但是当需要开始缩减阵容为升级腾出空间的时候，他们的弱点可能很难被忽视。两人都没有被证明是可靠的控球后卫（如果琼斯明年夏天离开的话），而且他们的投篮能力都不足以在得分后卫的位置上帮助球队拉开空间。他们也缺乏卡斯尔那样的防守纪律性和潜力，或者说他们可能会在明年选秀大会上选择更有深度的球员。
在马刺队的所有年轻球员中，布拉汉姆和韦斯利承受的压力比任何人都大，他们需要证明自己，而即将到来的这个赛季可能是他们在马刺队未来计划中赢得一席之地的最后机会。
点击查看原文：Time may be running short for Branham and Wesley to prove themselves to the Spurs
Time may be running short for Branham and Wesley to prove themselves to the Spurs
As the Spurs get deeper, two of their three third-year players have plenty to prove if they want to stay long-term.
For the most part, the San Antonio Spurs have done what fans wanted them to do in the draft and free agency. They drafted their potential point-guard-of-the-future in Stephon Castle and added veteran help at their weakest positions — point guard and forward — in Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, who should also both help with the Spurs’ outside shooting and playmaking woes.
Just those additions alone have created some intriguing rotation discussions when looking ahead to next season. We already know that Paul will be the starting point guard, which means Tre Jones will be his backup, but how else will the starting lineup change? Julian Champagnie, who survived being waived to make room for the Barnes trade, will likely be moved to a bench role, but who will replace him? Will Castle immediately get thrown into a starting role off the ball, or will Barnes be a starter?
Whatever happens, the veteran additions certainly make the Spurs much deeper than last season, with a second unit presumably led by Jones, Keldon Johnson, and Zach Collins (call me an optimist, but I have faith he will return to his 2022-23 form) plus some combination of Castle, Barnes or Champagnie, depending on how the starting lineup shakes out. Not to mention, there’s still three open roster spots to work with, which the Spurs could use to bring in more depth or re-sign renounced players such as Sandro Mamukelashvili, Charles Bassey or Cedi Osman.
That being said, I have found myself guilty of forgetting a couple of names when speculating about the potential rotation next season: Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley. While the latter has been in and out of the rotation his entire two-year career, the former has usually been in it, both in starting and bench roles. However, the fact that Branham in particular keeps escaping my mind when thinking about the rotation may be telling.
In both of Branham’s two seasons, he got out to a slow start before turning things around, but last season still represented a bit of a sophomore slump for him. Although his three-point shooting jumped from 30% to almost 35%, the rest of his numbers went down, including his overall shooting numbers, points per game, and minutes played. He’s not much of a playmaker, averaging just 2 assists per game, and for being drafted as a shooter, he has been more a part of the Spurs’ maligned offense the last two seasons rather than a solution.
As for Wesley, he got a pass for his rookie struggles after suffering a knee injury just two games into his career, but anyone who hoped to see more in his second season was left disappointed. With a poor 2023 Summer League showing being a precursor, nearly all of his numbers dipped in the regular season as well, with the only notable rise being in his two-point shooting (which could only going up after a disastrous rookie season, where he was in the bottom percentile of the entire league around the rim). He remains raw and undisciplined, but his athleticism and defensive instincts do provide glimmers of intrigue.
Under normal circumstances, we would be assuming that both Branham and Wesley would get their requisite four years to prove themselves, then go from there. Unfortunately, due in part to a shifting timeline, one or both of them may not get that full opportunity. With the Spurs lucking into Victor Wembanyama, the rebuild has been sped up, and the additions of Paul and Barnes show that while the Spurs aren’t overreacting, they are speeding things up a bit, and this won’t be an entirely organic rebuild.
Add the fact that the Spurs could have anywhere from two to four first round picks next year (their own and the Hawks’ pick, plus potentially the Bulls’ top-10 protected and Hornets top-14 protected) as well as two picks in 2027, and they could very quickly run out of roster spots for any young players who haven’t proven themselves. Right now, of all the players still on rookie contracts, Branham and Wesley find themselves closest to that precarious position.
The Spurs have right up until 24 hours before the 2024-25 regular season starts to exercise the fourth-year team options on them and Jeremy Sochan, and while Sochan is a safe bet to be picked up, one or both of Branham and Wesley may not be so lucky. It has been noted that the Spurs appear to be operating on a one-year time line, with the assumption being that they want to keep the books clean for a much deeper 2025 free agency class.
The addition of Barnes, who has two years left on his contract, puts a $17 million dent in their cap space next summer. If they don’t pick up the 4th year options of Branham and Wesley, that would be nearly $10 million in cap space saved for the 2025-26 season. Even if the Spurs do pick up their 4th year options, it’s hard to imagine them working on extensions for either player without a big leap in production. Otherwise, they would become free agents in 2026.
None of this is to say the Spurs should be giving up on either player. They each bring a unique skillset and still have another level they could unlock, but when the time comes to start trimming the roster to make room for upgrades, their weaknesses may be hard to overlook. Neither has quite proven to be a reliable point guard (should Jones move on next summer), and neither are good enough shooters to help spread the floor at shooting guard. They also lack the defensive discipline and potential upside of someone like Castle or they may pick in next year’s much deeper draft.
Of all the Spurs’ young players, the pressure is on Branham and Wesley to prove themselves more than anyone else, and this upcoming season might be their last chance to earn a spot in the Spurs’ future plans.
By Marilyn Dubinski, via Pounding The Rock