By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2026-02-19 01:57:05
在截止日前那些潜在交易流言之后，杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 在圣安东尼奥的时光以一种比预期更平淡的方式画上了句号。索汉被裁掉并加盟了尼克斯，而马刺则利用腾出的名额签下了梅森·普拉姆利 (Mason Plumlee) 以增强中锋深度。这段曾经令人兴奋的合作关系，最终落得一个平庸的结局。
索汉是后德里克·怀特 (Derrick White) 交易开启摆烂时代后的第一个乐透秀。他是一个充满魅力、优缺点并存且极具吸引力的基石雛形，在那些早期的日子里，球迷们理所当然地寄希望于他的成长。即便后来他的出场时间减少，在重建中的重要性下降，球迷们对他依然保有深厚的情感，因此看到他离开确实令人惋惜。
问题在于，哪里出了错？索汉认为是因为教练不给机会，且两人政见不合。显而易见，自米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 接手以来，他对索汉的评价远不及格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich)。但在此之前发生的事情，对于理解为什么一位曾经的乐透秀会在新秀合同到期前就被裁掉，以及为什么这并不令人意外，同样至关重要。
在波波维奇麾下，马刺曾极力尝试，但未能如愿
讨论索汉，必须从他面对的角色和位置的不稳定性说起。包括我在内的绝大多数人都讨厌“控卫索汉”的实验，原因很简单：他当时并不具备成功转型所需的技能。对于他的位置而言，索汉是不错的持球手和传球手，但他并不适合担任持球组织者，尤其是在当时的阵容配置下。这看起来像是在强人所难。在当时看来，这种做法完全让人摸不着头脑。
回过头看，这可能是为了在索汉被判定无法胜任常规大前锋后，强行让他留在场上的一种方式。最可能的解释是：这是一种在进攻端通过让他担任少数不需要稳定三分投射的角色——即第一持球手，来掩盖他投篮短板的尝试。（这也可能是马刺在拥有德阿伦·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 的情况下，依然选择由斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 组织进攻的原因。）所谓为了开发他的策应能力的说法，在他随后的角色转变中不攻自破。
在控卫实验失败后，马刺将索汉转移到了另一个即便不投篮也能生存的角色：顺下型中锋。索汉作为无球终结者的适配度更高。他设立扎实的掩护并顺下，在底线附近寻找空切机会，并在防守者过度补防时冲抢进攻篮板。随着维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 投射能力的开发，他能够为索汉拉开空间。两人在防守端互换角色：文班负责禁区扫荡，索汉负责贴防对方持球手。这在进攻端确实奏效，也让教练组能把最强的外线防守者留在场上。
问题在于，围绕索汉建队毫无意义。他并不是球星，他的技能也并非无可替代。在没有更好选择时，教练组尽力弥补，但当斯蒂芬·卡斯尔接替了他的外线防守，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 和卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 提供了他曾拥有的活力和前场板时，索汉的出场时间自然缩水。是的，米奇·约翰逊本可以尝试让索汉与文班、凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk) 共同上场，他也确实试过几次。但随着拥有相似防守潜力且投篮没有缺陷的卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 的到来（巧合的是，后者的职业生涯伊始正是索汉合同结束之时），教练组选择了关注未来。
马刺本可以尝试让索汉只打大前锋，看他自生自灭。但他们正确地意识到，如果没有投射，后者的可能性更大。在强队中，很少有技术特点类似索汉的球员能获得稳定的时间。
也许索汉几年后会证明马刺是错的，但这看起来不太可能
这是否意味着索汉在 NBA 无立足之地？当然不是，马刺已经证明了这一点。有一种简单的“使用说明书”能让他发挥作用：进攻端放在中锋位置配合空间型外线内线，防守端防外线得分手，并利用他的比赛强度和侵略性。你不会围着索汉建队，也不会在有更好选择时拼命给他挤时间，但如果你目前的阵容能容纳他的特质，他能提供贡献。尼克斯就是这样一支球队。卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 在明尼苏达时曾让贾里德·范德比尔特 (Jarred Vanderbilt)（与索汉最相似的球员之一）获得了一份续约合同，他现在也能对索汉起到同样的作用。
即使投篮从未完全开发，只要其他技能有所提升，索汉仍有机会在联盟立足 10 年。小德里克·琼斯 (Derrick Jones Jr.) 和图马尼·卡马拉 (Toumani Camara) 就是榜样，他们的投篮达到了及格线，足以将运动能力和防守转化为出场时间和千万合同。索汉才 22 岁，投篮仍有转机，一旦练出，职业前景将大幅提升。达到 P.J. 华盛顿 (PJ Washington) 或桑蒂·阿尔达马 (Santi Aldama) 的层级并非不可能。大多数球队不会轻易放弃自己选中的乐透秀，这不仅仅是因为沉没成本。
也许马刺会错过一个稳健的角色球员，但经过三个半赛季，感觉他们并没有错过下一个阿隆·戈登 (Aaron Gordon) 或德雷蒙德·格林 (Draymond Green)。马刺似乎认定他在球场上并无过人之处，这在目前看来是个稳妥的判断。虽然听起来残酷，但他已不再是必需品，不仅是因为他可以被取代，而是他已经被取代了。
告别在黑暗时期代表希望的自家选秀球员总是艰难的。索汉的个性、韧劲以及为了提升甘愿尝试任何角色的态度，让离别更显沉重。他的球迷和那些认为他受到不公对待的人会感到难过，需要时间去接受。但希望他们能最终释然——即便没有索汉，马刺似乎也正朝着选中他那一年的目标稳步前进。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：A final look at the Jeremy Sochan era of Spurs basketball
A final look at the Jeremy Sochan era of Spurs basketball
After the rumors of a potential trade before the deadline, Jeremy Sochan’s time in San Antonio ended with even less fanfare than expected. Sochan was bought out and joined the Knicks, and the Spurs used their open roster spot to sign Mason Plumlee to bolster their center depth. It was a banal ending to what once was an exciting partnership.
Sochan was the first lottery pick of the tank era, which started with the Derrick White trade. He was a charismatic, flawed, intriguing first piece, and fans understandably latched on to his development while looking for hope in those early days. The attachment to Sochan continued even as his minutes dwindled and his importance to the rebuild declined, so it’s sad to see him go.
The question is, what went wrong? Sochan thinks it was a lack of opportunities from a coach with whom he didn’t see eye to eye. It was clear since Mitch Johnson took over that he wasn’t as high on Sochan as Gregg Popovich. But what happened before that is as important to understanding why a former lottery pick ended up waived before his rookie contract expired, and why it wasn’t that big of a surprise.
Under Gregg Popovich, the Spurs tried extremely hard to make things work with Sochan, but failed
Any discussion about Sochan has to start with the inconsistency in roles and positions he faced. Most people, myself included, hated the Point Sochan experiment for good reason: the skills to make it work just weren’t there, at least then. Sochan was a solid ball handler and passer for his position, but he wasn’t suited to be an on-ball creator, especially with the supporting cast he had around him. It seemed like they were setting him up to fail. As it was happening, it made no sense.
Looking back, it was probably done to find a way to keep Sochan on the floor even after his rookie year convinced the decision-makers that he wouldn’t be able to excel as a regular power forward. The most likely explanation for the seemingly nonsensical experiment is that it was an attempt to hide him on offense at one of the few positions/roles in which a consistent three-pointer is not a must: primary ball handler. (It’s also the likely reason why the Spurs are running their offense through Stephon Castle now, despite having De’Aaron Fox around.) The explanation that it was done to help develop his floor game is debunked by the way they used him next.
After their failed primary ball handler experiment, the Spurs moved Sochan to the only other role in which a complementary guy can survive without having to shoot: rim-running center. The fit was better with Sochan as an off-ball finisher. He set good screens and dived, roamed the baseline for dumpoffs, and crashed the offensive glass when the help defender overcommitted. As Victor Wembanyama developed as a shooter, he was able to space the floor for Sochan, and they switched positions on defense, with Victor patrolling the paint and Sochan hounding ball handlers. It worked for Sochan on offense, and it allowed the coaching staff to have their best perimeter defender on the floor.
The problem is that it makes no sense to build a team around Sochan. He’s simply not a star, and his skills weren’t unique enough. When there were no better options, the coaching staff made the pieces fit as well as they could, but when Stephon Castle replaced the perimeter defense he provided, and Keldon Johnson and Luke Kornet supplied the energy and offensive rebounding he used to deliver, Sochan’s minutes dwindled. Yes, Mitch Johnson could have made some room for Sochan next to Wemby and next to Kelly Olynyk, something he tried a few times, but with a potential replacement in place with similar defensive upside and no broken shot in Carter Bryant (coincidentally starting his rookie contract as Sochan’s ended), the coaching staff focused on the future.
The Spurs could have tried to just let Sochan succeed or fail by playing him exclusively at power forward. But they correctly realized that without a shot, the latter was the most likely outcome. There’s a reason very few players who approximate Sochan’s skill set get consistent minutes on good teams.
Maybe Sochan will make the Spurs look silly in a few years, but it doesn’t feel likely
Does that mean Sochan has no place in the NBA? Of course not, as the Spurs themselves proved. There’s a simple recipe that makes him useful: slot him at center on offense next to a perimeter-oriented big man, have him guard perimeter scorers on the other end, and enjoy his intensity and edge. You don’t build a team around Sochan or bend over backwards to find him minutes when you have better options, but if you already have a roster in which his skill set makes sense, he can contribute. The Knicks are such a team. Karl-Anthony Towns got Jarred Vanderbilt, one of the players most similar to Sochan, an extension when the two were in Minnesota, and he could do the same now.
There is a chance Sochan is in the league for 10 more years, even if the shot never develops much, but his other skills do. Derrick Jones Jr. and Toumani Camara, to name a few, have gotten just good enough at shooting that they can leverage their athleticism and defense into playing time and eight-figure deals. Sochan is only 22, so the shot might eventually become viable, and his career prospects would improve massively if that happens. Reaching the PJ Washington/Santi Aldama tier is not out of the question for him. There is a reason most teams don’t end up waving young players they drafted in the lottery, and it’s not just them falling for the sunk cost fallacy.
So maybe the Spurs will miss out on a solid role player, but after three and a half seasons, it doesn’t feel like they are missing out on the next Aaron Gordon or Draymond Green. They seem convinced that he’s simply not special on the court, which at this point is a safe bet. It might seem harsh to say this, but he’s no longer necessary, not because he’s replaceable, but because he has already been replaced.
It’s always hard to say goodbye to homegrown talent that represented hope during dark times. Sochan’s personality, feistiness, and commitment to doing whatever was asked of him to improve make moving on even more difficult. Those who were fans of his and think he was wronged will be hurt and need their time to mourn. But hopefully, they will eventually find solace in the fact that even without Sochan, the Spurs seem on their way to reaching the goal they set for themselves the year they drafted him.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock