Jeremy Sochan gave the Trail Blazers a small but promising glimpse on Wednesday night, and it came in the one area that kept him from sticking in San Antonio: the jumper.
In his preseason debut, Sochan posted 10 points in nine minutes and finished plus-12. He hit 4 of 6 shots overall and went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, flashing a smoother-looking shooting motion than the one Spurs fans got used to seeing.
That matters because Sochan’s offensive limitations were always part of the equation with the Spurs. He arrived as a versatile defender and high-effort athlete, but the three-point shot never caught up, and that was a major reason his fit in the Alamo City eventually broke down.
The former Spurs forward was the first of three first-round picks in 2022, taken ninth overall. At the time, he came with real upside: long, active, tough on defense, and capable of finishing at the rim. The shooting was raw, but San Antonio had time to work with him, and the roster wasn’t built to contend right away.
That changed once Victor Wembanyama entered the picture. Sochan was supposed to be a useful defensive piece alongside the franchise center if the Spurs landed the top pick the following summer, and they did.
But once the pairing had to function in real games, the offensive issues showed up fast. The defense helped, but not enough to offset the spacing problem, and a forward who couldn’t shoot made life too cramped around Wembanyama.
Three seasons in, Sochan still hadn’t developed into a reliable outside threat, and there wasn’t much of a midrange game to lean on either. Meanwhile, the rest of the roster moved forward faster than he did, and San Antonio eventually decided it no longer needed him.
The Spurs were proven right quickly enough. After moving on from the ex-Baylor Bear, they reached the NBA Finals immediately.
Sochan’s next stop was with the Knicks, but that stint didn’t produce much. He signed there after San Antonio waived him midseason, only to play very little, collect several DNPs, and become a non-factor in the postseason.
Now he’s on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, which means Wednesday’s nine-minute showing doesn’t change much on its own. He still has work to do, and he still has three preseason games left to make his case. If the improved shooting holds, he could carve out a standard contract somewhere in the league.
For plenty of Spurs fans, that would be an easy storyline to pull for. Sochan didn’t do anything wrong; he just didn’t develop quickly enough to stay in place. If this is the start of a real offensive turnaround, it would be a welcome one.
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Dylan Harper is part of that equation, too, with the Spurs expecting him to shoulder a much larger offensive load as the second unit settles in. How quickly that group comes together may go a long way toward determining how far this playoff push can travel, because San Antonio does not need its bench to be perfect. It just needs the reserves to hold the line often enough, and maybe even tilt a few games, when the stars are off the floor. [Read more 🡒]
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The focus now is less on results than on fit. The Spurs want to sort out spacing, ball movement and defensive balance with this trio on the floor, using these preseason minutes to build chemistry and learn how much they can ask of the combination. It is the kind of lineup question that can linger well beyond the exhibition schedule, because the answer could help define how San Antonio structures its backcourt rotation when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
P.J. Washington Is Already Shaping A Mavericks Rookie Behind The Scenes
The Spurs got an early look at Dylan Harper in Fridays preseason opener, even if the lineup script changed before tipoff. Mitch Johnson had planned to start Harper in place of Julian Champagnie, but the personnel shuffle opened the door for Champagnie to keep the spot while Harper still made a strong first impression, giving San Antonio another reminder of why his arrival has become such a focal point for the fall.
Harpers debut fit neatly into a broader camp theme around the Spurs: the young core is being asked to grow fast, and the veterans are being asked to help steer it. Johnson and several players have already pointed to Devin Vassells progress as a leader, while across the division, Dallas has shown how much behind-the-scenes teaching matters, with P.J. Washington already working with rookie Morez Johnson Jr. on the Mavericks side of things. [Read more 🡒]