Jeremy Sochan’s next stop comes with no guarantees, and that says plenty about where things stand.
The former San Antonio Spurs lottery pick has signed a non-guaranteed one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, which means he’ll have to earn his way onto the roster in training camp. For a player taken ninth overall a little more than three years ago, that’s a sharp turn. Sochan did land with the New York Knicks after being released by the Spurs last season and won a championship, but he never carved out a real role there and now gets another shot in Portland.
Back in San Antonio, the decision to keep Sochan on the bench last season - even when he was healthy - looks better by the day. Coach Mitch Johnson clearly understood that Sochan’s lack of shooting wouldn’t fit next to Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
Instead, the Spurs leaned into spacing and made sure at least two shooters were on the floor with Wemby at all times. The numbers backed it up.
San Antonio’s best lineups by net rating last season included De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes or Julian Champagnie, and Wembanyama. That group made sense. A starting five with Sochan at power forward simply wouldn’t have.
That’s part of why the Spurs’ decision to move on from him looks so sound now. Their 2022 NBA Draft class could end up being remembered as the worst in team history after Sochan didn’t pan out.
Going 0-3 in the first round is rough, especially with the 2021 NBA Draft already featuring Joshua Primo. Moving on.
Still, San Antonio found ways to soften the blow. Champagnie came off the scrap heap and Harrison Barnes got a career reset, and both helped the Silver and Black make the NBA Finals last season. More recently, the Spurs added Carter Bryant and Tobias Harris, giving them more depth at forward and making Sochan even less central to their plans.
The Blazers, meanwhile, have quietly become a familiar destination for former Spurs. Drew Eubanks, Blake Wesley, Sidy Cissoko, and now maybe Sochan have all taken that route.
If Sochan makes Portland’s roster, he could find a role on an improved team that might run into San Antonio again in the playoffs. If that happens, the Spurs may be seeing a lot more of him soon.
In Other News...
Mavericks Lock In Undrafted Standout With Intriguing Extension
Naji Marshall is now set to stick with Dallas a little longer after agreeing to a three-year contract extension, a move that gives the Mavericks more clarity with one of their more useful rotation pieces. The structure of the deal is noteworthy, too, with the salary declining from $18.2 million in the 2027/28 season to $16.7 million in 2029/30, a setup that keeps him trade-eligible and gives the team some flexibility down the road.
For a Mavericks team trying to build around dependable, adaptable players, Marshalls appeal is easy to understand. President Masai Ujiri pointed to his competitiveness and versatility as reasons he fits into the franchises future, and that kind of profile tends to matter even more when roster decisions start getting tight. The extension locks in an important piece, but it also leaves open the larger question of how Dallas will continue shaping the rest of its core. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Has Spurs Fans Dreaming Bigger Than Just Stardom
Victor Wembanyama keeps turning the spotlight into something bigger for San Antonio. Fresh off a season that saw him lead the Spurs to the NBA Finals, win Defensive Player of the Year and finish as an MVP finalist, he has now been named the cover athlete for the standard edition of NBA 2K27. Add in CBS Sports placing him No. 2 on its list of the leagues faces, behind only LeBron James, and the message is hard to miss: the Spurs star is no longer just a building block, he is becoming one of the leagues defining names.
For Spurs fans, the appeal goes beyond the accolades and the marketing. Wembanyama already has the rsum of a franchise centerpiece, but the conversation around him is starting to sound like something larger, the kind of status reserved for players who shape the leagues image as much as its standings. San Antonio has spent years waiting for a player who could restore that kind of gravitational pull, and Wembanyamas latest honors only sharpen the question of how far this rise can go. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face Early Jayden Quaintance Decision That Could Shape His Rookie Year
Jayden Quaintances rookie year has already turned into a roster-management puzzle for the Spurs. The first-round pick is coming off knee surgery, and the expectation is that he will be sidelined for about six months, which puts his availability for next season in serious doubt before it even begins. For a team trying to map out its frontcourt rotation, that creates an early choice about how to handle a young big man whose development may matter just as much as his health.
San Antonio can afford to be patient, especially with other center options in the mix in Tarris Reed Jr. and Luke Kornet. The bigger question is whether the Spurs see more value in keeping Quaintance completely out for the season or finding a way to ease him back once he is cleared so he can get real game reps somewhere in the system. However they answer it, the decision will say a lot about how the Spurs want to balance long-term development against the realities of a season that starts without him. [Read more 🡒]