San Antonio may be only hours into free agency, but the shape of this roster already looks pretty clear. The Spurs didn’t need a flurry of moves to get there. They were deep before the offseason even started, and that depth has left them with a few real decisions to sort through once training camp opens.
Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and Dylan Harper all have roles that feel established. The real tension comes a little lower on the ladder, where several players are fighting for the kind of minutes that can swing a season. Mitch Johnson is going to have to sort through it, but the players themselves will do plenty of the work in camp before opening night in October.
One of the clearest battles is at backup center, where Luke Kornet and Tarris Reed Jr. are set to compete for minutes behind Wembanyama. Kornet was brought in last summer to handle that job, and he did that well in the regular season.
The playoffs told a different story, though, and San Antonio responded by adding more size with Reed and Jayden Quaintance. Quaintance is still likely to be working his way back from a knee injury in September, which leaves Reed with a real opening.
He brings more athleticism, and if his jump shot carries over from an empty gym to a full arena, he adds another layer offensively. There should be minutes for both, but the question is who claims more of them.
Another spot worth watching is the starting power forward role, where Julian Champagnie is trying to hold off Carter Bryant. Champagnie already won that job from Harrison Barnes last season, and he just signed a three-year contract yesterday.
Even so, that doesn’t lock anything in. Bryant is coming hard, and he has the kind of athletic profile that can make this a legitimate fight.
Besides Castle, he’s the most athletic player on the roster, and his game isn’t just about flash. Bryant can impact both ends, using that burst to recover, block shots at the rim, and still bring value as a three-point shooter and rim-runner.
If he cleans up the mistakes, he’s got a strong case to start.
Then there’s Dylan Harper, whose role may be the most interesting of all. Training camp may not settle everything for him, but every positive step matters.
The more trust he builds, the more the coaching staff can ask of him. In a roster this deep, there will be no shortage of players who deserve closing minutes, but only five can be on the floor when the game tightens up.
Harper’s postseason work already gave the Spurs something to build on.
He’s a star, and eventually he’ll take over as the starter whenever it’s time to move on from Fox. For now, though, he looks built for a sixth-man role, and that should give him plenty of chances to leave his mark. By midseason at the latest, he could be closing games on a nightly basis.
For the Spurs, that’s the good problem. Most of the roster is already in place, and that kind of stability matters.
The uncertainty is concentrated in a few key battles, and those margins may end up shaping a lot of what this team becomes before the season even starts. Whether it’s Bryant winning the starting job, Reed carving out backup center minutes, or Harper becoming the late-game answer, these are the fights that could matter most.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Find Themselves In A Frustrating Knicks Free Agency Fight
The backup-center market has become a small but meaningful subplot for San Antonio as the offseason unfolds. The Spurs are looking for more certainty behind their frontcourt rotation, and Luke Kornet is part of the conversation as the team weighs whether it needs a real upgrade or can lean on younger internal options to handle the job.
New York is in the same search, only with a little more urgency attached to it. The Knicks have a glaring hole behind Karl-Anthony Towns, and the lack of a current backup center on the roster has put them in the same lane as San Antonio, even if the Spurs have more flexibility thanks to a handful of recent draft picks who could step into the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Donovan Just Sent Bulls Fans A Brutal Final Message
Billy Donovans next stop is a long way from the spotlight he occupied in Chicago. After stepping down as Bulls head coach in April, Donovan is heading to San Antonio to join Mitch Johnsons staff, marking a rare return to the assistant ranks for the first time in more than 30 years. It is a notable shift for a veteran coach who has spent most of his career running the show, and it gives the Spurs another experienced voice as they continue building around Johnson.
The move also closes the door on any lingering idea of Donovan resurfacing in Chicago after his departure. He left the Bulls following discussions with ownership and did not return, and now he is stepping into the role previously held by Sean Sweeney on Johnsons staff. For San Antonio, it is a significant addition to the bench. For Bulls fans, it is the final reminder that Donovans chapter there has ended for good. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Still Have One Roster Problem Tobias Harris Didnt Solve
Tobias Harris gave the Spurs the kind of depth and lineup flexibility they wanted when they brought him in, but his arrival did not close every hole on the roster. San Antonio still has work to do in the frontcourt, where Victor Wembanyama is locked in as the starter and the team needs a dependable backup center to help absorb the regular-season load.
Luke Kornets playoff stint made the issue harder to ignore, and the Spurs still have two open roster spots to work with as they sort through the next move. Whether they lean toward a veteran, a younger option or another route entirely, the need is clear: Wembanyama cannot be asked to carry every minute at center, and San Antonio still has to find the right big man to spell him. [Read more 🡒]