The San Antonio Spurs have found something promising in Carter Bryant, and that makes one old mistake worth remembering.
Bryant looks like a real piece for the future, but the Spurs have to be careful not to repeat the path they took with Jeremy Sochan. Sochan arrived with plenty of intrigue as a do-it-all defender who could guard one through five and grow into a three-and-D type. Instead of letting that profile develop naturally, San Antonio pushed him into a bigger offensive role and had him run point guard during his sophomore season.
On paper, there was logic to it. Sochan had enough ball-handling to try it, at least in theory.
In practice, it was rough. The Spurs spiraled into a franchise-worst 24-game losing streak, and Point-Sochan became part of an offense that simply never got off the ground.
That stretch did help San Antonio land the fourth overall pick, which they used on Stephon Castle, and that move has worked out well. But the experiment came at a cost for Sochan.
His sophomore year was thrown off course, an injury interrupted what looked like a breakout third season, and another injury in year four slowed his start. He never settled into a real role on the Spurs’ rebuilt roster.
By the end, Sochan never became the foundational young piece many expected. He was eventually waived and signed by the New York Knicks. That’s the warning sign sitting in front of the Spurs now.
Bryant is not Sochan, even if the comparison makes sense at a glance. The Spurs have avoided turning him into a point guard and have instead used him in short but useful stretches in a role that fits him. That alone is a better start.
The biggest separator is the shot. Bryant has already shown he’s a much better shooter, knocking down 64 threes across the regular season and playoffs.
That’s more than Sochan made over the last two seasons combined, and it nearly topped Sochan’s career-high of 70 as a rookie. Bryant also hit 12 of 29 threes in the playoffs, good for 41.4 percent, which is a better 20-game shooting run than Sochan has ever put together.
Athletically, Bryant brings more to the table too. Sochan is the bigger power forward type, while Bryant can move between the three and the four. Bryant also looks quicker, though Sochan was the more polished defender when he first came into the league.
That’s why Bryant’s ceiling feels different. He looks like a real candidate to become the kind of three-and-D wing the Spurs hoped Sochan would be.
Sochan never fully put the shooting piece together. The Spurs will be hoping Bryant does.
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