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The Spurs dropped heartbreaking Minnesota on their 2021 Las Vegas Summer League debut. And while returning to San Antonio with an annual league extravagance trophy would be nice, final scores don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.
At its core, the Summer League is a unique showcase of blossoming talent announcing their arrival and of companions clinging to the fringes of NBA existence. These athletes often don’t know each other and only have a few days to synchronize.
As you might expect, this concoction of players with drastically different backgrounds and goals makes this a somewhat sloppy product. Yet this controlled chaos is where franchises and fans get their first idea of how they fared in the writing process.
Less than two weeks ago, PATFO bet on an 18-year-old Alamba named Josh Primo with the 12th pick overall. And the year before, they invested the 11th pick on Devin Vassell, a lanky swingman with divine defensive instincts and a fluid shot.
Don’t forget Tre Jones or Joe Wieskamp, San Antonio’s more recent second-round picks. All four prospects adapted to the Silver and Black on Monday to varying degrees of success, so let’s dive into their performances as they find their place in Sin City.
Devin Vassell (23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers of 6 of 16)
Devin Vassell has been given the green light in Salt Lake City, and it looks like head coach Mitch Johnson intends to involve the 20-year-old winger as much as possible in the offense. The Florida State product had 16 field goal attempts, a record for the team, and while his shots didn’t fall in the first half, he found other ways to gain momentum. .
Before we gloss over his struggles, let’s talk about why Vassell struggled so hard to generate offense for himself. As encouraging as it was to watch Devin patiently use screens to get to his posts, nearly all of his mid-range jumpers have failed. When he was tasked with creating the dribble, it was clear he still had work to do to diversify his dribbling package.
Despite criticism, Devin played the role of a benchmark goalscorer as well as one could hope to come out of a rookie season in which he saw inconsistent minutes as a low-use off-ball threat. Vassell put pressure on the rim in transition, hitting the line eight times late in the night. He also pulled off a pair of passes, turning the defense into opportunities for a quick break.
Speaking of defense, that’s really Vassell’s strong suit at this point in his career. His notoriety as the defender of the team is absolutely off the charts for someone who cannot legally buy a drink. His ridiculous length, combined with his quick feet, allows him to make calculated bets in passing lanes without leaving his teammates exposed.
Josh Primo (8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers of 3 of 11)
The first word that comes to mind with Primo is potential. And the second word that comes to my mind is inconsistency. The 2021 lottery pick wasn’t at its best during his Las Vegas Summer League debut. But as we’ve discussed many times before, patience and perspective are key when it comes to dissecting the Canadian teenager.
His reps on the ball left me both stunned and frustrated. There were times when he donned incredibly impressive dribbling combinations that left his defender turning around. There were possessions where he whipped up nasty one-handed live dribbling passes that some veterans would never dream of trying.
He also did too much and paid the price with turnovers. Balance is a word the coaching staff have used to describe Primo. That said, the rookie looked out of place with the ball in his hands and play in play, telegraphing his target, nearly flipping it and forcing Tre Jones into difficult isolation beyond the arc.
There were a few misguided faults in the mix, although he’s solid as a man-to-man defender. While missing a few rotations here and there, Primo kept his head on a pivot and was generally in the right position. Overall, Spurs fans should have an incredibly positive outlook on what can become of the youngest player in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Tre Jones (16 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 of 6 of 14 turnovers)
It certainly didn’t look like Tre Jones was breaking concussion protocols with the way he played on Monday. The undersized ground general led the attack like a ten-year veteran and showed a new willingness to shoot the ball three-way. There were a few weak spots, although it could be argued that the former Blue Devil was San Antonio’s best player.
Jones always found the open-man when operating out of the pick-and-roll, delivering picturesque pocket passes to the roll-man. His ability to see the ground and make assists in corners was an encouraging sight for a team that was largely devoid of a main playmaker during their brief stint in Salt Lake City.
Tre almost always works at a disadvantage due to his frame, but that never stops him from getting under his opponent’s skin. He’s a fierce defender of attack points, and his lightning-fast reflexes and athleticism help him stay focused on his missions. There’s a reason he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and it was exposed against Minnesota.
Joe Wieskamp (3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 in 1 of 1 turnaround)
There’s not much to say about Joe Wieskamp in this one. The six-seven sniper pulled off his only shot of the night and registered three boards in fifteen minutes. He also had defensive miscommunication which led to a massive fall.
Hopefully better nights are ahead for the 21-year-old goalie. The defense didn’t let him out of sight once he knocked down his first three of the game, and as far as I know, he wasn’t a big part of San Antonio’s game plan.
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