San Antonio Spurs dey face some questions lately, even though dem start di season strong. Di recent loss dem get against di Phoenix Suns bring up debate about whether e be time to upgrade some key positions. Guard Devin Vassell ein play dey under more scrutiny now.
Vassell don play well dis season, but ein production no match ein contract. Spurs dey owe am $105.6 million, wey include three more seasons wey he go dey make around $27 million every year.
Salary cap dey rise, so contracts dey inflate. But Spurs no expect say Vassell go just be good starting guard when dem sign am to five-year extension.
Vassell: Good Starter, But Not Above Average
To ein credit, he dey play well enough wey he no be negative asset. Dis dey preserve Spurs ein ability to trade am, and ein big salary go make am easy to match salaries for star player. E look like Spurs go eventually move on from Vassell as dem go need to consolidate salaries when dem roster dey become more expensive.
If dem extend Julian Champagnie on di cheap, dem go get ready-made replacement already for di roster. Champagnie no be di same level of scorer like Vassell, but he be reliably good shooter and he get more size and defensive versatility too.
Or, Stephon Castle fit be Vassell ein long-term replacement if Spurs fit make di 3-guard trio work. But dat no mean say Vassell no get value pass being stopgap option.
Vassell: Solid, But Not Irreplaceable
He don dey more impactful defensively dis season and he don come up big for fourth quarters by forcing turnovers. Offensively, ein 3-point shooting no rebound to peak 2022-23 levels when he shoot blistering 38.7% on 7.0 3-point attempts per game.
Even though Victor Wembanyama (calf) and Stephon Castle (hip) dey sidelined, Vassell dey give consistent numbers. For di past six games, he dey average 14.0 points, 3.3 boards, 3.3 assists, 2.2 threes, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks.