San Antonio Spurs: 5 takeaways from 2018 NBA Summer League

2. Derrick White deserves a spot in the rotation

White spent last season in the G League, where he averaged 20.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in just 28.2 minutes per game. He led the Austin Spurs to a G League championship and also appeared in 17 games for the Spurs, although he played very limited minutes. His strong play will not have gone unnoticed by head coach Gregg Popovich.

White was one of the main standouts for the San Antonio Spurs during this year’s Summer League action. He was the best player on the floor for San Antonio, putting together some really nice performances like this 26-point, seven-rebound, six-assist gem against the Memphis Grizzlies:

He is playing for a chance at a spot in the rotation with the Spurs next season, and so far it looks like he has a good chance. With Tony Parker leaving for the Charlotte Hornets, the Spurs are in need of more depth at the point guard position.

Coach Pop has made it clear that the starting job belongs to Dejounte Murray, and Patty Mills will likely absorb most of the minutes as his backup, but White would be one injury (or night of rest) away from significant minutes.

With the Spurs set to enter a period of rebuilding, it would make a lot of sense to allocate more minutes to White. He has shown great promise and has a lot of offensive weapons that could help the Spurs’ offense, which tends to stagnate at times.