San Antonio Spurs: Can Thomas Robinson revive his career in NBA Summer League?

Who counts as a potential future suitor for Robinson?

Just as everything else in Robinson’s career has boiled down to, patience will be key in his potential return to the NBA.

The San Antonio Spurs, presumably at least, are done making moves, barring injuries. During their search of a player to fill in the final roster spot, they elected to give DeMarre Carroll a (now restructured) 3-year deal, and then cut ties with Davis Bertans in favor of Robinson’s former collegiate teammate, Marcus Morris.

Morris himself vouched for Robinson to get the Boston Celtics’ final roster spot a season ago, insisting they could have used that frontcourt energy.

"“We definitely could use him on this team. I think he’d be perfect, honestly. He’d bring that energy [and] bring more size. He’s a guy that can defend the rim, got a lot of energy, you know, just being a dog. Every team could use a dog.”"

In all likelihood, Robinson could have to wait it out, and hope his Summer League (and even elite G League Play) generates enough hype that a franchise takes a chance on him in the middle of the season. One example would be Kenneth Faried, a similar, energetic-type forward whose game was seen as translatable enough for the Houston Rockets to take a bite.

The hope is that teams see the new-and-improved Robinson’s strengths as enough for even a temporary signing. Comparing Robinson’s past game to today, one aspect that stands out statistically is Robinson’s passing improvements.

During his six-team run in the NBA, he had a career high of just five assists. With Beikong — where Robinson averaged 2.5 assists per game — he flirted with that number on a nightly basis, including recently.

Opportunity has always been difficult to come by for Robinson. The fight for minutes in crowded frontcourts was a consistent battle, be it Portland’s Aldridge-Robin Lopez combo or Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins-Jason Thompson pairing, among others.

General managers can take solace in knowing what Robinson does do when afforded such opportunities, such as his first start in Portland, when he joined elite company in Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas as the only players to have 15+ points and 15+ rebounds in their first career starts.

There are a few teams that come to mind, be it due to former connections, or just a glaring need for an energetic forward. Robinson’s hustle and defend DNA could make him a solid potential suitor for a team like the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Lakers.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder looking to find frontcourt players, an option could be there, or even a return to Portland, where the Blazers are finding stopgap players to replace the injured Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter.

In whichever case, Robinson has his mind in an ideal spot. Even with uncertainties on where he could end up, the one certainty is that he plans to rebound and defend all day for whichever team adds his services.