San Antonio Spurs: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
Spurs sign Trey Lyles
A consolation prize of sorts, Trey Lyles was offered a contract by the San Antonio Spurs after Marcus Morris faded into New York. Lyles is quite young. He has spent four years in the league but he is only 23.
In his first two years with the Utah Jazz, he played 16.8 minutes per game, scoring 6.1 points and adding 3.5 rebounds. He didn’t really get a lot of touches to show how he can really play.
He was shipped to Denver in the 2017 offseason, where he stepped into a heavy bench role behind Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap. His scoring improved by just a little bit, although his biggest woes were in his shooting.
He shot 32.1 percent from the 3-point line, and 45.6 percent from the field. His game faltered and he likely just did not fit the Denver system or play well around Jokic.
There is upside to Lyles though. He is only 23 years old and you can’t count him out just yet. He is now in a system that will allow him to grow and learn from a great staff. He can still find his shot and his rhythm and eventually, fit into the Spurs’ system.
Lyles is not going to make an immediate impact like Morris would have, and he isn’t going to make them better. There are only so many signings you can make where you have to bet on the upside in order to break even.