San Antonio Spurs: The NBA’s most overlooked young core
By Jono Perilli
Luka Samanic
Coming straight from Zagreb, Croatia, Luka Samanic is the best player for coach Gregg Popovich to experiment with, and the potential is more than there. Bolstering a superb combo ability at the wing, the 6’11” forward is showing flashes of a prime Nikola Mirotic, before his departure to the Euro League. A well-rounded wing, Samanic has loads of potential. Obviously, Samanic is the power forward that the Spurs want for the future, and it’s obvious to see why. He has some improvements to be made, but at age 20, Samanic is ready to prove himself as the Spurs’ future wing.
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After playing a bit in the G-League, Samanic will quickly look to further his spot in the Spurs rotation, as a role-player or a starter.
Trey Lyles
Being selected with the twelfth pick back in 2015, Trey Lyles has become one of the most sought after role-players in the NBA, and rightfully so.
Possessing one of the best shooting abilities at the four, Lyles is the ultimate package as an X-Factor. After both the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets gave up on Lyles, he made his way to the Spurs in the 2019 offseason. The perfect scoring role-player, Lyles is the definition of overlooked and has capitalized on his minutes given in San Antonio. The 6’9″ power forward’s spot-up shooting ability has become a threat and he’s a strong rebounder.
A gritty and tough forward, Lyles is rightfully perfect for this young Spurs squad, and at the age of 24, he still has a spot in their future.
Derrick White
After an eventful summer of representing Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, Derrick White came home to a ton of fanfare from Spurs fans. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make any massive improvements to change his spot on the team.
White is a superb guard, someone who the Spurs will hold onto for a while. Playing off the bench, White was still a fantastic contributor for the heavy-handed Spurs, flaunting a great shooting and playmaking ability. White couldn’t play well enough to make the starting lineup, which poses a threat. Having White as a backup is fantastic, but it places a barrier in front of his usage ability. Murray is the Spurs sure-fire starter, so White will need to up his usage enough to become a dangerous sixth-man in the NBA.
The reason why he won’t have a guaranteed spot in the future is mostly because of his age, which is 26. It’s not old enough at all, but it’s a matter of how White would want to play out his career, off the bench, or for a team that struggles at the guard.