Forecasting the San Antonio Spurs’ unpredictable starting lineup
By Cal Durrett
The San Antonio Spurs roster will be noticeably younger and potentially significantly worse next season, especially after trading away All-Star Dejounte Murray. That decision pushes the team’s rebuild back several years and increases the chances of the San Antonio Spurs landing the number one pick in next year’s draft.
Of course, they’ll have to wait and see if they’ll get the first pick, but, in the meantime, there’s a lot of intriguing young talent on this team to focus on. In fact, two of the team’s youngest members could immediately join the starting lineup, while the San Antonio Spurs’ longest-tenured player may soon be traded. That leads to questions about who will start for the new-look Spurs. Based on that, let’s predict the team’s 2022–23 starting lineup.
San Antonio Spurs Point Guard: Josh Primo
No matter who the Spurs start at point guard, they’ll have a tough time filling the hole left by trading Murray, so they might as well start 19-year-old Josh Primo. At this point, Primo isn’t really a point guard, but he has the potential to be one, and that makes him all the more intriguing as a prospect.
While Tre Jones is much more of a traditional point guard and played well as a starter last season, he doesn’t project to be nearly as good as Primo. Therefore, it makes sense for the Spurs to go ahead and start Primo and see what he can become. At 6’6, with solid handles and good court vision, there’s at least a possibility that he can learn the position, similar to how Murray did.
Unlike Murray, he’s already a good shooter, and that, combined with improved playmaking, could eventually result in him being a terrific offensive player. That will take some time, but the Spurs can live with him occasionally struggling because it will likely improve their draft odds while also expediting Primo’s development.