Painful Jeremy Sochan truth Spurs fans must immediately accept

Although he is seen as being a part of the San Antonio Spurs' young core, Jeremy Sochan's future in San Antonio isn't as safe as some fans might expect. Another year like last season, and he could very well become expendable.

After all, while he is still valuable as a defensive player, he is essentially a center on offense without a jumper to space the floor. That makes him an awkward fit on the Spurs.

They already have Victor Wembanyama and recently signed backup center Luke Kornet, meaning Sochan won't get minutes there. He could still play power forward, but San Antonio has an almost comical amount of non-shooters in their rotation.

De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Keldon Johnson can all be considered non-shooters. Kornet also falls into that category despite previously being a stretch five.

That means it's hard to find a lineup in which Sochan wouldn't be paired with at least two other non-shooters. Having three non-shooters on the floor at the same time isn't a winning recipe in 2025.

The San Antonio Spurs have a Jeremy Sochan problem

Some of Sochan's fit issues aren't on him, to be clear. Actually, it's hard to think of a team he would fit worse on given the Spurs' lack of shooting. If even two of the aforementioned five non-shooters became reliable high-volume shooters, then Sochan would instantly become more useful to the Spurs.

Or, he could always improve as a shooter, and there is hope that he will after reworking his jumper this summer. Offseason workout videos of NBA players are a dime a dozen, but Sochan's shot looks significantly different, much more compact and consistent.

Hopefully, it won't take him three seconds to load up and fire. That's part of his problem with teams being able to leave him open and close out before he can even get up a shot. Even if he does, he had an awful hitch that didn't inspire confidence.

If he can be a solid high-volume shooter, then that would be a game-changer for San Antonio and could dramatically improve their playoff chances.

Jeremy Sochan has a path to starting, but it's far from easy

Even despite his struggles last season from outside, he did make strides as a finisher, dramatically improving his conversion rate around the basket.

Some of that was due to his offensive rebounding, with him being terrific on the glass. Pair those skills with a jumper, and that's an above-average starting power forward in the NBA.

It would also inevitably lead to a De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Sochan, and Wembanyama starting lineup that could savage teams defensively.

Imagine having 6'9. Jeremy Sochan defending the other team's best guard

That would make it next to impossible for them to use a screen. Sochan could even dare them to either shoot over them or try and blow by him only to feel the wrath of Wembanyama. No thanks.

That could happen, but the number of players who magically go from being awful shooters to good ones after four seasons is almost nonexistent. It almost never happens.

Sochan would have some serious history to overcome for that to happen. If he can't, then the Spurs may be forced to consider moving on from him while his value is still relatively high. Other teams may be able to make better use of his skills with more shooting surrounding him. It just remains to be seen if the Spurs can.