Two Things to Take Away From Bryce Cotton Being Waived

Bryce Cotton appeared to have a realistic shot at making the San Antonio Spurs as an end of the bench point guard. With the injury of Patty Mills and inconsistency of Cory Joseph it appeared that Cotton would be signed. That changed on Thursday, when the Spurs announced that they waived the rookie guard. The move was a bit surprising as Cotton is a better athlete than most Spurs guards and he can shoot the ball well. Cotton was averaging 4.8 points in 11.4 minutes in the preseason.
1. San Antonio Spurs Roster is FilledAfter the Spurs title run last season, everyone that played a significant role on the team is back. The Spurs also added Kyle Anderson, who was drafted with the 30th pick in the NBA Draft this season. The Spurs will likely rely on Joseph as the backup point guard, while Mills is out. The current roster stands at 16, as Josh Davis was waived as well. Injuries to Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard, could’ve hurt Cotton’s chances as they need players to fill the positions if they are out for extended time.
2. Kyle Anderson Might Play
At first it appeared that Kyle Anderson was just being thrown on the floor as many Spurs players were out with injuries and in some cases due to rest (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker). On Wednesday’s game, the Spurs appeared to be going with their regular season rotations, despite the absences of Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter. Anderson still logged quality minutes. He didn’t start like he did in the previous games, but he played 18 minutes, scoring 10 points. At 6″9 Anderson is not a traditional point guard, but he can pass and handle the ball like one. Maybe the Spurs will give him backup point guard minutes.
Bryce Cotton has the tools to play in the league, as he showed at Providence where he dominated in his last two seasons. In his final college game (second round of the NCAA Tournament), he had 36 points and 8 assists in a two point loss to North Carolina. Who knows, maybe Cotton will pop up and sign with the Spurs a few years down the line and make a big shot in the playoffs, after all it seems like the Spurs always make the right choices.
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