San Antonio Spurs: Lonnie Walker IV & Bryn Forbes are putting in offseason work
By Dylan Carter
It seems like San Antonio Spurs guards Lonnie Walker IV and Bryn Forbes are getting work in with the same development coach during their offseason.
When the offseason rolls around, San Antonio Spurs players aren’t expected to be at team facilities constantly putting in that work. Instead, they’ll find their own avenues to invest their time and training into improving their game. That, of course, comes with the proper guidance from people who understand what it takes to make it in the NBA.
Two of the San Antonio Spurs’ key rotation players, Lonnie Walker IV and Bryn Forbes have been working with Sean Dockery, a player development coach who played college ball at Duke Unversity. Walker posted a clip of himself in a basketball gym with Dockery after what looked like an intense workout judging by the sweat he worked up.
On August 31, Dockery posted an empty-gym highlight reel of Forbes working out. In the video, you can catch him launching his signature pull-up triples, fine-tuning his handles and attacking the rim through contact. These are all necessary for Forbes, who’s entering unrestricted free agency this offseason and may need to prove himself before earning the payout he seeks.
https://twitter.com/AirAlamo/status/1308496732867588097
Regardless, it’s nice to see both of the San Antonio Spurs’ younger players utilizing their time away from the team to improve. In many cases, some of the best development coaches and assistants are those who saw what it took first-hand in college. For years now, Dockery has been working behind-the-scenes in San Antonio both with the team and players directly.
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If there’s ever a place to insert yourself as an aspiring player development coach looking to build a resume, it’s with the San Antonio Spurs. He served as a video coordinator for San Antonio briefly before taking a gig with the Memphis Grizzlies’ G League team as an assistant coach for the Hustle. There’s been a lot of great young talent to blossom in Memphis lately, which bodes well for Dockery’s chances of helping these young Spurs reach new heights in their playing careers.
Walker had a commendable performance in the Orlando restart but failed to really pop the way Spurs fans hoped he might. Even so, Walker is an incredibly impressive player at just 21-years-old with athleticism that San Antonio hasn’t seen since George Gervin himself.
Okay fine, James ‘Flight’ White could give these guys a run for their money, but the point stands.
If there’s any player on this roster with a ton to prove next season, its got to be Walker. Slipping to San Antonio in the 2018 NBA Draft was a blessing for the wing because of this organization’s ability to extract a player’s best qualities and help them ditch their deficiencies. While Walker made strides from his first season to his second, there’s a lot that he needs to polish.
Walker is the Spurs’ best hope at an emerging All-Star talent outside of Derrick White, so it’s encouraging to see him working his tail off when he doesn’t actually have to.