San Antonio Spurs: 2 Players with the most to prove in the final month

What is Lonnie Walker’s future role with the San Antonio Spurs?

When you think about the future of the San Antonio Spurs what do you see? Dejounte Murray and Derrick White running the backcourt, Keldon Johnson and Luka Samanic on the wings, Jakob Poeltl in the middle? Where’s Lonnie Walker?

It’s looking more and more like Lonnie Walker is going to thrive as an explosive scoring threat off the bench. He’s proven that he can rack up points from wherever he wants but if Walker wants to take the next step to prove that he can be in complete control of the Spurs’ second unit he’s got to show he can run the offense as well.

The impending free agency of Patty Mills hasn’t been covered much but maybe it should be. I think we all just assume that the Spurs and Mills are going to come to an agreement that keeps him in San Antonio until he retires – and they should – but what happens if they don’t? Who’s running point? It should be Walker.

We’ve seen Walker make improvements as a playmaker this season but he’s still got more to prove over the final month of the season. He’s been more aggressive with his drives to the hoop as of late, let’s see if that can open up more opportunities for assists like this one.

Walker is so good at getting into the paint and drawing attention to his drives that if someone like Jakob Poeltl just floats around in the dunker spot, there should be an opportunity for Walker to find them.

The impact of Walker coming back was immediate and a much-needed jolt of energy for the Spurs. They’re going to need him to keep bringing that energy down the stretch.

The San Antonio Spurs are going to be tested over the final month of the season but these two players will have more to prove than most as they wrap up their season.