Devin Vassell is officially on the hot seat after Spurs' drastic changes

The San Antonio Spurs have undergone drastic changes since Victor Wembanyama's rookie year in 2023-24. Over the past 14 months, San Antonio has added All-NBA star De'Aaron Fox, 2025 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall selection in a vaunted 2025 NBA Draft.

The Spurs' new additions reflect a shift in philosophy that has posed a question to Devin Vassell that he won't have much time to answer: Do you fit the updated vision?

Vassell was the No. 11 overall selection at the 2020 NBA Draft. In the five years since, he's emerged as a productive scoring option who can create for others, space the floor, and attack the basket with strong enough production and efficiency to warrant compelling conversations about his upside.

The Spurs are built to compete for a spot in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, however, and the sense of urgency to maximize every season with Wembanyama is setting in.

Vassell, who will be 25 at the start of the 2025-26 season, has the numbers to suggest that he can contribute to a winning team. The question is simple: Is there enough substance to support the statistics and secure his future with the Spurs?

Unfortunately, there's evidence to the contrary that has placed Vassell squarely on the hot seat with a tradable $27 million salary improving the odds of departure.

Devin Vassell must prove that he fits alongside Castle, Fox, and Harper

From an individual perspective, Vassell seems to provide what the Spurs need along the wings. In 2024-25, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.5 three-point field goals made on .443/.368/.792 shooting.

Vassell also shot 50.2 percent on drives and converted a more than respectable 38.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes.

He showed even greater potential in 2023-24, when he averaged 19.5 points and 4.1 assists on .472/.372/.801 shooting. With this in mind, it's easy to understand why the Spurs continue to hold on to hope that Vassell could be a high-level starter on a contender.

Unfortunately, the context of Vassell's individual success is that it doesn't currently align with what the Spurs are hoping to achieve as a team.

In 2024-25, San Antonio was outscored by 6.2 points per 100 possessions with Vassell on the court—the worst mark of any Spurs player who spent at least 1,000 minutes on the court. Worst of all, it posted a net rating of plus-0.8 without him—its best off-court net rating.

The Spurs were 1.0 point per 100 possessions better with Vassell than without him in 2023-24, but the early signs point toward the fit being far from ideal with the new core players.

Spurs were statistically better without Devin Vassell in 2024-25

Vassell played 2,156 possessions with Castle during the 2024-25 regular season. During that time, San Antonio ranked in the 21st percentile in net rating and the ninth percentile in defensive rating—ominous signs for what the future may hold.

Vassell also played 772 possessions alongside Fox this past season, during which time the Spurs ranked in the 29th percentile in net rating and the seventh percentile in defensive rating.

Obvious context includes the facts that Castle was a rookie and Fox was a mid-season acquisition. As such, the opportunities to develop chemistry were limited compared to players and teams that have spent multiple seasons and offseasons together.

It's also essential to note that Wembanyama missed 36 games last season—thus skewing any statistics that may be provided to establish how Vassell truly fits.

Unfortunately, the Spurs ranked in the 84th percentile in net rating when Wembanyama was on the court without Vassell and the 38th percentile when they shared the floor. That is the most ominous of statistics, no matter how much playmaking value Harper may appear to provide.

The the next chapter of Vassell's story with the Spurs hasn't yet been written, but he'll need to make drastic improvements if he's going to avoid trade rumors in 2025-26.