4 Burning questions the Spurs must answer this season

The San Antonio Spurs regular season got off to an encouraging start with a near win over the Dallas Mavericks and a come-from-behind victory against the Houston Rockets. That leads to hope that they'll be more competitive this season. On the surface, that is a low bar to clear after winning just 22 games last season but a deeper Western Conference means that the Spurs will have to show dramatic improvement.

With number-one overall pick Victor Wembanyama looking like he might be a superstar, even as a rookie, he could be a huge difference-maker. However, for the Spurs to make enough of an improvement to challenge for a spot in the play-in tournament, they will need other members of their young core to step up. The most likely candidate to take a big leap is Devin Vassell, who was the team's best player last season and he could thrive thanks to the attention that Wembanyama draws.

But the Spurs have bigger questions that will need to be answered before the end of the season. After all, despite San Antonio expecting to be more competitive, they are still rebuilding and figuring out who will have a role on their team going forward. With that in mind, let's see which questions need answering, starting with Spurs' weakest position.

4.) Can Blake Wesley improve enough to play point guard?

It's easy for second-year point guard Blake Wesley to get lost in the shuffle. He was the last of the team's three first-round selections in 2022 and, unironically, showed the least out of those players, with Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham looking far more NBA-ready. It was always seen as unlikely that all three players would pan out, with Sochan being the surest thing and Branham and Wesley being a coin flip.

But Branham looks like he'll be able to fill a role as a scorer off the bench, while it's unclear if Wesley can earn minutes and hasn't through the team's first two games. San Antonio did him a major favor by releasing Cam Payne, which would have buried him behind as many as three other point guards. Though, with the Spurs essentially starting Sochan at point guard, Wesley will still be behind both him and Tre Jones.

Factor in that Devonte Graham is likely to get minutes, either at point guard, shooting guard, or both, and that narrows Wesley's opportunities. In fact, the Spurs picking up the fourth-year option on Wesley's rookie-scale contract isn't a guarantee. After all, the Spurs could have two lottery picks next season and could just as easily replace him with another point guard in the draft.

In the meantime, he'll still get some opportunities to prove himself and he does have the distinction of being the fastest player on the team. That can be an asset, though he has a tendency to play too fast. He's shown some defensive potential and has some craft as a finisher but he will need to be more under control when he does play to warrant the team giving him more opportunities.