4 Spurs that need monster second halves of the season to save their jobs

2) Malaki Branham

Second-year guard Malaki Branham hasn't quite had the year that many Spurs fans were expecting him to have. After showing some promise during the second half of last season, he has struggled mightily this season, calling into question his future with the team. After being benched in favor of starting Jones, he has seen his minutes decrease with the emergence of fellow 2022 first-round pick Blake Wesley.

Fortunately for Branham, the Spurs will likely seek to give their younger players more minutes over the remainder of the season, and he could benefit from more playing time to try to work out his issues. That might not help the Spurs win games, but he could enter the offseason with some positive takeaways after a rough sophomore year.

Branham isn't at risk of being waived and probably doesn't have much trade value at the moment, so he will probably be back for his third season. But another year like this could force the Spurs to decline the final year of his rookie deal. Branham can help himself by proving that he can fill the role of bench scorer; otherwise, he won't have a role in the team going forward.