San Antonio Spurs: 3 "Improve-or-bust" players on roster


Luka Samanic
Luka was selected 19th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, 10 spots ahead of teammate Keldon Johnson. Despite being the same age, Johnson and Samanic are far apart when it comes to development. Given the Spurs' offseason moves, including acquiring Doug McDermott and Thaddeus Young, they may be beginning to lose patience with him.
Samanic still has plenty of talent to work with, though now that he is entering year three of his rookie contract, time may be starting to run out for him. He'll have limited chances to prove himself next season playing behind both McDermott and Young. Even so, he will need to find opportunities to show at least some improvement over last season to keep the Spurs from looking elsewhere for a long-term answer at power forward.
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Depending on where the Spurs are in the standings by the trade deadline, they could look to either bench, trade, or buyout Young to give Luka more minutes if he plays well enough. Otherwise, his future with the team could be in jeopardy.