SA Spurs: 3 Players who could break into the starting lineup

San Antonio Spurs backup small forward Devin Vassell

Like with Landale, I fully expect Spurs sophomore Devin Vassell to begin his season coming off the bench. While he was given more minutes in his first year compared to most Spurs rookies in recent memory, I highly doubt that his level of play last season warrants moving him into the starting unit.

This is also not to mention that Keldon Johnson will be returning to San Antonio with some invaluable international experience under his belt. Starting a still-raw sophomore over a player coming back to the team with an Olympic gold medal would make little sense.

With that in mind though, that doesn't mean that Vassell won't be able to make a case for himself sometime later in the season. In his young career, he's shown flashes of elite defensive play, the ability to sink pull-up jumpers, and sneaky good athleticism. If he can start to reliably hit his three-point shots, he will quickly make a case for himself to be inserted into the starting lineup.

Long-term, Vassell at least has the potential to become a more offensively gifted version of Mikal Bridges. Personally, though, I think that he can become even better if his development goes particularly well. If his pull-up game continues to progress in the right direction, he could conceivably even play as the team's future starting shooting guard. That being said, though, I think that role could go to the final player on this list.