Spurs enter 2024-25 season with familiar but severely underrated weapon

The new-look San Antonio Spurs should give fans a lot to be excited about in 2024-25 after several bad seasons. There is, of course, Victor Wembanyama, who could make the leap into superstardom next season. Then there are also the new additions. The additions of veterans Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes will not only give the Spurs more experience but more depth.

After all, both are projected to start, which will push previous starters Tre Jones and Julian Champagnie to the bench, where they will help to bolster the bench. Additionally, 2024 fourth-overall pick Stephon Castle should earn minutes, suddenly giving coach Gregg Popovich plenty of options.

He could play Jones, Malaki Branham, Castle, Keldon Johnson, and Zach Collins off the bench, or Jones, Castle, Johnson, Champagnie, and Collins. Sandro Mamukelashvili may even be able to carve out a role in the second unit as the backup power forward, giving the Spurs yet another option.

The new-look San Antonio Spurs feature a surprisingly deep second unit

For most of Popovich's time as coach of the Spurs, they have had excellent bench units, most headed by Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills. However, since both are no longer with the team and San Antonio has been in rebuild mode, the need for a strong bench has lessened.

Now that the Spurs have playoff aspirations, the need for a better bench has increased, and they have smartly restocked their second unit. That should make them more resilient to injuries and allow them to mix and match to try and find the best possible combinations.

Of course, their playoff hopes will rest on their starting lineup, which is much improved around Wembanyama. Paul and Barnes are both above-average shooters for their careers and will join Vasell, who is one of the better high-volume shooters in the NBA in the starting five, once he returns.

With any luck, Jeremy Sochan will further develop as a shooter, giving the Spurs four floor spacers around Wembanyama. Having three shooters around a Paul-Wembanyama pick and roll would be virtually impossible to stop. Even with Paul likely to sit games or miss time due to injury, Jones is a very good backup and a capable starter who can help keep the Spurs offense moving.

They also have depth on the perimeter with Branhan, Johnson, Champagnie, and Castle. Even at power forward, they have enough positional size to play a small ball four or can play a more traditional one like Mamu.

Overall, the Spurs bench may not be as experienced as other strong benches in the NBA, but they are brimming with young talent who should be eager to prove themselves. They also have more experienced players who can produce reliably, giving San Antonio the perfect blend with their bench.