Three Spurs who are fighting for their NBA lives in the last month of the season

The San Antonio Spurs are about a month from ending the first season of their full-throttle rebuild, and all eyes are on their positioning in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. The front office has ensured the organization is in the thick of the tankathon, but they should already be looking toward the roster decisions ahead of them this summer.

Head Coach Gregg Popovich has struck a careful balance between player development and attempting to field an operational on-court product, and his job is about to become more complex. Though the Silver and Black are home to an abundance of gifted players, they must inevitably say adios to some of them as they reload through the draft and free agency.

With 17 games remaining on their schedule, who might be fighting to keep their basketball career alive to see another NBA season?

1. Romeo Langford

Romeo Langford was an afterthought in the Derrick White trade from last season, seemingly nothing more than a throw-in from the Celtics to make the deal clear financially with the league office. He spent most of his first go-round in San Antonio nursing nagging groin soreness, suiting up in just four games before sitting out their lone play-in matchup.

Before joining the Spurs at the deadline, Langford had finally gained some traction with Boston, earning rotation minutes for a playoff contender. The then-third-year forward carved out a role with suffocating defense and an improved off-ball repertoire, but a myriad of nicks and bruises snuffed out his momentum each time he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.

Unfortunately for Langford, his second year in the 2-1-0 has been more of the same. After cracking the starting lineup for Gregg Popovich to kick off January, an untimely adductor strain placed Romeo on the sidelines for 16 straight games.

Anyone averaging 7.8 points per game on modest .483/.271/.641 shooting splits probably won't turn many heads in free agency, but Langford made tangible progress until another injury struck. Though several clubs should be interested in signing the former lottery prospect, his vast injury history could be a red flag for potential suitors.

The 23-year-old still has time to heal, return to the hardwood, and remind the league that he can make significant contributions. However, when you miss 161 out of a possible 292 regular-season games through the first four years of your career, that lack of durability could leave your NBA future on thin ice.

2. Khem Birch

Khem Birch landed in Alamo City under similar circumstances to Langford. The veteran center arrived via a trade deadline deal with a playoff hopeful looking to support a late-season run, and the sole purpose of his inclusion in the transaction was to match salaries.

Though some Spurs fans might have seen Birch as a viable backup center for Zach Collins, continuous right knee chondromalacia has prevented him from debuting. Factor in his pre-existing condition with San Antonio inking Charles Bassey and Sandro Mamukelashvili to standard contracts, and his standing with the front office feels tenuous at best.

Even before Birch became one of the newest faces on the roster, his time in Toronto was less than encouraging. After a solid showing as a starter in the NBA Bubble during the pandemic, the Raptors re-signed Birch, though that move aged poorly as the big man dropped out of their rotation in only the second year of the deal.

Birch is on the books for a guaranteed $6.98M next season, but the Spurs have the cap space to eat his salary and cut ties if they fail to find a trade partner willing to absorb the final season of his contract. The 30-year-old is a traditional five with waning athleticism that lacks the ancillary skills to thrive in the modern era, and this could be his last rodeo in the NBA.

3. Sandro Mamukelashvili

You might be wondering how Sandro Mamukelashvili ended up on this list. He is nowhere near as old as Birch and has spent significantly less time in the league than Langford. But with clubs focused on milking prospects for every ounce of untapped upside, players are either young and mysterious enough to invest in their talent or aging out of that honeymoon phase.

As a soon-to-be 24-year-old, Mamukelashvili is on the fringe of those two categories. While the towering floor spacer never got a fair shake with the Bucks, he was dominant for their G League affiliate, averaging 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game on 51.9% shooting from the field.

After Milwaukee released the second-year big man, San Antonio swooped in to claim him off the waiver wire. Earning rotation minutes for an Eastern Conference contender was almost impossible. Mamukelashvili could have a much easier time locating a role for a shorthanded Spurs squad with the NBA Draft Lottery on their mind.

The Silver and Black have assembled a collection of low-risk, high-reward prospects this season, and Mamukelashvili is their latest project. Although he might not pan out, it makes sense to gamble on a frontcourt player in a rebuilding year, especially if they can make threes, handle the ball, and hit teammates with impressive passing reads.