Spurs can't repeat frustrating Jeremy Sochan mistake with Carter Bryant

The San Antonio Spurs have a diamond in the rough with prospect Carter Bryant. However, they can't afford to make the same mistake with him that they made with former lottery pick Jeremy Sochan.

Sochan was seen as a versatile prospect who could defend one through five with enough potential on offense to become a three-and-D player. Nevertheless, the Spurs tried to further expand Sochan's skill set by having him play point guard during his sophomore season.

In theory, it made sense with him having some ball-handling skills but certainly not enough to play point guard full-time. Frankly, it was a tough time to be a Spurs fan. They went on a franchise-worst 24-game losing streak with Point-Sochan helping wreck the team's offense.

The Spurs can't make the same Jeremy Sochan mistake with Carter Bryant

The experiment worked to a certain extent given that it made San Antonio bad enough to end up with the fourth overall pick. They used that selection to draft Stephon Castle, and that has worked out swimmingly for the Spurs.

Unfortunately for Sochan, it didn't work out nearly as well. His sophomore season was derailed by the experiment, and unfortunately, an untimely injury cost him what was shaping up to be a breakout third season. By year four, another injury resulted in a slow start, and he was never able to carve out a role on the revamped Spurs.

Sochan never became a crucial part of the Spurs' young core like many had hoped. Instead, he was eventually waived and signed by the New York Knicks. That should be a cautionary tale for the Spurs and Bryant.

Carter Bryant isn't the same player as Jeremy Sochan

Bryant is a similar prospect to Sochan but not a carbon copy. Perhaps that is for the best, with the Spurs having avoided experimenting with point-Bryant. Instead, they have given him small but meaningful minutes playing a role that he is well suited for.

Unfortunately, Sochan didn't always have that luxury, though it might not have ultimately mattered. Bryant has already shown that he is a far better shooter than Sochan, with him connecting on 64 threes between the regular season and playoffs.

That is more than Sochan hit over the last two seasons combined and nearly surpassed his career-best of 70 made threes as a rookie. In fact, Bryant connected on 12 of his 29 threes in the playoffs (41.4% from three). That is a better 20-game shooting stretch than Sochan has had at any point in his career.

Another difference is that Bryant is far more athletic. And while Sochan is power forward-sized, he couldn't toggle between the three and four like Bryant can. I'd also argue that Bryant is quicker, though Sochan was a better defender right out of the gate.

Even so, Bryant appears to have a higher ceiling as a potential three-and-D wing. Sochan was never able to get the three-part down. But hopefully Bryant will succeed where Sochan failed.

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