Spurs drafting Quaintance and Reed was a huge favor to Carter Bryant

Back in the day, players with Carter Bryant's archetype and size were either shooting guards or small forwards. In the modern NBA, space and pace are emphasized, so these athletes are asked to play power forward. However, that doesn't mean the bigger, more imposing fours don't still exist.

Bryant's skill set allows him to do a little bit of everything, but that means banging with some of those bigs more than he probably should. If we're talking about guys like Jayson Tatum, Mikal Bridges, or OG Anunoby, that's one thing. When fighting the physical bullies like Zion Williamson or Aaron Gordon, someone else should do the tussling. Enter Tarris Reed Jr. and Jayden Quaintance.

The two rookie big men can bear the burden of physicality against teams with more size, freeing CB up to play into his strengths when he's on the floor.

Bryant is at his best as a versatile wing

Bryant is 6'6" barefoot, yet he's strictly listed as a power forward on Basketball Reference's website. That's more about this era of positionless basketball than what his actual ideal role is. The former Arizona Wildcat will certainly play the four, but he's really a wing who should be sliding up.

Not a traditional power forward who lives there.

Fighting for position with Julius Randle and Evan Mobley is tiring. It wears on the legs, and the wrestling match negates his athleticism. That's one of his biggest assets, and we should see a little more of him flying in from the perimeter instead of fighting for positioning down low. It's not where most of Carter's energy should be spent at the expense of what makes him special.

Quaintance and Reed will let Bryant become the player the Spurs drafted

Once Quaintance fully recovers, the Spurs will likely want him on the floor as much as possible. If he can play next to Victor Wembanyama, that's even better. His defensive potential is limitless, and fans should be salivating at the idea of a possible Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Bryant, Quaintance, and Wemby lineup. Scoring on them would be like trying to land a rocket ship on the Sun.

Reed has all of the physical tools to share the burden that comes with playing power forward and center. We saw some of it in his Summer League performances. The ex-UConn Husky knows how to use his body to battle on the boards and play defense against other players of similar size.

So, instead of Bryant absorbing all of these frontcourt assignments as his minutes increase, he can spend more possessions guarding other wings, switching onto guards, and creating transition opportunities. That will be a much better use of his energy.

When the Spurs drafted Reed and Quaintance, it didn't just improve the frontcourt. They also created the kind of roster that lets Carter Bryant develop in his proper role without detour. He'll still spend plenty of time at power forward because that's how the league works today, but now it can be a changeup instead of a permanent position.

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