Why Spurs fans shouldn't give up on Devin Vassell just yet

The San Antonio Spurs are still a team that is very much in the works. We all see the top-tier talent of Victor Wembanyama on display on a nightly basis, and many were hopeful that a sophomore season leap from him would be enough to propel this team to the level of a playoff contender.

Wemby has been spectacular without a doubt, and his counting stats alone show us the kind of improvement he is making off a fantastic rookie season. But just like some of the greatest players in NBA history, he is not going to be able to do it all by himself. Roster construction and having the right players around Victor that compliment him still matters.

While San Antonio has made some external additions since last season that have improved the roster's overall strength, some of the internal pieces that were there before are not currently living up to what they were billed as. One of those players would be Devin Vassell.

There has been no secret about the fact that the fanbase has experienced growing frustration with Vassell's performance this season. And honestly, for good reason. He has had a particularly difficult time shooting the ball, with his field goal percentage down nearly five percentage points from last season, and his scoring average down over four points lower.

Trading Vassell right now would be a mistake

What began as a simple shooting slump has turned into a prolonged period of poor accuracy for the fifth-year guard. Over his last nine games, Vassell is shooting just 36.4% from the floor. In that same stretch, he is making just 24.1% of his three-point shot attempts.

These struggles have led many in the fanbase to turn immediately to talks of trading Vassell and getting Wembanyama some more immediate help. But as easy as it would be to simply cut loose a struggling player, I still believe the more wise move would be to wait out the storm until things clear up.

The thing is, Vassell likely still feels like he's getting back to form after missing so much time due to injury. He was forced to sit out the first nine games of the current season after undergoing foot surgery, and missed five more games later due to knee troubles. These kind of problems for him are not exactly a completely unexpected thing.

Additionally, Devin is not going to struggle to shoot the ball forever. He has shown us the kind of accuracy he can have over the course of the previous four seasons. Part of Spurs fans dealing with Vassell's play right now is going to involve a simple change of expectations. Maybe he is not the solution to San Antonio's problems right now, but that still does not justify moving on from him.