Tarris Reed Jr. already looks like perfect resolution to Spurs' deceptive flaw

The San Antonio Spurs have a surplus of players who can create off the bounce and get into the paint, including Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, and Dylan Harper. It also has a superstar big man in Victor Wembanyama who can score from the post, bury floaters, and throw down dunks with visible ease.

The NBA Finals revealed, however, how the manner in which San Antonio generates points in the paint can prove unsustainable. Thankfully, Tarris Reed Jr. looks like he can help resolve that issue.

That much has already been evident early in his summer league experience.

The inherent nature of an interior attack that starts along the perimeter is that defenses can shift to take driving lanes away from teams. Furthermore, when jump shots stop falling, crowding the paint becomes easier to justify and rim protection relies less on an interior anchor and more on all five players.

Along those same lines, when post production and lobs typically revolve around one player being on the receiving end, the lack of depth tends to rear its head.

That transpired in 2025-26, as the Spurs' lack of post scorers, lob threats, and offensive rebounders proved detrimental in the NBA Finals. Luke Kornet turned in a strong season as a supporting player, but his offensive limitations ultimately reared their head when San Antonio needed help for Wembanyama—or to avoid playing woeful minutes without him.

Reed thankfully checks the very boxes that the Spurs struggled to either when Wembanyama was being double teamed or when he was off the court.

Spurs needed a big who could score, crash the glass without Wemby

This is by no means a criticism of Kornet, who did a fantastic job of taking pressure off of Wembanyama by doing a lot of the dirty work. It's simply a comment on how San Antonio needs big men who can create second chances and score independent of Wembanyama.

Reed possesses the attributes to excel in that exact regard as a productive offensive rebounder, skilled post scorer, and physical interior presence.

Reed proved as much during a stellar 2025-26 season for the UConn Huskies. He averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 0.9 steals per game. Beyond the numbers, he proved capable of finishing over either shoulder from the post and dominating the glass.

With a near 7'5" wingspan and the power to overwhelm opponents, Reed can impose his will—and he's done so at summer league.

Reed has admittedly experienced ebbs and flows in summer league, with turnovers and inefficiency rearing their head. What he's displayed along the way, however, is the ability to be in the right place at the right time and dominate the offensive glass to the tune of eight offensive boards in two games.

Reed will clearly face something of a learning curve, but the Spurs have found the bruiser they needed in 2025-26.

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