Tarris Reed Jr. may be Spurs' greatest gift to Victor Wembanyama

Tarris Reed Jr. has looked like a man among boys on the floor through two summer league games. I mean that in the physical sense. He's a massive individual at 6'11", 263 pounds. When watching him move on the floor, I found myself getting excited about the pressure he'll take off Victor Wembanyama.

It's why the Spurs were high enough on Reed to trade up for him. He's not just another backup center. Now, Mitch Johnson will need to give him the chance to play alongside the French superstar, but if he does, the UConn standout may just become the player who unlocks an even better version of The Alien.

Reed lets Wembanyama play his preferred style

Let's take a look at how Denver protected Nikola Jokic for an apt comparison here. Trading for Aaron Gordon gave the Joker a layer of on-court protection. He's never really forced to bang with other big men when AG is on the floor because the 6'8" strongman will do it for him. And it's less about whether your superstar is capable of handling those assignments and more about preserving his energy.

Wemby's defensive strength is based on his unbelievable range. He covers ground like no other, and his ability to protect the rim, block threes, cut off sections of the floor, and disrupt offenses with his terrific timing is unique. But he still doesn't have a very strong base, making him occasionally vulnerable to physical one-on-one play or being moved out of the way for rebounds.

We don't live in the age of dominant centers anymore, but powerful big men still exist in the current NBA climate. Jokic, Alperen Sengun, Ivica Zubac, Steven Adams, and Isaiah Hartenstein all come to mind as players Tarris Reed Jr. could take the task of wrestling with, allowing Wemby to play more freely.

Reed could quickly become impossible for Spurs to keep off the floor

Summer league isn't the end-all be-all. The stats won't be taken into account when the games really start to count, but we can still learn a little about how a guy carries himself. Reed has shown a general understanding of how to use his size that Spurs fans should be thrilled about.

The late first-rounder is rebounding, setting hard screens, and using his mass to create openings for the ball handler. He's pinning defenders to force switches when he sets his picks, leading to mismatches and lob opportunities. His SL teammates haven't been able to capitalize on all the advantages he's created, but the starters will.

The former Husky moves incredibly well for his size, too. He's running the floor, switching on defense, and in his latest showing, Reed even flashed a sweet spin move into a bucket that showed there's some real offensive potential under the surface.

The only thing that could stand in his way is making too many rookie mistakes. If he can keep those at a minimum, Coach Johnson will have a hard time leaving Tarris on the bench.

San Antonio didn't move up in the first round to draft a dynamic scorer. They did it to solve real issues. Through a couple of summer league games, he's shown flashes of an ability to do that. If he continues to grow, Wemby won't have to spend nights battling the NBA's biggest bodies or carrying the rebounding burden alone.

Reed will do the things that won't always show on the stat sheet, but that development couldn't be more valuable.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow