With the 2024-25 campaign approaching, we're diving deep into some of the players we're most interested in watching. Next up: a young shooting guard trying to prove his worth in San Antonio.
Previous entries: Damian Lillard, Darius Garland, Christian Braun, Jalen Green
If I asked you to name the four qualified players aged 23 or younger who averaged at least 19.5 points in a season on 54% shooting inside the arc and 37% shooting from deep, how many of you would say Devin Vassell? The Spurs youngster hit those marks last season - his fourth year as a pro - averaging 19.5 points on an effective field-goal percentage of 55.0.
The other three players to achieve the feat were Karl-Anthony Towns (twice), Jaylen Brown (2019-20), and Tyrese Haliburton (2022-23). Towns was a young All-Star in each season he achieved this impressive combination of production and efficiency, while Brown and Haliburton made All-Star teams in the seasons immediately following their offensive breakthroughs.
Could such an All-Star leap be possible for Vassell, whose work last season flew largely under the radar? Consider the hype Bulls guard Coby White generated for his 2023-24 breakthrough. Now consider that Vassell, who's six months younger than White, scored more with a higher efficiency.
If Vassell's upward trajectory continues, his production won't go unnoticed much longer. The presence of Victor Wembanyama alone gives the Spurs a head start in constructing a competitive roster, with some already projecting the sophomore big man as a top-10 player in 2024-25. Though the Western Conference is unforgiving and the Spurs have plenty of ground to cover after a 22-60 campaign, it's virtually unprecedented for a player as good as Wembanyama should be this year to play for a team that finishes outside the top 10 in its conference.
In other words, the Spurs should be in the postseason hunt, with the additions of Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes, and rookie guard Stephon Castle bolstering that quest. The spotlight Vassell deserves is coming. Whether he's ready for it could go a long way in determining San Antonio's fate.
It's fair to question whether Vassell's 2023-24 uptick in 2-point efficiency is sustainable. From floater range alone, he went from a 26th-percentile finisher among wings in 2022-23 to a 94th-percentile finisher last season, according to Cleaning The Glass. But I'd argue there's actually room for overall growth.
Paul's arrival will result in a more organized offense, with Vassell (like Wembanyama) sure to benefit from more consistently competent point guard play. Though the youngster is already a three-level scorer who can create for himself and punish teams from the midrange, his shot diet should stabilize in a more structured setting. The looks will be cleaner, and more of Vassell's shots will come from higher-efficiency spots on the court.
All that time spent without a genuine starting point guard may have benefited Vassell and the Spurs in the long run, though. The 24-year-old improved as a facilitator. As a low-turnover scorer, he has the skills necessary to grow into a secondary playmaker who can make the most of the advantages created by Wembanyama and others.
Though Vassell's defense has regressed since his days at Florida State, he boasts the size and physical tools to be a difference-maker on that end, too. Perhaps a more competitive environment will reinvigorate the once stout perimeter defender.
All the ingredients for a two-way breakout are here. Fans will surely spend countless hours on trade machines trying to find the secondary stars necessary to help get Wembanyama's Spurs over the hump, but one of those stars might already be in San Antonio.
The Spurs sure hope so, as Vassell's five-year extension is about to kick in. He's set to see his salary quintuple, from roughly $5.9 million last season to $29.3 million this year. Still, with the salary cap projected to increase by 10% each year and Vassell's salaries diminishing over the life of his contract, he could prove to be a bargain. For example, his $27-million salary in 2028-29 would account for only 13.1% of the projected cap.
If Vassell remains an efficient three-level scorer capable of averaging 20 points per game, there will be value in his new deal, whether in San Antonio or elsewhere. But if he can make the kind of All-Star leap that seems possible, San Antonio will be knocking on the door of something much larger than just play-in contention. Now that's worth watching.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead Raptors and NBA reporter.
