Three questions facing San Antonio Spurs ahead of 2024-25 season

The San Antonio Spurs showed a lot of patience after drafting Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick last summer. Even with the NBA Rookie of the Year on board, the Spurs focused on amassing draft capital and experimenting with the roster over wins. 

Now, with Wemby established and tanking time over, San Antonio is facing new questions for 2024-25.

Is it time to start winning?

Wembanyama was the NBA's best rookie while finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. He averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 points and a league-leading 3.6 blocks, then led France to a silver medal at the Olympics. 

Not only was he impressive, but he got better as the season went on, with his points, assists and rebounds all steadily climbing from month to month, culminating in an April averaging 25.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists.

As a result, the Spurs made a few cautious moves to improve this summer. They brought in Chris Paul on a one-year deal, then added veteran forward Harrison Barnes, which also got the Spurs a 2031 pick swap. With the No. 4  pick, they brought in defensive-minded guard Stephon Castle from UConn. But they also swapped the No. 8 pick for a first-rounder seven years in the future, plus a 2030 pick swap. That's the definition of delayed gratification.

The Spurs have to balance Wembanyama's desire to compete with the team's desire to maximize its assets and options when he's even better. He's been patient so far, but anything less than a 10-to-12-game improvement might leave Wemby frustrated.

Can this team improve its shooting?

Wembanyama might have been even more effective last season if the Spurs had players to punish opposing defenses from packing the paint. They were the third-worst three-point-shooting team in the NBA last season despite taking the 11th-most threes. Having threats on the perimeter would open things up even more for Wembanyama and 21-year-old Jeremy Sochan.

Adding Paul will help, as will the added improvement in efficiency from sixth man Keldon Johnson. But for the most part, the team is going to need its existing players to learn to shoot. 

The Spurs used to develop shooters all the time, but that was when legendary shooting coach Chip Engelland was on board from 2005-22. He's in Oklahoma City now, where the Thunder were the NBA's best team in three-point percentage.

Can the Spurs create some sharpshooters without their former shot guru? With Wembanyama in the middle, there should be plenty of open looks. It's a matter of knocking them down.

Who else is part of the team's long-term future?

The Spurs are building around Wembanyama and Castle. Devin Vassell scored nearly 20 points per game last season while shooting 37.2 percent from three-point range, and he's signed for the next five seasons. Other than those three, the rest of the roster hasn't shown enough to be relied on.

Johnson can score, but he's a limited shooter with a very tradable contract with three years and $54 million remaining. Third-year guard Blake Wesley showed potential as a perimeter defender and dunker, but he can't shoot yet. Third-year guard Malaki Branham still needs a lot of development, while Tre Jones is a nice backup point guard who shot better last season but is still below average.

Even with all those former first-round picks, the keeper might be undrafted forward Julian Champagnie, who emerged as a three-and-D wing last season, starting 57 games. But with all of the Spurs' future picks and potential 2026 cap space, most of the roster is playing for future jobs.