Vic-and-Roll Mailbag: Pursuing Trae Young, Disabled Player Exceptions, and the Blake Wesley Breakthrough

There were countless hot topics churning around Spursland this weekend...

Our readers came through with some extraordinary questions for our mailbag, and we received a record number of submissions for the second consecutive week. There were almost too many topics to choose from, so we handpicked the best questions and took the extended weekend to research numbers and clip film to give y’all detailed answers. Thanks for supporting the site, and feel free to join the conversation in the comments!

---

1. The Spurs were granted a Disabled Player Exception for Charles Bassey. Could they use those funds to sign a G-League player? - Emmanuel Cortez (Substack)

San Antonio applied for a Disabled Player Exception at the beginning of January after Charles Bassey suffered a season-ending ACL tear, and the league office approved the request last Friday. The Spurs can claim, trade, or sign someone to a one-year deal for as much as $1.3 million until the March 11th deadline, but their options are limited to a handful of underwhelming names on a paper-thin open market.

Most promising prospects in the G League have already inked two-way contracts, but George Conditt IV has set himself apart from the crowd as a youngster worth a short-term flyer. The 23-year-old center has averaged 15.8 points, 9.6 boards, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks on 65.8% shooting since the regular season started. He may lack upside, but his screening, paint protection, and finishing offer him a solid baseline.

Perhaps the front office is searching for a tried-and-true veteran who can immediately fill a void in their frontcourt. Should that be the case, Bismack Biyombo is a free agent who fits the bill. He performed well for the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this season, and the 31-year-old still has utility as a shot blocker, rim runner, and mentor. However, the coaching staff should probably see what they have in Dominick Barlow.

---

2. How are you still bought in on Vassell and not Keldon? The efficiency numbers favor Vassell, but it feels like he is less consistent. - Spursian Dynasty (Substack)

Vassell and Keldon are fresh off their worst collective performance of the season, so it might not be the best time to discuss buying into their long-term stock or consistency. Regardless, looking at their numbers over the last month should at least give us a clear picture of their productivity throughout a decent sample of games and hopefully show why I have more faith in Vassell finding a “permanent” home in San Antonio.

Devin has posted 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while slashing .443/364/.872 in 16 games since December 15th. Keldon has averaged 17.2 points, 5.2 boards, and 2.8 assists on .404/.309/.792 shooting splits in 15 games during that same stretch. Not only has Vassell been more efficient by a mile, but he has recorded more steals, fewer fouls, fewer turnovers, and had fewer games shooting below 40% from the field.

We talked about the aspects of Keldon that make us optimistic and skeptical of him in our first mailbag, and aside from the fifth-year forward moving to the second unit, not much has changed since then. You know you’re getting 110% from him each time he is on the hardwood, but it is easy to mistake effort for impact. He still forces shots at the rim and commits avoidable fouls, both of which showed up against the Hawks.

Devin has his warts, too. He shies away from physicality, labors to generate separation off the bounce, disappears for long stretches, has shot an anemic 3-of-24 (12.5%) in his last two appearances, and looks like a shell of the cream-of-the-crop team defender he was at Florida State. However, it is simple to imagine Vassell becoming more effective on both ends in a scaled-down role next to Wembanyama and a proper co-star.

---

3. Will Zach Collins have a different role for the Spurs when he returns? - Arthur Butler (Substack)

Coach Popovich has rearranged a lot since Zach Collins sprained his ankle against the Blazers on December 29th. Tre Jones is a full-time starter, Dominick Barlow and Blake Wesley have cracked the rotation, and Malaki Branham has returned to the bench. San Antonio has also inched closer to looking like a competent team without their 26-year-old center, so what will they do once he has the green light to suit up?

Collins has been one of the most heavily criticized players on the Spurs this season, an expected outcome for a player who has been disappointing on both ends after inking a $35 million extension over the summer. He was supposed to help Victor Wembanyama have a smooth transition to the NBA, but that duo never found a consistent rhythm on the court as Zach struggled to cover pick-and-rolls and lost his touch from three.

Despite a demotion to the second unit, Collins responded to his new role with his best stretch of the season, averaging 11.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while posting .544/.500/.750 shooting splits. If the seven-footer can continue nailing catch-and-shoot threes, setting solid screens, and facilitating from the high post, he should be the focal point of the bench alongside Keldon once the medical staff clears him for takeoff.

---

4. Blake Wesley has gotten a consistent role over the last few games. What are your impressions of his performance? - Tobias Bühner (Substack)

Blake Wesley has logged at least 11 minutes in seven of his last eight appearances, and it feels like he has cemented a role in the nightly rotation. The 21-year-old point guard has averaged 4.0 points and 2.1 assists on 50% shooting off the bench across that span, supplying the Spurs with additional athleticism and relentless point-of-attack defense that no one else on the roster brings to the table.

Monday afternoon was a perfect example of how Wesley can impact matchups, and he singlehandedly set the tone for San Antonio during the opening seconds of the second half. Popovich asked his inexperienced floor general to run the offense and cover Trae Young after the Spurs fell behind by 35 points at halftime, and he rose to the occasion, nailing a floater and forcing Atlanta into an eight-second violation.

While Wesley has provided value as a spark plug in a handful of minutes each game, it is impossible to ignore his shortcomings. Energy and effort are terrific traits, but they can be detrimental when misplaced, and the former Notre Dame standout gets lost off the ball and a little too handsy with his man. He must reduce his foul rate, add a three-point jumper, and shore up his handle to carve out a future in the 2-1-0.

The most encouraging sign from Blake has been how much he has refined his touch at the rim over the last year. The young speedster has finished 64% of his shots inside the restricted area, a substantial leap from the 43.4% mark he registered as a rookie. While an 18-game sample is probably too small to read into, his G League film tells a similar tale, which should give fans some optimism that he will continue coming along.

---

5. To what degree do the Spurs care about the Rookie of the Year award? Enough that it affects how they play, minutes, etc.? - Mark Tremayne (Substack)

Given their track record of exercising extreme caution with their cornerstones, it feels unlikely that the Spurs care too much about whether or not Victor Wembanyama wins Rookie of the Year. Popovich and the front office are more concerned with building an infrastructure for long-term success than catering to individual accolades. That might upset some fans, but this award means nothing compared to championship rings.

While San Antonio has moved Wembanyama to center and started running more plays through him, that has more to do with their plan to slowly bring him along as the first option for their offense. If anything, the tight minutes restriction the organization has stuck to speaks volumes to how much immediate production they are willing to forfeit to ensure their generational centerpiece is healthy when he reaches his peak.

---

6. Are there any actions you would like to see the Spurs use more often to leverage their scoring threats? - Cory Zanoni (Substack)

We discussed the Spurs running more offense through Wembanyama in the answer to the previous question, and this feels like a perfect follow-up. So, which actions should coach Popovich use more often to leverage his scoring threats? Vic and Vassell are the most versatile players this young team can lean on for efficient buckets, and their best sets often involve both of them working off one another.

My favorite play that San Antonio runs is called Horns + Pinch + Flex, a sequence that allows them to take advantage of their respective gravity away from the ball by forcing defenders to communicate responsibilities and potential switches. The other aspect of this half-court call that makes it so potent is how the Spurs empty out an entire side of the floor and stack the weakside with shooters to keep help defenders honest.

The video breakdown above should make things more digestible, and you can see how it creates an excellent look for Wembanyama or Vassell when run correctly. The Spurs turn to this at least once every night, but it would be nice to see them use that specific flex action for Victor out of various alignments and ask marksmen like Cedi Osman or Doug McDermott to set that initial screen to cause further confusion.

---

7. Do you think the Spurs will (or should) make a run at Immanuel Quickley in restricted free agency? - Danny Small (Substack)

Brian Wright has taken a conservative approach to spending cap space during the last two offseasons, opting to dole out shorter contracts to veteran role players rather than pursue big fish. Though he may shift his tune with the external pressures of building a title contender around Wembanyama, Immanuel Quickley seems more like a band-aid to their lack of dribble creation than a definitive solution.

Thanks to his pull-up shooting from beyond the arc, Quickley could alter the dynamic of their pick-and-rolls with Wembanyama. With that said, the fourth-year point guard is nowhere near the high-end costar the Spurs need to help everyone else scale back to more ideal roles on offense. Despite being skeptical of how much better he makes San Antonio, there is no denying he is one of the best defenders at his position.

Stick with me here. Instead of offering Immanuel Quickley a massive payday, it makes more sense for the front office to put their chips into the middle of the table for an All-NBA talent like Trae Young. The Spurs have a surfeit of first-rounders, more than they can spend, and with rumors that Atlanta may hit the reset button, nothing would be of more value to them than the picks they sent in the Dejounte Murray deal.

Trae Young has come up short as the engine that manufactures most of the offense for the Hawks, but he has the makings of an elite second option alongside a superstar. We watched him carve up San Antonio with weapons like Clint Capela and Jalen Johnson. Imagine what he could do if he had a threat like Wembanyama to lean on. His defense will never be more than league-average, but Victor would make that manageable.

As fun as it is to run dream scenarios in the trade machine, we should probably return from fantasy land. The odds of Atlanta having genuine interest in doing business with the Silver and Black is slim to none, at least viewing things from an optics standpoint. Regardless, writing about Trae Young is meant to initiate the thought exercise of what it might take San Antonio to land a premium companion for Wemby.