Player The "It's My Time" Busted Clocktower of Devin Vassell

[NotoriousHOP]

I'll be honest and say that Devin has played with a bit more energy on offense and, while his shot selection hasn't been the best, he does appear to be showing more patience with his shot. But he has so much unnecessarily lower body movement that frustrates me to no end. Stop all the hopping!

The defense is still too lackluster though. Accepting his role as fourth option should theoretically allow him to save energy for the defensive end but we'll see what happens when the team is back to full strength.

I'm still holding out stubborn hope that he'll eventually get to the point where we consider him good value for his contract but I'll be somewhat satisfied if he loses the "it's my time to shine" mindset.

 

[CGD]

I’m with you. He’s gonna top out at the 3rd banana on this team, and I think he’s accepted that now. A Fox-Vassell back court could be quite good.

I’m thinking it’s those two, plus a Barnes, Sochan, Wemby front court to round out the SL.

 

[Paramore]

We should have a poll on the first five possible combinations, which is tantalizing.....

My own preference is

Wemby
Olynyk
Barnes
Fox
Castle

hmmmmmmmm, so that we have a deep second five

Kornet
Sochan
Keldon
Vassell
Harper

 

[NotoriousHOP]

I like the idea of Vassell off the bench and I think he can operate happily as the bench first option on offense but I don't think Barnes can keep up with the wings in the league. Barnes to the four on defense and Champagnie as the three as long as his shot is falling.

 

[spurraider21]

i thought his defense today was quite good. nothing earth shattering, but he was engaged and solid.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

Accepting his role as fourth option should theoretically allow him to save energy for the defensive end but we'll see what happens when the team is back to full strength.

That part exactly. With Fox, Harper and Castle being ballhandlers, Devin not having to dribble the air out of the ball should benefit him (in theory). That way he can save his energy for the defensive end. Fox and Castle being point of attack defenders would make Devin play more help defense, which is his strength.

Offensively the PGs should allow him to play off the ball more and be a catch and shoot threat. Add into that that Devin can put the ball on the floor when teams close out on him as well as abuse bigs on switches and he could be a high end 3-and-D guy in the league. Again in theory. Gotta see if he can actually play that role efficiently and move well enough off the ball.

Devin putting it together would basically fix our starting 3 spot. I don't really like him as a scorer off the bench, cause Keldon seems to be that guy and both of them together are usually a defensive disaster.

 

[STAT88]

Is it just me or does Devin look like he’s bulked up and gotten stronger?

Wouldn’t surprise me if the Spurs have told him he’s a 3 now and that’s his best/only chance to stick around, so get stronger so you can hold up against the bigger wings.

I like it if that’s the case. Still no where near sold on him being the answer, but at least he has some hope of playing a role.

 

[Ice009]

I think it was smart if Devin has bulked up a bit. I am hoping it helps him on defense as he's not the most nimble mover laterally, so a bit of extra strength could help.

 

[Exstatic]

We should have a poll on the first five possible combinations, which is tantalizing.....

My own preference is

Wemby
Olynyk
Barnes
Fox
Castle

hmmmmmmmm, so that we have a deep second five

Kornet
Sochan
Keldon
Vassell
Harper

That starting forward combination is going to get cooked on defense.

 

[elpimpo4cc]

Is it just me or does Devin look like he’s bulked up and gotten stronger?

Wouldn’t surprise me if the Spurs have told him he’s a 3 now and that’s his best/only chance to stick around, so get stronger so you can hold up against the bigger wings.

I like it if that’s the case. Still no where near sold on him being the answer, but at least he has some hope of playing a role.

Last couple of years I think devin has come in to the season looking jacked. (And then reverts to jacking up shots for Jack all results)

 

[The_Second_Coming_of_VY65]

I am not liking anything that I’ve seen from this dude or, more importantly, how the team is using him. Hope it’s a function of no Castle no Fox.

 

[Shmurs]

I am not liking anything that I’ve seen from this dude or, more importantly, how the team is using him. Hope it’s a function of no Castle no Fox.

For real? Even after last night? I’m a Devin cynic but I’m totally fine with his game when Harper was out there. No initiating. A little bit of playing with his food but nothing too bad. And focusing on finding good shots.

He’s gonna perform if he sticks with that. It’s just a matter of whether or not his eyes get too wide when it’s a real game with real energy. But shoot…if either Fox or Harper is out there at all times, he’s not going to have the same freedom to vomit up a half court scheme.

 

[Mugen]

Devin having a good season would go long way in getting this team out of the play in group tbh. Just needs to keep it simple...hit open 3s, attack off closeouts and play good D.

 

[The_Second_Coming_of_VY65]

For real? Even after last night? I’m a Devin cynic but I’m totally fine with his game when Harper was out there. No initiating. A little bit of playing with his food but nothing too bad. And focusing on finding good shots.

He’s gonna perform if he sticks with that. It’s just a matter of whether or not his eyes get too wide when it’s a real game with real energy. But shoot…if either Fox or Harper is out there at all times, he’s not going to have the same freedom to vomit up a half court scheme.

I don’t know what you saw, but I saw the same player who has historically looked for his own shot rather than being ok with a tertiary role of being set up by his teammates.

 

[Shmurs]

I don’t know what you saw, but I saw the same player who has historically looked for his own shot rather than being ok with a tertiary role of being set up by his teammates.

I saw that when he was on with Keldon or Lindy or whoever. There was a sharp shift when Harper got on the court.

But maybe that’s the fluke and what we saw in Miami with everyone playing PG is the goal. But last night was encouraging overall imo.

 

[wemvp]

Eventually he'll probably need to be traded. Let's hope he makes himself valuable now.

 

[bozhemoi]

This was a good glimpse of how Devin can be used really effectively. He had a lot of space and not a lot of duties for playmaking. Of course it was against and undermanned Jazz, but this is where he'll work well for us as an off-ball option.

 

[spurraider21]

I’m usually a Vassell critic but i thought he played well yesterday. Offensively he don’t force anything. No long iso dribbling sequences. Shot when open, dribbled past a close out into an easy midrange shot.

Defensively he wasn’t special but he was at least attentive and engaged. No glaring mental slips that i caught.

 

[The_Second_Coming_of_VY65]

Maybe I need to rewatch, but it seemed to me that he was still doing a lot of ball handling and initiating. I want him in the Bruce Bowen role of only catching and shooting. If he’s trying to do shit off the dribble, I don’t trust him to not go into full main character mode.

That said, I am liking how Keldon is being utilized.

 

[LeBowen]

I want him in the Bruce Bowen role of only catching and shooting.

That's never going to happen and if we want that kind of player, we'd be better trading Devin.

If he’s trying to do shit off the dribble, I don’t trust him to not go into full main character mode.

Knowing when to attack with the ball will be the deciding factor if he stays with the Spurs long term.
He's obviously got solid handles and very good mid-range game, something which becomes really useful in the playoffs as we've seen, but as you said, he can't go into main character mode because it's counter-productive for the team.

For years I've been saying his best role would be the sixth man.
But now we got Harper and I'm not sure he can be the main scorer even with the second unit.

Much like the rest of friendship crew, Spurs have nothing to lose in this situation.
Either Devin adapts and stays on the team or he gets traded. Spurs will have enough firepower even without him.

 

[The_Second_Coming_of_VY65]

That's never going to happen and if we want that kind of player, we'd be better trading Devin.


Knowing when to attack with the ball will be the deciding factor if he stays with the Spurs long term.
He's obviously got solid handles and very good mid-range game, something which becomes really useful in the playoffs as we've seen, but as you said, he can't go into main character mode because it's counter-productive for the team.

For years I've been saying his best role would be the sixth man.
But now we got Harper and I'm not sure he can be the main scorer even with the second unit.

Much like the rest of friendship crew, Spurs have nothing to lose in this situation.
Either Devin adapts and stays on the team or he gets traded. Spurs will have enough firepower even without him.

I don’t disagree with any of this really, other than that we have better players that can do all of this shit at a higher level. I’ve been on the trade him train for months, if not years. I just don’t think his profile has any fit on the team and he’s not willing to accept a more pure 3&D role. I’m just fearful that he’s going to stay and this bottleneck team ceiling height.

 

[LeBowen]

I don’t disagree with any of this really, other than that we have better players that can do all of this shit at a higher level. I’ve been on the trade him train for months, if not years. I just don’t think his profile has any fit on the team and he’s not willing to accept a more pure 3&D role. I’m just fearful that he’s going to stay and this bottleneck team ceiling height.

If Mitch proves to be ruthless towards players that don't live to the expectations, I'm not really worried about anything.

As I posted in Jazz GT, we upgraded 8 players, can't do everything in one summer.
This is the final chance for friendship crew, if they don't show serious improvement, they'll be gone by this time next year.

If Harper and Bryant develop close to their best case scenario, the only team that this team is missing will be a legit 6'9-6'11 PF that can stretch the floor and defend reasonably well.

 

[bozhemoi]

Maybe I need to rewatch, but it seemed to me that he was still doing a lot of ball handling and initiating. I want him in the Bruce Bowen role of only catching and shooting. If he’s trying to do shit off the dribble, I don’t trust him to not go into full main character mode.

That said, I am liking how Keldon is being utilized.

This isn't the 4-down dominant offense of the mid-Duncan era, they're going for a fluid multi-attack like in 2014. Vassell wouldn't be utilized correctly if he's just standing there. He needs to attack closeouts and overplays, which he does pretty well,

 

[Shmurs]

This isn't the 4-down dominant offense of the mid-Duncan era, they're going for a fluid multi-attack like in 2014. Vassell wouldn't be utilized correctly if he's just standing there. He needs to attack closeouts and overplays, which he does pretty well,

It’s fine as long as his dribbling is transactional. I like Devin using his toolkit to his advantage but we just can’t ask him to initiate. It should all be reactive to some other context. So if he’s the 2nd man with the ball and has some opening to get to a mid range spot, go for it and do it confidently and in rhythm. If he’s gotta squint his eyes and create something on the fly, there will always be 2-3 better options on the court.

 

[scott]

Is it just me or does Devin look like he’s bulked up and gotten stronger?

Wouldn’t surprise me if the Spurs have told him he’s a 3 now and that’s his best/only chance to stick around, so get stronger so you can hold up against the bigger wings.

I like it if that’s the case. Still no where near sold on him being the answer, but at least he has some hope of playing a role.

He's definitely looking in great shape. No one can accuse Devin of not being a hard worker