The biggest storylines to follow during the Spurs’ preseason

The Spurs’ first preseason game is almost here. What are you looking forward to seeing the most?

Mark Barrington: I’m mostly looking forward to having basketball in my life again. It was a short offseason, but it feels like forever since I’ve been able to watch Spurs basketball. But I want to see if Tarris Reed is going to be able to contribute right away, and I want to see the development of the other young players. Will Dylan Harper take another leap in his skills? [yes!] Will Stephon Castle’s outside shooting improve? [I hope so.] What new unbelievable skills will Victor Wembanyama bring this season? [Prepare to be awed.]

Devon Birdsong: Well, I was going to say Tobias Harris, but uh…well, there goes that dream. Outside of that, though, I’m really looking forward to seeing how the young bigs perform. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always jazzed to see what’s going to happen with Dylan Harper, but I already know that he’s great regardless of what lineup he’s in and this backup big-man thing might end up mattering more, especially considering recent big-man injury history. *knocks on wood*

Jeje Gomez: I’m really looking forward to watching how Carter Bryant looks. He played in Summer League but only two games, and he was asked to do more than he’s likely able to right now. I’m interested to see if the shot falls and whether the defense can be less chaotic while keeping the physicality, since those are the two things the 2026/27 Spurs will need from him. There are a lot of interesting storylines to follow, from what happens in the backcourt to how the rookies fare. Wembanyama is always a pleasure to watch, and he’s so spectacular that it’s impossible not to pay attention to him. But in preseason and early in the regular season, I think one of the most interesting arcs to follow will be the battle for power forward minutes and whether Bryant can take advantage of Harris’ absence to carve out a role for himself.

Tobias Harris is expected to miss preseason with a calf injury and might not be ready for opening night. How big of a problem is that for the Spurs?

Barrington: Not a problem at all. He’s there to provide playoff toughness and as long as he’s 100% by midseason, he’ll be there when they need him.

Birdsong: I mean, on-court chemistry-wise it might have some kind of limited and/or brief effect, but it’s so early in the season that I can’t see it being much of a problem. Regular-season matchups will be just fine running Champagnie back out there instead, since that was one of last season’s best lineups in the entire NBA. The Spurs really need Harris for the postseason, so if they take their time bringing him back, it’ll be with that in mind. Bear in mind that even without Harris, this is still a team that won 62 games last year, and there’s still growth worth projecting. The kids will be fine for a bit. 

Gomez: It can be seen as a problem or an opportunity. It’s a problem in the sense that the newcomer won’t be able to develop chemistry with his new teammates, which could cause his performance to suffer early in the season. The good news is Harris is a proven commodity, so even if it takes him a while to get going, the Spurs can afford to be patient with him, since they know what he brings to the table and they probably don’t need him to win regular season games.

I’m more interested in the opportunity it presents for the other forwards, as I mentioned before. Minutes will be scarce at the four even with Harris out, and while Julian Champagnie should have a big role locked down, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and even Harrison Barnes are battling for minutes. Keldon should have the inside track, but Bryant’s defense and Barnes shooting could entice Mitch Johnson if the second-year player and the veteran get playing time to show off their skills. With Harris out, they should get that chance.

What do you want to see change, if anything, from a coaching/system perspective heading into the new season?

Barrington: Billy Donovan will unlock a lot of different offensive sets that the Spurs didn’t have last year. I feel like a lot of the Spurs’ success last year was due to them just out-talenting the opposition. They will still do that against most teams, but in the later rounds of the playoffs when they’re facing elite opposition, they will need a strategic edge, and Donovan can give them that.

Birdsong:Wemby already brought it up this offseason, but the Spurs really need to work on utilizing him as a go-to offensive weapon, especially in isolation. And if they’re going to do that, that means they’ll need to unleash him in the post. The Spurs had their biggest issues in both the regular season and the postseason when Wemby got turned into just a jump-shooter instead of also feasting inside. That’ll be something that both team strategy and Wemby himself will have to emphasise and actively pursue. The game has slowed down for him enough, and the team is deep and talented enough, that Wemby has learned how to let the game come to him. Now they all have to learn how to most effectively impose his will on it as needed, and perhaps, in the process, help Wemby find a go-to move. 

Gomez: How the three guard lineups fare will be fascinating, but I think the biggest question mark for the Spurs is their halfcourt offense. There’s so much talent in the roster that they got away with not having a plan or not executing even simple plays quickly and efficiently for long stretches last season, but that needs to change. Whether Donovan or Johnson gets the credit doesn’t really matter as long as the Spurs have an offensive system in place that allows them to create ways to score when games slow down.