Blake Wesley’s Year 3 Preview | SSPN Clips
what were some of the things that you saw Blake Wesley progress in this season because this article is about to talk about his offseason and what are some of the things that you feel like after watching him this year should be his focuses for the season I think he improved in a lot of way all season excuse me oh you’re good he improved in a lot of ways um once he was given the opportunity to actually play the biggest two improvements were one defense I think everybody was fully aware of that because that’s what jumps off the screen he was picking guys up 94 ft taking the responsibility to guard the primary ball handler pretty much 90 to 95% of the time hounding guys playing the passing Lanes picking dudes off um it reminded me a lot of a young dejonte Murray I know dejonte Murray kind of had gave us all a little bit of a bad taste in our mouth because of what he said about the Spurs in the past but we can’t deny how good he was at defense especially when he was young and growing with the Spurs so that’s what it reminded me of and then secondly and this might even be more important than defense um just decision making um the reason we couldn’t play him as rookie year is because he was a turnover machine he was playing way too fast out of control his handle was not clean he was getting picked easily uh in the half court uh this year he fixed that completely I think he averaged less than a turnover a game this year which is very impressive because I think he averaged like three or four last year um I don’t know if those numbers are completely accurate so in the comments if you want to fact check me please um But ultimately making the right pass getting out of his own way playing under control um and not looking to do too much I think those are the the two biggest focuses for him this season and why he was able to get significant minutes absolutely Ethan um I was just about to see if we could change our background to the sspn logo I think we I think we can are we gonna work you gonna work for me okay well you you can’t even see it okay well we’ll make a logo specifically for this I think I might have ruined it now is this gonna fix it there we go okay we fixed it I thought I ruined it guys my be okay you know what actually check this out I know I swear we’re about to get to this Blake Wesley article there’s there’s some spurs colors for y’all I like that I like that too like the opening sequence to uh what’s that movie with all the black stuff uh I’m thinking Skyfall James Bond that’s a that’s a good one but no I’m I’m talking about it’s a David Fincher movie I think it’s seven okay whatever we’ll move past it I think it’s seven Ethan right next to us Blake Wesley is eager to build upon his approved sophomore season and he says year three is going to be big so let’s see what old Blake Wesley had to say and this is what I mean Ethan like as much as like we love talking about these draft prospects right and maybe we could argue that some of these guys could maybe even have a potential higher ceiling than Blake Wesley Blake Wesley’s actually on the team right and as much as as much as like we love all of this wemy stuff and we want the Spurs to get better it’s nice to just talk about something that is like real and concrete so let’s dive into it let’s do it with the Spurs or with the San Antonio Spurs 2023 24 season over the players will now evaluate their areas for improvement ahead of next season and guard Blake Wesley aims to accomplish three goals before next season starting with an improved three-point shot and we already saw a little bit of an improvement there nothing crazy but still we we did see a little bit of it this season same mentality but really we’re going to want the three ball to be consistent hey that’s what we’ve been saying as Spurs fans right they know um Wesley’s three-point shooting does need Improvement okay so maybe it’s not as good as I thought uh he went 12 from 55 from the three-point line last season for 21% shooting that needs to improve as he heads into his third season but he did show some improvement when the season closed so this is probably where I’m getting you know this thought that he got a little bit better Wesley shot 31% from the three-point line in March and April which is the most recent basketball we’ve seen from the Spurs granted he just attempted 13 three-point shots in March and April but any confidence he can carry into the off season to improve his perimeter shot will be beneficial so that is key while his percentage improved it was also while he was taking less shots as opposed to like when we’re talking about someone like a Devin Carter who improved his percentage immensely while taking more shots Jeremy Sohan did that not to the same extent that Devin Carter did in college but he took uh he jumped up six points in his percentage from last season from 24% to almost 31% and then on top of that Jeremy soan did that while taking more threes so you know if you’re taking more and improving your percentage that really is what stands out to me but nonetheless that like Jeff says any confidence he can carry into the offseason uh is beneficial Wesley is looking to improve more than just the offensive end of the floor he is also set on being a better Defender and better decision maker and those were some things that you already harped on but still I agree that those are some things especially decision-making that he can continue to get better at as much as we did see some improvement there but he wants to work on his defense decision- making stuff like that and get in shape so just better cardio we’ll take a little pause here Ethan since I’ve been talking what are your takeaways right here from Blake Wesley three-point shooting I’m glad that it’s an emphasis uh I understand what you said it did get better it looked better he kind of changed his approach he was stepping into shots getting his feet under him setting his base before releasing it and that’s when we saw the Improvement but obviously continue to work on that and his offensive game will open up from there for sure does decision- making has been his Focus since entering the league that makes sense with this Notre Dame tape he emphasized learning to make the right reads while in the G league with the Austin Spurs which showed throughout last season especially in Austin he averaged 3.0 plus persist per game this is I think on the actual Spurs uh in The Season’s final three months including five assists in the regular season finale versus Detroit he also tied his career a high average in assist with 2.7 per game which was second on the team in assist percentage at 31 %. now I will say this is Blake Wesley’s second season right so he just averaged the same I I I like what Jeff’s doing here he’s trying to give him props and and and you know hype him up but to be fair if if he tied his career high that just means he averaged the same as last year right but the the assist percentage like we use that number with Rob Dillingham that does stand out with him being second on the team uh Wesley also made tremendous strides in his defense which caught the attention of his teammates and Coach Greg papovich just being a pest on the defensive end man we did see that Ethan he’s always been like that and that’s the energy we need from him said Devon vasel he was confident offensively he always bust his butt on defense Greg papovich said Wesley recorded 29 steals last season and uses his quickness on defense uh to make life difficult for opposing players also the ball pressure too I saw a lot of that last season as well as the lateral movement he also averaged 2.2 deflections per per game per 36 minutes and contested 2.3 three-point shots I definitely see the deflections that’s something that like the tape when I think of Blake Wesley from last season that’s something that stands out he’s been making strides on the offensive end too but defensively he’s always been kind of that anchor Vel said that just and that ties into your dejonte comparison Ethan and as we wrap up this article here the Spurs use Wesley more as last season progressed and his time in the G League ended with 61 games played in San Antonio uh or yeah uh his usage rate spiked in April from 17.6 from or to 17.6 from 13.5 in March the team trusted him to back up Trey Jones and be that spark plug during games on both end of the floor closing the season on a good note he posted 17 points at home against Detroit along with three steals he only turned the ball over once against Denver on March 12th that was a win I’m pretty sure and once against actually now that I think about it I think our win might have been a little bit later in the season but maybe that was a win I can’t remember um and once again against the Pistons he also shot 78 per versus Detroit in a win that play left him excited and confident for year three year three is going to be big he said I’m excited and ready to get to work after a break great written article we finally got to it Ethan we did it’s been it’s been a long time coming like everyone knows that Blake Wesley is my surrogate son uh I love him I’ve been I’ve been a huge fan of his uh since we drafted him since we saw him break out in the uh in the summer league and obviously his rookie year was bad um but he’s made strides he stayed confident I love his personality I love the way he answers postgame uh press conferences and at the practice uh facility as well um he’s got a lot of confidence he’s got natural speed and athleticism so if if he can hone it all together and continue to work on his decision-making get better as a three-point shooter and stay confident um I have no doubt that he can absolutely be a key part of our roster moving forward especially as like a backup combo guard really he can play one or two uh and if Malachi brandom continues to struggle into next season uh there’s even more minutes and opportunity for him to be a scorer Off the Bench
Ethan and Jude go over Jeff Garcia’s story on Blake Wesley’s offseason goals + more heading into his third NBA season! ššļø
Article: https://www.kens5.com/article/sports/nba/spurs/spurs-blake-wesley-eager-build-upon-improved-sophomore-season-nba-san-antonio/273-92d141ef-b1ef-4651-97c0-22309c8808cf
Full Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLc2TyxsS2o&t=34s
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8 Comments
I know this is off-topic but I think Dalton knecht and Stefan Castle on the team would be great but do you think the Trailblazers or the Charlotte Hornets will take Dalton knecht at six or seven
I think that Wesley is on track for a typical guard project. Derrick white and Dejounte Murry didn't have a first two years that were out of this world. Both played in the G league and had to earn their spot. In fact that's what Devin/Keldon also did. So overall its all about his personal development this year. He knows what he's getting into, he knows the expectations, he knows the NBA game, now we need to see a year 3 development that makes him a core rotation piece. He seems like a really hard worker and his deal is technically expiring soon (there is a team option) and with the Spurs bringing in new guys in the draft, he should be hyper focused on getting better. If he can get a bit better at finishing at the rim and shooting it could really open up the game for him. I already love the idea of a defensive squad with Wesley/Sochan/Castle/Wemby all playing together and each being a high level defender
The thing that Wesley has to improve is his inability to finish at the rim. For someone who is so athletic I just don't understand why he has such a hard time taking and finishing at the rim?
I really hope Wesley can go work with a guy like Tyrese Maxey. Because they have very similar physical attributes, with Wesley being bigger but Maxey being a bit faster. Wesley could learn how to use his speed more effectively from a guy like that and if he can copy some of that style of getting to the rim and finishing he becomes so so valuable. I hope we aren't giving up on him cause he could be a great player (he's still just 21 years old)
Dejounte Murray didn't play over 25 minutes per game until his fourth season, and in that season only averaged 10 ppg. So there's time with Wesley. I hope he gets a lot of playing time with Malakai in summer league next to the new rookies. I think that would be a good step for him
Wesley is a scrub. No need to keep him.
Blake went from 1.8 turnover per game in 2022-2023 to 0.9 this season.
But he played less minutes: 18 -> 14
and tbf on certain game he was as bad as a turnover machine than the season before. (not every games, but on some definitely)
The issue with him: he's a really bad shooter 21.8% at 3P / 66.7% at FT. I don't trust his jumshot at all, and I doubt he'll be a decent shooter one day.
But yeah He's a fine defender, he's so fast and deadly in transition and on low volume he's a good finisher.
I like Wesley b/c of his speed and quickness. I say he has one more year to prove he is the Spurs PG of the future so we don't need to draft a PG now. Jones comes off the bench.
Trade the 4th to the Hawks and their UNPROTECTED pick next year for the #1 this year and . Take Sare or Risacher and Holland or Castle. Sare/Risacher (1) and Holland (8) would be a great draft. With Risacher a fellow Frenchman, then VW is kept relatively happy for another year where they may be only a play-in team. But after the 2025 draft, and experience of VW, the Spurs should be perennial title contenders.