Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2024-25 player reviews! The series will look at the players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts and who played consequential minutes and/or a vital role (so no two-way players because we hardly saw them this year, and no players who were traded away).
Devin Vassell
2024-25 stats: 31 MPG, 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 36.8 3FG%
Contract Status: 4 years, $106 remaining (estimated)
Age: 24
Devin Vassell didn’t have the type of year the Spurs were expecting when they signed him to a sizable extension that kicked in last season. He started the season with an injury and missed the first few games before coming off the bench for a while. Once he reclaimed his starting spot, he alternated between good and bad performances, passive showings in which he was invisible and stretches in which he was a difference-maker on both ends. His production improved in March, when San Antonio wasn’t playing for anything. In 2024/25, Vassell took a step back on offense, showed some flashes on defense, but, more than anything, he did little to dispel the notion that he’s not consistent enough to be one of the best players on a winning team.
The most curious example of Vassell’s ups-and-downs came in the stark difference between his splits in the first and second halves of games early in the season. Before the All-Star break, Vassell averaged 18.1 points per 36 minutes in the first two quarters on 41.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc while getting to the line 1.8 times. In second halves, he averaged 19.7 points per 36 minutes, shooting 46.6 from the field and 39.7 percent from outside while shooting 2.9 free throws. He became an absolute demon from the corners and on short jumpers and floaters after halftime. The difference in in-game splits was even starker earlier in the season, as he produced like a scrub in the two opening frames, came alive and produced like a borderline All-Star in the third, and then settled into a solid contributor in the fourth. It was bizarre.
The glass-half-full conclusion from this Vassell season is that he clearly can reach the heights needed from a third option on offense when he’s at his best. The glass-half-empty position is that it’s hard to predict when he will deliver or sleepwalk into an inefficient night, making him hard to trust.
Looking ahead
Vassell will enter the second year of his extension, which includes unlikely bonuses, with the objective to show that he can either be a consistent scorer and creator, a killer off-ball defender who can contribute on the other end, or ideally both. Having a healthy offseason could help him massively, as he could add some strength to get his finishing back to where it was in 2023/24 and start the season in rhythm. His defense truly looked like a huge asset at the team level when he was playing with energy later in the season, and his jumper is a weapon. Whether it is to improve the Spurs’ playoff chances or increase his trade value, the franchise needs the best version of Vassell to show up. He could be an integral part of a good team as a starter or a sixth man, and his experience with the club could be extremely valuable during the first season without Gregg Popovich at the helm.
The big question looming is whether Stephon Castle complements Vassell or makes him superfluous. Castle is a creator who can shoot and is at his best at the point of attack on defense, while Vassell is more of a complementary shooter and floor-spacer who thrives off the ball. In theory, those two would be great on the wing together. In practice, Castle is a passable jumper away from offering a level of physicality in the perimeter on both ends that Vassell can’t match. With two lottery picks in the next draft and Castle already in place, Vassell could eventually find himself being a luxury the Spurs can afford to do without if the up-and-downs continue. Hopefully he proves that the defensive improvement is real and that he can stay healthy and in rhythm, giving San Antonio a long-term piece to build around.
Top performance
March 4, vs. Brooklyn Nets. Career-high 37 points on just 20 shots, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals.
Final grade: B-
Up next: Victor Wembanyama
Previous Reviews:
Bismack Biyombo, Charles Bassey, Malaki Branham