Spurs' Wesley's Defensive Reminiscent of Jaden Mcdaniels?

Between Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, and Devin Vassell, it looks like the San Antonio Spurs are in good hands moving forward. The main cast of characters appear to be completely bought into the youth movement in Texas and are ready to do their part to take the NBA by storm.

To their credit, players on the outside looking in are trying to crawl their way into the inner circle, and it looks like Blake Wesley is leading the charge.

Harrison Barnes, who is entering his 13th NBA season, has seen his fair share of elite guard play. He spent time with Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and De'Aaron Fox. The Spurs traded for him this summer with the hopes that he can impart some wisdom and make some shots. It would be cliche of him to praise Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich, so he took some time to give an underrated player some flowers.

"The one guy I definitely want to shout out is [Blake Wesley]," said Barnes at media day. "He's done an unbelievable job picking up guys full court, getting active, getting steals."

Wesley has been, at times, one of the more explosive and exciting players on the Spurs' roster. In his second season, his three-point shooting took a dramatic dip, but his effort on defense was apparent, and he had no trouble getting near the rim or finding his spot for a midrange shot.

His defense effort was off the charts last season, and the Spurs will likely use him and Stephon Castle as an uber-athletic, defensive backcourt for parts of this season. Wesley looks comfortable with the ball in his hands and cut his turnovers in half last season, so he can play in either guard spot.

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During the NBA playoffs last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves broke the Denver Nuggets by full-court pressing Jamal Murray for much of games six and seven. If Wesley can bring the defensive motor to confuse, irritate, and fluster the best guards in the league, he will have a spot in the young core by the end of the season.