Spurs Player Reviews

2023-24 Spurs Player Reviews: Blake Wesley

Wesley is progressing slowly but he still has tantalizing potential as a defensive-minded combo guard.

By Jeje Gomez May 1, 2024, 8:28am CDT

Welcome to Pounding the Rock’s 2023-24 player reviews! The series will look at the 15 players who finished the season with the San Antonio Spurs on guaranteed contracts (so no two-way players because we saw so little of them this year, and no Doug McDermott). Enjoy!

Blake Wesley

2023-24 stats: 61 games, 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 47.4 FG%.

Contract Status: Team option for the 2024/25 season got picked up

Age: 21

Blake Wesley was drafted as a project, so it wasn’t a surprise that he struggled so much as a rookie whenever he got minutes. The 19-year-old guard was a long, athletic prospect who only had one gear on offense and was getting used to playing defense in the NBA. His first year in the league was bad, but that was to be expected. When he showed up to this past summer league looking as raw as ever, however, it was hard not to be a little worried about his future.

Fortunately for Wesley, the coaching staff decided to experiment with the point guard position, which allowed him to develop in Austin with no scrutiny for a while. Once the big team needed him after a down stretch by Malaki Branham, Welsey looked a lot more viable as an NBA rotation guard. His improvement mainly came in two areas. First, he realized that defense was going to get him minutes and became an absolute bulldog, hounding opposing guards the entire length of the court. He could be a little foul-prone at times, but he energized the team with his intensity. Second, Wesley started to try to dunk everything instead of going for layups in traffic. The result was a big improvement in his finishing ability. In short bursts, the second-year guard really helped in certain matchups.

The leap wasn’t gigantic, but it was enough for him to get a role for a team desperate for defense and guard play. As the games passed some of the issues he had before with turnovers reared their head and he didn’t refine his skill set much as the season progressed, but Wesley showed enough potential to avoid falling by the wayside.

Looking forward

Wesley recently turned 21 and has the athletic ability and intensity to be a potentially great defender. He just needs more discipline, which could come with time. The issue is that he might not get the minutes next season to develop it if the Spurs, as most people expect, bring in a point guard in free agency. There is a case for sticking with Tre Jones as the starter and Wesley as his backup but Wesley’s lack of an outside shot (21.8 percent this past season) makes him a terrible fit off the ball, and he’s not a good enough pick and roll ball handler or floor general to put the ball in his hands. Maybe the front office and the coaching staff have hope that he can get better at key aspects this offseason but in all likelihood, Welsey will find himself once again fighting for minutes.

It might be the best for his development. Wesley is incredibly young still and has another year of G League eligibility. The last time the Spurs picked a raw point guard who declared after his freshman season in college with a late first-rounder, they basically stashed him in Austin for the majority of his first three years. Young Cory Joseph was similar to Wesley in that he needed to grow into the role of lead guard despite having good physical tools but could help the big team in a pinch whenever needed. The Spurs were in a different spot back then, but the development strategy worked. Joseph has been in the league for 12 years after looking clueless as a rookie. Wesley could do the same and hopefully become Jones’ replacement if he leaves. For some players, patience is required.