Hello, I’m an non-american ex-basketball player (i played as a sg and pg) and coach. I’ve seen a lot of discussions about Sochan and point guards in fan groups, both here and on Facebook, so I wanted to share my thoughts.

First and foremost, Coach Popovic is a master of this game, and trusting his knowledge is essential. Additionally, the Spurs still have a lot of draft picks, and the team is young. Whether it’s this season, the next, or the one after that, they can find the right point guards, and I believe they will try.

Let’s think about the relatively young point guards in the league right now. Halliburton, Garland, Fox, Shai, Lamelo, Trae, and (of course) Doncic. Let’s exclude Doncic, and the others are tough to acquire. While they are all capable of passing and orchestrating the team, they are ball-dominant players by nature. In the league, especially among American point guards, many are not traditional point guards. They are great with the ball, sometimes achieving high assist numbers, but fundamentally, they may not excel at directing the game. For example, players like Kyrie, Dinwiddie, Sexton, Morant, Rozier, Anfernee Simmons, prime Westbrook, Marcus Smart, and many others. They may play as point guards on the team, but their priorities are often scoring or holding the ball for too long.

These types of players have weaker playmaking abilities. They are not bad players, but in the current Spurs team, it doesn’t make sense to give one player too much ball time and ball dominance. Such ball-dominant players who cannot facilitate can negatively affect the development of players like Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell. Therefore, none of them are suitable for a trade. In a potential point guard trade, the following expectations should be considered:

• Being 25 years old or younger, preferably 23 or younger.
• Not holding the ball excessively.
• Prioritizing passing.
• Not becoming a liability in defense and addressing defensive responsibilities, unlike most point guards.

Considering these criteria, it becomes evident that there are very few players available for acquisition. Some of those who meet these criteria might be expensive or unwilling to come to San Antonio. As of now, the only names that come to mind are Lonzo before his injury and Ben Simmons before his injury (or let’s say head injury). Dejounte is close to this profile, but when I saw how he changed after leaving San Antonio, I understood why the team parted ways with him, and I’m not sad about it.

For these reasons, there aren’t many players that can be acquired through a trade. There are already a limited number of players in the right style.

It’s more reasonable to find someone through the draft in the coming years.

That’s why Sochan is being played as a point guard. I don’t see any problem with this. Sochan is not a true point guard, and everyone can see that, but there are very few “true” point guards (those whose priority is passing and elevating other players) in the league anyway. Sochan, at least, prioritizes passing and is an excellent defender and a physical player. He doesn’t hinder the development of Wemby, Johnson, or Vassell; he evolves alongside them. Putting Johnson or Vassell in that position would reduce the number of touches for the other. Sochan is a better choice. Surely younger Lowry and CP3 are perfect canditates for this position but they are both too old for this team. Even Damian Lillard is not a good addition for this team.

Therefore, I strongly oppose all criticisms of Sochan as a point guard. It’s a radical but highly logical choice in the current structure of San Antonio. It’s a situation that needs to be fully supported tactically and technically.