SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs have waived Joe Wieskamp, finalizing their roster before opening night.
San Antonio drafted the sharpshooter out of Iowa in the second round of the 2021 draft. He spent most of his rookie season in the G League, where he averaged 17 points per game and shot nearly 37% from three. This was the last cut the Spurs needed to make before finalizing the roster.
The team confirmed the news, first reported by the Athletic's Shams Charania on Monday afternoon. There are now 15 players on guaranteed contracts and two players on two-way deals. Only four of those players have over five years of NBA experience, and nobody has more than ten. 70% of the roster is younger than 25, and six of the guys are too young to have a glass of wine with Coach Gregg Popovich at dinner.
San Antonio has one of the youngest rosters in the entire NBA. At media day, Coach Pop set reasonable expectations for this group and cautioned anyone against betting on them to win the title. The focus will be on growth.
"The point is to develop this group and give them the best possible opportunity to have long NBA careers and enjoy the hell out of it. Whoever comes after me will have an opportunity to take them to the next level. So at this point, your job is really to start them out the right way. Just like a new baby, giving the baby all the nutrients it needs to develop properly. Everything else will take care of itself. Whatever success we might have will come from that."