The San Antonio Spurs look like one of the best teams in the NBA, although they have a very clear weak link in the starting lineup that is an easy problem to solve.
The San Antonio Spurs boast the second-best record in the Western Conference. Victor Wembanyama looks like an MVP candidate, and at times, both Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox look like All-NBA players.
Keldon Johnson is a frontrunner in the Sixth Man of the Year race, and Mitch Johnson is rivaling JB Bickerstaff for Coach of the Year. Basically, the Spurs have studs up and down their rosters.
However, can a team win a title when a key starter is averaging 6.3 points on 24.6% shooting while playing poor defense? A weak link like that needs to be addressed, and the Spurs have the perfect upgrade waiting on the roster.
Champagnie Must Replace Barnes in Starting Five
Harrison Barnes, since Christmas, has been disappointing. There's a case to be made that he's the worst starter on any winning team. The once-reliable sharpshooter simply can't make shots, and he is not a well-rounded enough player to find success with other areas of his game.
In the same time span, Julian Champagnie is posting 15.1 points and shooting 40.9% from deep. He's a bit undersized to play power forward, but he is still averaging an elite 7.5 rebounds. Plus, with Victor Wembanyama down low, a little bit of size missing at the four is perfectly acceptable.
Champagnie is quickly becoming one of the Spurs' better players, and once Devin Vassell returns from injury, Champagnie should remain with the first unit. Fox, Castle, Vassell, Champagnie, and Wembanyama provide the Spurs with ball handling, spacing, and versatile defense, and Johnson, Dylan Harper, and Luke Kornet can lead a bench unit.
Barnes seems ingrained in San Antonio, although he will be a free agent this summer, and it's hard to imagine the Spurs being the highest bidder, especially if he can't shake his slump. With Carter Bryant starting to find his footing and Jeremy Sochan waiting at the end of the bench, there's really no excuse for Mitch Johnson to show Barnes the floor for 25 minutes a night.
Once Vassell returns to the lineup, there needs to be an immediate change in the frontcourt.