Spurs exercise team options on Devin Vassell and Josh Primo

As the Spurs prepare for the 2022-23 NBA season, that doesn’t mean they’re done working in the front office. In a couple of moves that shouldn’t surprise anyone, they have picked up the fourth-year team option for Devin Vassell and third-year team option for Josh Primo.

Vassell is entering his third season with expectations of a breakout after averaging 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals his second season, and improved shooting efficiency (from 42.7 percent, 36.1 from three last season) could go a long way in making that happen. He will be eligible to sign a contract extension next summer, and if he doesn’t he would become a restricted free agent in 2024 if a deal is not met before the deadline, similar to the Lonnie Walker situation this summer.

Primo is entering his second season after averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists his rookie season. He brought plenty of excitement early in the season but eventually went to play some in Austin and hit the rookie wall for much of the rest of the NBA season, shooting just 37.4 percent in 50 games. Still, he is expected to see an expanded role this season and should be ready to take another step forward.

Other Spurs news

In some other Spurs related news, the Spurs have waived training camp signee Tommy Kuhse, who saw some action in last night’s preseason loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, hitting a couple of threes along the way.

Also, Zach Collins will not travel with the team to Salt Lake City for tomorrow’s preseason game against the Jazz after entering concussion protocols. It is unclear when he suffered the concussion, although it didn’t seem to come against the Pelicans.

After sitting out last night, this might mean Jakob Poeltl will return to the court in Utah, and/or Gorgei Dieng as well as some of the other young bigs might see some more preseason action.