NBA Rumors: Spurs will be without key wing for a month to start the season

NBA Rumors: Devin Vassell, the San Antonio Spurs' upstart wing, will miss at least the first month of the season due to an injury.

Heading into what is likely a highly-anticipated season from the San Antonio Spurs, it does seem as if they're going to start the season on the wrong foot. It may be tough to think of it this way with Victor Wembanyama healthy and ready to build off his momentum from his rookie season and then with his play in the Olympics, but it won't help that the team won't be fully healthy and 100 percent at the start of the year.

As he continues to recover from offseason foot surgery, the Spurs are expected to begin the season without Devin Vassell in the lineup. He will be re-evaluated in early November and then will either proceed toward returning to the floor or the team will decide he needs more recovery time. Either way, this is far from an ideal situation for a young Spurs team.

Over the past year, Vassell has become a staple in the Spurs' starting 5. Out of 68 games played for the team, Vassell would go on to start 62 of those games. He would also average a career-high 20 points, four assists, and four rebounds per game on 47 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Vassell is preparing for his fifth season in the league while being penciled in as the starting shooting guard for the team. But with Vassell expected to be sidelined to begin the year, it will be interesting to see how the Spurs pivot.

Who will start opposite of Chris Paul?

It will be interesting to see how the Spurs decide how to proceed forward without Vassell. However, I don't expect Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich to insert rookie Stephon Castle into the lineup that quickly. It may be unwise to force him into such a role even if it is just for a few weeks. I believe there's a shot that the Spurs could start Malaki Branham or Julian Champagnie until this team gets healthy.

Either way, the real answer to this question will probably come after training camp. That's why it exists; for questions such as this one.

There is plenty of intrigue heading into the start of this season for San Antonio. However, there's no question this injury surely does temper a lot of expectations out the gate.