Wieskamp benefits from development

Rookie sharpshooter places trust in process and sees improvement

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — From the moment Dejounte Murray entered the NBA, Sacramento assistant coach Doug Christie felt good about the gangly limbed point guard’s chances of succeeding.

As a fellow graduate of Seattle’s famed Rainier Beach High School, Christie was well aware of the talent and drive Murray possessed.

“I love his determination,” said Christie, who played 15 seasons in the NBA. “There are a lot of obstacles and a lot of ups and downs in our neighborhood and he is a really good kid.”

But there was another factor for why Christie had faith Murray would eventually thrive after the Spurs selected him 29th overall in the 2016 NBA draft: the patient, thorough developmental process coach Gregg Popovich and his staff employ.

“The Spurs brought him along really slowly, putting him through his paces and making him earn everything he has gotten,” Christie said. “He is talented, but talent in Pop’s eyes doesn’t equate. You got to sharpen the tool and be a team player and do all the things Pop teaches.”

It’s a process rookie forward Joe Wieskamp currently is going through and his embrace of it is one of the reasons why the Spurs on Friday converted his two-way contract into a standard NBA deal fully guaranteed for the rest of the season.

The upgrade came after Wieskamp showed promise in 14 games this season with the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin. Selected in the second-round after a record-setting three-season stint as a sharphsooter at Iowa, Wieskamp is averaging 14.6 points on 43.9 percent shooting from the field, 31.5 percent from 3-point range and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line for the Austin Spurs.

“I trust in their plan for me, and I can feel myself getting better every day,” Wieskamp said.

Spurs forward Doug McDermott isn’t sur

prised.

“It’s the right organization to be with if you are a young guy; I have learned that,” said McDermott, who came to the Spurs in a trade last August.

“They really take care of you here,” McDermott continued. “They know that it’s not a rookieyear thing. It’s a five-, 10-year plan. If you are a guy who wants to develop, this is the place for you.”

Wieskamp said his agent informed him Thursday night after the loss to Sacramento that he would be receiving a standard contract.

“We had kind of been talking the last couple of weeks that it was a possibility with the roster changes going on,” Wieskamp said of the Spurs opening two slots on their 15-man roster by buying out the contracts of Goran Dragic and Tomas Satoransky.

“I was obviously super excited when I got the news,” added Wieskamp, who immediately informed his fiancée and his parents back in Iowa.

The Spurs did not disclose terms of Wieskamp’s contract, but the standard conversion from a two-way deal would result in the minimum salary. Wieskamp would be eligible to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season unless the Spurs negotiate a longer-term deal.

Players on two-way contracts are paid a flat rate equal to half of the league’s rookie minimum salary of $925,258. Weiskamp is eligible to sign another two-way deal in the future.

For now, Weiskamp, 22, just plans to continue following the plan for him outlined by the developmental staff.

“Just to think about my game when I got here to where I am now, I can see the progress I’ve made,” he said. “And it’s a clear testament to what the G League can do for you. With the connectiveness between the Spurs and Austin and how they run things, it’s been a great opportunity for me.”

Since joining the Spurs, Wieskamp has benefited from working with the strength and conditioning staff and shooting coach Chip Engelland.

“I can just feel myself stronger out there and just more explosive too,” he said of adding a few pounds to his lean 6-foot-7 frame. “My first step on my drive feels a lot more explosive.”

After shootaround Saturday in preparation for facing the Hornets that night, Engelland had Wieskamp and first-round rookie Josh Primo participate in a lengthy shooting drill.

“Chip is the best in the business,” Wieskamp said. “He is very detail-oriented, and I like that because I am kind of a perfectionist myself and really focus on the details. He has helped me get my shot off quicker and eliminate some of the extra movement to make me become an even better shooter and stay in this league for a long time.

“Anything he says, I listen to and try to take it and run with it.”

McDermott, who entered Saturday’s game ranked fifth in the NBA in 3-point efficiancy at 43.2 percent, called Wieskamp’s shooting mechanics “great.”

“He was an absolute laser in college at Iowa,” McDermott said. “You are starting to see that in the G League, and he is shooting 40 percent (8 of 20 over 17 games) with us. He’s got a great-looking shot. We shoot all the time together. He gets me in some competitions from time to time. He’s going to be a hell of a shooter in this league.”

McDermott said the players used a group chat Friday to congratulate Wieskamp and journeyman forward Devontae Cacok, who also received a standard deal after signing a two-way pact with the Spurs in the presason.

“We are really happy for those guys,” McDermott said. “We see how hard they work every day. They are the first ones in the gym and the last ones to leave, so to see them get rewarded, it’s pretty awesome. For Joe just being a kid from Iowa like myself, I’ve gotten really close to him, and it’s been fun to see his development through the year.

“He is on the right track to be a really good player in this league.”

Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer Joe Wieskamp put up solid numbers with the G League Austin Spurs and had his contract converted into a standard deal.

Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer Rookie Joe Wieskamp says he can feel himself getting stronger and more explosive during his time with the Spurs.