Spurs Insider: Meet San Antonio’s Next European Phenom, Davis Bertans

The San Antonio Spurs came to training camp three weeks ago needing to answer more questions than at any time in nearly two decades.

With a regular-season opener against the two-time defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors less than a week away, most of the questions have been answered.

Yes, Pau Gasol was the perfect replacement for Tim Duncan in the starting lineup, in large part because he understands the impossibility of replacing a legend.

Sure, Kawhi Leonard can quietly fill the leadership vacuum left by Duncan’s departure and also be more assertive within the Spurs “good-to-great” offense.

No, Tony Parker has not dropped to the lowest tier among the NBA’s starting point guards and can be happy as a facilitator rather than a primary scorer.

Si, Manu Ginobili can still fly recklessly around the court as the leader of the Spurs’ second unit.

Other questions remain unanswered, including the mystery of Danny Green’s missing three-point stroke. But it appears that Davis Bertans will answer a question that carries more weight than usual on a roster with more newcomers than holdovers from the 2015-16 team that won a franchise record 67 games: Which newcomer has a chance to make a bigger impact than anyone could have anticipated when he joined the roster?

On Tuesday night, about 12,000 Spurs fans got a look at Bertans’ potential when they showed up for the team’s annual open scrimmage at the AT&T Center.

Because the scrimmage was four 12-minute quarters, played with a running clock, it was impossible to get an accurate estimate of live-action playing time. But in what likely was less than 20 minutes of real court time, Bertans squeezed off 13 shots, 11 of them from long range. He made six three-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and had three assists.

He also rejected a dunk attempt by Dewayne Dedmon, showing he retains some of the explosiveness that attracted the Spurs to him prior to the 2011 draft, when he first was eligible for selection.

Bertans was part of what has become one of the most celebrated trades in franchise history: the 2011 draft-night deal that sent George Hill to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Kawhi Leonard. The Pacers also conveyed their 2011 second-rounder to the Spurs, who instructed them to pick Bertans.

He was an 18-year-old playing in Slovenia for Union Olimpija.

It should surprise no one that the Spurs saw something many teams did not: a quick-release shooting stroke that was accurate out to the three-point line. Bertans combined this with better-than-average athleticism for a 6’10” player and an understanding of the game that was rare in an 18-year-old.

He was a classic Spurs draft-and-stash pick, a second-rounder whose rights they retained while he honed his skills in Europe for a few years until he was ready for NBA play.

A torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), suffered in the Serbian League finals for European powerhouse Partizan Belgrade, delayed his journey to San Antonio. When the same ACL tore again during his first season with Laboral Kutxa Baskonia of the Spanish ACB League, it seemed questionable that he …

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