Spurs' Sochan: 'Polite exchange' with Vanderbilt

SAN ANTONIO — Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan downplayed the severity of a postgame incident Wednesday that involved Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt poking him in the face after the buzzer of San Antonio’s 107-91 win at Frost Bank Center.

“I must’ve said something to him during the game, and maybe it wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said. “He must have taken it in the wrong way and told me to see him after the game. So, I did. And we just had a polite exchange. I was, I think, intact and very joyful and the other person wasn’t. Yeah, he just wasn’t emotionally stable in that moment. So, it’s something he has to work on. It’s just life.”

As the teams exited the court after the game, the forwards briefly exchanged words, with Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox stepping between them to deescalate the situation. Fox grabbed Vanderbilt to walk him away, but the Lakers forward quickly jabbed Sochan in the face with his left index finger.

Spurs forward Julian Champagnie immediately pushed Vanderbilt as Fox remained between the players, trying to keep them separated. The Lakers’ Luka Dončić quickly stepped in along with Jaxson Hayes to assist Fox in calming the situation as Sochan and Vanderbilt continued to trade verbal barbs.

Vanderbilt did not speak to reporters in the Lakers’ locker room after the game.

As Sochan discussed Champagnie stepping in to help, the latter jokingly pounded his chest in solidarity from his locker just a few feet away as he ate a postgame meal.

“My guy,” Champagnie said.

On the floor, Sochan scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting with one assist in 11 minutes in a Spurs victory propelled by Keldon Johnson‘s 27 points off the bench. The performance marked Johnson’s fourth game this season with 25 points or more, which ties the Miami Heat‘s Jaime Jaquez Jr. for the most such games off the bench.

Sochan was playing in just his second consecutive contest after receiving DNPs in each of San Antonio’s previous four outings. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, contributed four points, connecting on 2 of 6 shots in 19 minutes with a steal.

“I thought he competed his butt off, did a great job offensively, shot the ones that came to him, and he was in rhythm, made them,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Sochan.

The ninth pick of the 2022 NBA draft, Sochan has logged DNPs in eight games this season after starting in 149 contests over four seasons with the Spurs. As the NBA’s trade deadline looms, Sochan admitted he’s trying to avoid pondering a potential future that might not be in San Antonio.

“When I think about my whole life, I’ve been moving all over the place. I left home at 15, and this is the first time I’ve been somewhere for more than a year since then. This is my home. I feel like I’ve put in a lot of blood and sweat here to this city,” he said. “I’m going to put all of that into wherever I am, and I’m here right now. So, I’m staying here and it’s out of my control. I feel like there’s waves. It’s up and down. There’s days where it’s sunny and then days where it’s dark. I think my career has been like that. I feel like I’ve put a lot of effort into doing the right thing, and sometimes things you can’t control happen. Some of it is positive, some negative. It’s been dark, but what can I do? I can’t control it. The most important thing is to stay in the present, and that’s what I’m doing.”