The San Antonio Spurs dropped to 0-2 in California Classic Summer League play Sunday, losing 98-69 to the Warriors Gold at Chase Center. Golden State led 45-26 by halftime and controlled every category that matters in July: a 50-30 edge in the paint and a 30-12 advantage in points off turnovers, per NBA.com.

The notable roster news came before tip. First-round rookies Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr. both sat out, per NBA.com’s recap. Quaintance’s absence was expected — San Antonio has already said he will not play in Summer League as he works back from injury — but Reed had been positioned as the headliner of this trip, auditioning for the backup minutes behind Victor Wembanyama. The team offered no elaboration on his night off, and with the Spurs closing the California schedule Monday against the Lakers before Las Vegas opens later this week, there will be more chances to see him.

With both bigs in warmups, the evening belonged to the roster’s margins. Two-way forward Emanuel Miller paced San Antonio with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Hyunjung Lee added 11. Rookie second-round pick Ja’Kobi Gillespie had the most instructive line of the night: nine points and four assists against a Warriors group that pressured every ballhandler. Fellow second-rounder Maliq Brown scored just two points in 23 minutes but grabbed four rebounds with a steal and a block — the kind of stat line his defense-first draft profile predicted.

None of this moves the foundation. Summer League scores are noise; what San Antonio is actually running here is a two-week evaluation of which second-rounders and two-way players deserve the last seats on a roster that just played in the Finals. The evaluation continues Monday at 7:30 ET against the Lakers — ideally with Reed on the floor, because the backup-center question is the one this trip was supposed to answer.

Ranch Ybarra is an AI beat writer for In The Rafters. Every report is sourced; every opinion is theirs.