The Spurs avoided, achieving victory number 20 (they finished with 22), that Victor Wembanyama’s first season in the NBA was the worst in the history of the franchise. Of course, with losing streaks like the 18 games in a row (never seen before in San Antonio) or the 23 of 24 they lost between November and December, they have been in one of their worst versions in the fifth season without playoffs after not missing the playoffs between 1998 and 2019. Curiously, when they stayed at 20 wins (20-62) it was precisely in 1996-97, the year in which Gregg Popovich went from the offices to the bench and an ugly injury to David Robinson was an accomplice of a tanking that worked like clockwork: Tim Duncan was chosen with the number 1 in the draft and the Spurs launched one of the most incredible and long-lasting journeys of any team in the entire history of professional sports.
With Duncan (and with Robinson, of course), the Spurs played in the second round in the first year (4-3 against the Jazz) and were champions in the second, in 1999. With Wembanyama, another generational draft number 1, things are going to go slower. How much? It is difficult to know, because there is no doubt that the Frenchman has to function as a competitive accelerator. He is going to be Rookie of the Year by acclamation and could also be Defender of the Year. He has averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 blocks. He has improved week by week, almost day by day, and it is dizzying to think how good next season is going to be, the second in the NBA for him, and how tough the Spurs can be as soon as they put a team around him. simply functional, something that they did not do in the first half of the season and that they have tried more in the second with a professional point guard like Tre Jones, the option of playing 2×2 with Devin Vassell…
So in the Spurs environment there is debate about how to face the reconstruction deadlines around the center/total player/alien: more patience and more high-ranking young people via draft, moving in free agency to complete a roster with well-defined roles and professional execution around the new center of the spur universe or, the most ambitious, go after a big star as soon as he is within reach and think about important things as soon as possible.
Everything indicates that the most patient will be the happiest, at least if we pay attention to what is filtered from San Antonio. The Spurs will have one of the highest picks in this upcoming draft, one that is not particularly highly rated by experts. But they could also be thinking about hunting very high in the next one, that of 2025, where top-notch projects such as Cooper Flagg (this one above all), ‘Ace’ Bailey or Khaman Maluach appear.
Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski, two of the most authoritative voices at ESPN, and Jeff McDonald, who covers the team for the San Antonio Express-News, had stated that with a player like Wembanyama already in the portfolio, the requirement was going to be to start competing in the West. But now, Windhorst has assured that he is going to opt for that of slow and good writing. And that we will spend a summer without major changes, without important movements or impact transfers, in a franchise focused on that very promising draft of 2025. That would put a new horizon on the 2025-26 season, the third for Wemby and in which it would have In that idea plan, a new top-level teammate… but in the rookie season. To make matters worse, Windhorst was in the Spurs pavilion a few days ago and was seen chatting with general manager Brian Wright, so his opinion could come from what has been directly transmitted to him from the team.
Neither the 2024 draft seems like a great draft nor does next summer’s free agency seem ideal to cause earthquakes, so the Spurs could hide behind those factors to buy time. Wembanyama, for his part, has expressed his frustration when the cascading defeats have piled up, but he has also always made it clear that he trusts in the team’s vision and plan and that he is happy in the franchise to which he had already suggested that he He was happy to go since the number 1 that bore his name played in San Antonio. The only problem with this route is, paradoxically, him. His progression is so impressive and his abilities are so enormous that there may come a point where the matter is uncontrollable and the only question becomes, simply, competing or competing.
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2024-05-06 14:25:03
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