Approximately one year ago, we wrote the following:
I absolutely loathe tanking for a pick. I do appreciate a good roster reset, and I understand how life would change drastically for the better with Victor Wembanyama. Of course, it is such a long shot that you might as well think that skipping the mortgage payment for a couple-thousand Powerball tickets is a smart play. The thinking — at least the publicly-stated version — is that the Spurs are resetting under the young movement and it is about developing young guys. I can by that. I know it is about resetting for youth and talent after a couple of lukewarm seasons of lower-tier playoffs. It makes some sense.
The Spurs were very fortunate. They got the grand prize and can build around a freak of nature who seems to have his head screwed on straight — no guarantee when it comes to top picks. Wemby, of course, was very fortunate as well. The Spurs are seemingly every fan’s idea of a good organization for the young Frenchman to grow and develop. Sure, everyone wanted him but do you trust like a New Orleans with him?
Now, let’s be a little Zen about things, considering the last time we sat in wonder and awe about the future of the Spurs it turned on and with an ankle in Golden State. About five years of contention were gone, and even with the grand prize of the draft in uniform, contention for an NBA title is some years off.
Tonight, we kick off the NBA season but tomorrow the Spurs take on Dallas and their own young super star in Luka Doncic. Over there, they are discussing championship windows and complimentary pieces. With a superstar, you have a chance to make something happen, however slight.
The early favorites are some combination of the Bucks (Giannis+Dame), Suns (Book, Beal, KD), Celtics (Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Unicorn), and the defending champs Denver. Throw in the Lakers, Warriors, and lady luck mixing things up with injuries and surprises and the window is small for anyone without a couple of HOFers flanking the main guy.
Pop has said he wants to let Wemby be Wemby, and that includes figuring out what he does well and what can be outsourced. The twitters have been filled with the discussion about a point guard. Count me among those who want an experienced ball-handler. Now, while that could be a classic Tre Jones or a Chris Paul — you know a 6-foot-something smaller guard — it can be anyone. Like, even Dejounte Murray struggled in the playoffs when he was thrown to the wolf (Pat Beverley) vs Houston in his youth. Jones, Johnson, Sochan, Graham, Vassell, and even Wemby can all push the ball with comfort. They are also asked to do a ton so it would be nice to know that there is a steady hand somewhere.
That said, I don’t mind the current plan to build some experience. Beyond that, the other item on the docket is interior toughness. Chuck Bassey looks spry now that he’s had an offseason to recover a bit, and Collins and Champagnie like to throw their weight around. Keldon pledged to protect Wembanyama from anyone who would try something. Again, it’s enforcer-by-committee.
So what should we expect this season? Ideally, as Pop said, he will let Wemby be Wemby and see exactly what that means. The rest of the roster is expendable (everyone to varying degrees), and it will be an 82-game opportunity to figure it all out for next year.
Now, everyone basketball team is different but they are roughly the same. You need a primary scorer, and a secondary one. You need shooters, ball-handlers, defenders, and rebounders. A lot of times you get a couple of guys that excel at both. The classic 3-and-D guy popularized in San Antonio by Bruce Bowen and Danny Green, is an athlete that you found some kind of use for on the offensive end. Bowen’s game was limited to a catch-and-shoot shot selection while Kahwi’s expanded to getting post-ups and called plays.
Doug McDermott is a shooter, and not much else. He will try and give effort in the Matt Bonner mold, but you can’t really expect much beyond that in year 10. He is what he is. Jeremy Sochan is a swiss-army knife that can’t shoot at that level. One of these two is in the long term Wemby window, and the other will help the team in the shorter term, and likely as an asset.
Keldon Johnson has a lot of upside, and now that he won’t be looked to score 22 per game, can focus more on defense.
Malaki Branham, and Devin Vassell are candidates for secondary scorer, with Vassell being the real leader there. Vassell was drafted as a defense-first guy, and has built his game into a modern scorer type. He played only 38 games last year, and while the Spurs gave him a big extension, there is still some doubt about his ability to grow (from others, I like him, though.)
The rest of the roster is a bunch of guys about 6’5” who can do some things but haven’t done it consistently or at a high enough level to rave about. They are all competing for the right to flank Wemby and get rebounds for him and throw lobs to him and the like. If you don’t remember the Spurs dynasty from 1999-2014, it included the Big Three, but also a lot of guys who did other stuff.
Will Perdue / Kevin Willis / Nazr Mohammed / Tiago Splitter all did big man stuff so Tim Duncan didn’t have to.
Marco Belinelli / Mike Finley / Brent Barry / Danny Ferry / Jaren Jackson and Mario Ellie ran round screens and shot stand-still-shots to open things up for Tim and Dave.
Sean/Bruce/Danny/Kahwi guarded the other squad’s best player.
Speedy Claxton/Beno Udrih/Patty Mills brought shooting and ball-handling off the bench while TP9 sat.
For all the talk about positionless basketball on like twitter, know that it is not a new thing. Not remotely close. The most limited teams have limited players and those guys have clearly defined roles so they don’t mess things up. The absolute best of the best can do it all. Mike Jordan and Scottie Pippen brought the ball up when it mattered. Kobe Bryant handled the rock — and Derrick Fisher was running around getting open to give him space. LeBron James has been a point-forward his whole career. When it matters, Giannis has the ball.
Victor Wembanyama can bring the ball up. Remember however, that we want him to also block all those shots and run the floor and cook on the perimeter, and fly in for tap-ins. That takes energy and in the playoffs — remember that is the end goal for his career, folks — we want to conserve his energies for the biggest, highest leverage moments.
So it is tryout time. Who can be trusted to score for the Spurs while Wemby sits? Who can be trusted to bring the ball up, and run sets, and defend? Who can modify their role to stand in the corner and wait for a pass? Who is willing to do the dirty work?
We find out starting tomorrow.
Go Spurs Go