Who Will Be the Robin to Wemby's Batman?

[BillMc]

Assuming Wembanyama is the Spur's best player, who in the next 3 seasons or so will emerge as his best teammate?

[Dex]

Right now it looks like Vassell by a mile.

Dark horse would be KJ, but as I've said before I think he has pretty much hit his ceiling and may be best suited in the 6th-man aka Manu role.

[RC_Drunkford]

it's Vassell and it ain't close

[spurs10]

Right now it looks like Vassell by a mile.

Dark horse would be KJ, but as I've said before I think he has pretty much hit his ceiling and may be best suited in the 6th-man aka Manu role. Well you could easily argue Manu was Tim's #2 guy.

However, I agree that Vasselll looks to be the one.

P.S. Hello over there in Riga!

[BillMc]

P.S. Hello over there in Riga!

Cheers my friend! A hardy "hello!" back at you! :bobo

[Dejounte]

Spurs are going to do their “Spurs” thing and one of these guys will rise to top and become a household name, tbh. Wemby excites me, but I’ve always been a fan of the Robin rather than Batman like I was with Manu.

[scott]

He ain't here yet, tbh

[FuzzyLumpkins]

San Antonio works in threes but I picked Sochan.

[playbonner15]

He ain't here yet, tbh

[slick'81]

Give me the versatility and unselfishness of sochan

[JPB]

3 years is enough to bring another star via trade.

[Dex]

Well you could easily argue Manu was Tim's #2 guy.

However, I agree that Vasselll looks to be the one.

P.S. Hello over there in Riga!

I still feel like its 2.a and 2.b with Parker and Manu.

Parker arguably had to carry the larger load as the teams starting PG...was the more consistent scorer, the head of the snake, more accolades (All-Stars, Finals MVP, MVP voting, etc)

Ginobili was the X-factor and the guy you wanted taking big shots in the biggest moments, and sacrificed stats over winning. Obviously his flair and creativity are legendary.

I love Manu and he was my second favorite player on those teams, but Tony deserves his due and and I feel like he doesn't always get it.

[Mr. Body]

False Premise. The Spurs won't have a Big Three, they're gonna have a Big Fourteen.

[Leetonidas]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh

[CGD]

He ain't here yet, tbh

[The Truth #6]

Vassell for now. Sochan could eventually surpass him.

[benefactor]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh
:tu

[spursparker9]

Vassell. He has the potential to be Klay Thompson.

Sohan will probably be like Draymond Green.

[JPB]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh

Could be next year actually.

[Cry Havoc]

I feel like given the landscape of the NBA, and the Spurs incredible plethora of draft picks, they're going to be looking to move them.

Look at it this way: We already have the #1 asset in the league outside of maybe 1 or 2 players, and we have one of the youngest teams in the league already. Unless the Spurs FO sincerely believes they can put a championship caliber team around Wemby by continually drafting rookies until we get a couple of all-star or borderline all-star level talents out of them, we need to move some of those picks. Not want. Need. There's simply no way we're going to win a title with 14 guys who can't drink legally yet, I don't care how good Wemby is.

I think the Spurs put together a huge package for a high end complementary player, at PG (if Sochan doesn't pan out there) or SF (Keldon likely included in that deal). We'd likely find a team with a relatively unhappy star who's also trying to tank and pull the trigger on a deal that gives them space to reset their franchise with some solid picks and a good young couple of players for a star, and build around that.

I just don't see the Spurs waiting on a bunch of college kids to develop while Wemby is quickly growing into his role as one of the best bigs in the game. How many seasons would you guys be comfortable drafting picks hoping for gold if and when Wemby is 3rd team All NBA or better at his position? Because once he gets to that point, the time to draft and wait is over, IMO. You gotta strike when the iron is hot, and wasting more than a season or two of Wemby when he's dominating the league is sub-optimal. I know we managed to grab parker and manu (and Kawhi), but the odds that we'll be able to snag another top guy unless he's from one of the protected picks is pretty low.

[KobesAchilles]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh
That’s the dream.

[Cry Havoc]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh

I mean that's certainly pie in the sky, OTOH if you're Luka.... why wouldn't you want to play with an ultra-elite defensive big who can also playmake with you?

If he came to the Spurs in the next 2 years they would run the league for a decade. It would be the most lethal pairing of two top end players we've seen since LeBron/Wade, and much younger. If we picked up Luka in the off-season our floor would be like 5 rings IMO. Wouldn't be fair to the rest of the NBA. AND we have the cap space to make it happen, too.

[Obstructed_View]

Luka in San Antonio would be like Stanley Roberts. The food is too good.

[MultiTroll]

It'll be Luka in 2 years when he gets tired of Cuban and the Mavs incompetent FO tbh
I'd prefer Luka play out his Mavs contract and freely come over after 2 years in Summer of 26.
A trade before that and Shark Tank will undoubtedly ask a lot, rightly so.

[Chinook]

I'd actually been considering starting a similar thread. Part of Wemby being able to do everything is that you don't know what he will eventually do most frequently and thus what kind of players would work best with him in the future. I feel reasonably safe in saying the Spurs are going to need verticle spacing with Wemby on the court no matter how good he gets. While Victor himself adds a lot of vertical spacing when he flashes to the rim, he probably won't be in a position to space a shooter all that often. I think they need speed and rim pressure the most. Wesley is probably the only person on the team with a chance to fill that role, but he's far more likely to bust than reach that. I don't know how I feel about Doncic on the Spurs because I think he and Wemby will get in each other's way. That's why despite the positional overlap, someone like Giannis could fit better.

I don't see any Spur on the roster as a good fit in that role. Guys like Vassell and Branham have the talent to be productive parts of the offense but I still consider them more beneficiaries than contributors. Johnson's an interesting case because we don't yet know what kind of game he'll show. He uses strength to get to places other would need speed to. The earlier him that bulled to the rim could really help -- especially given how the opposing team might have to scramble their lineup to guard the Spurs. The version that developed to shoot more away from the basket is a different story. It's good that he added some weight back on. While I don't think he can rise to be a Robin, if Wemby's presence allows Johnson to be an inside-out player again while still getting the benefit from better three-point shooting, he may find a different level of success compared to guys who in a vacuum are more valuable.

[Thomas82]

What about Oscar Wembanyama? :spin:lol On a serious note, I don't think Wemby's running mate is in the league yet.

[Brazil]

Cissoko !

[Bruno]

This "Robin" isn't with the team right now and will be the future PG. It is what makes the most sense roster wise.

Right now, draft seems the most likely way to get him but trades opportunity might quickly appear.

[KingKev]

Number two will come eventually but doubt he is on the squad. Maybe after Kevin Tran finishes year 5 at GT.

[spurs10]

I still feel like its 2.a and 2.b with Parker and Manu.

Parker arguably had to carry the larger load as the teams starting PG...was the more consistent scorer, the head of the snake, more accolades (All-Stars, Finals MVP, MVP voting, etc)

Ginobili was the X-factor and the guy you wanted taking big shots in the biggest moments, and sacrificed stats over winning. Obviously his flair and creativity are legendary.

I love Manu and he was my second favorite player on those teams, but Tony deserves his due and and I feel like he doesn't always get it. Good point. And moreover it does take a Big 3 to pull off what they did. TP was even underrated as he put on his 4th ring and was rarely mentioned in 'top PG' conversations. His reply was, 'Oh well....I got the rings.' Rightfully so.

[spurs10]

Number two will come eventually but doubt he is on the squad. Maybe after Kevin Tran finishes year 5 at GT. Let's just hope Kevin doesn't decide to backpack around Europe for a year after he graduates.

[KingKev]

Let's just hope Kevin doesn't decide to backpack around Europe for a year after he graduates.

All those fine southern belles lining up for him would be tough to say no!!

[John B]

Easily Devin will be the 2nd best player behind Wemby, but I think Sochan will be the glue-guy, ala Draymond. To me Draymond is more important than Klay during those championships as someone who dictates the defensive tempo likewise a facilitator out there.

[tim_duncan_fan]

We will have to draft his Robin.

[R. DeMurre]

If you look historically at teams that have landed a potential future superstar in the draft after having very poor seasons, their make up at the time of that star's first championship tends to be almost entirely different from the one in his rookie season. Jordan, Olajuwon, Lebron, Giannis, Jokic, etc., all had nearly total makeovers in their early careers before winning. Even Giannis playing alongside Middleton his entire career is a bit of an outlier situation, and that's only one guy. I think the Spurs might try to be more "homegrown" than some other teams, but still there's a good chance that the composition of this team is drastically and maybe completely different from the current one by the time Wemby is legitimately threatening to secure titles. I think people who look at the careers of players like Magic and even Timmy tend to forget that those were teams that were already in the playoff picture, and who landed #1 picks for reasons other than being bad teams-- injuries to stars, smart trades, etc...

Think about this: just four seasons ago, the top five scorers on the Spurs were DeRozan, Aldridge, Patty Mills, Derrick White, and Bryn Forbes. That feels like a different era, but it was less than half a decade ago. The only guy from that '19-20 team that's still around is Keldon Johnson, and he's the most obvious trade asset the Spurs have right now.

[exstatic]

If you look historically at teams that have landed a potential future superstar in the draft after having very poor seasons, their make up at the time of that star's first championship tends to be almost entirely different from the one in his rookie season. Jordan, Olajuwon, Lebron, Giannis, Jokic, etc., all had nearly total makeovers in their early careers before winning. Even Giannis playing alongside Middleton his entire career is a bit of an outlier situation, and that's only one guy. I think the Spurs might try to be more "homegrown" than some other teams, but still there's a good chance that the composition of this team is drastically and maybe completely different from the current one by the time Wemby is legitimately threatening to secure titles. I think people who look at the careers of players like Magic and even Timmy tend to forget that those were teams that were already in the playoff picture, and who landed #1 picks for reasons other than being bad teams-- injuries to stars, smart trades, etc...

Think about this: just four seasons ago, the top five scorers on the Spurs were DeRozan, Aldridge, Patty Mills, Derrick White, and Bryn Forbes. That feels like a different era, but it was less than half a decade ago. The only guy from that '19-20 team that's still around is Keldon Johnson, and he's the most obvious trade asset the Spurs have right now.

While they weren't there for Curry's rookie year, Klay and Raymond were both homegrown. It can be done, and I'm not sure the sequence is important. I'm also not sure that Klay or Raymond would have made ASGs or All NBA without Curry there. It's all about playing off the alpha.

[R. DeMurre]

While they weren't there for Curry's rookie year, Klay and Raymond were both homegrown. It can be done, and I'm not sure the sequence is important. I'm also not sure that Klay or Raymond would have made ASGs or All NBA without Curry there. It's all about playing off the alpha.


Yeah, I'm sure RC and Wright are drooling at the prospect of landing a Cam Boozer or Cooper Flagg, even if it does look like "overlap" at first glance.

[RC_Drunkford]

all the Spurs really need to do is trade for an All-Star level PG like a Darius Garland. Trade some of your own draft picks and keep those ATL picks and swaps and just hope one of them hits so you can add another lottery talent to a contender in the future.