Spurs free agency targets

[spurraider21]

Wemby is nowhere near the kind of shooter nor ball-handler that Durant is and never will be, though. Opposing coaches would be happy with Wembanyama taking fadeaway jumpers over their forwards all day long, tbh.

Wemby isn't going to win games with his jumpshot and perimeter play on the NBA. He's gonna win them with his size and hability to do things at the center position, that other centers can't do. But for that to happen, you have to play him at center.

not if you have a stretch 5 like collins/lopez

and i didnt say he's as good a shooter or ball handler as durant. i dont think you have to be, if you are 7'4 without shoes. lebron isn't a center but he manages to do a lot of his damage in the paint with a good face up game. style of play will dictate how he gets his more so than what position you list him at.

heck, if you force a smaller defender onto wemby, you then take full advantage of his freakish size. if you want teams to guard him with bigs, his primary advantage on them will be his handling and shooting, which is the part of his game you seem to be down on the most

[DAF86]

not if you have a stretch 5 like collins/lopez

Collins and Lopez aren't the same thing. It isn't only about being able to shoot the outside jumper on offense. It is being able to play on the perimeter without getting exposed as a stiff. Sure, on offense you can have Lopez stand on the 3 pt line to provide spacing. He still won't be able to do a lot of the other things that a forward can do like drive and kick, stay with guys on the perimeter, run a fastbreak, etc.

and i didnt say he's as good a shooter or ball handler as durant. i dont think you have to be, if you are 7'4 without shoes

Well, you were the one that brought up the Durant comparisson. The 7'4" without shoes will get optimized the closer to the basket he plays, not if the stands on the perimeter shooting 3's at a 28% clip.

[DAF86]

heck, if you force a smaller defender onto wemby, you then take full advantage of his freakish size. if you want teams to guard him with bigs, his primary advantage on them will be his handling and shooting, which is the part of his game you seem to be down on the most

Wemby will be guarded by the guy best suited to guard him from opposing teams no matter who he plays with, so that point is moot. My whole argument is that the closer he plays to the hoop, the better. That's where he will get easier % shots. Where he will get more blocks opportunities. Where he will get more rebounds opportunites. More putback. More lobs. More rolls to the basket. Etc.

[spurraider21]

Wemby will be guarded by the guy best suited to guard him from opposing teams no matter who he plays with, so that point is moot. My whole argument is that the closer he plays to the hoop, the better. That's where he will get easier % shots. Where he will get more blocks opportunities. Where he will get more rebounds opportunites. More putback. More lobs. More rolls to the basket. Etc.

if that person "best suited to guard him" is their traditional center, and then the spurs also have somebody else like yak on the floor, its still going to force them to basically play another center or else yak is going to just clean up on the offensive glass.

[spurraider21]

Collins and Lopez aren't the same thing. It isn't only about being able to shoot the outside jumper on offense. It is being able to play on the perimeter without getting exposed as a stiff. Sure, on offense you can have Lopez stand on the 3 pt line to provide spacing. He still won't be able to do a lot of the other things that a forward can do like drive and kick, stay with guys on the perimeter, run a fastbreak, etc.



Well, you were the one that brought up the Durant comparisson. The 7'4" without shoes will get optimized the closer to the basket he plays, not if the stands on the perimeter shooting 3's at a 28% clip.

i must have missed the part where i said not being a center means you just have to camp out behind the 3 point line and launch bombs

[DAF86]

if that person "best suited to guard him" is their traditional center, and then the spurs also have somebody else like yak on the floor, its still going to force them to basically play another center or else yak is going to just clean up on the offensive glass.

Very rarely the guy best suited to guard Wemby will be the other's team center, that's exactly why playing a center alongside him would be a matchup nullifier.

[Spurs Homer]

Wemby is nowhere near the kind of shooter nor ball-handler that Durant is, though, and never will be. Opposing coaches would be happy with Wembanyama taking fadeaway jumpers over their forwards all day long, tbh.

Wemby isn't going to win games with his jumpshot and perimeter play on the NBA. He's gonna win them with his size and hability to do things at the center position, that other centers can't do. But for that to happen, you have to play him at center.

Wemby actually patterns a big part of his game after Durant and if you have watched any filmmof wemby- he might not have durants handles or shooting yet- but he actually isnt that far away from surpassing durant…

and if you research the training program he is on- it is not that much of a stretch to think he might just have the work ethic to surpass durant.

So i would not be too sure about that, “never will be” assertion you made.

[exstatic]

Collins and Lopez aren't the same thing. It isn't only about being able to shoot the outside jumper on offense. It is being able to play on the perimeter without getting exposed as a stiff. Sure, on offense you can have Lopez stand on the 3 pt line to provide spacing. He still won't be able to do a lot of the other things that a forward can do like drive and kick, stay with guys on the perimeter, run a fastbreak, etc.



Well, you were the one that brought up the Durant comparisson. The 7'4" without shoes will get optimized the closer to the basket he plays, not if the stands on the perimeter shooting 3's at a 28% clip.

His FTs (a good indicator of consistent shooting form) are at 83%, and TaT has his projected NBA 3G% at 36.5. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted at Mets92, including shooting those awful 1 footed runner 3 pointers. That will stop when he gets here.

[exstatic]

Very rarely the guy best suited to guard Wemby will be the other's team center, that's exactly why playing a center alongside him would be a matchup nullifier.

He's a mismatch, no matter who's guarding him. His best current analog is Chet Holmgren, and he owned him when they played.

[DAF86]

Wemby actually patterns a big part of his game after Durant and if you have watched any filmmof wemby- he might not have durants handles or shooting yet- but he actually isnt that far away from surpassing durant…

and if you research the training program he is on- it is not that much of a stretch to think he might just have the work ethic to surpass durant.

So i would not be too sure about that, “never will be” assertion you made.

Do you really expect Wemby to ever become a 50% 40% 90% shooter?

I think it's very unrealistic to expect that. And even if he did, him playing like Durant would be a great disservice to his 8'1" wingspan and all the other things he excells at like rim protection and finishing around the hoop.

[DAF86]

His FTs (a good indicator of consistent shooting form) are at 83%, and TaT has his projected NBA 3G% at 36.5. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted at Mets92, including shooting those awful 1 footed runner 3 pointers. That will stop when he gets here.

Sure, I fully expect him to be an above average 3pt shooter. That still is far away from a Kevin Durant in terms of shooting, though.

[spurraider21]

as a rookie in the nba, KD hit 29% of his 3's

[K...]

Considering wemby can dunk like a fish in water, no he does not need to shoot well. Wemby is like if steve nash were shaq. People get hung up on forcing wemby into existing roles. Let him do whatever and force defenders to adapt

Oh and lol at “best wemby defender“ like its easy to stop him without doubles.

[Extra Stout]

I’m confused. I thought Wemby was the alien freak breaking defenders’ ankles with crossover dribbles and spin moves to slash into the paint for dunks. I thought he was the guy who blew by his defender to rebound-dunk his own missed 3. I thought he was the guy who shot unblockable delicious impossibly-arced rainbow jumpers. I thought that’s why he was the greatest prospect since LeBron. Not because he has pretty good handles “for a center.” Not because he’s quick “for a center.” Not because he shot pretty well “for a center.”

[spurraider21]

there are no direct comparisons to wemby because he truly is a unicorn. when i think of offensive scorers who take the most advantage of their length/wingspan and skill, i mainly think of giannis/durant/AD. of the 3, AD is the only one who plays center (or at least, doesnt typically play alongside another center), and even then, he's gone back and forth throughout his career. he played a lot more forward earlier in his career when he was skinny (plays at ~255 now and was ~220 when he was drafted).

[DAF86]

as a rookie in the nba, KD hit 29% of his 3's

And 40% in college. Wemby isn't averaging 28% in the NBA 3 pt line, he's doing it in Fiba, the equivalent of college. Are folks really expecting Wemby to become an all-time great shooter?

[DAF86]

I’m confused. I thought Wemby was the alien freak breaking defenders’ ankles with crossover dribbles and spin moves to slash into the paint for dunks. I thought he was the guy who blew by his defender to rebound-dunk his own missed 3. I thought he was the guy who shot unblockable delicious impossibly-arced rainbow jumpers. I thought that’s why he was the greatest prospect since LeBron. Not because he has pretty good handles “for a center.” Not because he’s quick “for a center.” Not because he shot pretty well “for a center.”

If Wemby were 6'3" nobody would be talking about his ball-handling, quickness nor shooting, tbh. So, yeah, the fact that he can do all those things WHILE being 7'4" is what makes him a unicorn. Not those skills in and of themselves, tbh.

[exstatic]

Sure, I fully expect him to be an above average 3pt shooter. That still is far away from a Kevin Durant in terms of shooting, though.

He doesn't have to be as good a shooter, because he will be a lob man and roll threat in a way that KG never really was on a consistent basis. PFs do that. His overall FG% will be higher because he'll be dunking so much. Maybe not Durant's numbers, but I can see him being 55/40/80 at some point. His only concern on the 3 is form. KD had to worry about the occasion AD or Gobert contest/block. No one is blocking Wemby at the arc.

[exstatic]

If Wemby were 6'3" nobody would be talking about his ball-handling, quickness nor shooting, tbh. So, yeah, the fact that can do all those things WHILE being 7'4" is what makes him a unicorn. Not those skills in and of themselves, tbh.

Master of the obvious. No one would be talking about KD's skill set at 6'3", either.

[DAF86]

He doesn't have to be as good a shooter, because he will be a lob man and roll threat in a way that KG never really was on a consistent basis. PFs do that. His overall FG% will be higher because he'll be dunking so much. Maybe not Durant's numbers, but I can see him being 55/40/80 at some point. His only concern on the 3 is form. KD had to worry about the occasion AD or Gobert contest/block. No one is blocking Wemby at the arc.

I don't see Wemby ever becoming a 40% 3 pt shooter, tbh. At least not in high volume.

[DAF86]

Master of the obvious. No one would be talking about KD's skill set at 6'3", either.

The kind of shooting KD has is great at any height. That's exactly the point.

[DAF86]

there are no direct comparisons to wemby because he truly is a unicorn. when i think of offensive scorers who take the most advantage of their length/wingspan and skill, i mainly think of giannis/durant/AD. of the 3, AD is the only one who plays center (or at least, doesnt typically play alongside another center), and even then, he's gone back and forth throughout his career. he played a lot more forward earlier in his career when he was skinny (plays at ~255 now and was ~220 when he was drafted).

Giannis is the Bucks' center, tbh. Since Shaq nobody averaged more pts per game in the paint. On defense he's playing center more and more too.

Also, guys like Durant and Giannis are more mobile than Wemby on the perimeter. The kid has great mobility for a 7'4" guy, but he's still 7'4".

[Extra Stout]

There’s still a disconnect here. Ralph Sampson was 7’4”. Kristaps Porzingis is 7’3”. They did or do amazing things for players their height. The player you’re describing is those guys.

[Extra Stout]

There’s still a disconnect here. Ralph Sampson was 7’4”. Kristaps Porzingis is 7’3”. They did or do amazing things for players their height. The player you’re describing is those guys.

And if that’s all he is then we’ve wasted our time this week being excited about a generational talent. Because neither of those guys were that even before they got hurt. They were All-Star caliber, nothing more.

[exstatic]

I don't see Wemby ever becoming a 40% 3 pt shooter, tbh. At least not in high volume.

Well, to be fair, KD isn't for his career, nor is he a 50/40/90 guy. KD shoots 38.5%, and I think Wemby The Unblockable can hit that. YMMV.