The Parisian Patisserie of Victor Wembanyama

[ace3g]

[ambchang]

My major concern is how much room he takes on offence. If he was to create on dribble drives, he takes up an entire side of the court with his dribble and stride, which means that either hope defence will close out quickly, or the other three or four guys would have to crowd on the weak side of the court which makes the offence incredibly crowded. The spurs will not only need good shooters, they need quick shooters.

As pointed out in the above post; he is likely best as a pick and pop option. But that said someone that skinny may not be best suited as a screener.

Well, that’s why the coaching staff is getting paid millions to solve this.

[tim_duncan_fan]

We need to brace for deep inefficiency from him this first season at least, if not beyond this first season.

I hope he is working on his strength and his shot.

Just being tall won't cut it, if we are honest. Luckily he is just going on 20.

[couchman]

We need to brace for deep inefficiency from him this first season at least, if not beyond this first season.
...

Agreed.
The move to Paris Mets was designed to do that and we'll see more of it with the Spurs.
With Mets, Wemby jacked up a bunch of 3's and other shots that he wasn't really allowed to take at ASVEL.
His efficiency with those shots was not great, but he was given room to fail and learn and get better, and as a result we got to see that he likely will be a good 3pt shooter and outside player eventually.

To maximize his potential the Spurs will need to be ok with him continuing to experiment and fail and learn.
Eventually you do have the reign that in though.
Once he has an unstoppable combo of efficient offensive skills there isn't a point to continuing to fail at the other things he's not great at.
It will be interesting to see how Pop deals with it. Historically he wants to reign in guys right away, but as he has aged (and the Manu experience) he has learned to let people go a bit more

[tim_duncan_fan]

Pop has already said they plan to let Victor be Victor. I am just not 100% sure of what that is or what that means.

[couchman]

Pop has already said they plan to let Victor be Victor. I am just not 100% sure of what that is or what that means.

I think that means at least one more year of this being a lottery team.
I hope, however, that Pop balances that approach with some hard-ass coaching to make sure bad habits don't become ingrained.

[Mr. Body]

Pop has already said they plan to let Victor be Victor. I am just not 100% sure of what that is or what that means.

I'm pretty sure that's a reference to Victor Wembanyama.

[John B]

Pop has already said they plan to let Victor be Victor. I am just not 100% sure of what that is or what that means.

There is pressure to be in the shadows of Timmy and DRob as Spurs great big men. I think Pop is saying let Wemby be Wemby, and will not try to compare or mold him into another Tim or DRob. Wemby is obviously a very unique player with what he can do at his size. But Pop will patiently observe and assess how he can maximize, surround him with complimentary personnel (either with what we already have or trades/pickups by trade deadline) and translate those to W’s.

Wemby is real lucky that he is being coached by someone who is at no way under any kind of pressure to win now. Pop is already the GOAT and he will protect and develop Wemby at pace that will not risk any injuries. Any other coach would not have that luxury whose job security lies on winning in the immediate future. Not Pop. It’s Win/Win for both. So Wemby can be Wemby.

[tim_duncan_fan]

There is pressure to be in the shadows of Timmy and DRob as Spurs great big men. I think Pop is saying let Wemby be Wemby, and will not try to compare or mold him into another Tim or DRob. Wemby is obviously a very unique player with what he can do at his size. But Pop will patiently observe and assess how he can maximize, surround him with complimentary personnel (either with what we already have or trades/pickups by trade deadline) and translate those to W’s.

Wemby is real lucky that he is being coached by someone who is at no way under any kind of pressure to win now. Pop is already the GOAT and he will protect and develop Wemby at pace that will not risk any injuries. Any other coach would not have that luxury whose job security lies on winning in the immediate future. Not Pop. It’s Win/Win for both. So Wemby can be Wemby.

Yeah, it is the maximizing where I am concerned. We seem to be looking at long 2s and 30% from 3. I'll admit that I come at this from a super-skeptical perspective in the interest of being prepared.

[spursparker9]

[JuneJive]

I see his decision making when double teamed the swing skill.

If he gets it right he will unlock the whole teams offensive potential.

[TrainOfThought5]

My major concern is how much room he takes on offence. If he was to create on dribble drives, he takes up an entire side of the court with his dribble and stride, which means that either hope defence will close out quickly, or the other three or four guys would have to crowd on the weak side of the court which makes the offence incredibly crowded. The spurs will not only need good shooters, they need quick shooters.

As pointed out in the above post; he is likely best as a pick and pop option. But that said someone that skinny may not be best suited as a screener.

Well, that’s why the coaching staff is getting paid millions to solve this.

how tall is this help defense you speak of??

[exstatic]

My major concern is how much room he takes on offence. If he was to create on dribble drives, he takes up an entire side of the court with his dribble and stride, which means that either hope defence will close out quickly, or the other three or four guys would have to crowd on the weak side of the court which makes the offence incredibly crowded. The spurs will not only need good shooters, they need quick shooters.

As pointed out in the above post; he is likely best as a pick and pop option. But that said someone that skinny may not be best suited as a screener.

Well, that’s why the coaching staff is getting paid millions to solve this.

He takes up his exact direct path to the basket, just like any other player.

[ambchang]

how tall is this help defense you speak of??

Doesn't really matter than much if he puts the ball on the floor, which was what happened in the first summer league game. Obviously that game was a test out game and he was instructed to run wild and stretch his capabilities, but as long as he puts the ball on the floor quick guards can come in for swipes. Victor has an incredibly smooth and low dribble for someone his size, but that is still relative to someone of his size.

He takes up his exact direct path to the basket, just like any other player.

His wingspan is long and takes up a huge amount of space. He has an incredibly low dribble for someone his size, so it is hard for him to keep it close to his body. Don't get me wrong, he has incredible perimeter skills for a big man, like a 7'4" wing player, but he still needs an incredible amount of real estate to operate on drives.

[spurraider21]

how tall is this help defense you speak of??

To execute a legal dribble the ball has to hit the floor. We’re talking about people crowding his dribble not swatting a fadeaway

[BatManu20]

Wemby blending in with the locals already tbh.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Whats he holding?

[ace3g]

Whats he holding?

One of those tiny mics

[ace3g]

Some more pics from FB

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

One of those tiny mics

lol didn't want to accuse him of vaping

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

To execute a legal dribble the ball has to hit the floor. We’re talking about people crowding his dribble not swatting a fadeaway

tbf victor could just bounce it off the defenders' heads

[ace3g]

[NameLess Scrub]

Getting back here to see the discussion on how to make Wemby work.

I’m still skeptical on how a type of player that never works as a star will work this time. His body development has gone out of the boundaries of what a functional basketball player typically is.

Either he proves to be a bust, stuck in positional limbo, injury prone, or he actually pans out to be a star/superstar.

Can’t wait to find out

[exstatic]

Getting back here to see the discussion on how to make Wemby work.

I’m still skeptical on how a type of player that never works as a star will work this time. His body development has gone out of the boundaries of what a functional basketball player typically is.

Either he proves to be a bust, stuck in positional limbo, injury prone, or he actually pans out to be a star/superstar.

Can’t wait to find out

His floor is Rudy Gobert, a multi DPOY, All Star, and All NBA player. He won’t be an outright bust, even if he doesn’t become The Alien.

[Mr. Body]

Getting back here to see the discussion on how to make Wemby work.

I’m still skeptical on how a type of player that never works as a star will work this time. His body development has gone out of the boundaries of what a functional basketball player typically is.

Either he proves to be a bust, stuck in positional limbo, injury prone, or he actually pans out to be a star/superstar.

Can’t wait to find out

Well he's never been a star in a major basketball league before so who knows!