I just wanna say to everyone here on this forum, don’t underestimate Wemby. I feel like you guys did last year. I was like the only one here it seemed supporting the idea of them to start out in “Luka” mode with Wemby getting vets immediately and going for the playoffs.
I saw him and I see him as historically good. That means everything you have seen with player development does not stand at this moment for Wemby. There’s no reason he couldn’t take a leap shortly that puts him into historical numbers that no one has ever sniffed before and then the wins will just start to pile up.
No one really plays whole seasons anymore. And at least some of his missed games the last two seasons were because the jazz were desperately trying to lose. I think he’s definitely worth the max. He’s an elite level offensive player and would fit perfectly with wemby.
Look I generally agree, but people really need perspective. Wemby is the best since Lebron. How many wins did a that translate in yr #2? 42 wins for 4th in his division in a very weak Eastern conference (Only Pistons & Heat were good, rest of PO teams were 42 to 47 wins. Cavs also won 35 the yr before & had a vet team.
Yr 2 Wemby may well b better than LeBron but how many 50 win teams in the West, how many clearly superior teams today?
Im just saying wining 38 games is not a disappointment, winning 40 or 42 would be amazing, 45 astonishing. If there’s someone to do it, it’s Vic, the greatest have a way of developing wayyyy faster & wayyyy better than others, but manage expectations & understand LeBron only got to 42 in a very weak East, Vic is in a loaded West.
Jumping from 21 to 45 wins is crazy, possible & hope it happens but I have a happy life bc I set reasonable expectations & live to be pleasantly surprised. (again) It’s a TALL task
Last edited by Arguendo; 07-08-2024 at 11:49 AM.
Only time will tell. With all the pre draft (lack of talent) hype, I’m hoping Castle comes in with a big chip on his shoulders. While the reasoning for bringing in the 2 aging vets looks sound, I was wanting the team to bring on a mid career wing. Now even more since the 2031 draft pick it could be a wing to team with VW. I liked Aaron Wiggins this season and he’s 25. He didn’t fit in OKC’s plans in the playoffs, but I think Daigneault got out coached looking back on the Giddy fiasco. Thunder have enough talent that I could see a solid rotation player getting lost in the shuffle. Then again, we can always hope that KJ improves enough, and I didn’t see any indication Presti was shopping Wiggins.
for whom?
Chuckle = idiot personality.
Yeah I wouldn't mind some how getting Tor to agree to some kind of trade (Keldon or Collins comes to mind) for Bruce Brown who has a yr left on his contract.
I guess part of this is how you define “whole season” but 17 guys played 82 games, 29 played 80+, 53 played in over 95%, & 98 played in over 90%.
Add in I think 5 of the tanking teams combined for 2 guys playing 90+%.
No question there’s less Ironman, your not seen as a for missing back-2-backs, resting sore soft tissue, prolonging careers. But some dudes do still they every game, Mikel Bridges has never missed a game, I guarantee that factored into giving up 5 1sts likely to be in to 20s.
To me, playing in 90+% of games is showing up the whole season by today’s standards (& that’s like an avg 4 guys per team for most non-tanking teams). But showing up 71% over your career is worrying as us never topping 81% (as a rook at that).
Gotcha, Im very down for less of that. That’s my fav thing with Paul, he’s got that Jordan will tear you apart for being an idiot thing, missing the rings but otherwise ALL-timer who cares & will b a future coach + has Pops backing (although I’m not convinced Pop is still engaged)
I think it’s just what’s the Sochans, Brans, Wesley’s need- like hey dip your a 3rd yr pro, learn the f-ing offense, learn rotations, pay attention, make good decisions or get your ass to Europe. Bill has come due, think Paul will make them show or run them out & hopefully do for Steph what is supposedly did for SGA
I think CP and Barnes are much better mentors than FVV and Brooks.
I get your perspective and reservations. I’m just saying I don’t have em. There’s a big difference between Wemby and LeBron. Wemby is potentially a DPOY next year in a way that would put him as DPOY of the last decade. If the team defense is realized, then that’s why I think the games won number can change so dramatically. Look at how it worked for Okc with Chet. He was the defensive piece that suddenly made that team click and win relentessly.
im going all in on shooting for a playin spot for this team next year and I don’t think that’s crazy at all. You can post this at end of the next season if I’m wrong.
i also don’t think they are done at all. Right now assuming Atlanta wants their picks back, we basicallly own the return for Trae Young. We literally can own whatever Atlanta gets for him. We can direct them to trade with certain teams for what we want. If that’s the case, we may be trying to do that and then direct that return to Utah plus whatever else we need to get Lauri. I’m not saying it’s gonna be Lauri, but I’m saying they have set themselves up for one more big move this offseason and I think the Lauri trade is most likely.
They haven't moved the needle that much for me, either. CP probably doesn't even last past February, so we've got an actual, clearly planned built-in soft tank this season if things go even somewhat south before the deadline.
Barnes and Castle don't make us a playoff team. Play-in, I hope, yes.
Spurs will be improved assuming castle hits and cp3 has something left. Ultimately its on wemby's shoulders to get spurs in the playin picture
Agree & I think they compliment each other really well, one will call you out/demand your best & the other will pick you up & lead by example…All-time great who couldn’t get over the hump vs career role guy who knows what it’s like to win & how very hard it is to get back
Nah man,that’s not me- I won’t be calling anyone out, I just like the sports discussion & appreciate getting peoples perspective, that’s how I grow my own.
Also think they’re not done, but I’d prefer Spurs see what it looks like a month (post Olympics) then maybe in Dec/Jan when some apron team is underperforming & maybe panics. If Castle shows real PG potential then he may well be a future high-end #2 and you have a much bigger runway & better bargaining position to go OKC route, see if you want a new max guy (like Lauri) or if it’s better to get a 2-yr rental, etc.
But I do just want to point out the jump your expecting from Wendy, who just had the best 19/20 y/o season ever, one if the best rook seasons ever (even compared to a 22 y/o Kareem & a 24 y/o DR).
Bron Yr1 20.9/5.5/5.9/1.6s .417/.290 9th in MVP
Yr2 27.2/7.4/7.2/2.2s 6th in MVP behind 5 first ballot HOFers who all won MVPs
Wemby 21.4/10.6/3.9/3.6b .465/.325 with obvi DEF1 & robbed of DPOY bc team play
That jump would b something like 28/13/5/5 likely top3 MVP & DPOY
I honestly think that’s very possible, but Bron got 42MPG that yr, I think Vic gets closer to 33. Bron was way more physically developed & not 7’4” with the always looming possibilities of foot/back injuries that ended so any great bigs early.
I simply doubt PATFO give him the chance to play huge minutes& totally carry the team to get to 45-47W. Like I honestly think every 1MPG Vic plays is worth 1/2 to 1 win. But Pop is extremely conservative with min, the FO is secure, & I doubt they view the risk/reward of big minutes after of summer of international ball positively atm.
That said, I think your largely right, esp about the D. It seems like your expecting Vic to pretty clearly be a Top2 player ever (with proper durability) and that may well prove right.
I think we will have a much clearer picture by early August (Lauri extends 8/6, can only be traded on 2/6 or he’ll b free). If Vic dominates the American all-star team, has an international “holy ” Olympics as a 20 y/o, esp if he leads them to gold, there is a lot more pressure to make those win now moves bc it’s clear he’s ready & continuing to slow roll simply wastes a (very cheap) yr.
Agreed.
I'm also really optimistic about his second season, especially with CP3 coming in.
His best days are long gone, but he doesn't even need to collapse defense or anything, he just needs to get the ball to Wemby and passing is a skill that never goes away.
Over his final 45 games of the season Wemby averaged 23/11/4.5 and 4 blocks in just 29 minutes. That's with Tre and worse spacing than he'll have in season two.
Worst case scenario is 25/12/4 with 4 blocks.
As for roster moves, while I desperately want Markkanen here, I want him because he's the best available option.
Back to the wing situation analysis, we're not getting anyone else next summer except maybe Naz Reid and even that's a stretch because Minnesota probably keeps him over McDaniels.
If Devin and Castle deliver, we won't be in for big moves at guard positions, either.
Just another stable veteran depending on if CP3/Tre are still here and then it's all about depth.
I just think Markkanen is that guy for us.
I'm getting ahead of myself, but if we get to the playoffs, most teams aren't really equipped to deal with Wemby.
Yeah, we'd lose because the rest of the roster isn't up to the required level, but he'd put up some ridiculous numbers.
Great post. Hopefully Wemby does have that "holy " Olympics. While I still hope Team USA wins gold, I hope that it's done in a close finals game where Wemby has a game for the ages. Obviously the Spurs know Wemby better than anyone, but it seems like they don't feel like he's ready for them to make the big moves to put pieces around him yet... maybe Wemby is motivated to show them that they should.
He has one of the sharpest brains all time in the nba. That is the #1 defining trait for hall of famers. As long as he still stays healthy and in great shape, even as he ages, he will be able to do a lot of the Chris Paul-y things that define him. I have great confidence we will love what he brings to Wemby and our Spurs.
I don't think there were realistic options to move the needle to contention. We're young, but the guys they added should both help the level of the team next year (They're not great A+ players at this stage, but better than Blake Wesley / Malaki (CP3) and Cedi Osman (Barnes).
Most importantly, they should help the growth path of our players, with passing on veteran know how (Meaning as politely as possible, some of the ery that CP3 gets up to) / training discipline etc.
Play-in / fringe play in seems reasonable, and that would be a decent jump.
Looking at the West,
OKC / Denver / Dallas / Minnesota
Seem like the top 4. I think all four of them expect to end up near the top of the West.
Memphis / Phoenix / New Orleans / Lakers / Kings / Warriors / Clippers / Rockets will all have serious playoff / play-in expectations. If the top 4 are in, at least two of them won't make it.
Spurs probably have play in aspirations. They'll have to be better than some of the teams above to get in, and a team probably gets a serious injury bug, but it'll still be an ask to get to above a bunch of them.
Jazz / Blazers seem like the dregs, though both will be frisky.
I think the big FA year is next year, mostly as Wemby will (hopefully) go from an incredibly promising second year player coming off his rookie year to a guy who was in the MVP conversation (As in, he'll get brought up because of his numbers but dismissed as the Spurs aren't quite good enough). That's a really promising player to join in FA.
The needle moved from impossible to possible—still not great odds, but better than before.
Bend over, ill show you a needle that will move you
Be patient, it won't happen right away.
Hope not
I want two top ten lottery picks in 25
Hope France wins Gold.
Would be great for Wemby. I don't care if the players on USA win Gold.
The only way that the crap style of ball in the NBA changes is if the US gets shut out of the medals like they did two years ago in the World Cup. That would be a wake-up call to revamp the pussy ball rules that allow offensive players to do whatever they want, and hunt fouls with impunity.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote