Victor Wembanyama was everything he promised to be during his rookie season—and then some.
He won Rookie of the Year in a landslide and turned heads while doing it. Wembanyama even caught the eye of a few veterans.
In Andrew Lopez‘s piece for ESPN, a veteran told him he expects “other vets will take less money to play with Wembanyama.”
Despite how good he was this past season, the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of work to do building around Wembanyama.
Here are a few veterans who might be candidates to take pay cuts to join the Spurs and compete alongside Wemby.
Anyone who watched the Spurs this season was highly frustrated with their point guard play. They struggled to get the ball to Wembanyama all season long. A refresh and an upgrade at this point would go a long way for San Antonio.
As luck might have it, the “Point God” might be a free agent if the Golden State Warriors do not pick up his option. Chris Paul is near the end of his career, but he might be the perfect ball-handler to run San Antonio’s offense.
This past season, Paul averaged 6.8 assists. That would be more than any Spurs player this season. Wembanyama pairing with one of the best passers in the league will open up serious opportunities. Think about all the lobs we could get!
As a bonus for the Spurs, Paul would provide a veteran presence to one of the league’s youngest teams. There is not much of a market for Paul among NBA contenders, but being a veteran presence on one of the youngest teams brings immense value to the Spurs.
Paul would make a great Spur, and something about him playing for Gregg Popovich seems perfect.
Could DeMar DeRozan return to San Antonio? His contract is up in Chicago, which makes him an unrestricted free agent.
Despite the Bulls walking on the mediocrity treadmill, he has expressed interest in returning.
DeRozan has said he wants to win, but Chicago needs to head in a different direction and should look to break up the team. The question then becomes: Where can DeRozan go that would guarantee winning?
No contender is a DeRozan away from winning it all.
So again, why not return to San Antonio?
The Spurs and DeRozan had a good three-year run despite not winning much. During that run, DeRozan developed more playing-making skills, which would be helpful now with Wembanyama. There would be more space in the midrange for him to operate with Wembanyama’s ability to spread the floor.
DeRozan would be a great addition to the Spurs’ locker room. In addition to being a well-respected NBA veteran, he is a former Spurs player who understands the organization’s culture.
It would be a seamless fit.
D’Angelo Russell has been one of the more polarizing Lakers over the past few seasons. Recently, he was featured in trade rumors up until the deadline. At times, it felt like the Lakers re-signed Russell to use him as trade bait. And now, he has the decision to opt out of his contract and look to sign elsewhere.
The Spurs could be an exciting place for him.
Los Angeles never traded Russell last season, and he delivered during the regular season. He averaged 18 points on 45.6/41.5/82.8 shooting splits while averaging 6.3 assists. A guard who can balance scoring and playmaking, particularly for Wembanyama, is currently missing on the Spurs roster. Russell could be that guard.
It would be fun to watch Russell playing for Popovich as well. This could be an opportunity to see real growth in his game. It might be worth taking a little less to help the Spurs get back into the playoffs.
The following name on the list is more fantasy; the player has no interest in taking a pay cut with their current team, so it stands to reason they would not take one to play in San Antonio. But let’s have some fun, and please play along.
It appears Paul George is at a stalemate with the LA Clippers over his next contract. The San Antonio Spurs getting George would make them playoff contenders in a stacked Western Conference.
George had a great year with the Clippers, played in 74 games, averaging 22.6 points a game and shooting 41.3 percent from three. His assist numbers were lower this season mainly due to playing with James Harden, but he averaged 5.1 assists the previous season.
Adding George’s two-way ability to Wembanyama would make for an entertaining duo on both ends of the floor. George has not played with a rim protector like that since his Indiana days with Roy Hibbert. Offensively, this would be a problematic two-man game to defend, with Wemby being able to pop or roll to the rim. Defenses would have to go over ball screens on George, stopping him from shooting off the screen.
Again, this is not likely to happen as George is not taking a pay cut and will receive big offers in free agency from other teams besides the Clippers. It would be a lot of fun, and the Spurs would be a must-watch team on a nightly basis.