Wembanyama. I'm concerned

[Lalouie]

You mean like last night when he got Jones a wide open 3 to tie and he missed it?

Have you even watched the Spurs this year by any chance or are you just talking for the sake of talking? Because not very many guys can make an open 3 on that garbage roster.

If he's making the team better, why are they just as bad (if not worse) than last year's? The lineup is pretty much the same except the addition of him.

If winning is not the end goal, then what is it?

I'd lay the blame entirely on Pop and the FO, he's not the one that was playing an unskilled PF at PG, he's not the one that decided to come into the season with Mcdermott and Cedi Osman as the main vets on the team, he's not the one putting himself on a minutes restriction, he's coming into a new country and new league and breaking records for a teenager. Whether that be due to blatant tanking or incompetence is another question, to put it into context, Chet was getting upset in the NCAA tournament at the same age.

i don't care if you play wemby as water boy, sas should STILL be better than last year.

but pops is old school enough having had robinson and tim, that i DON'T think he's happy watching wemby shoot 3s. it's wemby who wants to play out there

[Slim Charlez]

If he's making the team better, why are they just as bad (if not worse) than last year's? The lineup is pretty much the same except the addition of him.

If winning is not the end goal, then what is it?

I'd lay the blame entirely on Pop and the FO, he's not the one that was playing an unskilled PF at PG, he's not the one that decided to come into the season with Mcdermott and Cedi Osman as the main vets on the team, he's not the one putting himself on a minutes restriction, he's coming into a new country and new league and breaking records for a teenager. Whether that be due to blatant tanking or incompetence is another question, to put it into context, Chet was getting upset in the NCAA tournament at the same age.

i don't care if you play wemby as water boy, sas should STILL be better than last year.

but pops is old school enough having had robinson and tim, that i DON'T think he's happy watching wemby shoot 3s. it's wemby who wants to play out there

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

[tsherkin]

a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

They have no incentive to win, and no change to even with a tighter leash, so why should he grind on them on the first of Wemby's seasons? It's a perfect time to let him get some of this out of his system while they're bad and there are no real consequences. Let him adjust to the league, show his work ethic in practice and the gym and all that (which, as far as I am aware, he is doing).

Ah ok, I see. Amazing. Well, I'm expecting multiple DPOYs for Wemby over the course of his career (not just due to his shot-blocking of course).

We shall see, for sure.

Yeah JJJ last year had 5 blocks per 100, Wemby is doing that as a rookie.

Hakeem, DRob maxed out at 5.8 or something. Mutombo was 6.4 at max.
Only comps to Wemby are the other monster guys like Manute Bol and Mark Eaton. Though Manute got to 9 blocks per 100 and Mark got to 8.

I'd be interested in a poll on how many DPOYs people think Wemby will get. I'm guessing 4.

Kind of wild to see, for sure. And a lot of is good positioning and just absurd length + mobility, which is a little terrifying.

[zimpy27]

a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

They have no incentive to win, and no change to even with a tighter leash, so why should he grind on them on the first of Wemby's seasons? It's a perfect time to let him get some of this out of his system while they're bad and there are no real consequences. Let him adjust to the league, show his work ethic in practice and the gym and all that (which, as far as I am aware, he is doing).

Ah ok, I see. Amazing. Well, I'm expecting multiple DPOYs for Wemby over the course of his career (not just due to his shot-blocking of course).

We shall see, for sure.

Yeah JJJ last year had 5 blocks per 100, Wemby is doing that as a rookie.

Hakeem, DRob maxed out at 5.8 or something. Mutombo was 6.4 at max.
Only comps to Wemby are the other monster guys like Manute Bol and Mark Eaton. Though Manute got to 9 blocks per 100 and Mark got to 8.

I'd be interested in a poll on how many DPOYs people think Wemby will get. I'm guessing 4.

Kind of wild to see, for sure. And a lot of is good positioning and just absurd length + mobility, which is a little terrifying.

It's the ground movement combined with wingspan that is scary.

I remember last playoffs there was Davis being an absolute fiend because of the ground coverage with wingspan. He'd defend high on Curry and still get back for blocks.

I said then that what we are looking at with Davis is how Wemby is going to be almost straight away and I can only double down hard on that take.

[tsherkin]

It's the ground movement combined with wingspan that is scary.

Oh, his area coverage is insane. And you saw that clip of him blocking a 3 from basically the foul line? Like, the ability to threaten with such range is absolutely absurd. Like I said earlier, he's already showing 7th in defensive EPM as a rookie. That's kinda nuts.

[LAvision]

It's the ground movement combined with wingspan that is scary.

Oh, his area coverage is insane. And you saw that clip of him blocking a 3 from basically the foul line? Like, the ability to threaten with such range is absolutely absurd. Like I said earlier, he's already showing 7th in defensive EPM as a rookie. That's kinda nuts.

He's also extremely clever, even at this young age he's realized he just needs to have his hands straight in the air and the defender is done. He doesnt get fouls because he never reaches or swings his arm forward on blocks. That's whats really terrifying, he already knows how to get a high volume of blocks without hacking.

[Rust_Cohle]

I'd lay the blame entirely on Pop and the FO, he's not the one that was playing an unskilled PF at PG, he's not the one that decided to come into the season with Mcdermott and Cedi Osman as the main vets on the team, he's not the one putting himself on a minutes restriction, he's coming into a new country and new league and breaking records for a teenager. Whether that be due to blatant tanking or incompetence is another question, to put it into context, Chet was getting upset in the NCAA tournament at the same age.

i don't care if you play wemby as water boy, sas should STILL be better than last year.

but pops is old school enough having had robinson and tim, that i DON'T think he's happy watching wemby shoot 3s. it's wemby who wants to play out there

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

Spurs are tanking on purpose

[Lalouie]

i don't care if you play wemby as water boy, sas should STILL be better than last year.

but pops is old school enough having had robinson and tim, that i DON'T think he's happy watching wemby shoot 3s. it's wemby who wants to play out there

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

Spurs are tanking on purpose

youd had to give a reason, a goal, a purpose for me to believe that

[Rust_Cohle]

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

Spurs are tanking on purpose

youd had to give a reason, a goal, a purpose for me to believe that

We desperately need a PG. another top 5 pick for this team and potentially getting Nikola Topic would be perfect. They have a ton of draft picks and a ton of cap space. This is just year one. Pop was playing Sochan at PG for a while there. Wins are not his priority this season, another top pick is.

[lebootz21]

i don't care if you play wemby as water boy, sas should STILL be better than last year.

but pops is old school enough having had robinson and tim, that i DON'T think he's happy watching wemby shoot 3s. it's wemby who wants to play out there

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

Spurs are tanking on purpose

Why though? Who do they want that badly they're willing to throw Wemby's season away like that?

[lebootz21]

I think it’s silly that you’re being reductive.


It doesn’t matter one bit if this team is losing as currently constructed and the way it’s currently being coached. Spurs aren’t trying to win games, it’s been obvious to anybody that has watched.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

I'm sorry I value net rating. He needs to start winning if he wants to be in the same tier as Lebron, Jordan, Duncan, Shaq, etc.

I'm not saying he can't. I'll believe it when I see it. I don't deal with hypotheticals and guesses.

sounds like you don't add much value to conversions. If you lack the ability to project talent beyond regurgitating a metric then I don't see the point. Is your argument that he isn't projecting to be Lebron or Jordan? He doesn't have to be as good as those guys, I just don't see what you are arguing against.

I understand your frustration and trust me I'm fully aware I'm beginning to sound like a troll and I apologize.

I guess I'm just sick of the hype and it's so obvious the NBA is pushing every game he plays as if it's a major event it's really hard to have a rational discussion about the issue. Notice how they never talk about the bad games? The propaganda is so obvious it just seems disingenuous to me.

Like I said, I'm done with the trolling. Wemby fans shouldn't be so offended when there is criticism because sometimes the biggest haters are also secret fans.

[lebootz21]

I'm sorry I value net rating. He needs to start winning if he wants to be in the same tier as Lebron, Jordan, Duncan, Shaq, etc.

I'm not saying he can't. I'll believe it when I see it. I don't deal with hypotheticals and guesses.

sounds like you don't add much value to conversions. If you lack the ability to project talent beyond regurgitating a metric then I don't see the point. Is your argument that he isn't projecting to be Lebron or Jordan? He doesn't have to be as good as those guys, I just don't see what you are arguing against.

Seriously. 30 games into his rookie year: "He needs to win to be in the same tier as Jordan and LeBron!" You can't make these horrible takes up

If they are going to hype him up as the biggest thing since Lebron, how is it unreasonable for me to compare him to Lebron?

Like I said, I'm not trying to troll, but I understand if it looks that way.

To each their own. Believe it or not I believe he is going to be a generational talent, so we actually agree on a lot of things.

[Bornstellar]

sounds like you don't add much value to conversions. If you lack the ability to project talent beyond regurgitating a metric then I don't see the point. Is your argument that he isn't projecting to be Lebron or Jordan? He doesn't have to be as good as those guys, I just don't see what you are arguing against.

Seriously. 30 games into his rookie year: "He needs to win to be in the same tier as Jordan and LeBron!" You can't make these horrible takes up

If they are going to hype him up as the biggest thing since Lebron, how is it unreasonable for me to compare him to Lebron?

Like I said, I'm not trying to troll, but I understand if it looks that way.

To each their own. Believe it or not I believe he is going to be a generational talent, so we actually agree on a lot of things.

LeBron wasn't the LeBron we know now after 30 games of his career either (hence why he didn't even with ROY). The comparison you're making is based on the totality of his career vs what Wemby is right now which makes zero sense

Edit: my bad, LeBron did win ROY over Melo

[Lalouie]

Spurs are tanking on purpose

youd had to give a reason, a goal, a purpose for me to believe that

We desperately need a PG. another top 5 pick for this team and potentially getting Nikola Topic would be perfect. They have a ton of draft picks and a ton of cap space. This is just year one. Pop was playing Sochan at PG for a while there. Wins are not his priority this season, another top pick is.

do they have to "tank" to do this? they're bad as it is.

and this is supposedly a draft with depth. there is no guarantee in a top4 or 5 and there's plenty of examples every year. if the spur org has the ability to mine gems especially from europe i would think tanking for a top pick in a deep draft is the least of their problems nor a worthy goal.

i smell a move by the org that is not as overt as you think.

[bledredwine]

This thread is WILD!

This is very entertaining

[bledredwine]

With all due respect, I am not impressed with his stats if his team is losing. At what point is it better for him to pass that 3 point shot to an open guard who shoots better than him?

If he's losing, he's contributing to a loss.

This is why net rating (team and individual) is so important. It's the only metric that matters.

If I put peak Shaq or Jordan out there with a bunch of 12 year olds they would lose.

That same player in another situation wins 3 straight titles.

Acting like anyone that loses must have their contributions painted as a “contributor to a loss” is silly and reductive.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

How is it silly? His team is losing. It is fair to question whether or not he is a winner when he is clearly losing.

The difference is that the Spurs are purposefully tanking, and the Spurs are amazing at tanking.

If you see Wemby’s support, you don’t critique because it’s actually the worst.

[Rust_Cohle]

youd had to give a reason, a goal, a purpose for me to believe that

We desperately need a PG. another top 5 pick for this team and potentially getting Nikola Topic would be perfect. They have a ton of draft picks and a ton of cap space. This is just year one. Pop was playing Sochan at PG for a while there. Wins are not his priority this season, another top pick is.

do they have to "tank" to do this? they're bad as it is.

and this is supposedly a draft with depth. there is no guarantee in a top4 or 5 and there's plenty of examples every year. if the spur org has the ability to mine gems especially from europe i would think tanking for a top pick in a deep draft is the least of their problems nor a worthy goal.

i smell a move by the org that is not as overt as you think.

It’s not a confusing concept, they are blatantly tanking and did last season as well. Topic is their main target. With the third word record in the league they should be in great shape to a very high pick.

It’s absolutely a worthy goal, they tanked last year and got a generational talent. The record is meaningless for wins and losses. It’s a process and will be a few years before they make the playoffs. Thunder took 3-4 years to rebuild.

[Rust_Cohle]

Pop has been terrible this season and looks like he's just letting them do whatever they want out there. I don't know if it's by design to let them learn from their mistakes and obtain a higher pick or he's legitimately lost it but a big reason why the Spurs have been awful has been Pop sadly.

Spurs are tanking on purpose

Why though? Who do they want that badly they're willing to throw Wemby's season away like that?

Uhhh it’s year 1 for wemby. There is plenty of time. Topic is a stud in the draft perfectly fits what the spurs need. It’s not like this team is a team that should be a playoff team that is ranking. They are the worst roster in the league. They have a ton of cap space and picks. Lots of flexibility. If they were still this bad in year 3 I’d be concerned, but year 1? Build through the draft

[Rust_Cohle]

sounds like you don't add much value to conversions. If you lack the ability to project talent beyond regurgitating a metric then I don't see the point. Is your argument that he isn't projecting to be Lebron or Jordan? He doesn't have to be as good as those guys, I just don't see what you are arguing against.

Seriously. 30 games into his rookie year: "He needs to win to be in the same tier as Jordan and LeBron!" You can't make these horrible takes up

If they are going to hype him up as the biggest thing since Lebron, how is it unreasonable for me to compare him to Lebron?

Like I said, I'm not trying to troll, but I understand if it looks that way.

To each their own. Believe it or not I believe he is going to be a generational talent, so we actually agree on a lot of things.

Wemby already is having a better stats than lebron’s rookie year with a far worse supporting cast. Lebron didn’t win a title until 9 years into his career.
League also has way more talent than it did in 2003.

[stillgotgame]

If I put peak Shaq or Jordan out there with a bunch of 12 year olds they would lose.

That same player in another situation wins 3 straight titles.

Acting like anyone that loses must have their contributions painted as a “contributor to a loss” is silly and reductive.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

How is it silly? His team is losing. It is fair to question whether or not he is a winner when he is clearly losing.

The difference is that the Spurs are purposefully tanking, and the Spurs are amazing at tanking.

If you see Wemby’s support, you don’t critique because it’s actually the worst.

Spurs aren't tanking. They're just playing not to win. They're indifferent about their record. It's all about development. Wemby is going to be an MVP level superstar and Pop is developing the supporting cast. Vassell is an excellent 3rd guy, but the Spurs still need the second star.
They have lots of draft picks stockpiled, stable management, and a winning tradition so they can develop and lose at their leisure.