There’s a different feel to the days of Summer League, even when the Spurs are quiet during the offseason transactional period.
Never mind the lack of star signings or trades, because Julian Champagnie is dropping 30 and 28 points in successive games and looking like his late-season emergence was actually something real. Across from him, teammate Dominick Barlow is faking a dribble-handoff, crossing over, spinning, and floating a ball off the glass without losing his balance — as if in three months he’s shed his baby-giraffe skin. Malaki Branham is scoring 32 points with ease just a year removed from having a relatively subdued rookie Vegas experience. And Blake Wesley is bulked up, showing patience and understanding that his job as a point guard is to set these guys up to do what they do best.
There’s this reminder that San Antonio has built a roster full of kids, and they still need a minute to grow.
It’s cool to watch, especially for those of us who may have forgotten what being a teenager on a basketball court was like. One second you’re on the ground because the big dude four years older than you flew over to throw your stuff into the stands and just so happened to give you a gentle nudge, but the next you’re pump-faking and getting him off his feet before getting to the basket. Then there’s the old man toying with you, showing you every last trick in the book before you understood you’ve got to grasp the fundamentals of the game or you’ll just continue to get cooked.
That’s where many of these Spurs are, learning a lot about the game in a short period of time, and trying to find their places in a hyper-competitive sport.
Don’t misinterpret the smiles, though. The feel-good nature and the casual style of July basketball are just part of the window-dressing. Hoops have always been serious in San Antonio, but it’s been a little while since the stopwatch has been set like this.
Victor Wembanyama is more than just a prize the Spurs won. He’s a metronome, and he’s setting the cadence for everything that happens next.
On Friday night there will be close to 19,000 people watching his debut in person, and the NBA announced tickets for the day are sold out. It’s all because of him, too. Which, in a way, sets the stage for what comes next. Because everything that happens in Spurs-world from here on out will be with him in mind as well.
There’s a reason San Antonio hasn’t been a big mover and shaker during free agency, and why the deals it has made are comprised of short-term money: because this is all a tryout, with all due respect to the professionals who are getting paid to take part.
It’s Tre Jones on a newly minted two-year deal worth $20 million; it’s the acquisition of Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and Reggie Bullock, who are all on expiring contracts; it’s Sandro Mamukelashvili getting one year; it’s Champagnie signing a four-year deal that, while I have yet to see details, is almost assuredly laced with non-guarantees.
It’s accumulating assets that may work out, but if they don’t, it’s on to the next one. Either that, or it’s trade filler. And considering the team’s roster is currently overdrawn in terms of allotted space, there’s going to be a casualty or two in the coming days, weeks or months if there isn’t some sort of significant trade.
While I can’t tell you for sure what the Spurs’ plans are — I’m not sure anyone can, because they’re fluid at this point — the team seems more than willing to wait things out during the upcoming season. They’ve got plenty of first-round picks coming in the next couple of years, and just added another swap in the three-team deal with the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics that landed Bullock. It’s a 2030 swap, which couldn’t be further away, literally, because teams can only trade or swap picks seven years in advance. Additionally, they’ve got enough second-round picks that I’m pretty sure they can start using them as credit on their Amex card, and it seems like every team is more than willing to accept that currency as payment these days.
But more than anything, the timing of that pick swap represents a mindset and an approach. Assuming Wembanyama stays healthy and signs a rookie-level extension in four years, it matches up with a timeframe that also coincides with his potential unrestricted free agency. And let’s be honest, who knows what happens in Dallas with Luka Doncic when he reaches that point of his career? Who knows if the Mavs are great or bad at that point?
That’s not the real lesson here, though. You can’t predict anything that far in advance. But you can prepare. You can look at a layout of a plan and understand it’s about longevity.
The Spurs are trying to set themselves up for later, when they’re actually ready to win, when they truly understand what they’re working with and can use picks and players to further organize. Despite the hype around Wembanyama, and even the nice showings from their other players in the California Classic, that time is not now.
Summer League is a moment in the sun for all players trying to compete and earn jobs, and right now that couldn’t ring any more true in San Antonio. They’re still under construction, but the train is on the tracks. A Spurs staffer mentioned to me, in a realistic but in no way threatening way, (paraphrasing) ‘You’ve got a year, because after that we’re taking off. Let’s figure out who Victor is and figure out who we are, and then it’s time to roll.’
Being patient in this situation takes a lot of discipline. With cap space and trade assets at the ready, the temptation to go grab a player and fast-track this whole thing is real for at least a few minutes. Damian Lillard playing alongside Wemby would be a hell of a lot of fun… until he’s being paid $60 million annually two years from now, you’re still not quite sure you have the right team assembled, and suddenly you’re out of room to move. Disaster. The NBA landcape is littered with teams who have made the mistake of walking before they could run, and they’ve paid dearly.
So as Wembanyama makes his debut, it’s the others who have the most pressure. It may not seem like it because all eyes are on the big man, but this is just a blip on the radar for him. If he performs well, it’s fun and everyone can react accordingly. If he doesn’t, oh well, it’s one game, and his previous body of work suggests there isn’t much to worry about in the long run.
But for the Champagnies and Wesleys and Branhams and Barlows of the world, it’s time to shine. Because you don’t know how long a life-changing opportunity can last. The most difficult thing to achieve as a team in this sport is finding a true superstar — the ultimate difference-makers — but role players think the same way. Playing alongside a supernova can make a career. Without insulting anyone’s ability, there’s a very good chance someone like Tony Parker isn’t a Hall-of-Famer if Tim Duncan isn’t his pick-and-roll partner, and the same can be said of many others.
While everyone in attendance and around the world are watching Wemby, the Spurs are going to be locked in on the others. This is their chance to show they belong.
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Great points about patience and the amazing development we’re seeing from last year’s returning young players. The Spurs have a good track record of being patient and growing young players. It’s so exciting to watch and it’s great to see Wemby bonding with this young group in summer league even when he has to know most won’t be back.