I recently saw that Wemby will be out for the rest of Summer League and combined with the whole bodyguard-Britney incident, I’m wondering if all this protection will have unintended consequences for him in the long term? But what do y’all think? Is it pretty normal for teams to be this cautious with their new star players? What’s the logic behind resting a rookie during Summer League?
Very very few players had the physical attributes Victor has coming into the league and it’s practically unheard of for someone his height and weight to be successful in the nba long term as a team leading superstar (i…e not Boban/Manute Ball like contributor). I think the Spurs are very aware of that and are taking every precaution to shield him physically until they have a better understanding of his potential durability within an NBA game.
I believe we are going to see a lot of “first time in the nba” type of actions from the Spurs when it comes to Wemby, simply because he is so unique and will require a unique multi-year plan to get him to where he can potentially be, which is (some say) the best player in the league.
Ahh ok, I see. So it seems to be primarily an issue of his longevity in the league given his proportions. That makes sense, thx!
The Spurs in many ways created modern load-management ideas - and they also had a big three (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker) that managed to all stay productive until they were almost 40. Shutting Victor down after two summer league games, where the games literally do not count, is very on par for them.
As for the Britney Spears thing - I mean, it’s a good example of why getting Victor some time off is a good idea. All of the Spurs/Vic statements, put together, are maybe two lines of text. Britney, who admittedly has had a rough life and a weird relationship with her fame, is the one that keeps releasing statements and videos and trying to drag out this interaction. It was clearly a low-stakes misunderstanding, there’s been no charges or lawsuit, and EVEN IF TMZ had gotten word of it not from one of the like, six people that were there, it could’ve been squashed very easily by releasing a statement that there was miscommunication, everyone apologized, life goes on. We’re still talking about it three weeks later because Britney keeps posting about it and talking about it to stay in the public view.
Welcome to the NBA Wembanyama. I bet he’s so weirded out by the whole thing he just wants to go hide in a gym and work on his step back three. Which from the Spurs perspective, is perfect.
Did you actually watch the video of the Britney incident? I’m not a superfan of hers like some but I do think everything she’s gone through with the courts and the “guardianship” has been extremely unfair and abusive. That being said, the initial report was that she was knocked down and her glasses flew off. In the actual video it’s more like her arm was mildly brushed away. I’ve seen 50 times worse at your average bar on a Saturday night. I guess my point is - I don’t see what that has to do with anything.
As far as pulling him from summer league, it seems to be a common thought that it was a big risk to even let him play to begin with, considering his packed schedule from French league to the NBA season. Nothing about this seems like a red flag to me - he’s a bit structurally fragile to begin with, and they need to protect “their asset”. (I hate this kind of language but it’s most accurate in this case.)
What are you thinking is the downside to all this?
Thx for commenting! Yes I’ve seen the video, and I agree that the “slap” was blown out of proportion. The reason I brought it up was primarily to draw attention to the fact that Wemby has bodyguards in the first place. That seems so odd to me, but maybe lots of rookies get bodyguards? I understand taking precautions to prevent injury in a player at high risk, but are bodyguards really needed for that?
And I agree with your assessment for him sitting out of Summer League. I was unaware of his French league schedule, but trying to prevent injuries for as long as possible with the guy who will potentially be the new face of the franchise makes sense.
In terms of downside, I tend to worry about how all these new players will adjust to such a different lifestyle from the ones they used to lead. While this might not be the case for Wemby since he was already playing professionally in the French league, but to go from high school hooper to college star to NBA fame, with all these expectations of carrying a franchise or being a breakout star—that can be a lot of pressure for any 19-20 year old.
It’s pretty common for big time prospects to skip out after a couple of games.
Thx for commenting! Yes, it seems like I’ve been OOTL regarding star players and the Summer League
The fouling rules in the summer league are absurd. He was just getting beat up out there. Better to wait for actual NBA level competition.
Ohhh I didn’t even think about the fouling as a factor! And I imagine given his proportions, there’s concern of serious injury with the excessive body contact. Perhaps the plan is for him to spend the time bulking up so that he’s more durable in the regular season?
you have to look at his overall schedule, this may be his last opportunity for a break in a while. He had been playing in France up until a few weeks ago, and since then it has been a whirlwind of PR events and other shit. In a month or so training camp starts, then preseason, regular season, maybe some playoffs, the olympics next summer, and back into training camp again.
Not usually but Wemby has so much potential to be brilliant.
Summer league is inconsequential for someone like him. There’s still preseason as well. It’s not going to have any effect on him. Also, rest from summer league and the body guard thing have nothing to do with each other. What kind of connection are you trying to make there?
Getting a new, young star that’s at risk of being a media/paparazzi target out of Las Vegas seems like a pretty good idea to me. That’s the potential connection between Brittany and the summer league.
But there plenty of reasons for pulling him that are highlighted in other comments too. Both can be factors. All adds up to getting him outta Dodge.
It’s not at all unusual to pull your top rookie after a couple of summer league games. Orlando did the same thing with their two lottery picks, didn’t play at all the last two games. Brandon Miller also did not play the last two summer league games. If you take the time to look through, you’ll see most top rookies don’t pay all of summer league. Op is making something out of nothing. I get it’s the off season but it’s literally a non-story.
He needs to bulk up. That looks to be the biggest weakness in his game. To bulk up quickly you need to have a very strict workout, eating, and sleeping routine. Plus you will be sore pretty much every day which would be an injury concern if you were to try to play in that condition. It makes sense to not play and to instead focus on getting bigger.
