The 2023-2024 NBA regular season hasn’t ended, but the San Antonio Spurs have had their sights set on next year for a while now. This offseason will be monumental for the Spurs as they look to build a legitimate team around franchise cornerstone, Victor Wembanyama.
The 2023-2024 San Antonio Spurs
With almost a full season in the books, Spurs rookie phenom, Victor Wembanyama, enters the shortlist of athletes who exceeded the astronomical amount of hype placed on them, joining the likes of Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, etc. What was originally thought to be a three to four year rebuild plan for the Spurs has been fast-tracked by the eye-popping play of the 20 year old Wemby. He is good enough now that if the Spurs can put more adequate pieces around him, they could be in the playoffs as early as next season.
The early stretch of the 2023-2024 season was a showcase for the weaknesses that the Spurs need to fix if they want to get the most out of Wemby and make a huge leap next year. It seemed like the team didn’t know the best way to use the 7’4″ center. He basically served only as a lob and put-back threat on offense, and a rim protector on the other end of the floor, much like a Rudy Gobert or Deandre Jordan type of player.
This mostly stemmed from the other players on the court not feeding Wemby the ball enough. Guys like Jeremy Sochan or Devin Vassell were determined to get their shots up and score as many empty calorie points as possible. Coach Gregg Popovich also played Wemby with fellow big man, Zach Collins, creating all kinds of spacing problems for the Spurs offense. These issues are the reason that the Spurs, despite having a once-in-a-lifetime player, only have 18 wins on the season.
Eventually the Spurs began running more of their offense through Wembanyama, and since then, he’s been nothing but dominant, letting the entire world know that he’s up next. On April 2nd, Wemby went toe-to-toe with two-time MVP, Nikola Jokic, and put up a statline of 23 points, 15 rebounds, 9 blocks (yes, you read that right), and 8 assists. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports wrote of this absurd performance, saying “Once a player starts posting lines never before seen in history as consistently as Wembanyama already is, the tense of his greatness should never be shifted to the future. Wembanyama is one of the NBA’s best players here and now.”
4 Options For Finding a Guard This Offseason
With Wembanyama reaching superstar status quicker than expected, the San Antonio Spurs face one of their most important offseasons in franchise history. They have already made it clear that they plan to build around Wemby for the future. The lack of a high caliber point guard is the biggest of the Spur’s issues, and their top priority will be finding a legitimate starter. This offseason, the Spurs have four reasonable options to find their guard of the future.
1. Free Agency
An ideal fit at the guard position for the Spurs is Immanuel Quickley of the Toronto Raptors, whose contract will expire this summer. His scoring and ball-handling ability would fit well in Popovich’s system. Also on an expiring deal is Sixers star, Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia will definitely be offering Maxey a massive extension deal, so this option is only realistic if the Spurs are willing to match that offer.
2. Trade Market
Among the teams that may have guards on the trade block this summer is the Cleveland Cavaliers. The backcourt duo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell hasn’t exactly lit the league on fire, and rumors of Mitchell’s future in Cleveland continue to swirl. However, should Mitchell express a desire to stay, the Cavs may choose to move on from Garland, and what better landing spot for him than in San Antonio? The Spurs should be monitoring that situation closely because it would be a perfect fit for both them and Garland.
3. NBA Draft
The Spurs are on their way to another lottery pick, and although this year’s draft isn’t loaded with talent, there are dual-threat point guards like Rob Dillingham or Isaiah Collier that the Spurs could add to their young roster. Drafting a rookie guard also means that the Spurs could save on cap space to make an even bigger splash in the future, which brings us to the fourth option.
4. Wait A Couple Of Years
This is a long shot into the future, but patience might be the best long-term option for San Antonio, because star players will become available, and would likely jump at any chance to play with Wemby. The biggest what-if scenario would be if Dallas Mavericks star, Luka Doncic, seeks a different team in a couple of years and the Spurs pick him up. Luka and Wemby on the same team would be nails in the coffin for the rest of the NBA, but what a perfect match they would be for each other.
The scariest part of this for the league is that this is the worst Victor Wembanyama will ever be. There is no ceiling for him, and unless injuries hinder his progress, there’s no reason to doubt his potential to be among the best ever when his career ends. The San Antonio Spurs must do all they can to build around this young man, and focus on winning now.
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