Victor Wembanyama just made the strongest statement he’s made since last season, when he basically made a public plea for the front office to add veterans to the roster. The result was the addition of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes—two of the most veteran-y vets the league had to offer.
They have both been great for the Silver and Black, but there’s still something missing. San Antonio has been in trade rumors since Wemby’s arrival, and his stellar play has only increased the chatter. Observers everywhere are anxious for the Spurs to put a star next to Wemby because he’s already playing like an MVP.
Wembanyama is ready to compete and he knows it
Everyone has an opinion on what San Antonio should be doing based on what they want, but what’s more important is what the Rookie of the Year wants. That’s where French reporter Maxime Aubin comes in. He asked the Alien about the trade deadline after the 96-87 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and his answer will be fascinating to the fans.
Wemby’s full quote reads, “One thing for sure: our roster won’t stay the same over the next years. Every roster changes a little bit. I don’t know… I should look at those things more seriously. I’ve been focused on my game so far… But for sure, I’ll take a closer look at it”
It’s a very honest and enlightening answer. Victor holds no illusions that everyone on the team now will be a part of the Spurs’ long-term journey, and he seems okay with that. That’s because he was telling the truth every time he mentioned how much winning means to him. Wembanyama isn’t here to make friends; he’s here to make an impact, and whoever helps get him there helps get him there.
Right now, he’s having an MVP-caliber season in his second year. Meanwhile, his second option is in his fifth season and playing with the consistency of a borderline role-player. It’s not ideal. Devin Vassell was struggling coming into the Nets game, averaging 12 points over the previous five games.
Fans hoped he would get back on track against a struggling Brooklyn squad, but could only manage 10 points on 4/16 shooting. He did grab six boards, dish five assists, nab three steals, and add a block to his stat sheet, so it wasn’t a complete bust for the former Seminole.
However, at some point, you expect the player who’s supposed to be the second-leading scorer to get some buckets. That’s not an unreasonable ask.
Wembanyama’s backup centers are so bad the acting head coach has to make up excuses about experimenting with small ball lineups when questioned about their inactive statuses. Zach Collins entered the season as the clear backup, yet he hasn’t logged a minute in weeks. Depth was supposed to be a strength this season, but Coach Johnson has tightened the rotation to nine players.
As good as SA’s star’s December has been, the Spurs are only 6-6. He’s likely going to win Player of the Month for his numbers. The towering Frenchman has averaged 28.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 4.8 blocks. He’s shooting 49% from the field and 39.6% from three. If you’re Wembanyama, the frustration of losing games when you’re playing like this has to be mounting.
They entered the season with an immense amount of confidence, and if Vassell, at minimum, played to the standard he played last season, the Spurs could be winning more games, but he’s yet to reach that threshold. The backup big position and Vassell are the biggest things holding this team back right now.
Devin Vassell’s poor play is becoming a trend
Jeremy Sochan is having a career year, and Keldon Johnson has steadied his gameplay. KJ has taken loads of flak over the last season or two, but he deserves credit for working on his game and fitting into what the Spurs are doing. The veterans are doing what you expect, and Julian Champagnie has raised his game a notch or two. Even the rookie Stephon Castle has been hooping.
Maxime Aubin sent another post during the Brooklyn game that many Spurs fans were surely feeling early on before Wemby got going. It was posted in French, but a loose Google translation reveals the gist of the comments. “In this kind of game where Wemby is transparent offensively, we expect Vassell to take over. He is at 3 points at 1/9 shooting so far.”
Yes. That’s exactly what Spurs fans expect, yet Vassell hasn’t really had any moments where he has “taken over” a game this season. He’s had some explosive splashes that lasted a few minutes, sometimes when the game was nearly out of reach, but he hasn’t lived up to his expectations.
Vic was 2/6 in the first half, but the Silver and Black pulled the game out anyway. As Aubin said, you would hope that on a night like that, the second-best player would step up and show out, but that’s not what happened. Champagnie, KJ, Sochan, and Harrison Barnes were the ones who chipped just enough points in.
As Wemby said, the roster won’t stay the same over the years. Nobody is untouchable unless you’re name is Victor Wembanyama. If players want to stick around, they need to pull their weight because the Spurs have plenty of firepower to make a move to bring in someone else, and everyone knows how much NBA GMs love the trade deadline.
The good, but potentially bad, news for Devin is San Antonio is about to enter the most brutal stretch of their season. They’ll need him to step up to survive it, so he has a perfect opportunity to show the city he has the all-star-caliber game everyone thought he had.
