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Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. As part of our continued preseason previews, we're turning our attention to good old Teja in San Antonio and we're joined by our colleague Jared Weiss, which you might know him from his years covering the Boston Celtics. And now he's moved on to Texas to take on the spurs, what I find to be the burgeoning like gem of the Western Conference. Jared, what's up? Welcome back to the show.
Jared Weiss
It's good to be here. I'm a Texas boy now.
Host
Gotta get a little bit of an accent going. Very strong pivot in accents, by the way. Uh, but let's get right into it. Uh, every team obviously makes some moves in the off season. The spurs, they made some big ones. Of course, they doubled down on De' Aaron Fox gave him that four year, $229 million max extension. They drafted Dylan Harper at number two, Carter Bryant number 14. Got to see them during summer league, they were a lot of fun to watch. They traded for Kelly Olenek, they added some shooting outside as well as getting Luke Cornette for four years. So a lot of size coming in this summer. When you think about the overall trajectory of this team, what would you say is the single most impactful change that reshaped the outlook of the spurs this summer?
Jared Weiss
I mean, they didn't do anything that was a holistic change besides getting Dylan Harper. But I don't think that's going to affect them that much this season, especially because, you know, as we reported last month, he tore his thumb during off season workouts. So he's hoping to be ready for opening night. But even if he is able to play opening night, I think one, he's not going to rush it back. He like, he was pretty clear with the doctors when he had the injury, if I need to have surgery, let's have surgery now. I'm not trying to do this whole, I'm a rookie, I need to earn my keep so I want to play through this thing. He's like, I got to get right. I got a long career ahead of me. I'm the number two overall pick. I don't really have to worry about getting opportunity in this league, so I got to do what's right for me. So I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it to opening night, but I know that's what he's working towards. But regardless, the point is that he's not going to be, I assume, a starter right away. He's probably going to slowly integrate himself into the rotation. We saw him at summer league, summer league was kind of a mess for him. He was very up and down. We know he's a great player and I'm sure by the end of his rookie year he's going to be really good. But between de' Aaron Fox and Stefan Castle and then obviously they have Devin Fassell, who's kind of like a 2, 3 in their system. They've already got plenty of backcourt reinforcements. So I think the big thing for them is just like obviously getting Wemby back. He missed the second half or at least after the All Star break because he had that dvt, that blood clot. His offseason's been great. He's been killing it in his workouts. I've gotten to watch some of his workouts and the guy looks like he's going to take another step forward this year. We, we usually see with these MVP caliber players that year Two is when they kind of start to seem like they kind of know what they're doing out there. And then year three, we start to kind of see what their game really is going to look like. And then year four is when they step into that all star frame. Obviously, he's already an all star just because, you know, Wemby's not even good yet. Like, he's pretty mediocre as far as his skill set is concerned.
Host
I know he's so young, too.
Jared Weiss
He's so big and he's so incredibly talented and smart that even as like a mediocre version of Wemby, he's already like a top 10 player in the NBA. So the real paradigm shift for them this year is just, is Wemby going to be able to really find himself offensively and is he gonna. Are they gonna be able to kind of use him in like a Jokic esque way, which he's probably capable of doing. He's not nearly that level of passer and shooter yet, but he could be utilized in kind of a similar way to Jokic, be that pivot point hub anywhere on the floor. And if they can start to really build that offense out like that. I know they only won, was it 34 games last year and teams adding on 10 more wins seems ridiculous, but that's not like he was out for a while. Fox missed a lot of time at the end as well. They barely got to play together. This team could jump into the high 40s very easily. It's very plausible for them to do that.
Host
So you actually touched on a lot of things I want to get into, but it seems like you're saying too many things. Victor has that. No, I love it. I love it. This is great. This is kind of pre foreshadowing everything I want to talk about because you're talking about Victor Vanyama. We know he's the centerpiece of this team. He's anchored the defense, he gave him that rim protection. But also he's their point forward in some cases. Right. And he's also the hub of the offense, moving around, making sure people are moving around him. So he has the opportunity to have the biggest step forward, possibly from what you're saying, but looking at, you know, Stefan Castle, rookie of the year last year, and then you talked, you just mentioned Devin Vassell in the depth of the back court, there's a possibility that he could take a step forward or maybe take a step back with all of the pieces that they have. So outside of Victor Wembanyama, who is clearly going to be the main pillar here for the growth of San Antonio. Who do you think has the biggest opportunity to take a step forward for this team? I'm also thinking let's not discount what Dear and Fox could do in terms of taking a step forward, being able to everyone be healthy because apparently there's some fingers finger issues out in, in San Antonio between Dear and Fox's pinky and Dylan Harper's thumb. It's just like a whole thing going on. But who do you think has the opportunity to take a big step forward and who may have to take a step back in order to for that to happen?
Jared Weiss
Yeah, I don't know how many people I'm going to do like a righty standard handshake with on media day. There might be a few of those kind of like weird awkward left handed daps or something like that.
Host
There you go.
Jared Weiss
I mean the guy with the most obvious pathway to a big step forward is Castle because he demonstrated he's going to be a core starter. I mean honestly you could see him being a six man down the road just because this game is like such a perfect six man game. It's such like a mono Ginobili esque kind of fit there. But I think at the very least he's a starter right now. He's a lock to be a starter I'd say right now. And you know Fox and Wemby are so obvious, right? So Castle's the guy. He had a really strong rookie season. The team's going to be so much better this year. Like they're going to be a lot better just between Mitch Johnson having the offseason to really put his stamp on it. Very clear hierarchy where Pop is no longer going to be kind of coaching while he's out and Mitch is taking over. So this team is going to have much more structure to it and I think that just gives Castle more room as really the third option, I guess you would say, to really take that step forward. The person with the most on the line I think is Devin Vassell. Because Devin Vassell, he's been in the league for a little while now. I mean he is. How old is he now? He is 25 right now. So he's not, he's not a, he's not on a rookie deal anymore. He's like he's got to kind of prove that he can be consistent throughout the year and be a real two way force for them and there's not a lot of pressure on him. Offensively, like the offense is kind of going to come and, you know, come and flow for him, especially because they're going to be a team that tries to play a lot more transition and a lot more random. So he's not going to be just kind of plugged into the corner. He's going to be able to move a lot, which is what makes him really good. And they're not going to rely on him to be an isolation player or a pick and roll player very much so. He's going to be able to be a lot more efficient. And that's the big thing that they've been looking for him for years is can you stay healthy and can you be efficient? If he can do that, he's going to be like a good two way wing for them and that's going to really take them to the next level because they don't have a lot of shooting in their starting lineup.
Host
Yeah, I mean, that's last year they put up a lot of threes. They were pretty average in terms of their 3 point percentage right around like 35%. There was a lot of youth and a lot of promise out of the youth, but it didn't convert into actual domination. I mean, they were bottom third in both offense and defense. They were in the bottom third, I believe, for pace as well. Like, they are not. They haven't been able to convert that athleticism and the youth that they have on this team. So I'm thinking, you know, as we look towards season coming up, Victor Webanyama coming back, being able to play with Darren Fox, who came to San Antonio for that opportunity, to have that tandem with him. You're talking about, you know, a Stefan Castle or Stefan Castle coming off the bench potentially or starter having that explosive downhill game. I'm thinking, I'm hearing the opportunity for one scoring, lots of scoring, lots of ball movement, lots of different weapons to be able to execute that. But I'm also hearing a little bit more potentially consistency on defense. So I want to talk about how these stars can directly impact those two things. Offense, defense. Obviously, we're talking basketball, y'.
Jared Weiss
All.
Host
Let's keep it real simple. From a defense perspective, we know what Victor Emanyama can do. But from an offense perspective, what do you think he can do to kind of unlock the pieces around him and help get this offense back in the top half of this league, Especially in a very packed Western Conference.
Jared Weiss
You got a few different ways because he has the Aaron Fox. There's going to be a lot of times where wemby is standing by himself because Fox is so fast. Their goal is you play up tempo, you get into very quick high pick and rolls with Fox. And Wemby defense is not aligned properly. Fox collapses the defense, and you got Wemby standing in space by himself. And that I think the big difference, I think, this year will be he probably won't just launch for three. He's going to be making more reads. He's not going to just take the open three just because it's there, because frankly, he's not a good enough shooter to always take that. And if Wemby's going to evolve, he's got to look at, can I take a solid three look, or can I really, really turn this into something else? And especially, can I get into the paint and draw a foul? Because If Wemby's drawing 10 free throws a game like it's a wrap, it's a wrap. At that point, they're going to. He's getting to the MVP conversation. They're taking a step to the top half of the west like that. That's really in the, you know, in line for them in the next year. But I really want to see what does Wemby do with space when he can create it? And then what does Wemby do with his back to the basket? Because, you know, going back to Jokic, who I think is the pathway for him in so many ways offensively, you know, Jokic, what makes him so good is he can put his back to the basket and still read the floor as if he's dribbling the ball facing up. And then if he can't do much with it. Yeah. And if he can't do much with it, he just turns around and throws it at the rim. And we know Wemby can do that. Like, Wemby, one of his, you know, one of his escape clauses that nobody else can do. It's. He's like Kareem in that he could just. Just throw it up from anywhere on the floor. And that means that he's got to play with his back to the basket, and he's got to manipulate the help defenders and get, like, kind of quick ping, pinging passes going around. And I. I think he could start to do that this year more effectively. Last year, when he had us back to the basket, we saw him try to get to some of those, like, KG and Akeem Olajuwon moves. Of course, he was in the gym with Akeem, and, you know, we've seen that. I feel like every Summer, there's a different center in the gym with Akeem, and we see that photo, we're like, ah, great. Now the league is. Now the league is screwed. So I'm really curious to see what you got out of that.
Host
Exactly. Get scared.
Jared Weiss
But, like, you know, with Wemby, he. He. This is one of the big things that we're talking about with his body and his skill set, finding rhythm is can you play with patience and control while being able to be physically dominant? And that's what we love about Jokic. Jokic is, like, one of the most patient players we've ever seen. He can just. He can put himself in, like, the tightest situations and just push his way through it, and then if he can't get anything, he just closes his eyes and he throws the ball as high as he can, and it lands right in the middle of the net without touching the rip, because he's just superhuman. And that's the thing with Wemby, is, like, can Wemby start doing stuff like that? Because Wemby's big advantage is, even though he's not as strong, his reach in his step and his balance on his steps allows him to cover so much ground in the way that Giannis can do. And he doesn't have the touch limitations that Giannis has, so he doesn't have to bulldoze to everybody. So that's the big thing, is, like, can Wemby find his touch and his creativity and his patience? And I think we're going to see at least a pretty good step forward with that. And that's how you see him ending up. You might average, like, 28 and six assists this year. Like, it could be pretty impressive right away.
Host
It was kind of crazy to think that Wemby was taking more shots from the perimeter, on average, than he was taking shots within the restricted area in the paint throughout the season. And I think you're right. It felt as if those were the only main options he had, especially when it came down to the late shot clock situation. There are more opportunities for him to find, you know, shots outside heaves really outside, rather than being able to take his opponent one on one into the basket. And that is where he gets. You talk about superhuman. I mean, the ground he can cover in that small amount of time is surreal. Let's shift it over to Fox, right? This is the person that came over Sacramento, opportunity to start a new. Of course, gets there, doesn't get to play with Wemby, but he's someone that could also, and undoubtedly is going to shift the trajectory of this team and raise the ceiling of the spurs because of his downhill ability and his capability of unlocking players because of just how much attention he draws going downhill. Let's talk a little bit about what Dear and Fox should be looking to do this season in terms of unlocking his teammates. But also, but let's talk about defense to the point of attack because I think this is something that despite all the youth, despite all the athleticism you were, people would be shocked to see how, you know, the spurs really struggled to contain that first layer of defense last year.
Jared Weiss
Yeah, they need some good point of attack defenders on the ball. You can't just have this whole Wemby's behind us so we can just feed to him and he handles everything. And let me rephrase, you can't do that. It's just that there's a ceiling on that. And also, like, they also have to think about pacing Wemby like he can't. You can't wear this guy out by March. And I don't know, maybe they can because maybe getting out of the first round or even the play in might be, you know, a dream at this point, but like, you gotta pace this guy throughout the season. He's gonna have a ton of demand on him and with his body, I don't care if he takes care of his body in a way that very few players have. It's still a giant body and he's still gotta, still gotta manage that load. And so I think that Fox, I'm. Look, I'm really curious to see, is Fox going to get back to being a high level defender, which is something that he really did early in his career. He took on so much offensive responsibility in Sacramento. Sacramento, they just didn't really have good defensive chemistry over the years. And I'm really curious to see if that's something that really comes back into the fold with him. Because if he's a good point of attack defender and they're able to do some steering on those high pick and rolls, if they're able to just be astute in picking up cross matches in transition, and it doesn't have to be just Wemby picks everything up and then everybody tries to reset, it's going, it's going to pay dividends for them so much, especially if they can get out and transition more, because that's what they want and that's what every team wants. And we're seeing so many teams these days, they're getting more random and chaotic. They're trying to do what the Pacers did or the Cleveland or Atlanta. You know, all these teams, especially in the east last year, they're basically like, we got, we got a bunch, we got guards here. Our team is a bunch of guards that run around in circles. So let's just have everybody collapsing space, cutting in random directions, being super unpredictable, and let's just try to get out and run as much as we can. And the spurs are built that way. You know, the spurs aren't a wing led team. They're a team of a bunch of really creative downhill guards that don't shoot the ball at high level. And then whatever the hell Wemby is. I don't even know how to describe them. Just like a unicorn, a unicorn's unicorn. So they, you know, because they're not a well experienced and structured team, they, they need to be able to be disciplined on defense so that they can get out and run. And we saw what that did for Houston last year. Houston was way ahead of, I think they got way ahead of themselves last year with how well they played because their defense is just so reliable and they just didn't have the offensive ability last year. Now they got KD. So I think even with Fred VanVleet being out, they're going to have that balance. And Wemby kind of has to do offensively. I think a bit of what KD is going to do for Houston, where it's just like a guy they can just give it to, they can work out of the high post, you can give them stability. And so that means guys like Fox and Castle and Vassell, they've got to be consistent on defense because then it just makes it easier for them on offense.
Host
Well, one of the things about Houston is that they really solidify themselves as a defensive oriented team. And we know that San Antonio used to have that identity. And right now I feel like they've kind of, they're teetering, they're, they're, they're trying to still figure that out. And that's okay because they've got all these youth pieces that are going to grow into that. But, but if you were to put money on it, looking at the way that this team is constructed and the people that they have, what's the identity that they can get closest to in this one season? Offensive or defensive identity?
Jared Weiss
I think offensive at this point, just because they're, you know, they're going to have to be a higher pressure defense. I think because of just the way their talent is built and because of how they want to open up offensive advantages, it just makes sense for them to be a higher pressure defense, which is going to have some risk. And if you got Wemby back there, it's like, why not take more risks up at the point of attack, knowing he can clean things up so well, he can guard two guys in the paint easily. He recovers in a way that nobody else really can. So you, you kind of want to be more of an offensive identity, especially with the team that they have so many guys that can play an open space so well. And, you know, we haven't even talked about, like, Keldon Johnson is a good example, Jeremy Sohan, like, they have all these other kind of bigger guys that can play pretty well downhill as well. They have so much depth and they have so much kind of pliability in how they build their lineups. They don't really have a lineup that's like very clearly the right one. I don't even know what their starting lineup's going to be. I assume Fox and Castle are starting. Harrison Barnes I'd imagine is a lock to start. They need that veteran leadership skill set wise. He fits perfectly. We're talking about defense. We need a guy that can defend. They can play defense and can shoot and make good decisions. I would imagine Wemby's going to start then. Do you. Do you. Do you stick with Sochan in the starting lineup? Do you get Visell, who's a shooter out there? Do you start Luke Cornett and you go double big to alleviate some of this on Wemby and take some of the responsibility off of Wemby defensively. There's a lot of different ways they can go. I would. I feel like they're going to start Fasal and they're going to get that extra shooting out there. They're going to get someone they know they can at least, just like all else fails. Just like run some shooting actions for him at the very least and give themselves that offensive variety.
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Jared Weiss
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Host
Okay, Mitch Johnson, if you're hearing this, offensive capability is right there for you, right there for the taking. I don't know how Pop feels about it, but yes, let's, let's switch over because you just mentioned all the depth. Right. We, you listed some names that I wanted to get to in terms of Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sohan and also in the front court, Luke Cornett, Kelly Olenek. There's a lot of extra names floating around this team and it might be that some other team in the organization, I mean, the association might be able to capitalize on, I guess, a small amount of riches. An embarrassment of riches. I don't know if it's an embarrassment. It might be a little bit of a shaming of riches, but not an emblading of riches. A blushing. Oh, I like that. A blushing of riches. Out in San Antonio, if you're looking across this roster, is there any player or players you think that another team could capitalize on and you know, make that player the subject of an in season trade?
Jared Weiss
I mean, there has to be because I just listed their depth. I didn't even mention Harper, who we talked about before.
Host
Julian Carter Bryant too.
Jared Weiss
Yeah, Carter Bryant as well. Good player. Like he started a lot for them. He's a good shooter. He's kind of like, he's kind of like, I wouldn't say he's kind of like Harrison Barnes in some ways in that he's like a really good plug and play six, seven guy who can kind of do everything for them. So they have, they have enough depth that they can move guys out from the middle of their depth chart and slide up other guys like Carter Bryant. I really, actually really like Carter Bryant. I don't think he's going to be ready for that early in the season. But a 68 guy, that's like a really, really smart defender. And I actually just sat down with him a few days ago and it was a really fascinating conversation. So there'll be a cool, cool piece on what makes him such a uniquely trained defender coming soon. On the Athletic had to get a plug in somewhere, but there you go. You know, they, I, I think it's going to depend on how this season goes early on. Like one Wemby missed time because of a blood clot last year. They got to get comfortable with Wemby. Like, they got to. I assume they're going to be checking on him pretty frequently being like, you know, how's his blood clot situation looking, how's his blood pressure? I'm not a doctor, so I don't know how this stuff works. But, like, they're going to be monitoring that. They're going to be load managing him a bunch. So they're going to see how can this team perform with that process going on. And if they think that they're close enough, they can take as the big step forward. I mean, you look at it, they got Kelton Johnson, they got Devin Fassell. Those guys are making a good amount of money. You can bring in a more veteran player and send those guys out. And those guys are the 25. I think they're both 25. Right. So they're relatively young. They're good building blocks there. I don't see them trading Castle or Harper this early on. I'd imagine at some point there's, maybe there's going to be one of those three guards is going to get moved at some point down the road, but they're not, not, they're not moving Fox. That's not going to happen for a while. I don't think they even can with the extension. Just like they obviously need to build around him for, for a while and I think he's a great fit for this team in pretty much every regard. So, you know, I could see them moving one of those guys that was. That's kind of like entering into veteran status at this point. Sohan is like a really talented player. It's just really hard to figure out, like, how do you utilize them best? But they're going to, they're going to. They're going to figure that out. So I could see this team making a move at the deadline if they're really primed to make a serious playoff push. But if they are where we'd expect them to be, where they're kind of floating in the. In the playing area, doesn't make sense for them to do that. It only makes sense if they're like, we could actually give Houston, Denver, okc, Minnesota, I guess the Clippers of Kawhi Leonard still in the NBA at that point, like a run for their money. But look at that list. Like, there's a lot of teams in the west that they'd have to leapfrog this. These guys got to be patient. Like, they got. They got the golden ticket. They got Wemby. They got a number two overall pick in Harper. They hit a home run with Castle last year. Like, they've got time and patience. Wemby's going to have a very long career. He's probably going to be one of the best players in the NBA, if not obviously the best player in the NBA. They got to be patient.
Host
No, that's real. I'm also looking at like, Jordan McLaughlin's on this team. I'm just thinking, like, there's also smaller package deals that can happen with some of these smaller names as well and these smaller contracts on this team. Okay. Thinking about next year is just going to be crazy. I feel like the NBA people are back from injuries. People are going to be back into the mix, especially in the West. And we know what Victor women, Yama can bring. We talk. We just talked about that. We just talked about what Fox can bring. We just talked about they can lean into offense as, you know, their. Their way to separate themselves from their competition. But I got to ask you, what's going to be the biggest swing factor? It's. I think everyone looks at the X factor not necessarily as the biggest star. We know Wembanyama. When he's healthy, he's good. And again, we know what Fox can bring. But what's going to be the biggest swing factor that's going to go, ooh, if this happens, their three point percentage goes up or Jeremy Sohan figures out exactly what he's supposed to do out on the floor for the Spurs? What's going to be their biggest swing factor to get them into the top half of the league, but particularly to get them into the playoffs?
Jared Weiss
It's that defensive identity that you were talking about earlier. We know that they have a ton of offensive talent and they're going to be spending the season working on figuring out how that can mesh together, how they can build coordination. So you know that they're going to figure that out. We know they have that talent. This is a question of who is going to step up and be like a truly elite defender. Who's going to be the guy on this team that's like, I'm going to be the best defender on the floor every single night to bring that point of attack to help give Wemby a break behind me. Harrison Barnes is like the guy that we all know and trust, but he's a little bit older. Like they need a younger guy to kind of step up and do that. And I mean, they have a lot of candidates for it. I just don't know which one it's going to be. I've always really liked Vassell and you know, Vassell's admitted like he's been inconsistent. Obviously health has been a big factor of that. I really want to see him put it, put it together this year. Like, he's just, he's so talented. He's a good two way guy and they're paying him like 27 million this year. Like, he needs just from a, from a cap perspective, they need him to be reliable and consistent for them and he's capable of doing it. So I think if he really has a big year, if he finally stays healthy and puts it all together every single night, which I think is doable because there's just not a ton of pressure on him to do it, that's going to give them that reliable athletic wing that they can count on every single night to play next to Barnes, and that's going to give them that kind of completeness in their starting lineup. And you know, if. If they just don't have holes in their rotation, that's what's going to elevate them to being a mid-40s or even high-40s team.
Host
Okay, we got to close this out. We're going to land the plane on this one. They want to get to the playoffs, obviously they want to be not in the play in, they want to be in the playoffs. But that, I think that's just like the hope we have for a team that has a Wemby on it. Right. And before you said a unicorn's unicorn, I mean, Wemby literally laid it out for us. He's an alien. Right? If you have an alien, what are you going to do with this alien? What is the most realistic outcome with a healthy alien flanked by Fox, flanked by the cell and Castle and Harper at some point and all the different elements of this team? What's the Most realistic outcome for this first team. Jared.
Jared Weiss
45 wins, seven seed. And I think they would make it out of the play in for sure. And then they get in the first round and they take two games off of, let's say, Houston, and then the door gets shut in their face and. But that'd be nice. I can drive that series. I would, I would enjoy that. Yeah, I just, I don't see them getting out of the first round at this point. There's just, just because there's too much competition. I think if you put them in the east, they probably would be making a conference finals run potentially. Like, they would be really good. It's just that the balance of power in the league right now is just too heavy for them. And especially with Dallas, you know, if Kyrie's coming back for the postseason, if things really work out there, they're going to be pretty loaded ahead of the postseason. So there's, there's just too many teams out there that, that could really just be impactful and really bother them. And like, obviously the Lakers, they don't really match up great against the Lakers. So that's one where it's like, even if they have a better regular season, potentially, they probably would lose in that series. I'd imagine so. Although now they say that they have Wemby. So it's like, does any team really have a matchup advantage against them? I don't know. I don't think so. I don't know.
Host
I don't think so. No.
Jared Weiss
This is what makes this course cool. Why I'm excited to be around them. Like, we have no idea. We have no idea.
Host
No one has the handle, the. I love the word you used before. The pliability. I think that, I mean, quite literally. Victor is one of the most flexible humans, period, in the league. But just the pliability of how you can utilize him out on the floor, I don't know that anyone has that especially. And then on top of that, the fact that he's like a two car garage in terms of like the space that he has out on the floor, it's just. Yeah, it's unmatched. Great stuff, Jared. Thank you for breaking that down. Are you officially moved to San Antonio now?
Jared Weiss
Yeah, I, I just got in. I got my place. I'm enjoying the heat. It's. It's a different lifestyle to living in Boston, but I'm actually liking it so far.
Host
Okay. Well, guys, that's Jared Weiss. Got a piece coming out very soon on the Athletic with Carter Bryant. I'm very excited about that. I I love Carter Bryant as a prospect. I liked watching him this summer and he's got a really cool story. So guys, definitely check out that piece on the athletic. This has been your spurs preseason preview on the NBA Daily and we'll be back to drop another team preview as we get step in towards the NBA season. Keep it locked. Thanks guys.
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Episode Title: Is Wembanyama ready for the MVP conversation?
Release Date: October 2, 2025
Hosts: NBA Daily team (main host unidentified in transcript)
Guest: Jared Weiss (NBA reporter, now covering the Spurs)
This episode delivers a comprehensive preseason preview for the San Antonio Spurs, focusing on the meteoric rise of Victor Wembanyama (“Wemby”) and whether he’s ready for legitimate MVP talk in 2025–26. Host and reporter Jared Weiss break down the Spurs’ intriguing offseason, speculate on player developments, analyze the team’s identity, and project their place in the daunting Western Conference.
[02:31] – San Antonio’s major offseason moves included:
Jared Weiss on Harper’s injury:
“He’s not gonna rush it back... If I need to have surgery, let’s have surgery now. I got a long career ahead of me.” [03:39]
Biggest shift:
[05:03] Weiss deconstructs the next steps for “Wemby”:
Weiss:
“If Wemby’s drawing 10 free throws a game—it’s a wrap. He’s getting to the MVP conversation.” [11:23]
Last season’s issue:
Host:
“I’m hearing the opportunity for one, scoring. Lots of scoring, lots of ball movement, lots of different weapons... But I’m also hearing a little bit more potentially consistency on defense.” [09:44]
Weiss on unlocking offense:
“He’s so big and so talented and smart that even as a mediocre version of Wemby, he’s already like a top 10 player in the NBA.” – Jared Weiss, [05:03]
“Can Wemby find his touch and his creativity and his patience? I think we’re going to see at least a pretty good step forward with that. That’s how you see him ending up—you might average, like, 28 and six assists this year. Like, it could be pretty impressive right away.” – Jared Weiss, [13:30]
“[They’re] going to have to be a higher pressure defense... If you got Wemby back there, it’s like, why not take more risks at the point of attack?” – Jared Weiss, [18:15]
“They got the golden ticket. They got Wemby. They got a number two overall pick in Harper. They hit a home run with Castle last year. Like, they've got time and patience.” – Jared Weiss, [24:52]
“45 wins, seven seed... I just don’t see them getting out of the first round at this point... There’s just too much competition.” – Jared Weiss, [29:04]
“Whatever the hell Wemby is. I don’t even know how to describe him—just, like, a unicorn, a unicorn’s unicorn.” – Jared Weiss, [16:26] “Wemby literally laid it out for us. He’s an alien, right? If you have an alien, what are you going to do with this alien?” – Host, [28:30]