Vic-and-Roll Mailbag: Defensive Player of the Year Race, Adjustments for Wembanyama, and Patience with the Rebuild

Despite bumps in the road, the Silver and Black are building positive momentum.

Welcome to another edition of our weekly mailbag! Our readers submitted their Spurs questions on Substack, and we selected our favorites and cranked out some answers to those thoughtful queries!

Thank you so much for supporting our publication! Sound off in the comment section with your hot takes and opinions, and let us know what other topics are on your mind as the season winds down!

And if you have a little extra free time on your hands, please check out our latest guest post with Smayan Srikanth, where we dive into March Madness bracket mania!

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1.) Does Wembanyama deserve to be in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion this season? -

Spursian Dynasty

Answering this question is extraordinarily difficult because the discussion around this award must be unbiased and nuanced. While Victor Wembanyama has recorded mind-bending blocks and steals numbers that have made him the most prolific event creator in the league as a rookie, no one has ever brought home this prestigious hardware and been on a team like San Antonio that owns a bottom-ten Defensive Rating (116.9).

However, countless advanced metrics suggest Wembanyama is already among the best defenders on the planet. The 20-year-old ranks second in D-LEBRON, sixth in DEPM, first in block percentage, and seventh in deflections. Opponents have shot 4.6% worse than expected against him, and the Spurs are 11.5 points per 100 possessions better on defense when Vic is on the floor, which sits in the 98th percentile for that category.

Counting stats and analytics can only do the towering center so much justice, and that is where tuning into the game tape helps us understand his insane impact. At 7-foot-4 with an eight-foot wingspan and unfathomable mobility, he has the scheme versatility to protect the paint and patrol the perimeter. Even when guys beat him off the bounce or bury him under the basket, his length and ground coverage allow him to recover.

Should Wembanyama be in the running for Defensive Player of the Year? Of course, it would be unfair for voters to discount his influence on the action. He is a generational rim deterrent with unprecedented measurements that make him a matchup nightmare for nearly everyone. The most terrifying part for the rest of the NBA is that Victor still makes routine mental mistakes, which leaves plenty of room for improvement.

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2.) How do the Rockets defend Wembanyama differently from other teams? And how can he improve against their coverage? -

Romualdo Valdez

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3.) How does a group of players with a high skillset have so many miscues on lobs, cuts, inbound passes, and other fundamentals? -

Arthur F Butler

Before we dive headfirst into the analysis, let me start by saying your frustrations with the Spurs are valid. Even though San Antonio lucked into landing a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Wembanyama, they are on pace to become the sixth organization in the last quarter century to win the first overall pick and lose more games the following season. However, there is much more to their shortcomings than a disappointing record.

Multiple prospects on this team are technically skilled and physically gifted, but those traits alone are not enough to set you apart as a positive contributor in the NBA. Once they reach the highest level of competition, these players can no longer afford to make the mistakes they got away with in high school, college, or overseas. There are smaller margins for error, but rebuilding means trading dubs for necessary growing pains.

That brings us to the overarching issue with young ball clubs like the Silver and Black. Their inexperience and unfamiliarity with each other are genuine roadblocks. Why do they miss so many seemingly simple lobs to Victor? Most of the youngsters have never suited up alongside a massive alley-oop machine. It is also worth noting Tre Jones and Devonte’ Graham are the only ones with full-time playmaking on their résumé.

What about their blunders on inbound passes, chronic defensive miscommunications, and clunky execution in a half-court setting? We can attribute those issues to learning on the job. Could the Spurs find a solution as they build chemistry? Maybe, but it feels like adding reliable veterans and drafting high-end prospects with fewer holes in their game will organically raise the bar as the front office builds toward the future.

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4.) What two or three players are out there that would make a huge difference for the Spurs without them emptying their war chest? -

William Goodman

Speaking of rebuilding, countless national talking heads have been eager to offer their two cents on how the Spurs should conduct business this summer. From Bill Simmons and Ramona Shelburne to Adrian Wojnarowski and Shaquille O'Neal, almost everyone with an expansive platform believes San Antonio should expedite their process and do anything necessary to acquire win-now pieces for Wemby as soon as possible.

Shaq suggests San Antonio is two or three players away from reliving their glory days, and that takes us back to the original question. Are there difference makers out on the trade or free agent market that Brian Wright could snag without putting an enormous dent in their treasure trove of draft assets or long-term financial flexibility? Given the Spurs can only create around $21 million in cap space this offseason, probably not.

To reach that figure, the front office would have to say adios to Cedi Osman, Devonte’ Graham, Charles Bassey, and Julian Champagnie. Moving on from any of those names would be fine, though it would leave the Silver and Black in desperate need of depth, a problem they already have. In other words, signing dependable veterans is likely as far as their money goes unless they reroute other contracts to a club with cap space.

With that in mind, the Spurs could package multiple players and first-rounders to find an All-Star to pair with Victor Wembanyama. Trae Young and Darius Garland possess the self-creation and playmaking skills to make the most of the Parisian Phenom as an elite lob target and versatile pick-and-roll partner. While that sounds like a no-brainer transaction, San Antonio would still be outside of the title contention picture.

Conjectural thought experiments are amusing, but we have no idea whether Cleveland is open to fielding calls for Garland. A successful postseason could remove any doubts about their undersized backcourt and take him off the table. As for the Hawks and the rumors about them hitting the reset button, Young might cost more than we expected, even with Brian Wright holding the leverage of owning their future picks.