Do you think the Spurs are doing too much with Wemby?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨barnyard_noise@kbin.social⁩ to ⁨nba@lemmy.world⁩

https://kbin.social/m/nba@lemmy.world/t/204114

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?

source

Comments

Sort:hotnew top

Barns@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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.

source
- barnyard_noise@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  @Barns
  
  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!
  
  source
asparagus9001@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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?

source
- barnyard_noise@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  @asparagus9001
  
  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.
  
  source
djsaskdja@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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.

source
- barnyard_noise@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  @djsaskdja
  
  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?
  
  source
Ds4zkMjT@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s pretty common for big time prospects to skip out after a couple of games.

Scoot’s already been shut down too.

source
- barnyard_noise@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  @Ds4zkMjT
  
  Thx for commenting! Yes, it seems like I’ve been OOTL regarding star players and the Summer League
  
  source
CaptainBananaFish@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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?

source
- pwnicholson@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  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
  
  source
  - CaptainBananaFish@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    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.
    
    source
acosmichippo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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. Now he has an opportunity for some downtime before training camp, preseason, regular season, maybe some playoffs, the olympics next summer, and back into training camp again.

source
PrincipleOfCharity@0v0.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
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.

source
xc2215x@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Not usually but Wemby has so much potential to be brilliant.

source