3 Positive, 2 negative ripple effects of Wembanya's devastating injury on Spurs

Thursday morning brought a devastating injury update to the San Antonio Spurs' fanbase. Victor Wembanyama will reportedly be sidelined for the remainder of the 2024-25 season with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Obviously, this changes the entire trajectory of the Spurs' season.

San Antonio had just gone out and gotten De'Aaron Fox as a true co-star for Wemby, and now they were looking at an outside chance of making a push for the play-in in the Western Conference. This update completely throws that plan for a loop, and now the Spurs will likely have a much different path forward. There are several positives and negatives we can take away from this situation.

Positive #1 - Higher lottery odds

Firstly, San Antonio will now have a much higher chance of winning the NBA lottery in May. Duke University's Cooper Flagg is considered the runaway top prospect in the 2025 draft, and the Spurs will now likely opt to tank, giving them significantly higher odds of acquiring the top pick which can be used to draft Flagg. Even if they do not win the lottery, the Spurs now simply have a higher chance at getting a more impactful player in the draft.

Positive #2 - De'Aaron Fox gets a huge opportunity

At the start of February, San Antonio's front office made a bold decision to go out and acquire De'Aaron Fox ahead of the trade deadline, giving Wemby a true running mate for the foreseeable future. But now, with Victor shut down for the season, this duo only played five games together, with none of them coming at the Frost Bank Center. Now, Fox will have a chance to go out and put on a show, and prove that he is a great second option for Wemby by dominating in his absence.

Positive #3 - Wemby is expected to fully recover

Perhaps the most reassuring news to come out of this whole development for Spurs fans is the long-term outlook on Wemby's injury. The Spurs say that they believe this to be an isolated condition, meaning it is unlikely to have longstanding effects for the remainder of Wembanyama's career. Only time will tell, but it seems that Victor may have avoided potentially more dangerous outcomes.

Negative #1 - Virtually no chance of play-in berth

One of the biggest downsides to this breaking news is the immediate effect on San Antonio's current season. Without Wemby in the rotation, the Spurs would need some kind of miracle to be able to make a run and put themselves in the Western Conference play-in picture. The season is effectively already over without Victor in the picture, as San Antonio's young talent is not collectively good enough to win enough games in such a short amount of time with a difficult schedule.

Negative #2 - This becomes another lost season for San Antonio

The other biggest downside here is the fact that Wembanyama will have played two entire seasons in San Antonio with not a lot of wins to show for it, from a team perspective. We could never have expected for him to come in and make the Spurs a championship favorite from day one, and it does have to be understood that winning is a process. But two losing seasons to begin Wemby's career is still not exactly ideal.