Jalen Brunson may have laid the foundation for a Wembanyama-led Spurs dynasty

The San Antonio Spurs are still reeling from their stunning NBA Finals loss, but fans should hope that star Victor Wembanyama takes a page out of Jalen Brunson's playbook. Brunson, who won NBA Finals MVP, took a steep paycut to put the best team around him as possible.

That kind of sacrifice should hopefully get the attention of Wembanyama. He is eligible to sign a five-year, $251 million extension this summer.

If that weren't expensive enough, it could beef up to $301 million if he were to make All-NBA, win Defensive Player of the Year again, or win MVP. However, him making up to $60 million on average probably won't help the Spurs make it back to the NBA Finals.

To be fair, Wembanyama is definitely deserving of a super max contract. But to build the best-possible team, he may have to follow Brunson's lead.

Victor Wembanyama must follow Jalen Brunson's lead and take a pay cut

It's entirely possible that Wembanyama may not have a choice in the matter. After all, he would need to play at least 65 games next season to qualify for a major award.

He barely qualified this past season, and if he doesn't next year, then that would save San Antonio $10 million annually. The difference between a $50 million annual salary and a $60 million annual salary is night and day.

The Spurs should secretly be hoping for the former since it would help San Antonio continue to build around Wembanyama. On the other hand, if he were to win Defensive Player of the Year or MVP or make All-NBA, his extension would be upgraded to a supermax.

Unless, of course, he agrees to take less than the max.

Victor Wembanyama taking less than the max would be huge

I have a hard time believing that the Spurs would ask Wembanyama to take less than the max. Therefore, it would need to be his decision.

Hopefully, he will agree to a 5-year deal worth $225 million, without the option to be bumped up to a supermax contract. In that case, he would save San Antonio $6 million per season.

That might not seem like much but would give them breathing room when they inevitably brush up against the luxury tax. Another option would be for him to take the 5-year, $250 million max deal but decline the option to receive a super max.

In that case, even were he to win a major award next season, San Antonio wouldn't have to worry about paying him an extra $10 million annually. Doing so could help the Spurs hold onto a rotation player and avoid becoming an apron team.

Look, the Knicks won a championship in part thanks to their depth. As a result, Brunson taking a pay cut will hopefully inspire Wembanyama to do the same.

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