Perfect interview response from Spurs GM proves fans were right all along

Defense has been the calling card of the Spurs for a long time, so when they added Victor Wembanyama, the hope was that he'd help solidify that side of the floor. He's done that. He doesn't play 48 minutes, though, and when he's gone to the bench, the defense has fallen off a cliff for two straight seasons. It's been the biggest problem, and fans have been screaming about it the entire time.

Shooting has been the bane of San Antonio's existence for a few years now, but nothing has been worse than that. Because of the defense the starters played, they were often able to either lead games early or, at the very least, keep pace with their opponents. Then, Wemby would go to the bench, and all hell would break loose.

Brian Wright decided to do something about that this season. In an interview at SA's last Summer League game, he made it clear that the front office saw the same things Spurs Nation did.

The Spurs' defense shouldn't have same problems next season

Between the franchise center from France and fresh out of the package, Luke Kornet, the opponents will always have someone to reject their advances to the basket. Kornet doesn't have the gaudy block numbers, but he's one of the best rim protectors in the league when you look at advanced statistics. Wemby can now get rest without worrying about his team turning into training dummies for the opposition.

No matter who is on the floor, they'll have guys on the perimeter and interior who should be able to do their job at a high level, and depending on the lineup, there will be absolutely nowhere teams can go to exploit an advantage. Mark my words, we'll see professional offenses morph into college teams who run awful schemes that involve a lot of throwing the ball back and forth on the perimeter, hoping a crack opens up.

If Stephon Castle starts again, he'll guard the opposing team's best perimeter player, and Wembanyama will be waiting in the paint to clean up anything that sneaks by. Carter Bryant and Jeremy Sochan are two other players who can also just lock up talented guys or at least make things extremely difficult.

San Antonio's bench has the potential to be even better defensively than the starting group because of Bryant, Sochan, and Kornet. Much of that will depend on which Devin Vassell shows up. If he locks back in, returning to the defensive pest he was in his first couple of seasons, all bets are off, and the starting unit will outright dominate.