Kevin Garnett comments get to heart of Spurs fans' Wembanyama hype

Kevin Garnett is one of the most polarizing players to ever play in the NBA. His demonstrative personality and on-court antics held favor with many fans, while others labeled his relentless trash talk as "doing too much." No matter what side you fell on, everyone knew that KG was a one-of-a-kind hooper. You can't tell the story of the NBA's history without him, and San Antonio Spurs fans wouldn't want to.

Tim Duncan and Garnett had some of the most exciting battles of any rivals during their primes. If KG had come out on the winning side, there would be reason to feel differently, but the Big Fundamental came out on top 33-19 in games played between the two, so the memories are fond.

Duncan never engaged verbally with KG, but he always rose to the challenge. That ability to lock in when facing another top guy is a knack that Victor Wembanyama has also shown. But, attitude-wise, Wemby is probably a little closer to Garnett than Timmy D. He wears his emotion on his sleeve. Combining that with his talent is making fans out of everyone including Garnett.

Kevin Garnett is right but so are the Spurs

Sure, San Antonio could have decided to accelerate this process once they realized Victor Wembanyama was better than advertised. If they had more aggressively moved their assets, there's no doubt they could have added some very good veteran players to the roster and started to ring chase immediately.

The Alien just averaged a 20-point double-double and was a runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie. You could certainly win a ton of games with that guy with the right pieces around him right now, and everyone knows it. Championship teams are composed of many good players, so hypothetically, if you were to replace a star player from a contender with Wembanyama, there would not be a significant drop-off, if any. He's that good already and will undoubtedly be better in year two.

But that's not the smart thing to do for the long-term flexibility of the organization. Building this thing up organically allows them to build the relationships that come into play during contract negotiations. You build a long-term foundation of players who grow together and want to stay together. That's more important than ever with the new penalties for teams that overspend.

As KG acknowledged, there's a huge benefit to bringing Chris Paul to San Antonio. But let's not forget about Harrison Barnes. He's another vet who will add value, and the Spurs will be better than people are anticipating. So, they did address the need for experience. But there's no need to go all out yet.

Still, Garnett's not wrong. Wembanyama is so special that his growth and trajectory could be accelerated by playing with more skilled and experienced guys, and that's basically what Spurs fans have been saying. But you have to consider what's best for the other guys and the organization.

Wemby will reach his peak; there's no doubt about that, but when he gets there, he'll have made the climb with his guys beside him. That means something.