Insider report suggests Wembanyama 'dominating' Spurs' planning

It was only a month ago that the San Antonio Spurs caught the NBA by surprise with a 5-2 start. Unfortunately, they have seen their hot start to the season fading fast, and they've since gone 1-14 in their last 15 games. Now, they have the third-worst record in the NBA, and many Spurs fans, whether they admit it or not, are probably looking ahead to the 2023 NBA Draft lottery to see if the Spurs will land the number one pick in next year's draft.

The Spurs are, too, and have been keeping a very close eye on likely No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, according to LJ Ellis of Spurstalk. While that is probably true of all 30 NBA teams, the Spurs could be in a three-way tie for the highest lottery odds, making them much more likely than most of those other franchises to pick first in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Drafting Victor Wembanyama would be a game-changer for the Spurs

If the Spurs were to draft Wembanyama, it would be an absolute game-changer, and Ellis also states that the prospect of that happening "has dominated internal conversations." In fact, it's apparently even led to the team second-guessing the idea of trading Jakob Poeltl for future assets; instead, they could pair the two together in the starting lineup.

A Wembanyama-Poeltl power-center combo would be the biggest in the NBA and could potentially work despite being something that most Spurs fans hadn't previously considered. After all, Wembanyama isn't strictly a back-to-the-basket center. Despite being as tall as 7'4", he is a good shooter and mobile enough to defend on the perimeter, allowing him to play the four. It's a fascinating thought because it would force the Spurs to reconfigure their frontcourt.

Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell would all theoretically slide down a position, and the Spurs could go with a point guard-less lineup. Playing without a point guard would definitely be an experiment, but Johnson and Vassell are getting plenty of playmaking experience now, and Sochan already has point-forward skills.

Or, perhaps the Spurs could bring Sochan off the bench and have him play alongside either Wembanyama or Poeltl. There are plenty of possibilities, and based on this report, the Spurs are already thinking about possible machinations. Ultimately, the Spurs are gearing up for the possibility of landing Wembanyama, and maybe, just maybe, fans should too.