Spurs are tipping their hand on surprise plan for Victor Wembanyama

When the Spurs signed Bismack Biyombo, I assumed that they just wanted to add some big man depth to the roster, but there seems to be another theory floating around the NBA stratosphere. Jake Fischer discussed the possibility of San Antonio running more experiments with Victor Wembanyama at the power forward position, and he's not completely crazy to bring it up.

Wembanyama doesn't have to play center to thrive

At the beginning of his rookie season, Wemby started at the four next to Zach Collins. Vic has made it clear that he doesn't consider himself a full-time center. The staff clearly wasn't keen on forcing him into a spot he didn't want to be in because they continued to try that combination, but the spacing was so bad that it just wasn't a viable option, so they were forced to abandon it.

It didn't matter whether it was Dominick Barlow or Charles Bassey. It just didn't work for the same reasons. But we've seen a variation of it work before. Team France played Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert at the same time quite a bit during last summer's 2024 Paris Olympics. They stifled teams in the paint, and the duo was effective enough to help get the team to the Gold Medal Round.

Luke Kornet mostly came off the bench for the Celtics last year, but he started in 16 games for them. Some of those starts were alongside Al Horford, and whether he started next to Al or not, he played significant minutes next to him. Playing with two bigs is not unfamiliar to Luke or Wemby, and it gives them a massive defensive advantage in the paint.

Kornet would have to worry about getting switched onto some of the best ball-handlers in the league. Still, with Wembanyama out there with him, they can shrink the floor, significantly cutting off space for those players to take advantage of any potential mismatches.

Offensively, you'd have someone else for De'Aaron Fox or Stephon Castle to run pick-and-rolls with. Primarily, you'll want Vic in those actions, but Kornet has a much stronger frame than the 7'5" Frenchman, so he'll set harder screens that are more difficult to get around for the trailing defender.

If Wembanyama improves his shooting stroke again this season and becomes a more consistent threat from deep, they would still have the shooters they need to space the floor enough to make it work to their advantage. Biyombo can do most of the same things as Kornet, offering lineup versatility for Mitch Johnson.

It could be matchup dependent, or it could be their ultimate game plan, but the signing offers them options either way.