Where do you rank the Spurs’ one-two punch of Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox compared to other two-star cores in the league?
Marilyn Dubinski: I wish we had more than five games of watching the two together to go by, but they are definitely top 10 at worst. Both could play either side of the pick-and-roll, and both at least require enough respect from the outside to open things up down low (although they could also both be better). There are certainly more proven duos ahead of them (SGA and Jalen Williams, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, Steph Curry and whoever his no. 2 should be at this point, to name a few), but Wemby
and Fox can rise quickly if they both stay healthy and click the way we expect them to.
Jacob Douglas: This might sound crazy, but I have the Spurs duo 6th in the NBA (not counting players who are going to miss significant time from injury). I’d take the star duos from the Thunder, Nuggets, Knicks, Timberwolves, and Lakers over Wemby and Fox. The big differentiator is obviously Wembanyama. If he’s a top-5 player in the league this season, and there are significant signs he can be, that gives this duo a high floor. If Fox can get back to the level of production in his All-Star season, it can elevate this duo, and the team overall, to another stratosphere.
Devon Birdsong: If Jacob sounds crazy, I might sound downright deranged, but if we’re taking into account just the scoring, they could very well be Top 3 in that respect. It got kind of lost in the way their seasons ended, but Wemby was averaging just shy of 25ppg as a sophomore while dealing with blood clots (and has never averaged less than 21ppg). In addition to having a 60-point game on his resume, Fox is the only player in NBA history other than Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant to score 109+ points in back-to-back outings. Outside of Lebron James and Luke Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, I’m hard-pressed to think of another duo with that kind of firepower. The real question is, how good can Fox be on defense? Even though he’s led the league in steals and received votes for All-Defense, he hasn’t made an All-Defensive Team yet. If he does, they’re arguably Top 2.
Jeje Gomez: Assuming they mesh well (which is not a given early in the season, especially with the injury questions surrounding Fox), they could be a top 5 duo. Fox has averaged 25-4-6 with a couple of steals before, and he’s at the very least a willing point-of-attack defender. Wemby’s ceiling is impossible to define, but he’s already the most disruptive interior defender in the league and averaged 24 and 11 while being both a terrifying lob threat and a decent outside shooter. The Thunder, Lakers, and Cavaliers duos are a step ahead. But if everything clicks for the Spurs’ stars, they could be among the best in the league.
Who do you think will start, and who do you think will get the most minutes off the bench for the Spurs this season?
Dubinski: I think Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Wemby are given, with the biggest question being Harrison Barnes or Jeremy Sochan at PF. Both bring different elements to the unit, but if they really want to see what they have in Sochan at his natural position without being “experimented with”, then he should at least be given the chance. If it turns out that a unit full of “potential but not proven” shooters needs more offensive help, they can always go back to Barnes. As for the bench, I imagine Keldon Johnson will remain the 6th man, both in terms of role and minutes played off the bench.
Douglas: My guess is we’ll see a lot of different lineup variations this season. The Spurs have the depth and versatility to adapt to difficult matchups. On opening night, my starting five looks like Fox, Castle, Vassell, Barnes and Wembanyama. I could see nights where Kornet fills the starting center role, pushing Castle to the bench, and the rest of the lineup shifting up. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Harper and Champagnie get spot starts here and there. The core bench group will likely be Sochan, Harper, Johnson, Champagnie and Kornet. I see Olynyk factoring in only in certain matchups, and expect Bryant to spend the majority of the season in Austin.
Birdsong: It’s a tough call because both Sochan and Barnes add something to the group that the other (thus far) cannot. The Spurs badly need both Sochan’s rebounding and Barnes’ marksmanship, and unless Sochan’s long-distance shooting is much improved, it looks to be a Sophie’s Choice of one or the other. Barring unforeseen improvement, I wouldn’t be surprised to see their starts depending on Mitch Johnson’s perception of matchups. My guess is that Sochan will get the lion’s share of the starts in a Fox, Castle, Vassell, Wemby lineup, since Kornet can hold down rebounding for the bench, but if Vassell scuffles a bit (or again goes down to injury), I’d expect Barnes to see more starts. For now, I think he’ll lead the bench in minutes, though Kornet is a real threat if the Spurs start going for 2-Big lineups.
Gomez: The starting lineup I wished Johnson would use would be Fox – Vassell – Champagnie – Barnes – Wembanyama. Just shooters around Fox and Wemby, with Vassell as the tertiary creator. I doubt that’s likely to happen, though, as understandably one or both of Castle and Sochan will probably start. A Fox – Vassell – Sochan – Barnes – Wembanyama looks balanced enough, and it would free Castle to be the main perimeter creator off the bench, with Johnson and Harper sharing the ball-handling burden.
If you had to pick one Spur to surprise and have a career year, who’d you pick?
Dubinski: If the Spurs play him in his natural element, I think Sochan can surprise and prove his true worth. His outside shooting form has shown signs of improving, and when he hasn’t been hampered by injury or playing out of position, he has looked very solid. Runner-up would be either Vassell or Johnson returning to their best form that we’ve seen in seasons past. Of course, neither is going to be the leading scorer again, but at their best they would be perfect role players for this squad and remain a part of the core going forward.
Douglas: Not sure if it’s a surprise, but I’m high on Vassell coming into the season. He’s one of the most talented 4th options in the NBA (if Castle builds upon his ROY season and is the Spurs’ clear number 3). With Fox and Castle taking ball-handling responsibilities away from Vassell, it’ll give him more opportunities to play off the ball as a spot-up shooter who can attack closeouts or score off the bounce when needed. If he buys into being an off-ball assassin from deep, I think a lot of the conversations around Vassell will change for the positive.
Birdsong: I think it’s got to be Sochan. He’s a hard worker and will almost certainly get to spend most of the year in a non-experimental role for once. I think it kind of went unnoticed that he shot 40% from three in February and March of last season (albeit on a low number of attempts), and if he’s able to build on that, he could shock a lot of non-Spurs fans as well. If he can at least get Bruce Bowen-esque from the corners, it completely changes the complexion of that starting lineup, and he becomes all but irreplaceable. He’d basically be Rodman-lite with a three-ball. Scary.
Gomez: Vassell could have a massive year. In a smaller role, his efficiency and consistency could realistically rise, and the defense he was playing late last season provides reasons for optimism about his two-way potential. One of the reasons Vassell got paid is that his game simply fits a lot of different styles, so the changes shouldn’t affect him as much as they might other players. If he’s healthy, he could establish himself as a core guy next to Wemby and Fox.
