How the Spurs have uniquely positioned themselves to build a champion around Victor Wembanyama

Think about the best prospects that have entered the NBA this century. What kinds of situations did they inherit? LeBron James landed on a Cleveland team that was completely devoid of talent, yet was so good so quickly that the Cavaliers never got to stack other lottery picks around him. Anthony Davis was drafted by a Pelicans team that had a reasonable degree of financial flexibility, but they immediately wasted it by matching an expensive offer sheet on Eric Gordon and signing Tyreke Evans a year later. 

These problems compound with time. In an effort to make up for their early shortcomings, both the Cavaliers and Pelicans made aggressive short-term moves that killed their long-term hopes. Cleveland traded a first-round pick for Jiri Welsch. Its 2005 lottery pick was lost in a trade made all the way back in 1997. The Pelicans didn’t have a first-round pick finish a season in New Orleans between 2014 and 2018.

Even when you get it right, there are potential pitfalls. The Oklahoma City Thunder lucked into Kevin Durant in 2007, but followed that pick up by drafting two more MVPs in the coming years. It didn’t matter because they weren’t prepared to pay all three of them, and then they botched the James Harden trade and couldn’t recover.

All of this is meant to say that getting the generational prospect is only half of the battle. Building around that player is a process that starts years before he arrives and lasts for years after he is established. And that brings us to Victor Wembanyama.

We’ve seen star rookies join teams with cap space. We’ve seen star rookies join teams with young talent. We’ve seen star rookies join teams with excess draft capital. We’ve never seen a star rookie join a team with all of those things at the same time. San Antonio has meticulously cultivated perhaps the single most flexible roster situation that a top rookie has ever enjoyed. Just consider everything the Spurs have going for them not named Wembanyama:

• The Spurs currently have roughly $118 million on their books for next season against a projected $141 million salary cap. They’ll add an expensive rookie with their lottery pick, but the cost of doing so can be more than offset by waiving Devonte’ Graham and his $12.6 million salary before July 1. That immediately leaves them in the range of $25 million in cap space before making any other moves, depending on where their pick comes in.
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