Childhood friends Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly will play each other in the NBA for the first time on Saturday night as the Spurs and Wizards clash. The former Metropolitans 92 teammates both expressed excitement for the matchup, according to Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News.
“Wemby is more than a teammate,” Coulibaly said. “That’s like my brother.”
The two French stars met each other when they were about 10 years old and joined the same youth team shortly thereafter, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Neither talked much about making the NBA, but they knew it was a goal they shared.
“At the time, it was just dreams and something crazy,” Wembanyama said. “But we happened to both make it here, and I’m just so proud of him. It is going to feel weird, for sure.”
Wembanyama is, of course, one of the most hyped prospects in basketball history. He’s living up to the billing so far with averages of 19.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Coulibaly is impressing in his own right, averaging 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per night while shooting 38.8% from beyond the arc as one of the youngest players in the NBA.
We have more notes on the Spurs:
- Even though Wembanyama is having a statistically impressive individual season, the Spurs are not — they’re stacking losses at a rapid rate. Wembanyama said the season has been “challenging,” according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, but he still has faith in his team in the long run. “I know it’s not going to be easy,” Wembanyama said. “I know it’s going to take some time before we can be contenders for the title. I was ready for anything and I’m still ready to do any sacrifice and I’m patient. I’m patient, but for nothing I’ll ever lose time. I’m patient, but I’m not wasting time. I trust us for the long term, but I’m always ready for anything.“
- The Spurs should jump at the chance to reacquire Dejounte Murray, argues Mike Finger of San Antonio Express-News. Finger suggests that, with some core players already in place and an excess of first-rounders on hand, the Spurs probably won’t draft players with all of those future picks. A trade will likely be necessary down the line to find a running mate for Wembanyama, even if it isn’t for Murray, says Finger. Beyond that, San Antonio’s biggest need is at point guard and the Spurs wouldn’t have to give up as much as they got when they traded Murray to Atlanta in exchange for three first-round picks and a pick swap in 2022. For what it’s worth, Murray said he would “welcome” the chance to play for his old team again.
- Guard Blake Wesley may be leapfrogging Malaki Branham in the team’s rotation. Wesley played slightly more than Branham in San Antonio’s past three games, getting roughly double the time on the floor in the Spurs’ Friday loss to Charlotte. That playing time culminated in Wesley scoring nine points against the Hornets. “[Wesley]’s making us give him minutes, with his aggressiveness on both ends really,” head coach Gregg Popovich said (Twitter link via Jeff McDonald). Branham didn’t play in the second half against Charlotte, McDonald observes. Branham started most of late November and all through December for the Spurs, but is seeing his playing time diminish as of late.
Bring Dejounte back. Has hit two consecutive game winners for Atlanta. He’s a baller.
If SAS wants Dejounte back they can either give up Keldon Johnson and 3 1sts or they can kick rocks. Anybody that has seen the Hawks play this yr or last yr (or even if you haven’t seen them play & just have basic common sense) should know that he (along with JJ) is the last guy that we should be thinking about trading… link to m.youtube.com
Maybe 2 1sts and some expiring contracts..that’s bout it ..now for trae..well now we can talk a little more value in return
what’s the best package you would give up for Trae…
Keldon ..branham..4 1sts ..none being ours though ..give Atlanta back 2 of theirs Toronto 1st next year .. and Chicago 1st
Id rather have Wesley than Branham but that would never be a deal breaker. If you throw in Charles Bassey I’d prob take this deal. Obv Doug McDermott would have to be thrown in to make the salaries match as well… This deal would make the Hawks better now & going forward way more than any Dejounte deals. It also sets SAS up for success by providing Wembo with 1 of the top passers & floor spacers in the league. Trae/Vassell/Wembo is a strong young trio
I don’t think anyone has ever traded 4 number 1’s – where do you all get this stuff?
Minnesota did for Gobert, actually, they gave up 5 plus a swap if you count Kessler who never played for Minnesota, plus they also gave up Beasley, Vanderbilt, Beverley and Bolmaro
Rudy Gobert just got traded for 4 #1s
That’s funny. Love DJ but nobody is giving the Hawks 2 firsts – but suggesting 3 and a player ….
Spurs will shop for bargains or sit tight. They are on a 3 year plan while Wemby matures physically. Why make trades to end up with 25 wins instead of 18….?
If/when nobody is willing to give up a huge haul for Dejounte then we’ll just keep him, same as we did last yr
Yes definitely mckbuckets..though I’d hate that but he’s an expiring contract..and I like Blake but we have tre jones as a backup..so I’m ok with that .. bassey ..that’s hard ..but if it needs to ok ..
Trae is a future HOFer & extremely exciting to watch but it’s definitely time for him to move on & I think he’s always wanted to play with a dominant big like Zion or Wembanyama so SAS would sorta be a perfect spot for him
I have never understood the buzz around Trae. Not saying he isn’t a supremely talented player, but his defence is non-existent, his 3PT shooting is below average and he hasn’t proven that he’s a winning player. Sure, Wemby would be the perfect lob partner on offence and Trae’s back up man on D, I would just rather have Dejounte instead.
An inside outside D pairing of Murray and Wemby would be scary. It would cost less to get Dejounte, leaving more in the war chest to chase another star via trade. Murray is on a very reasonable contract ($25M next year), and doesn’t make $30M+ per season on the length of his deal (runs through 26-27 season).
Wemby, Murray and Vassell is a really nice set of building blocks who together would make less than half the team’s cap space next year. Moving Keldon, and a couple more picks for another star level player would make the Spurs a playoff team again as early as next season.
What is the most you would trade for Dejounte