Wembanyama, the Knicks, dark-horse MIPs, and more!

Mailbag time!

Time for a mailbag, every writer’s tried-and-true strategy for when they run out of ideas want to connect with readers! Fun fact: The Austin Reaves piece I just did started as a mailbag question. 1,000 words in, I decided that it probably needed to be a standalone article.

This time, I tried to keep my trio of answers a little more digestible. I mostly failed. Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

YM: As a Spurs fan, I have heard lots about maximizing Wemby’s unique skill set. In your opinion, what would the optimal offense (motion, five out, more fast break etc.) and defense (drop, more switching etc.) look like for a Wemby team as the Spurs continue to hold their young core?

I think about this a lot, because offensively at least, there is not nearly enough shooting on the roster. You can make a case that Wembanyama is the best floor-spacer in the rotation, which is not what you want your superstar to be.

Without much spacing, there are two other ways to generate consistent offense: Sprint like hell, or smash the offensive glass. Either of these could be viable pathways for the Spurs to score points next season. Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox should thrive on the break, while new center Luke Kornet and Wembanyama could pound the glass in double-big lineups.

The Spurs were an effective fast-break team, but they were just 11th in transition frequency. With so many young, springy ballhandlers on the roster (and without the ancient Chris Paul leaking oil everywhere while trying to cross halfcourt), they could crank that dial up. San Antonio would also benefit from getting into its sets a little quicker. The sooner they begin the possession, the more time there is to find a crack in the defense.

Let’s get a little more tactical. In the halfcourt, pick-and-roll can’t function well without spacing around it. In a perfect world, we might see something more like what Golden State has run for the last decade. The Warriors had pretty poor shooting lineups for years around the Splash Brothers, but they made it work with their movement system. Drawing inspiration from that, I’d love to see more off-ball interactions and split cuts in a Wembanyama/Devin Vassell two-man game. (This is a sneaky huge season for Vassell.)

I did like when Wembanyama would fake a screen and then moonwalk into a three-point attempt, although he tended to make things harder on himself than he needed to:

Implementing the Warriors system feels far-fetched, however, given that only a handful of teams run offense like that. Focusing on speed feels more achievable.

Defensively, the Spurs should be very good with or without Wembanyama now (I have a lot of faith in Kornet as an anchor). Wembanyama is already the best drop defender in the league, so no need to change things there in general. I would like to see him try to dance on the perimeter a bit more just to mix things up (particularly when Kornet is out there), but given normal health, a top-10 defensive ranking feels conservative.

I desperately want the Spurs to lean into more full-court pressure. Castle did it some last season, and Sochan and Harper have the motor for it. Wembanyama is anthropomorphized margin for error; even if the guards get beat, opposing ball handlers aren’t going to want to sprint 60 feet downcourt right into Wemby’s hungry maw.

So, so much of the future of the NBA legitimately depends on at least one and preferably two of Fox, Castle, and Harper learning how to shoot threes. If none can do it consistently, the Spurs will take years to recover, no matter how good Wemby becomes.

Garrison: Who is your deepest cut pick for Most Improved Player?

I have lots of ideas here, but one name keeps blinking at me like a broken lightbulb.