In their first game getting Victor Wembanyama back from a multi-week absence due to a calf strain, the San Antonio Spurs took a marquee victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the NBA Cup Final to play the New York Knicks.
Wembanyama remains the franchise star for the Spurs, but even while he was out, the team was thriving with their strong supporting cast featuring rising stars in the backcourt and on the wings. While the team has seen some major success even without the French center, they were recently urged to make a brutal decision on recent Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors.
Speaking on the Zach Lowe Show, NBA analysts Zach Lowe and Michael Pina discussed San Antonio’s standing in a potential Antetokounmpo trade. Both believed it is best for the Spurs to go ahead with their current roster formation, and not to shake up what has been their strong start to the year, currently holding an 18-7 record, despite their star missing major time.
“I suspect the Spurs at this point are like, ‘We got to see what we have, before we even entertain the idea of, as great a player as [Giannis] is, the type of roster upheaval that indicates for this season,’“ Lowe said. “That’s my best educated guess on their stance.”
NBA insider Marc Stein also recently reported the Spurs are likely to bow out of the Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes for a similar reason, considering their recent success.
Spurs Urged To Not Make Blockbuster Giannis Trade Amid Rumors
San Antonio was initially rumored to be near the top of the market in terms of an Antetokounmpo trade, considering both the young players and draft assets they could send back to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the star pairing they could create by putting the Greek Freak next to Wembanyama on the court together.
Yet still, with how strong of performances they’ve seen from De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson, trading at least a few of those players to add Antetokounmpo might be too big a risk.
“I would also sit this one out if I was the San Antonio Spurs,” Pina said of a potential Spurs trade for Antetokounmpo. “Be super patient with the nucleus I have; I would let it grow organically.”
“I just love the young talent, I love how it’s coalescing around Victor. If I was the Spurs, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be aggressive…No disrespect to Giannis at all, if I was the Spurs, that’s kind of what would be my goal here in trying to improve my team in the short and long-term.”
Lowe and Pina’s comments came shortly after Stein reported that teams like the Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder are expected to ‘bow out‘ of the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, considering how much potential they’ve each shown with their current rosters.
“There is a growing belief among trade trackers that San Antonio and Houston, like Oklahoma City, do not plan to join the chase for Antetokounmpo even if the Bucks ultimately do decide to consider in-season proposals for their two-time MVP,” he wrote on his Substack, The Stein Line. “All three of those teams, as you can imagine, like what they have going.”
Victor Wembanyama’s Status For NBA Cup Final
At the same time that the Spurs were urged by multiple insiders and analysts to close the book on a potential Antetokounmpo trade, they find themselves in the NBA Cup Final set to face off against the Knicks in what will be the first time either team can take home the hardware for the midseason tournament.
Wembanyama was on a minutes restriction against Oklahoma City, and despite remaining super impactful, there is the expectation that his minutes will once again be closely monitored by the team against New York.
“It’s hard. He wants to play. He wants to start,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama’s minutes restriction. “We still have to think about what’s best for the team, unfortunately…We still have to make sure it fits with the other rollout of who’s playing with who and how that affects others.”
NBA insider Brett Siegel also reported the day before the NBA Cup Final that Johnson didn’t commit to putting Wembanyama back in the starting lineup. He played in 21 minutes in the semifinal and didn’t take the floor until the second quarter, a trend that could continue against the Knicks.
“We’re not at a stage where we will be unintentional with his minutes, whether that’s volume over time [or] long stints,” Johnson added. ” But we don’t just say, ‘Oh, now we’re back,‘ or whatever. We are still learning and want to be very mindful of that.”
Wembanyama himself said that though he feels ready to play more minutes, he knows the Spurs’ staff has the final say on how long he’ll play.
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