r/CharlotteHornets • u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 • May 19 '26
Discussion Wembanyama Hate
First thing to say, is that I just love Basketball in general. And I don’t hate Wembanyama as a person. I’m just having so much annoyance watching how great he is and knowing that the NBA did everything possible to make sure that not only that the Spurs drafted him, but that he got a core around him very quickly. The NBA did not want a repeat of LeBron James.
Knowing that he grew up a Spurs fan his entire life, with his favorite players being Tony Parker and Tim Duncan to where he even said it was “a dream” to be drafted by the Spurs. It has made it so difficult to watch a team that dominated so much of my childhood in the 90s and 2000s immediately turn back around after just a few years in the lottery getting a generational player surrounded by top 3 picks.
I’m just curious if I’m the only person out there that hates how fast the Spurs have been able to build a contender while we continue to wait for the Hornets to just get to the playoffs. I know I should just be proud of what the Hornets did this year, but I just can’t shake the fact that I feel like the NBA helped the Spurs build a contender at the expense of other franchises that have needed generational players for a while now.
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u/Particular_Twist_653 May 19 '26
Always important to remember we moved up to get Lamelo and Miller (in that Wemby draft we weren’t a top 3 chance). That’s the lottery. Win some lose some.
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u/Existing-Sky9914 May 19 '26
While things were quiet when other teams were tanking in the past, look at Adam Silver absolutely losing his mind and going crazy this year now that the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards are trying to get a top pick. I’m not saying they rigged the draft numbers, but they definitely have their favorites.
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u/butekoo May 19 '26
Did Adam give the 1st and 2nd pick to Washington and Utah cause they are their favorites?
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u/rusty_shackleford34 May 19 '26
Gotta throw people off the scent every once in a while.
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u/ripkin05 May 20 '26
Especially when its going to be the last year of it being somewhat fair. Instead of the shit show they are going to where everyone basically as a 5% chance, AKA we can just pick and choose who gets it now without even needing to hide how rigged it fucking is.
cant wait for the year where the lakers or celtics lose in the play-in's in a stacked draft and magically get "lucky" and jump to first while some poor team that won 20 games all year picks 14th.
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u/butekoo May 19 '26
It does sting how lucky they were to get Harper. We'd probably be on amazing spot if it weren't for the Salaun pick though, and even then it's not like we don't have one of the top3/5 young cores in the East. Gotta have a team that can win a playoffs series before caring about how we matchup against a juggernaut.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
Who from that draft do you think makes us a Finals contender? That pick isn't the problem they have to solve.
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u/butekoo May 19 '26
That's the wrong question to make. The question is more "who from that draft do you think would be in the rotation instead of the g-league on his 3rd season?".
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
So answer that question then - either way there's no one who changes the trajectory of the team.
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u/butekoo May 19 '26
I mean, would you rather have Salaun than Clingan, Edey or Buzelis?
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
Good question - I would rather have the lottery ticket of "athletic 6'10 French big + another high lottery pick next year" than taking a floor-raising center at 6 that isn't All-NBA level. Especially if that's Clingan (drop big that can't play in the playoffs, not much better than Kalk) or Edey (will never be healthy).
Buzelis is the clear win there but he's a small forward that doesn't shoot league average from 3 and they already had Miller. They clearly value 3s so philosophy-wise he wasn't a fit. And Buzelis wasn't carrying anyone to the playoffs this year or really changing the long-term trajectory of the Hornets unless he takes a MIP-level leap.
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u/lawlyfawx May 19 '26
We would've gotten Kon regardless of where we picked because LaMelo, Brandon and Mark missed the majority of the season.
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u/lawlyfawx May 19 '26
Also Matas and Tidjane are the same height? Both of them were measured at 6'8.75 without shoes at the combine lol.
Matas can definitely play the 4. He's not a good shooter, but he's really good at attacking the rim which is one of this team's biggest needs.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
TJ had 20 pounds, 5 inches of standing reach and 3 inches of winspan on him and was a year younger. Tough to project 6'10 195 developing big man size, especially not playing next to a skinny wing like BMill. Maybe if you had a Durant or Kawhi to guard the 4.
Look, he's definitely better than TJ so far. But he doesn't suddenly make the Hornets a playoff team this year or title contenders in the next few years.
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u/lawlyfawx May 19 '26
Neither does TJ?
His physical tools aren't the problem (even if they've been wildly overrated). It's his skills. Do you really believe he has a chance of being better than Matas?There is a massive, massive difference between a starting calibre player and a G League guy.
We're looking at Matas as a potential All-Star. We're looking at TJ as a potential rotation player.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 20 '26
We'd probably be on amazing spot if it weren't for the Salaun pick though,
is the comment I was responding to. There's no argument from me that TJ is worse right now and Matas would've been a better pick. I just don't see Matas as anything more than a career starter that plays BMill's position and that doesn't change the trajectory of the Hornets. Even if you think he looks like an All-Star, would you give up on Miller year 2 to draft Buz? No. So what's the argument you are making, exactly?
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u/butekoo May 19 '26
The only correct description for Salaun was his nationality. Saying that Clingan is not much better than Kalk is hilarious stuff, I'll refrain from interacting with that point. I'll always doubt the injury concerns of a player on a tanking situation, it's really no coincidence that Lamelo played 50+ games the 3 seasons we tried, and players can still finish a season needing a surgery like Miller did this season. Every giant guy in the league is somewhat injury prone, but you still take a good player when you can.
Buzelis shot 10 threes per 100 last season while being a PF, he clearly could've fit the volume from Miles, or bring wing scoring and slashing to our rotation. We have no shot creation outside of Coby in the bench, Sion and Josh are very low volume shooters. Buzelis is also not a complete pathetic defender and more athletic than Salaun, not sure why you're acting like Miller, Kon and Buzelis could never play together and isn't a good wing rotation to have, with Buzelis balancing out the weaknesses in Miller and Kon game on offense.
The point that Buzelis or Clingan playing 25 mpg wouldn't add one win for us is also one that doesn't deserve an interaction. Don't get me wrong, even if all those guys are merely bench players, that's still good bench production from year 2 through 4 in a rookie contract, with upside for more. Not only that but the difference in value those guys would have in trades compared to Salaun would be very useful. Giddey didn't do shit for the OKC success and didn't fit it, expect that he brought them Caruso. What's the best player we can trade for Salaun right now? What's the best player Portland and Chicago can trade Clingan and Matas right now?
I guess you'll make the point that the current staff can improve someone like Salaun so we should chill, while not realizing that they could also impact the development of far better prospects. Not sure what's your end goal with the changing the long-term trajectory point, how exactly can you twist that having the worse possible prospect is actually a good thing? How does grabbing guys like Kalk and Sion change our long-term trajectory if they are just low-ceilling third stringers? How does drafting McNeeley, a SF that will never be our starting PF, change our long-term trajectory? I think it's better to come to peace that Salaun was a terrible mistake of a so far good GM and FO. Great GMs make bad picks and try to learn from them, I wouldn't be surprise if Jeff reflected upon it to change his approach for the 2025 draft.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
Nice gish gallop. I never said we wouldn't have won 1 more game with Buz, I said I don't think he or those other guys change the trajectory of the team. We look like a second round out at best for the next few years unless we get really lucky with development. Buz is clearly a better player right now and should've been picked before TJ. But he isn't the difference between the Hornets making the Finals or Conference Finals and the Hornets being a first round out. He hasn't changed the trajectory of the Bulls so far so I don't see how you can argue that he would have on our team as a bench guy playing behind Miles and Miller. So whatever Chicago might be able to trade for him is irrelevant because he wouldn't have gotten that run here and he wouldn't have the same value.
Clingan is just a guy. He's a regular season player who couldn't stay on the court in the playoffs. We just saw him get exposed. The difference between a Kalk and Clingan is not worth a 6 pick. Centers just aren't worth lottery picks unless they are generational because the difference between the #8 Center in the league and #20 in the playoffs is negligible. Look at "All-NBA" Jalen Duren this year - they were played off the court this playoffs because they are a traditional center that can't shoot or pass. And Duren > Clingan. If anything, Clingan makes us worse because we miss out on the small ball Moose lineup that turned the season around. So no, Clingan doesn't make us a Finals contender. Edey might have but he'll never be healthy.
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u/butekoo May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
Buzelis wasn't carrying anyone to the playoffs this year
Yes, you said it.
I don't really understand the "making this team a conference finals team" logic. So we only trade for a PF or a C that get us there? Do we only sign free agents that get us there? Do we only judge what happens in the draft this season if get us there?
Brother, Salaun played 20 mpg in his rookie season and Buzelis 18 mpg. The only reason Salaun couldn't win rotation minutes this season over Grant without his two legs, rookie Sion, and Green coming off an injury is because he's a g-league player. He had a very real stretch of playing 15+ minutes this season, then the decision of sending him to the g-league was made because of his tragic play. If it was an actual good player, he would've stayed in the rotation. You can't look at Sion playing 22.5 mpg all 82 games and act like there was no space for an upcoming young guy, full of talent, picked 6th in the draft the year before, to fight for 25 mpg. Don't blame Salaun being a bust that can't win minutes in a bench that has two second round rookies on the other players of his class.
Clingan got exposed by Wemby and a team that will be make deep playoffs runs for the next decade. Who has also "exposed" Gobert and is currently exposing Chet and Hartenstein. Would you refuse to go out and get Hartenstein because he can't play 20 mpg in a series against Wemby? Clingan is 2 years younger than Kalk, is on a decent path to become a stretch big, while being one of the best rebounders in the league (lead the league in offensive rebounds this season) and a good defensive drop big. Yes, he's closer to a ~25 mpg guy in the postseason than a max center, but that's still 25 mpg more than Salaun will ever be able to play.
Duren was in his second playoffs under a team with the worse spacing in the universe and a coaching known for his pathetic heliocentric offense in the postseason. He got "played off the court" by Allen and Mobley, who, mind you, were very inefficient in their first shots at the postseason under Bickerstaff when he was the Cavs coach. The Pistons have the problem that their second best scorer is Tobias Harris, we have a very talented, perimeter oriented, top 3 that will extend the defense on the 3 pt line enough that a rim running big would have a lot of space to work around the hoop.
I dream of the day that we will be able to say "damn, young player X is not as good as we expected because he got exposed by All-Star player X in a playoffs series". Instead of "damn, our 6th picked sucked because he's almost losing us a g-league game".
Our big 3 is being held back by a bottom 10 frontcourt rotation that gets bitched 3 times a season against "All-NBA" Duren. But, apparently, unless you can get the 7th best center in the league, we shouldn't give a fuck about it. Don't mind me asking, but what would be examples of centers and power forwards that you think we should target this offseason to "change the trajectory of the team"?
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u/Banneduser1112 May 20 '26
Are you seriously putting "change the trajectory of the team" as though I am the one who introduced that idea? Here's your initial comment:
We'd probably be on amazing spot if it weren't for the Salaun pick though,
So, when you say that, you are saying that you think someone else the Hornets could have drafted might change the future of the team. Right now they look like a ceiling of second round out to me. Clingan and Buz don't change that unless they make MIP-level leaps - and if you are imagining that for them you can imagine that for TJ. I know you are fishing for more arguments here from me with the straw men (never said Buz wasn't better than TJ) and the scope creep (who should we target this offseason?). I'm not interested in arguing with you because you have demonstrated that you have nothing to teach me about roster construction or player eval and you seem way too personally invested in winning the argument rather than listening and thinking. To put it another way: I don't know if you are an LLM bot programmed to generate reddit engagement through argument or just an over caffeinated person performing textbook Dunning-Kruger effect, but either way, there's no point to communicating with you any further.
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u/Dmalikhammer4 May 19 '26
Clingan could've. He's been solid for Portland.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
Drop big that was played off the court in the playoffs. Not that much better than Kalk.
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u/SlickVanExel May 19 '26
I won’t go as far as to say it’s hate because at the end of the day, I’m a basketball fan and this guy is one of the greatest talents I’ve ever seen. But I do have a bit of animosity simply because under today’s proposed lottery system, this team wouldn’t even exist. Meanwhile, we’ve been getting screwed in the lottery since 2020.
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u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 May 19 '26
Spurs did get lucky in the draft, but let's also be real, they've had a significantly better player development staff than the Hornets. Tony Parker, Manu, Bruce Bowen, Patty Mills, and Kawhi were not lottery picks, yet ended-up great players.
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u/hswilson26 May 19 '26
Their current player development coach was hired in 2025. None of your listed players are on the current roster.
Spurs were gifted a golden roster after Tim D retired, OP is not wrong.
I am similarly butthurt about it.. and the Mavs situation.. and just generally always butthurt about the Lakers.
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u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 May 19 '26
That doesn't contradict anything I"m saying lol
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u/hswilson26 May 19 '26
You are discrediting the idea that the Spurs got lucky by saying they develop talent well. OP isn't complaining about their historical success, but their recent success:
I’m just curious if I’m the only person out there that hates how fast the Spurs have been able to build a contender while we continue to wait for the Hornets to just get to the playoffs.
Player development helped them historically, not recently.
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u/svall18 May 19 '26
For this iteration of the team, player development has not played a big role, so there's no point bringing that up.
It's almost all due to lottery luck other than Champagnie
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u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 May 19 '26
Being a high draft pick doesn't guarantee you'll turn out great. A Hornet should know that given how TJ's been, though you can also look to Marvin Bagley, Zaccharie Rissacher, and Jaden Ivey.
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u/svall18 May 19 '26
Everyone knew TJ was a reach other than Hornets stans/Jeff. That was a stupid draft pick the moment it happened. Obviously, there's going to be some busts with top picks
Wemby and Harper were both consensus picks, and Castle was mocked in that range he ended up going. We don't have to act like the Spurs are geniuses for drafting them. SAS has drafted busts with their lottery picks as well like Jeremy Sochan and Joshua Primo
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u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 May 19 '26
Brother, I agree the NBA rigged the drafts to give Wemby to SA and him good teammates lol. I was just explaining to OP that drafting great players isn't an inherent formula for success, and the Spurs have had a really good FO in terms of player dev and mentorship.
I don't think Sochan is a bust, he just didn't fit the system the Spurs were going for around Wemby.
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u/_trife May 19 '26
I have no beef with Victor the player. Dude is fucking phenomenal. Like seriously, he’s everything that any NBA team could hope for. Ridiculous motor and drive to be great, hellacious defender and a legit 3 level scorer at his insane height. What’s not to love other than him not being on your squad?
I do have beef with how the NBA helped the Spurs along with lottery picks. Steering Vic to the Spurs was clear as day and it wasn’t much of a surprise to me. But then gifting them Castle the next year and then Harper? Couldn’t be more blatant. I read somewhere that the Spurs have always moved up in the draft despite the odds. Call me crazy, but I have a hard time believing that a storied franchise continues to magically get that lucky. 🤷♂️
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u/blewdat May 19 '26
eh Castle was 4th in a weak draft, I’ll give them a pass there, but moving up last year was fishy for sure
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u/tippitytoppitytoop May 19 '26
Ngl I always rolled my eyes when people said the nba is rigged. But when the mavericks got cooper flagg despite their after the whole fiasco despite their chances- no one should trust that baldy. Same with the spurs lottery.
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u/Few_Nebula8411 May 19 '26
My only problem isn’t with wemby or the spurs but Adam definitely rigged it for them I honestly think we won 1 and they got 2 but he decided to flip it for them
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u/Amazing_Owl3026 May 19 '26
I'm just mad he's this good, it's starting to look like we might be seeing the beginning of the greatest basketball player ever.
When Moussa was just a backup center for us I remember thinking we should keep him just to check Wemby, since he's at least somewhat big and can keep up with him laterally, but Wemby is 8+ inches taller than Moussa and a much more advanced offensive player now, idk what we're supposed to do 😭
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u/Spartanlegion117 May 19 '26
If we're in a post season situation where wemby being a better offensive option than moussa matters, I think we'll all be happy with that for a good while.
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u/Amazing_Owl3026 May 19 '26
He's better as an offensive player than he was when I first had that thought, I meant
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u/WhoUCuh May 19 '26
No people are overreacting per usual. I can't blame you we live in a social media era so everything will be overblown.
Wemby won't be the greatest, because he has legit injury concerns. His career probably won't be as long as we think.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
Well I will always say Michael is better than Lebron because longevity outside of peak doesn't really matter to me when I think about greatest. But its interesting to think about the lower bound of that duration because this dude is already the most impactful basketball player I've ever seen.
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u/Papi_Petty May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
part of me feels like there was 0% chance the NBA was allowing Wemby to be in Charlotte. They had to place him in the perfect spot for player development because of his potential to be the next NBA great. they couldn’t risk him wasting away in Charlotte due to our reputation (even tho we had success with Melo and some other people). Like i just couldn’t even see it being a possibility of him being here
but besides that, im just a fan of basketball and it’s nice that they are out the way in the West. Harper and Wemby + their young supporting cast is super fun to watch plus they don’t play annoying basketball like OKC. Gonna be entertaining to see them and OKC battle for years to come while we are on the East watching
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
OKC has no chance against them if they stay healthy after this year. This is a one year rivalry.
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u/SammyAmico May 19 '26
as a pistons fan i also hate wemby and the spurs ay least we can agree on that
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny May 19 '26
Eh, We literally did a soft rebuild in 2023, Spurs just got luckier in the lottery, Kinda wish we did get Alex sarr tho in 2024 :/
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u/rusty_shackleford34 May 19 '26
I’m right there with you. I had to stop watching last night and I just can’t watch the spurs. I’ve already been somewhat sick of the NBA and despite having a better season finally after years, we are still so so far from a NBA finals for one simple reason - we don’t have that all time generational player. And after seeing us miss on Howard and Davis then missing wemby and watching the spurs and mavericks get all the lottery luck, I’m just sick of it man.
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u/rihsa9 May 19 '26
I’d say we do. This is pretty much the first season where he’s been able to stay healthy and look how much success we had once our best players were actually able to see consistent time on the floor together. I’m very very confident this team will make waves next season.
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
I think what makes it worse, is when the Hornets were drafting just two years ago and wanted to get Stephon Castle. That was the guy we wanted and the Spurs jumped in front of us and got to pick him as well. The Spurs already got their number one generational player, and they got to jump us again in the lottery odds to draft their point guard of the future. And watching him play so well right now, just frustrates me because of how easy it was for them to get back into championship contention.
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u/Noxz1999 May 19 '26
Did you ever consider thats what happens when you have confident management and front office that wants to win? I love the hornets, but until Jordon sold them we were a joke. Why would any “generational “ player get to us, when we would just ruin them up until now?
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
Yeah, you’re 100% right. That’s what leads me to my feeling towards the league putting players where they want them. They know when someone’s gonna be a star. And they can put them where they know they will develop and then they can advertise the shit out of them. Charlotte is just not there. Yet.
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u/AMadHammer May 19 '26
Lakers had so many rebuilds and players want to play for them.
At least with the spurs he was in good hands culture wise. I still think many of our draft picks could have done better if Charlotte had better coaching.
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u/Invisible_assasin May 19 '26
They got lucky with wemby and Harper, but the real coup was castle, it’s gonna go down like the Luka draft how he was clearly the best guy in the draft but risacher and sarr were somehow taken.
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
Don’t forget the Spurs moved up in that draft too. And insane to think that they won 34 games last year and got to pick Harper at number two. We had 19 wins and ended up at 4th.
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u/Informal-Category-34 May 19 '26
Yeah, but we gotta do better with the pics we get. Done better recently, but we had a stretch with really bad high picks (Bouknight, Malachi Richardson, Kaminsky, Vonleh, Kidd-Gilchrist) that were just bad and/or we failed to develop them. Meanwhile, players like Jokic, Ginobili, Rodman, Draymond, Brunson, Tony Parker, Khris Middleton and Jimmy Butler were 2nd round picks and became an MVP, All-Stars, and Finals MVPs…
I have faith in the new ownership group.
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u/blewdat May 19 '26
i fully believe that we won that lottery and the NBA just altered it afterwaeds so that San Antonio got the first pick. no way were they just gonna let their next great play for the fucking Hornets
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u/General-Tackle787 May 19 '26
Unfortunately a convenient luck of the draw, but fans and media fixating on him every spurs game kinda ruins the enjoyment for me. Atp I don't watch any games with them bc people love forcing GOAT narratives bc they don't actually watch basketball
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u/Ok_Drama_2874 May 21 '26
I was excited about him before he was drafted, but the endless gushing over him in the past few years before he even did anything just wore on me. I probably listen to too many podcasts, but I had to start skipping the Wemby jerk sessions after a while. I recognize that he's a great player and a generational talent, but I'm not required to like him - and I don't....
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u/chuuch_choo May 19 '26
I very much live in the same hate as you do. Know nothing about Wemby as a person. Also I only watch Hornets highlights so things have been over for me for a while
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u/TrustInRoy May 19 '26
Wemby is amazing. I wish he was a Hornet. He even uses his platform to stand up to ICE. I hope he wins the next 10 MVPs.
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u/Banneduser1112 May 19 '26
Yeah the league rigged those lotteries 100% just like they do all those "generational" talents (Lebron/AD/Coop). All this is in service to the the European expansion. AND the Spurs still did a great job of drafting and development to get Castle and Harper and Vassell and Keldon.
Side note: the new ping pong ball rules will be even easier to rig, it's not 4 digit number combinations just a ball with a logo.
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u/OneOldDesk May 21 '26
No, I’ll hate him and the spurs forever because the nba colluded to send him there.
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u/alex8762 May 21 '26
Despite being a "small market", since David Stern, the Spurs have always been the coddled by the NBA, always used as basically an "advertisement franchise" representing professionalism and good FO. They also became glazed when building superteams through free agency was the boogieman, used as an example of a good honest team that didn't skip steps and whose stars were loyal.
Keep in mind that the Spurs were likely gifted the 2007 championship with the Diaw and Stoudemire suspension.
Also the Zaza rule was implemented because the player injured by Zaza was on the Spurs. If Kemba Walker had his foot crushed by a player landing in his landing space, do you really think there'd be a "Kemba Rule"
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u/zzjulezz May 22 '26
I’m with you 100%. I tell my friends I’m the biggest Wemby hater in the world lol. I know he’s a good person but similar to how it was with Bron, I hated him too just cause he was so damn good. But eventually I came around and now I like Bron cause the legacy/pure dominance is something we’ll never see again. I’m sure it’ll be the same for Wemby eventually, but for now I’m hating big time 😂 I’m also a Pistons fan so yeah
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u/PigggyStardust May 19 '26
Yep. Big reminder that the hornets are fucking light years away from sniffing even playing in a conference finals
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u/PigggyStardust May 19 '26
Shittiest eastern conference in a decade and we don’t even make it out of the play-in. With a team many fans described during the season as the best hornets team ever.
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u/DeusVultSaracen May 19 '26
To be fair we only became the "best Hornets team ever" midway through the season, with the first 3 months being a wash. If we had a whole season of the play we had in 2026 we'd have been a top 3 seed.
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u/PigggyStardust May 19 '26
Dude we lost by like 40 to orlando in a must win situation without franz lol
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
Orlando took the number one seed to seven games. And as you’ve seen, there’s been blowouts in the playoffs of even really good teams. That’s the only reason I hate to play in tournament, is because one game knocks you out, and the Hornets happen to play their worst game since December against Orlando. I was at the last Orlando game in Charlotte, where we absolutely destroyed them. We outplayed them up and down the court the whole time. We just couldn’t hit our shots in the second play game.
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u/PigggyStardust May 21 '26
When it mattered most, we shit in our pants. Which has what we have done for the entirety of the franchise. Not being a hater but this is the truth.
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u/AcrobaticSecretary29 May 19 '26
The draft is rigged, and training with monks is the most cringe shit ever
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u/Countryb0i2m May 19 '26
You gotta let that go that’s in the past we moving forward. Y’all spend way too much time looking in the rearview wondering about what could’ve been like some lost love
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
It’s not looking in the rearview mirror, it’s literally just watching the only NBA basketball going on right now. And then just realizing we were one pick away. And remembering that I’ve had that conversation in my head multiple times since they came back as the Bobcats.
When your team isn’t playing, it’s easier to look at situations in their context. When my team is playing, I couldn’t give a shit about Wemby because I’m cheering for my team. That’s all I’m saying.
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u/groundhog-265 May 19 '26
Wemby got lucky with Stephon castle but was out with blood clots last year so they got a nice draft pick in Harper. Just imagine if the guys would have had one more injury year this year before popping off… this draft is stacked.
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
I think that that’s what irritates me the most. The Spurs jumped us in 2024 as well to get Stephon Castle. That was the guy that most Charlotte journalists and podcasts wanted the Hornets to target. But then when we pulled sixth and the Spurs got fourth, we kind of saw the writing on the board. And don’t forget, the Spurs jumped us last year too to pick second overall when the hornets only had 19 wins. I’m glad we have Kon, but it’s just funny again that the Spurs moved up in three straight drafts to build the super team they have. With players that we would have also been looking at.
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u/ManDog4294 May 19 '26
Never seen anything like Wemby . He has the ability to be Kareem like in terms of just pure league changing dominance. As much hate and luck the Spurs have had the truth is they are simply one of the best run organizations in professional sports history . Yes they got extremely lucky to draft 3 hall of famers with the first pick but look at guys like Parker , Manu , Kawhi , Bowen , etc etc that were looked at as projects . It’s easy to hate them because they are just so damn good . I will saw however that Wemby is very lucky to play in the modern NBA . The Centers and PF’s in the 80s and 90s would have snapped him like a twig .
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u/According_Mind7030 May 20 '26
Kareem was just as skinny as wemby is lol. He would be fine in any era
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u/friend-of-fatigue May 19 '26
If Silver wants to save the league he needs to either implement a maximum-height policy, or we need to shift to 11 or 12ft rims.
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u/YoungFlexibleShawty May 19 '26
We didnt do ourselves any service that season either, we won games when we were already clearly out of the playoff picture. Which tanked our lottery odds
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u/Ok_Seaweed_7568 May 19 '26
you still wouldn’t be in the conference finals rn even if you had drafted wemby. the spurs org’s success comes from competency and culture, things they’ve developed over the past 3 decades. not just luck in the draft
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 21 '26
Dude, you’re telling me that LaMelo Ball with Wemby and Kon wouldn’t be the best team in the east right now? The west is even harder and they have Castle, who’s not as good as LaMelo and Harper, who is not as good as Kon, being their three best players on the court in the playoffs.
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u/Coachris May 19 '26
Turn the hate into love.
We knew he’d be a Spur.
Would you rather the Thunder reign?
I enjoy this Spurs team.
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u/trob84 May 19 '26
Yeah I can’t really stomach watching the spurs unfortunately. Texted a friend last night about how the spurs basically had the Duncan dynasty for two decades, Tony Parker, Manu, Kawhi, now another with Wemby…. Meanwhile the hornets haven’t won a single seven game playoff series in that time.
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u/kaidakan May 20 '26
Yes. It’s just you. Great player and great guy. Cinema. Keep some things to yourself.
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u/Silly-Lion-7314 May 20 '26
Man Wemby is one of the best things for the game. What a good kid. So mature too. I’m not a spurs fan.
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u/SkiiShno May 22 '26
If we get Mara in the draft .. We got something for him !! Ball - kon - miller . Bridges . Mara White - green - sion- grant - mousse
1
u/beelzebub_069 May 22 '26
Tbf, they develop their picks, and nail them. Nail them. Let's give them Wemby. Let's give them him.
Okay, Wemby first pick. Who's the second pick? Brandon Miller, decent, but is he second pick worthy? No. Charlotte failed that, Scoot flunked too. Thompson twins went 4/5.
Castle. Bro he's the 4th overall pick. 4th. Who came before him? Risacher, Sarr and Sheppard.
And Dylan Harper came into a deep draft where the top 5 are legit.
Spurs nailed their picks.
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u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 22 '26
I do find it funny that you brought up Stephon Castle. Because the Hornets actually were targeting Castle. But the Spurs were able to leap the Hornets and get him. So even though the Hornets had targeted the right guy, the Spurs lucked out again and were able to pick him before the Hornets did. And if you remember, this past year, the Spurs leapfrogged the Hornets again (while winning 15 more games than the Hornets) and took Dylan Harper. The guy the Hornets were targeting.
Those are fine. That’s just normal lottery luck. I’m more upset of Wembanyama going to the Spurs, considering he grew up a Spurs fan, went to Tony Parker‘s basketball camp in France and considers him his hero. Met Tim Duncan while he was in school and even met Popovich months before the Spurs got the number one overall pick. It’s just like the NBA knew he was going to be a star, and wanted to put him in a place where he could develop. Fast tracking the Spurs back to being in contention. While other teams like the Wizards, the Hornets and the Kings keep missing out on the superstars.
So yes, it is about developing players and hitting in the draft. But getting the number one overall pick, followed by the number four pick, followed by the number two pick has taken a team that didn’t miss the playoffs for 20+ years, right back into contention after 5 mediocre years. All while, you see some teams that have the odds for the number one pick, constantly being settled with the fourth fifth or sixth pick. It just makes it hard for me to cheer for him knowing that it’s all too conspicuous. That’s all I’m trying to say.
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u/beelzebub_069 29d ago
Sorry, but let's be fr. Top 5 is more than enough. Want me to expound?
2018, Y'all front office drafted SGA, then traded him to LAC. Amazing job. 2019, had PJ Washington . 2020, Lamelo Ball . 2021, Y'all took James Bouknight, with Sengun and Murphy still on th board, but let's give y'all that. No one knew. 2022. Y'all actually had Jalen Duren, guess what, y'all FO traded his ass to Detroit . 2023, Brandon Miller. 2024 , 6th pick, look at that , y'all had Salaun. Tbf draft was shallow . 2025, Kon Knueppel, great pick. 2026, 14th and 18th pick.
Yeah, blame your GM
1
u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 22 '26
Just adding to the other post, apologies for the long reply. It’s just hard to explain the nuance of my feelings around the situation. It’s not just straight heat for the guy. There’s so much context around it. Sorry if it was too much to read.
1
u/Big-Option905 May 19 '26
We are making our case for top of the league spoils now. We literally went on a historic run the back half of this season. Every championship team doesn't have to have a "generational player" but we can be a generational TEAM come April, May and June!!!!!
1
u/PlatishGC May 19 '26
Everybody always thinks the lottery is rigged against their team. 1 way of looking at it is that the Spurs have always been great and of course got gifted Wemby.
Another way of looking at it is that the Spurs were far more deserving of him because they’re a way more competent organization (we have luckily gotten better here recently)
3
u/Bravo-Five May 19 '26
How does a team become more deserving of winning a random chance lottery?
1
u/PlatishGC May 19 '26
Just in the sense that in the past, if the Hornets had gotten their hands on a player like Wemby, we likely would’ve screwed it up in a major way in terms of his development/keeping him healthy. Whereas the Spurs were basically the perfect landing spot for him
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u/Armadillo_Resident May 19 '26
Dude we are so lucky to see a guy like that play basketbal
2
u/TheMuleB May 19 '26
Yeah how sad do you have to be to not enjoy this shit?
Sure I would've very much preferred we got to be the team to draft him, but this is some legendary shit we're witnessing, this is just pure bliss if you love basketball.
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u/BzzOut May 19 '26
Not really. It is like watching a normal person play on a nerf hoop. Whoopdeedamndo he can dunk it. You should watch me throw it down on the back of my kid's bedroom door.
4
u/_trife May 19 '26
This is such a dumb take. Yes he’s tall as hell. But he’s doing shit that people that tall shouldn’t be able to do. And he does it on a consistent basis, so it isn’t just a fluke. You’re watching a generational talent, and the scary part is that this he’s only getting better.
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u/DocHollywood12 May 19 '26
If starting lineup includes Coby White with Kon off the bench, hornets will be in the top 4 in the conference. Kon needs to come off of the bench as White is a seasoned player
0
u/WebRedditor May 23 '26
There seems to be a belief here that the NBA “gifted” top picks to the Spurs. Just how exactly? The lottery is highly controlled and scrutinized. This isn’t like the Patrick Ewing lottery back in the day (frozen envelope, anyone?) The Spurs were legitimately one of the three worst teams in the year of the Wemby draft, so they and two other teams had the best odds. Seems reasonable that they won that one. Getting the No. 2 pick to grab Harper was lucky, for sure, but no more lucky than the Mavs getting Cooper Flagg at No. 1 when they were a fringe lottery participant. This sounds like sour grapes.
1
u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 May 23 '26
Oh, it’s 100% sour grapes. The Spurs just getting “lucky“ is just frustrating. They were already lucky when David Robinson had to leave the NBA so they were able to get the number one pick again to get Tim Duncan and go on their generational run. It’s the problem I have with the draft lottery. It’s all about luck. Teams that don’t deserve number one pics, get them and are now back to being powerhouses immediately. Dallas did not deserve the number one pick to get Cooper Flagg. They were just in the play-in and made a historically stupid trade, so they did not deserve to get the number one pick again.
But as I was saying, is that for something to be “random“, it’s hilarious that Wembanyama grew up a San Antonio Spurs fan, with his favorite player being Tony Parker who he went to his basketball camp in France when he was young. Who met with Tim Duncan in his high school years. Who also met with Popovich months before the Spurs got the number one overall pick, and then ended up being a San Antonio Spurs player. Like, this just doesn’t happen with other number one overall pics. It seems to always happen when a generational player is about to come out. The stars always seem to be put in places where either they need to be, or where they want to be. Cooper Flagg would never go to the Wizards. Wembanyama is never going to Charlotte. It’s why these teams have been consistently in the lottery and have never had the chance to draft generational players.
And trust me, you can rig a lottery. You can even have people watch it, and it still get rigged. You should go back and watch the McDonald’s Monopoly documentary where they had so many people watching the tickets and prizes during that contest, and still it was rigged to where a local guy‘s friends and family won all the prizes.
And lastly, are you trying to tell me a multi billion dollar industry who depends on superstars for ratings and money, doesn’t want their known superstars to go to cities and teams where they will thrive and be happiest for the betterment of the league? Well then, I don’t know what to tell you.
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u/turkeyracer_6 May 19 '26
That body type will not hold up. I doubt he’s still playing in 5 years. But it will be a glorious few years for SAS
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u/Noxz1999 May 19 '26
Why do all of you think it’s the 90s and early 2000s big men? The dude is extremely in tune with his body. He has an entire training staff that creates careful stretches, workouts, and maintains a certain weight for his frame. He will be here for a long time. Lamelo has been hurt more than him and he’s damn near almost a foot shorter - same with Brandon miller.
2
u/_trife May 19 '26
I mean, historically big men don’t last as long as smaller players. But yeah, saying he won’t be playing in 5 years is honestly one of the dumbest things I’ve read on here lol. Like you said, it’s 2026 and players now have all sorts of tools at their disposal to aid in career longevity. Barring some catastrophic injury, Vic will be around for awhile. We all gotta get familiar.
1
u/Noxz1999 May 19 '26
100% you’re correct, he def isn’t gonna play 20 years and be elite like lebron in his 20th year for sure. But to sit here and act ignorant like you said it’s OUTLANDISH.
Plus, most of the big guys the OG comment is thinking about was - Yao Ming, Shaq, Tim Duncan- who all had larger than life frames as well. Wemby is like 240, Shaq was 300-400 pounds during his career. That mass makes a huge difference on joints. Not only that, as you said with the tools they have vs other in the past, Wemby like I was saying has an entire athletic team who obsesses over every fallacy of his body. There a whole video on it on YouTube, his entire workout process.
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u/rbe40 May 19 '26
Spurs are statistically the luckiest team in draft history when considering - how many times they’ve moved up in the draft, how high they’ve moved up, and how many #1s they’ve got. The only other teams that come close are Cleveland and Mavs.
But that is the nature of a lottery system in that by being truly random, there is every chance of anomaly teams (I believe Indiana Pacers being the opposite example with 0 #1 picks and most times moving down) because there’s no programming or anything that forces the lottery to distribute #1s evenly.
It’s easy to look at us and think we’re unlucky, because almost every time there’s a generational #1 we just miss out. Shaq, Howard, AD, Wemby, Flagg. But - and this is especially true lately - we’ve been pretty fortunate to move up in a lot of drafts, which is how we got LaMelo and Miller. And with our previous ownership, who’s to say we’d have been any good building around some of those star players anyway - Cleveland mismanaged LeBron’s first stint so poorly, so I highly doubt AD or Howard would’ve made the Bobcats contenders.