Spurs finally get Victor Wembanyama a point guard
Chris Paul (left) shakes hands with Victor Wembanyama (right).
Last year, Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs were hamstrung by not having a point guard. On Sunday, San Antonio got him a "Point God."
The Spurs are adding 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who the Golden State Warriors waived on Sunday. It's a one-year deal for $11M, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Paul will join Wembanyana, one of the most promising rookies in NBA history and a player nearly two decades younger than the 39-year-old veteran.
Last year, the Spurs experimented with using Jeremy Sochan, ostensibly a power forward, as their starting point for the beginning of the season. That's part of why the team had the 26th-ranked offense in the NBA last season. But with neither Blake Wesley nor Malaki Branham establishing themselves so far, San Antonio needed a reliable point alongside backup Tre Jones.
This deal may have been in the works for some time. Last week, the Spurs drafted point guard Rob Dillingham with the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft, but traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for future picks. Their other lottery pick, Stephon Castle, is an elite defender, but needs more offensive development — and perhaps a veteran mentor.
That's an ideal role for Paul, who delivered an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 5:1 last season while making over 37 percent of his three-pointers. Paul only played 26 minutes per game, working in behind and alongside Steph Curry last season. That's the lowest mark of his career, but he's still only two years away from leading the NBA in assists.
Now San Antonio has more stability around its intriguing but raw young players. Paul is such an accomplished point guard, that he might even be able to get Sochan to learn the position. But he'll certainly be a valuable resource for Castle and all the young Spurs guards.
This also suggests San Antonio may be through with the outright tanking of the last few seasons and ready to add useful veterans, rather than taking on unwanted contracts for draft picks. It also suggests that the second year of Victor Wembanayama could be even better offensively, once he gets a diet of Chris Paul dimes.
The only question now is, does Victor Wembanyama join Paul in State Farm commercials? Now that the Spurs have landed CP3, it's time for Jake from State Farm to start recruiting Wemby.
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