“Wemby’s efficiency is bad!” “He takes bad shots!” He’s also spending most of his minutes without a real PG.
In the 192 minutes Wemby has spent with Tre Jones on the floor, he averages 26ppg/36 on 58%TS. That’s also 33.2p/100 for those curious. This is actually an astoundingly strong blend of volume and efficiency for a rookie.
What’s the other factor holding Wemby back? He’s playing PF next to Cs clogging the paint and taking away some mismatch opportunities. Wemby has only gotten 124 minutes at Center this season, but when he does? He averages a whopping 33ppg/36 on 62%TS. That’s with or without Tre Jones at PG even.
These numbers are absolutely absurd. When the Spurs put him in a position to succeed - either with an actual PG or at his best position - he dominates. He’s already been scoring at an all-star level. If you’re down on this kid, questioning his scoring and efficiency, I think you need to watch a bit closer.
I remain unconvinced that the best method to develop players is to simply place them in circumstances that are detrimental to their performance and keep losing.
I respect your opinion and think you have a completely fair and valid perspective.
But I’m gonna go ahead and continue to believe that Gregg Popovich knows more than you, me, OP, or anyone else on twitter and reddit about how to develop NBA talent.
Circumstances detrimental to their performance may be advantageous to their development as a whole. They’re not trying to make him better at what he’s good at, they want him better at what he’s the worst at. As far as winning goes, the whole FO is thinking much further ahead than this season when it comes to Wemby. He’s an investment that will pay off in time, it doesn’t need to right this minute.