The San Antonio Spurs didn’t make a league-altering move this offseason, but they did improve. On top of internal growth by the young core, the Spurs signed veteran Tobias Harris, drafted Jayden Quaintance, and traded up in the draft for Tarris Reed.
Of course, the biggest move the Spurs made was signing Victor Wembanyama to a five-year $252 million extension. Wembanyama left around $50 million on the table, passing up individual incentives. Instead, he wanted to give the Spurs some weapons to improve internally.
In addition to the team-first sacrifice, Wembanyama sent a clear message to his teammates. If the best player on the team (by far) is willing to give up a massive amount of money, then some individual sacrifices can be expected by everyone up and down the roster.
Dylan Harper spent his rookie season on the bench, and despite being a star in his own right, is expected to stay with the second unit. In his mind, following Wemby’s example and putting the team first is an obvious decision.
Harper ‘Surprised’ By Wemby’s Paycut
Before Wembanyama signed the extension, there was hope among fans that he would take a hometown discount, although the prevailing belief was that he would make his money.
After all, he earned it, and most young men wouldn’t pass up that kind of wealth.
Wembanyama, it turns out, is not most young men.
“I feel like for a 22-year-old, he’s probably one of the best leaders I’ve been around, just the way he carries himself, his maturity, from top to bottom, whether it’s basketball treatment, in the weight room, personal life,” Dylan Harper told RG’s DJ Siddiqi. “I feel like he’s kind of structured his life in a way that has worked for him, and I think he’s the most genuine person ever. When that came out, I feel like, yes, it was a surprise to everyone. But I mean, that’s just the type of person he is.”
While Wembanyama’s pay cut opens the door for his teammates to get paid more than initially expected, generosity wasn’t the goal.
Winning was. The rest of the team is on board, with Harper leading the charge.
“I feel like we all have that one team goal that we felt like that we should have had last year,” Harper added. “I feel like that’s really the only thing on that. That’s the only thing that’s on everyone’s mind.”
The Spurs are favored to win the Western Conference, but will have to march through a tough playoff bracket to even make it back to the NBA Finals. It’s an uphill battle, but the buy-in is apparent.
Leave a Reply