Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images There were a few things that stood out as the Spurs answered questions from the media The San Antonio Spurs held their media day yesterday, and I just so happened to be at the Victory Capital Performance Center for it. While you may get a handful of great soundbites from some teams, the Spurs have always tended to be a bit more careful with how they answer questions. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything that stood out. Here are my four takeaways from the Spurs’ media day. The Most Surprising Quote When asked about some of his new teammates and initial thoughts playing with Victor Wembanyama, Harrison Barnes called out an interesting name. Barnes stated, “I think in my two weeks, the one guy I definitely would love to shout-out is Blake [Wesley]. I thought he’s done an unbelievable job. Just picking up guys, defensive lethal core, getting active, getting steals. He’s had a great two weeks.” With the addition of Chris Paul and Stephon Castle, it seemed players like Wesley and Malaki Branham might end up being pushed further down the bench. Getting singled out could have a lasting impact in where Blake stands in the rotation, especially given that this was coming from a highly respected veteran in Barnes. The Most Surprising Lack-thereof Quote Following up Blake getting mentioned in an answer by a player who took questions, one player not named very often was Tre Jones. I understand that Wembanyama is the main attraction, so most questions are going to be centered around what the players have seen so far and their overall thoughts on him. That doesn’t mean it’s not noticeable when the starting point guard of the last two years (yes, I know the team didn’t start Tre until January) isn’t talked about, given how Paul signing with the team signals a return to the bench for him. The one time Jones’s name was uttered was when Paul brought up how he’s known him for years because he attended Paul’s basketball camp in high school. This isn’t to say we should wonder about where Jones stands in the lineup or on the team in general, but for a person who was attending his first media day, it stood out. The “Wemby is Different” Moment Heads turned the second Wemby walked out onto the court to take a few photos before sitting down for questions. Everything that happened leading up to the first question seemed perfectly normal to me. Once the last word was spoken, and it was time for Wemby to provide an answer, there was a pause. He sat there and looked down for a couple seconds. You could see he was taking in what was asked, putting thought into what it meant, and crafting his response. This might seem like something everybody does when asked a question, but this was different. For most players, that pause before responding is usually to come up with an answer that doesn’t create a soundbite for the talking head shows to run with. For Wemby, however, it became clear he did this to prevent providing the accustomed cookie-cutter response. He even asked for a few questions to be repeated so he could make sure he knew exactly what his answer should be focused on. Wemby wanted to provide something of substance, which goes to show you the kind of person he is. The Mic Drop Everybody who sat down was asked about the expectations for the team this year in some form or fashion. While Coach Pop might’ve given his typical coach-like answer by keeping the focus on the improvement of players and shying away from talking wins, the players had a different approach. Here are some quotes from a few of them: Jeremy Sochan: “I think we’re going into the season, you know, trying to win as much as we can. Make the playoffs and see what we can do.” Chris Paul: “I’m sure anybody on the team will tell you we want to learn and build and try to win at the same time... I think we got a chance to have a great year.” Keldon Johnson: “We definitely want to win. I feel like we got some great pieces. And I feel like that’s our expectation. I feel like we got a bright future ahead of us.” Wemby: “My emphasis is always going to be on winning and making my teammates better... So it’s no different than previous years. It’s just that last year, our expectations was to learn to know ourselves. I think towards the end of the year, it really showed. But this year we expect from us to win.” So you can tell that turning what they’ve learned and developed into wins is of top of mind. Even Blake, who told KENS 5’s Jeff Garcia, “I feel like we’re going to be a scary team this year.” The simplest answer when talking expectations for the team came from Devin Vassell. He quite literally dropped the mic after stating what he sees in the Spurs’ future. “Playoffs. That’s it. That’s all I see.”