Bill Streicher-Imagn Images The big man was non-commital on whether the Spurs should make moves this years, but it sounds like he wants to be involved in those discussions. Victor Wembanyama hasn’t been in the league for long, but he’s already known for his candor. If someone asks a question, he’ll often answer it very directly. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when he gave a fascinating response to a question about whether the Spurs should be thinking about making some moves. Via Maxime Aubin, a French reporter who has been covering Wemby from San Antonio for French newspaper LÉquipe: I asked Victor Wembanyama if the Spurs should be active before the trade deadline. His answer is... interesting:« One thing for sure : our roster won’t stay the same over the next years. Every roster change a little bit. I don’t know… I should look at those things more…— Maxime Aubin (@MaximeAubin1) December 28, 2024 The question was in French and there’s no video on the Spurs’ official channel, so the tone in which he said it is unclear, but the words are enough to make the statement interesting. Wembanyama seems to understand that this group, as great as it seems to get along, won’t stay together forever. Players come and go in the NBA and teams trying to build contenders around a superstar will make tough decisions. There’s a level of maturity in being aware of and accepting that even some guys Wemby has gotten close with won’t be there in the upcoming years. Victor isn’t calling for big changes but seems to understand that they might eventually happen and is on board with it, which is reassuring. The second part of the answer, however, is the juicier one. Wemby seems aware of the power he probably has already as a franchise-altering star. Normally you’d hear a player asked about personnel decisions say something along the lines of “That’s what the front office is for, I’m just a player” but Wemby didn’t go for the cliche. “I should look at those things more seriously (...), I will take a closer look at it” signals that the young center, after focusing on his individual development up until now, thinks it would be best to be more interested in the roster around him and potentially involved with shaping it. Now, there are at least three ways to react to this statement. Some will dismiss it as Wembanyama avoiding a direct answer by saying he has to think about it as deflection. It might be nothing more than a tired player getting caught off guard by a question in his native language and saying things that sound more bombastic than he anticipated. It’s not a rare phenomenon among international players to be more careful with what they say to American reporters. Maybe Wemby was trying to say the right thing and his words are being overanalyzed. Others will panic, thinking the young star will try to get involved in personnel decisions like many top players have done before, with mixed results at best. Wemby’s timeline and preferences might not align with those of the Spurs’ and that could be a problem. So far the relationship between player and franchise has been great, and more involvement off the floor in decisions from Wemby could affect it. He’s going to be in San Antonio for a long time, but ideally, that time would be as harmonious as possible. The more positive way to interpret it is that Wemby feels comfortable enough with his own progress as a player that he can now start confidently sharing with the front office his opinions on how the team could improve to better fit his talent. Any franchise would love to hear suggestions on how to continue progressing from a superstar committed enough to care, and as long as those suggestions don’t turn into demands, there should be no issue. As the deadline gets closer, it could be a good thing for Mitch Johnson to hear what Wemby has to say. Regardless of how the answer is interpreted, one thing is clear. With Wembanyama performing like a superstar, the Silver and Black look more like a win-now team with their shortened rotation. Since the franchise has the assets to make a big move, all eyes will be on San Antonio as the trade deadline gets closer. No statement will be seen as innocuous, and the rumors will abound. Buckle up for a fun, if occasionally stressful, time.