As LeBron James faces a decision, Spurs hope Wembanyama's will wait

So when a consensus of scouts call Victor Wembanyama the world’s best basketball prospect since James, there are two ways for the Spurs to think about that evaluation.

On one hand, they should be so lucky.

On the other, they realize that even in the best-case scenario, Wembanyama will face a James-like dilemma someday, too.

The Spurs’ objective is to push that back as far as they can.

The good news is they have some experience in this regard. People remember Tim Duncan as a pillar of excellence and loyalty, but there was a time —even after a championship — when San Antonio feared it would lose him. In the summer of 2001, he and Grant Hill visited Orlando together as free agents, toying with the idea of joining Tracy McGrady and coach Doc Rivers in a grouping that would’ve changed NBA history.

Duncan stayed put, of course, perhaps because of a last-ditch sales pitch from Gregg Popovich and David Robinson, and perhaps because Rivers botched a question about family members on the team plane. But either way, the Spurs had to sweat it.

And chances are, there will come a day when Wembanyama will make them sweat it, too.

Nobody wants to think about that now. After all, there’s still a month before the Spurs make Wembanyama the top pick in the draft, his rookie contract won’t expire until 2027, and before then the Spurs will be allowed to offer him a massive extension no other team can match. They should have plenty of time together.

But 20 years ago, so did the Cleveland Cavaliers. They were James’ hometown team, the preferred landing spot for the top prize in the lottery, and although Wembanyama wasn’t raised in South Texas, there are similarities here.

He grew up a Spurs fan, like so many other hoops-heads in France, and his family was known to covet the stability the Spurs offer. For both James and Wembanyama, the lottery balls bounced exactly as they’d hoped. And in Cleveland, the James-Cavaliers pairing proved to be a smashing success – on the court, at the ticket office, and in the marketing department.

The only catch was that during that first seven-year run in Cleveland, James never quite finished the job. He made one trip to the Finals – a quick one, thanks to four consecutive victories by Duncan’s Spurs in 2007 – and by the summer of 2010, that dilemma reared its head.   

At that point, James was well on his way to establishing himself as the best player of his generation, if not of all time. But to live up to his massive expectations, both internal and external, didn’t he have to make a move?

Unlike Duncan nine years earlier, James gave in to the temptations of a super team in Florida, and it’s difficult to argue now that was a mistake. He made it to four Finals in a row in Miami, winning two, and when that run was finished he decided the time was right for a return to Cleveland. He won a third ring there, then a fourth with the Lakers, and at the age of 38 had his team back in the conference finals this month.

Late Monday night, after a 40-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist performance against Denver ended with a potential game-tying shot rejected, he clearly was stinging from another series sweep. And when asked to evaluate his season, he made a cryptic reference to what might be another eventful offseason.

“We’ll see what happens going forward,” James said. “I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest.”  

Whether that includes retirement (almost unthinkable), a trade demand (not likely, but possible), or just placing pressure on his front office to make more big roster moves (the best bet), every option gives the Lakers some cause for concern. And every team that has employed James during his career has faced moments like this one.

As for the best prospect the sport has seen since James turned pro? Time will tell whether Wembanyama’s path looks closer to Timmy Part II or LeBron Redux. If all goes well, Wembanyama will retire in San Antonio, maybe having built a house just down the road from Duncan’s.

But even if the Spurs do everything right? There will come a time when Wembanyama will ask himself the question James has asked so often, about whether he owes himself a better opportunity than the one he has.

All the Spurs can do, starting now, is make the right answer look obvious.