In less than 48 hours, the San Antonio Spurs will add possibly the best basketball prospect since LeBron James to their roster via the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. It’s fair to say the Spurs ‘lucked’ into landing Victor Wembanyama after winning the NBA draft lottery despite finishing with the league’s third-worst record instead of being the absolute bottom-feeder.
While the Spurs are arguably as desperate for a new face of the franchise as any other NBA team, it still didn’t prevent others around the league from trying to find an enticing trade offer for the 7-foot-plus star Frenchman.
As comical as it sounds, teams actually thought they had the beans to pull off a blockbuster trade for Wembanyama, despite him widely being tabbed as the consensus No. 1 overall pick for years ahead of time.
According to Spurs general manager Brian Wright, San Antonio did actually receive several trade offers, but whether any were legitimate is up for debate. Still, Wright was willing to have a bit of fun, by revealing the best trade offer they received for Wembanyama.
“The best offer we got was from a (general manager) two days after the lottery who was like, ‘I will give you my assistant GM’s right arm and left leg.”
San Antonio Spurs AGM Brian Wright jokingly reveals best offer for Victor Wembanyama
If you’re Wright or the Spurs, how are you even supposed to respond to such an offer? Yet, Wright suggests this anonymous team wasn’t the only ones who were trying to make light of the situation, realizing Wemby was nowhere near up for discussion.
It’s obvious to everyone, especially those within the NBA, the Spurs never had any intention of listening to trade offers for their new generational talent. But teams were still trying to sneak a joke or two in along the way. It makes sense, because next season, the joke’s on them, by trying to find a way to guard the NBA’s next potential superstar.
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