We've never seen anything like Victor Wembanyama. The 20-year-old stands 7-foot-4 (many, including me, believe he's closer to 7-foot-5). He has a gargantuan 8-foot wingspan. And, operating within this frame, he constantly creates basketball moments that we haven't experienced before. Silicon Valley has been captivated by generative artificial intelligence computer algorithms that generate new content based on reading existing material and creating a novel product. It's here now, but it's the future. That sounds a lot like Victor Wembanyama the NBA's first generative athlete.
Team-Building Strategy and Lowry vs. Beal By vincedog on Mar 7, 2021, 7:06pm EST 16
In the past 2 years, there have been some major deals for established stars (not even necessarily superstars) in exchange for multitudes of young players plus juicy picks and pick swaps. Bradley Beal, with his gaudy 33ppg 5pg 5apg on 59.7 TS%, has been oft-rumored as the next big one to be moved.
The Lakers, Clippers, Nets, and Bucks are examples of teams that have gone all-in, mortgaging some/all of their future assets for such players. Perhaps that is the price of admission for being a contender these days, and only time will tell what kind of position this will leave them in years down the road. The risks are obvious (see: Nets era post-Billy King). What if the star turns out to be merely good, as Jrue Holiday has been this season?