We may only be in the very early stages of spooky season, but ESPN's Tim Bontemps is already giving San Antonio Spurs fans a full month's worth of fright.
During a recent edition of The Hoop Collective Podcast, the senior NBA writer discussed the ceiling-less upside that cornerstone wunderkind Victor Wembanyama possesses, and specifically noted that, based on his health status and bulked-up physique, "it certainly looks like he's going to have an amazing season."
However, although excitement is certainly high for the 21-year-old's career trajectory, at this point in time, the same cannot be said about the Spurs as a whole, which has Bontemps concerned about whether Wemby's long-term stay in the Lone Star State should be seen as a guarantee.
Victor Wembanyama's Spurs future not as sure-fire as fans may hope
To Bontemps, the debate over whether Wembanyama and the Spurs are a good match for one another moving forward comes down to how he fits alongside the rest of the club's current core players.
According to him, at best, there are still question marks and, at worst, the answer is already a flat-out no.
"Is De'Aaron Fox the right fit with Victor Wembanyama long-term? Is he a good fit with Dillon Harper and Stephon Castle? I would say no, I don't like that fit going forward. I don't really like a lot of the fit of the roster around Victor Wembanyama right now," Bontemps said.
Right before last year's trade deadline, San Antonio took a shot at getting some All-Star running mates alongside Wembanyama by trading for Fox from the Sacramento Kings.
Sadly, since his arrival, the duo has been held to just five games played together due to injuries, and even when healthy, their production was pedestrian at best.
The Spurs went just 2-3 during this stretch and ranked in the 48 percentile in points per 100 possessions, the 45 percentile in effective field goal percentage, and the 34 percentile in point differential when the two shared the floor.
Now, to make matters worse, Fox is expected to be sidelined for the start of the season with a hamstring injury, thus preventing both him and Wembanyama from building a much-needed on-court rapport in training camp and, simultaneously, lessening the chances of the Spurs getting off to a hot start to the year.
In only two seasons played, Wemby has already established himself as one of the top talents the game currently has to offer. ESPN even ranked him as the fifth-best player heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
However, despite this, San Antonio has yet to total north of 34 wins throughout the big man's tenure and has found itself both playoff-less and, in turn, residing in the lottery in each of the last six seasons.
Should they fail to reach the postseason for the seventh straight year, Bontemps fears that the conversation over whether the Spurs are "ready to come along with him" into the upper echelon of the league will be at the forefront of Wemby's mind.
With him eligible for a max rookie extension next offseason, Bontemps believes this to be "a very open question."