And-Ones: Wemby’s Impact, FAs, World Cup Qualifiers, Okobo

Rival teams are watching what Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are doing in this postseason with interest and trepidation, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick details, front offices around the NBA – recognizing that Wembanyama will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come – are thinking hard about ways to combat him.

“Teams will definitely have to start figuring out, ‘How do we get through this guy?'” an Eastern Conference executive said. “So you look at it, and it’s like, ‘What do we need? How do we build our team to get better to compete against (Wembanyama and the Spurs)?’ Trust me, it’s on everybody’s mind. Teams will try to find ways that they can build a roster out to beat the Spurs, just like they are to beat OKC.”

That executive pointed to Utah’s mid-season acquisition of Jaren Jackson Jr. as a move that may have been made with Wembanyama in mind, since the Jazz now have three athletic frontcourt players – Jackson, Walker Kessler, and Lauri Markkanen – to throw at the Spurs star. That same exec also suggested that a prospect like 7’3″ Michigan center Aday Mara could see his draft stock rise as teams seek players capable of slowing down Wembanyama.

Wembanyama’s impact could even have a ripple effect on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s trade value this offseason, as one Western Conference executive told Amick: “Giannis is a matchup solution for Wemby, so I could definitely see teams factoring that in when they’re discussing trading for him.”

Still, there’s no obvious answer for stopping this sort of unique player who looks capable of becoming one of the league’s all-time greats.

“He’s a problem from inside the half court, and there’s just no one like that,” an exec said to Amick with a laugh. “At least Shaq was human in the sense that you needed three centers to bang with him. You’ve got 18 fouls (to work with). Maybe one was skilled, and the other two could hold him up while the other guys get rest. But there’s no archetype like (Wembanyama) — no player ever. It’s a problem, and it’s going to be a problem for 15 years.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• ESPN’s Bobby Marks takes a closer look at 20 of this summer’s top free agents, breaking down what sort of contract he’d offer each player. Marks’ hypothetical offers include five years and $180MM for Pistons center Jalen Duren, four years and $155MM for Lakers guard Austin Reaves, three years and $130MM for Wizards guard Trae Young, and two years and $40MM for Warriors forward Draymond Green.
• Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, Wizards big man Alex Sarr, and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher are among the players included on France’s preliminary roster for this July’s FIBA World Cup qualifying games (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Serbian head coach Dusan Alimpijevic told Mozzart Sport that Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is expected to suit up for the Serbian national team during both World Cup qualifying windows this offseason, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays.
• Former NBA guard Elie Okobo has been named the Most Valuable Player of France’s top basketball league (LNB Elite), Askounis writes for Eurohoops. Okobo, who appeared in 108 regular season games for Phoenix from 2018-20, averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game with an outstanding .621/.506/.883 shooting line in 24 domestic league games for AS Monaco in 2025/26.
• Kevin Sweeney of SI.com explores how new eligibility requirement guidance distributed by the NCAA could impact international players looking to play college basketball going forward.