Wemby Watch: D’Aaron Fox is Perfect, Dominick Barlow is Deceptively Really Good + Spurs Top Hawks

Am I the only one that sees it?

Surely, I can’t be the only one that sees it.

Dominick Barlow is a high quality basketball player.

I feel like I’m the only one who sees it.

(I feel like I’m Jonah Hill in Money Ball when it comes to Dominick Barlow. And I’m trying to convince a GM that while nobody may care about him, the guy can be counted on for +4 wins and you can get a $11 million season value by signing him to a 3-year, $9 million deal.)

The Spurs let him go like yesterday’s garbage last year after relegating him to 9th — 11th man on the bench for most of the season. And now he plays for the Hawks and he’s played in 13 games, averaging only 6.8 minutes.

I’ll give you that he’s not a star. But to me he’s the ultimate backup big man who can flex into either the 4 or 5 and then also fill-in as starter and provide high quality minutes.

He’s got a touch of athleticism. He’s got decent strength. He’s not afraid.

And most of all he’s smart.

This guy gets it. He knows how to play basketball.

Somehow he’s only listed at 6'8, but even when he plays against big centers, it never feels like he’s at a huge disadvantage.

If I’m ever promoted to GM, you’ll know it’s me because Shams will tweet out that Dominick Barlow just signed an above market rate contract.

D’Aaron Fox for the Win

In other news, the universe has aligned and D’Aaron Fox has maxed out as a 10/10 fit with the Spurs.

The video game power bar can’t go any further to the right.

Just listening to him talk, you can hear he was born with Spurs DNA.

What was funny was hearing him talk about the young guys as if he was right up there with Chris Paul in grizzled veteran status.

And his athleticism jumps off the screen. He just moves in a lively way, if that makes sense. It’s like the energy is teeming off him.

We only saw a little bit of it, but the Fox-Wemby pick ‘n roll looks impossible to guard.

The Spurs just got really good, really, really fast.

Wemby Review

I had a Wemby critique all set up, but you could tell he was affected by something health-wise. Or, at the very least, fatigued.

Also, Victor finished off the game with some nice plays so my quick notes:

• He needs to play stronger (he was getting pushed around)
• He needs to be more aggressive
• I was pained when he opted for the 3 rather than the open lane

Game Notes

First, what was it going to take for Mitch Johnson to do something, anything in the third quarter? The Spurs needed a timeout, a substitution, a something different and Mitch just watched as the lead melted quicker than a birthday candle.

At one point in the game, my mind wondered as to how it’d be nice to have Pop’s 40(?) years of experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve called for Pop to be fired on several occasions (the tanking last year really grinded my gears), but now that the Spurs are back to a fringe contender, it’d sure be nice to have Pop’s utility belt of magic spices on hand.

(I still want a new coach. I don’t dislike Mitch Johnson, I just don’t think he’s the answer right now. Inserting someone with another decade of knowledge, like Sean Elliott, would be very helpful.)

Last, the Spurs need to make the playoffs this year.

The we’re still a young team and figuring out this out mentality needs to be trashed. Those days are over.

You’ve got Wemby and Fox with Castle, Paul, and etc.

Your time is now. Go make OKC or the Nuggets dread seeing you in the playoffs.

Chris Paul Has Done it Again

He came to the Spurs because he just wanted to hoop. And now look what we have here, Chris Paul is back on a contender team.

Why would CP3 sign with the “development” Spurs?

Well they’re not “developing” anymore. At least not in the Meriam-Popster’s definition of “developing.”

Chris Paul is about to be playing in real games very, very soon.

And I know player-coach roles don’t exist anymore, but Chris is definitely a player-coach.

I Feel Bad for the Kings

The Kings had their superstar and he left and now everyone is excited for the Spurs and the Kings are left as an afterthought, a footnote if you will.

It’s unfair and, in as much as NBA basketball can be cruel, it’s cruel.

Not Luka Doncic-Mavericks fans cruel, but cruel nonetheless.

Along with the Pop’s sideline potions thought, this ran through my mind.

These other teams struggle to climb out of the cellar, and then, once they start gaining a slight bit of footing, they’re kicked in the face and fall all the way back in the dungeon (think wall in Batman Returns style).

Light the Beam. Sabonis-Fox. It’s all gone.

Now it’s just a few seconds of acknowledgement for being Fox’s previous team and then you get to hear the announcers rave about how good Fox looks on the Spurs.

Sacramento really gets behind the Kings and they had real momentum and now this.

It’s great for the Spurs, but the Kings are now relegating to trying to figure out how to be the Chicago Bulls 2.0 and scratch and claw to maybe make the play-in.