Wemby Watch: Victor Wembanyama prefers not to play center, so which NBA rebuilder is best suited for phenom?

The Victor Wembanyama media blitz is officially on. ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Jonathan Givony released an excellent profile of Wembanyama this week, and among many, many useful nuggets of information, two bits stood out:

• As early as the age of 15, he expected to be the focal point of his offense.
• Center is not his preferred position.

Those two notions were summed up by Wembanyama himself in a single quote. "I had literally zero responsibility. I never had the ball, even at practice. The coach played me at center," Wembanyama said of a 2019 showcase he played in. "I was really frustrated even coming to the game. I knew it wasn't going to go well. So it didn't go well."

Now, neither of these ideas are necessarily outrageous. Players as talented as Wembanyama, even in frontcourt positions, are typically the focal point of any offense they play in. Plenty of modern big men, most notably, Anthony Davis, prefer not to play center so as to avoid the physical grind of pounding in the post with the game's heftiest players.

Still, this is the first time Wembanyama has publicly addressed his preferences on the court. As such, we're going to tweak today's format a bit. With no games since last Thursday thanks to the All-Star break, we're going to use this space today to break down Wembanyama's fit with the seven worst teams in the league. Ultimately, whichever team lands Wembanyama is going to adjust to him, not the other way around, but we can at least acknowledge the work it will take to do so.

Mets 92 falls in Leaders Cup

Wembanyama and Mets 92 fell in an elimination game this week as part of the LNB Pro A's Leaders Cup event, losing 72-65 to his former team, ASVEL. Wembanyama for his part did about as well as can be expected, posting a double-double in the loss with 29 points and 16 rebounds to go with three blocks. He finished the game 10-of-23 shooting.

In the wake of the elimination, Mets 92 gets a bit of a break before resuming play on March 7 before the homestretch. The team trails Monaco in the regular-season race standing alone in second, and Wembanyama has been no small part of guiding the team to its successful season. With less than two months left of action, he leads the league in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots and has all but locked up league MVP.

Wembanyama reportedly growing

Just when you thought the tallest NBA prospect couldn't get much taller, he goes out and ... apparently hits another growth spurt. Wembanyama, a reported 7-foot-4 barefoot, checks in now at 7-foot-5 with shoes, according to a story this week from ESPN after visiting him in Paris. Those measurements come fit with a confirmation that his wingspan is indeed alien-level long: a stunning 8 feet.

Sports Illustrated posted a feature story on Wembanyama this week and the visuals of all 7-foot-5 of him strolling the streets in Paris is equally jarring. He has to duck to get through doorways. People crane their necks when they see him. Even just sitting down to enjoy some coffee looks like he's cosplaying a Monstar.

Wembanyama has caught the attention not only of passerbys in France but of the league's best and brightest to boot. Among the stars in the NBA who have discussed Wembanyama -- almost exclusively in reverential tones -- are LeBron James, Rudy Gobert and Stephen Curry. 

James this week again talked about the rising star and offered some advice to his soon-to-be colleague.

"The most important thing [for him] is to stay true to the game," James said about Wembanyama, via ESPN. "And that's one thing for me. I always tell myself, 'I'm going to commit to the game. I'm going to train. I'm going to prepare myself physically, mentally, spiritually, to give to the game if you want to be great.'"

Who is Wembanyama's best fit?

1. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs are the NBA's blankest canvas. They just traded away starting center Jakob Poeltl, but with nearly infinite cap space and a surplus of draft capital to trade, San Antonio can find an ideal frontcourt partner for Wembanyama on the open market. They might already have one, depending on how optimistic you are about the 6-foot-9 Jeremy Sochan defending centers. Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell are low-maintenance scorers, so neither should impede Wembanyama in any meaningful way. Ultimately this could be his team from the moment he arrives, with all subsequent moves being designed to maximize him moving forward. 

2. Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball is about as desirable a co-star as any phenom could ask for. A wonderful passer and extremely high-volume shooter, Ball would make life far easier for Wembanyama as he eases into the NBA. Mark Williams still has plenty to prove as an NBA center, but has thus far been excellent defensively by rookie standards. The only question mark here is Michael Jordan and his front office. The Hornets are notoriously cheap and have made the playoffs only three times in the past two decades. Charlotte has the right players to fit around Wembanyama, but it remains to be seen if they have the right organization.

3. Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton checks most of the same offensive boxes that Ball does, and Myles Turner checks the same defensive boxes that Williams does. But how eager would Turner be for another front-court timeshare after finally separating from Domantas Sabonis? How willing will Rick Carlisle, a notoriously veteran-inclined coach, be to really entrust the offensive to Wembanyama from the start? These are relatively minor questions in the grand scheme of things. Add Wembanyama to Indiana's existing mix and they'll be competing for championships in the very near future.

4. Detroit Pistons: Detroit has three young big men in James Wiseman, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart that all need developmental minutes, but the Pistons have proven so willing to use two-big lineups that such depth might actually work in their favor early on. They'd never have to play Wembanyama at center early on and could experiment with each of the youngsters as possible partners for the No. 1 pick. Throw in two promising young guards in Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey to get him the ball and this fit is quite strong. 

5. Orlando Magic: Orlando's front court is a bit crowded. If Wembanyama is willing to move center, benching or trading Wendell Carter Jr. would be easy enough, but if he fancies himself a forward? Things get more complicated. Can Franz Wagner defend guards? He'd have to for this to work. Paolo Banchero makes the most sense as a power forward. Normally, Orlando's questionable guard play would be an issue for Wembanyama, but the truth is that there are already so many mouths to feed here that it might be for the best. However, despite his stellar recent play, Markelle Fultz's may not be viable on a team with Wagner, Banchero and Wembanyama. Any point guard who plays with that trio of big ball-handlers has to be a jump-shooter.

6. Chicago Bulls: The only incumbent center here is Nikola Vucevic, who might leave as a free agent. What the Bulls lack in size, they make up for in guards that want to shoot. Somehow I doubt Wembanyama is especially eager to watch DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine cook. If he lands in Chicago, the Bulls probably need to commit to a teardown. 

7. Houston Rockets: Imagine Chicago's guards, but not nearly as good, proven or willing to pass. That's what the Rockets have in Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun has thrived this season when the Rockets have allowed him to run the offense. If Wembanyama comes to Houston, he's either going to be wasted or traded. That's probably worthwhile for a prospect as good as Wembanyama, but the Rockets already have so many players who need the ball and so few who can adequately defend bigs that he'd probably be best-served playing elsewhere. Sorry, Tilman. 

Games of the weak

Thursday, Feb. 23: Pistons at Magic: I feel guilty even listing Orlando anymore. The Magic are well above .500 since their 5-20 start, yet they still have the NBA's fifth-worst record.

Saturday, Feb. 25: Pacers at Magic: The Pacers fell so far off when Haliburton got hurt that they might actually catch Orlando for the No. 5 lottery slot, so this game has fairly meaningful stakes.

Monday, Feb. 27: Pistons at Hornets: It's hardly a heavyweight brawl, but the one-on-one matchup between Williams and Duren is a fun little subplot here. Charlotte had the pick that was used on Duren, but traded it largely to save money. The Hornets picked Williams two slots later.