'Brick for Vic' Stock Report

Bol Bol (pictured) is providing a Wembanyama sampler now that he’s healthy and weaving through defenses as a 7-foot-2 finesse playmaker with a 7-foot-8 wingspan shooting nearly 40 percent from deep. If the Magic were fortunate enough to drop into the No. 1 pick, Bol would be the ideal mentor for the French giant and a fascinating frontcourt partner.

In his last five games, Bol is averaging 14 points, 8.2 rebounds, his shooting splits are 61/60/90 percent and he’s swatting approximately a quarter of the attempts that come across his zone.

The Magic are already challenging the limits of length on a basketball court. You want to create space with five-out lineups deploying shooters? Fine, the Magic have 6-foot-11 Jonathan Isaac, Bol, Mo Bamba, and Paolo Banchero (pictured) — who is running away with Rookie of the Year — but Orlando is still a bottom-three team in offensive efficiency. Wembanyama would physically stand out in almost any lineup, but Orlando is the only city in which he’d blend in.

The Lakers’ pick transferring to New Orleans isn’t set in stone yet, but there’s no way the Pelicans don’t call in the pick swap if the Lakers’ losing streak continues. L.A.’s 2019 Louisiana Purchase haul included Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram (pictured), Josh Hart, three unprotected first-round picks including the fourth pick in 2019, and a pick swap in 2023.

The Anthony Davis trade earned the Lakers a title in the 2020 bubble, but aside from that season, it’s beginning to resemble the infamous haul Boston received from Brooklyn in their 2014 swap. Yet, between Wembanyama’s lanky, tall frame and Zion Williamson’s thick, stocky frame, they’d resemble the silhouettes of Jay and Silent Bob. Zion (pictured) and Wembanyama would be the most unique duo and fits better than most of the potential running mate options that Wembanyama has.

This is easily the worst team in the NBA and their 3-12 record reflects it. They’re last in point differential, defensive efficiency, and 27th in offensive efficiency while being the NBA’s worst shooting team. Things are bleak in Detroit, but the Pistons already have a potential All-Star in Cade Cunningham (pictured).

Cunningham’s shin soreness will keep him out for at least a week, but when healthy he has shown the capacity to be a heady distributor with a soft scoring touch. When Cunningham is off the floor, Detroit’s offense craters from producing 111.6 points per 100 possessions to 105.4. But he can’t carry an offense. He actually contributes to the Pistons’ league-worst shooting lineup, taking more than five three-balls a game and draining only 28 percent of those attempts.

Detroit seems committed to thrusting a two-big lineup onto the court. However, injuries to Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III have thrown a monkey wrench into those plans. Their starting lineup has been outscored by 30 points this season. Nothing is working, but if coach Dwane Casey (pictured) wants to experiment with two-big lineups then Wembanyama would be an ideal fit. Not only does he satisfy Casey’s lust for multiple bigs, but he’d be one of the few Pistons under 30 besides Saddiq Bey who can be relied upon to stretch the floor and shoot above the league average (35 percent).

The Rockets lack the discipline, but not the talent to go on a winning streak. Houston is a legit contender to go wire-to-wire as the worst team in the league. The team’s 2022 No. 2 overall pick Jabari Smith (pictured) is still figuring out how to get going on the offensive end, averaging only 10 points per contest, and their starting point guard isn’t a true point guard. Some reconfigurations will have to take place eventually, but for now, this unit is getting shredded on both ends of the court.

Houston ranks 29th in defensive efficiency, 26th in offensive efficiency, 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio, 30th in the league in turnovers. and 29th in point-differential. They have a slew of really good individual talents, but pinpointing who’ll even be a foundational piece in five years is a challenge.

The league currently has a six-way tie for the fifth-worst record in the league. A slew of teams including the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and Minnesota Timberwolves are hanging outside of club 6-8 through 14 games. But rather than examine the odds, I’ll just discuss the best fit among the best of the rest. If Golden State and Brooklyn remain here by January, something has gone horribly wrong. Chicago is rudderless without a primary distributor initiating the offense, but they’re good enough to buckle down and advance to the postseason in the east.

San Antonio played over its head in the first week and a half of the season, but Wembanyama belongs here. The Spurs lost six of their last seven and were blasted by 37 Monday night in Golden State. Playing for the winningest coach in NBA history would be a good look for Wembanyama. Popovich remains one of the best basketball teachers and developers of talent on the planet. He’s done it before and he was rewarded with Tim Duncan. His latest pupils Keldon Johnson (pictured) and Devin Vassell are emerging as go-to scorers already. Besides, Wembanyama spent last season playing for the club owned by former Spur Tony Parker, so it would ease his transition to the U.S.