SAN ANTONIO — There’s a small collection of NBA players that Bulls guard Alex Caruso puts in a “film doesn’t do them justice” category.
Those players stand near or above that 7-foot threshold, but “you can’t really understand their length until you play against them,’’ Caruso said. “If you’ve played against guys like Rudy [Gobert], [Kevin Durant], guys that have that length, 7-footers, it just feels different. Put [Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama] in that category.”
It wasn’t always pretty for the 7-4 Wembanyama, 19, in his first meeting with the Bulls on Friday. He looked like a baby deer taking its first steps at times. But then there were those other moments — a steal in which he put the ball between his legs before sprinting up the floor, then a second-quarter slam in which he cut through the lane like a wing.
There’s definitely something special there, but it’s also a work in progress.
“Of course, you’re always excited with new players in the league,” Caruso said. “Obviously, there’s been plenty of coverage and hype around him.”
Several Bulls met Wembanyama briefly last January when they played the Pistons in Paris, but coach Billy Donovan was not included in that welcoming party. Donovan has gathered his information about Wembanyama from scouts and general managers around the league who have watched him the last few seasons.
“I talked to people around the NBA like Troy Weaver, who was with me in Oklahoma City and is now the [Pistons’] GM,” Donovan said. “We ran into each other and had a conversation about him and how good he thought he was. I think the consensus, at least the people I’ve spoken to, there was not one person that said, ‘Eh, I’m not really sure.’ They were all like, ‘Generational player, going to be incredible, unique skill set.’ That was what I heard.”
And what has Donovan seen? A player who has one Durant skill that can’t be taught.
“The one thing that’s really difficult, and I’m not comparing him to Kevin Durant at all, but what I’m saying is Kevin Durant plays over people all the time,” Donovan said.
“A lot of times even if you guard him well, he just plays over the top of you. [Wembanyama] plays over the top of you. People may look at the size and the strength, that’s going to come as he gets older, continues to grow and develop, but the bottom line is he can play over anybody. That is a huge advantage.”
Sitting it out
Injured guard Zach LaVine did not make the trip to San Antonio, and with good reason. There was no benefit for him to take the long plane ride for one game when he can stay in Chicago and continue getting treatment on his sore right foot.
The Bulls announced Wednesday that LaVine would be sidelined another three weeks to a month to make sure he’s completely pain-free before he returns.
Fun time is over
Games against the Hornets and Spurs gave the Bulls a chance to take on the bottom-feeders in the standings for a few games, but the next 10 days are about to get serious.
They’ll travel to Milwaukee on Monday, host the NBA champion Nuggets the next night, then head out on a trip in which they play the Heat twice and go to Philadelphia. They’ll then return home to take on the Lakers.
