It had been in the works since the beginning of the week: this Thursday, Victor Wembanyama officially signed up with the Metropolitans 92. A few hours before the opening of the aberrant Free Agency – sharp midnight Paris time – France offers his big signature. We preheat strongly, but not as much as Victor.
“I… I don’t gombren ba”. This Thursday, the day after the interview with Tony “Nasser al-Khelaïfi” Parker in the columns of the daily The Team, Victor Wembanyama left ASVEL for the Metropolitans 92 of Levallois. The info is signed ESPN. A two-year agreement, with of course a « NBA opt-out » in the middle of his contract. If selected for the 2023 NBA Draft, this option would allow him to slip away. A year after leaving JSF Nanterre, next potential first pick finds Ile-de-France and gets closer to his family. A condition which – according to The Team – would have played a major role in his decision to end the Lyon region. He’s not going to burn boxes and loot shop windows on rue Juiverie, eh, that’s an expression. Simply that despite a 2022 champion title and a best young trophy, Vico draws the curtain, finished the banks of the Rhône. This 2022-23 season under the cobalt blue of the Mets will be his last before – barring unforeseen events – jumping across the Atlantic. Over there, the dunce cap franchises are already scheming to maximize their chances of 1st pick in the 2023 lottery. Although he has yet to slam 30 points and 12 rebounds in the Euroleague, Victor is every GM’s fantasy having started a process of reconstruction. We even saw a Spurs fan swing « #VictorylessForVictor » on Twitter. The slogan is validated, and says a lot about the hype around the kid.
Victor Wembanyama, the top prospect in the world outside the NBA and the likely No. 1 pick in 2023, has opted out of his contract with ASVEL and is signing a two-year deal with Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92, a source told ESPN. NEWS: https://t.co/ZkmbEMki76
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 30, 2022
Yes, Victor retains his future number 1 rating in all mock drafts, but is Paris really a good destination for crack? In Stalingrad there’s plenty to do, now the guys there will tell him better than us. One thing is certain, we saw a host of dumbfounded Darons – sometimes hateful in the construction of their reviews – following the soap opera Wembanyama. How is it that he left ASVEL, an absolute comfort zone for a developing prospect, for an institution that does not even play in the European Cup? A first response begins with « Vincent » and ends with « Collet ». After a big disappointment in the Playoffs – elimination in the first round against Pau-Lacq-Orthez – the Mets 92 coach did not activate his departure clause. Why ? Probably for Totor. There will be the EuroBasket in September, the World Cup in 2023, the Paris Olympics in 2024: that the coach and the future boss of the Blues spend a season together is not a joke. As for the rumors of disagreement with TJ Parker, they are difficult to develop outside a PMU counter. There is also the argument of media exposure which would be “most important in Paris”. This is – in our opinion – a bit bogus. Each of his actions has already been scrutinized by the scouts. Does he really need to facilitate the arrival of his suitors? When a prince is born, the kingdom moves, not the other way around.
It is surely the first time that in the middle of a pre-Free Agency day, Adrian Wojnarowski has released information on French basketball. Ah, when it’s Jérémy Leloup who signs in Orléans, there’s no one left, huh. Everything for the stats, these motherfuckers.