Guitarsoup said:

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I'm gonna have the massively unpopular opinion that despite Wemby's undeniable talent, I'd rather have Scoot Henderson.

I think Wemby's body will never hold up in the NBA, just like literally every single star player over 7'2 that has ever been in the NBA.

Kristaps: averaging 38 games per season
Yao Ming: Had 4 full seasons. Averaged 54 games/season
Thabeet: Was he injured or just sucked? IDK, but wasted #2 pick over Harden and Curry
Sabonis: Had tons of major leg injuries before he was able to come to the NBA and only played over 27mpg once.
Ralph Sampson: Had 3 great seasons, before injuries took over. Last 6 seasons, averaged 35 games/season, 23mpg, 9 points, 6 boards, 1 block. Averaged 50games/season for his career, out of the league after 9 seasons.
Rik Smits: Had feet nerve damage and had multiple foot, ankle, knee, and back surgeries. Career high of 7.7rpg, never averaged over 30mpg. Most surgeries in off-season, so didn't miss tons of games. Just couldn't be the primary guy he was expected to be due to limited minutes due to injuries. 1x All-Star, 0x All-NBA.
Mark Eaton: Never expected or asked to be a primary guy, but was an elite shot blocker. Career high of 9ppg, but also had 456 blocks in one seas (5.6bpg) Possibly part gorilla.
Shawn Bradley: Surprisingly didn't miss a ton of games, but did blow out his knee early in his career. Only averaged over 30mpg once. Career highs of 13ppg and 8 rpg. Sadly paralyzed now after a car hit him.
Manute Bol: averaged 62games/season. Only topped 18mpg twice.
Gheorghe Muresean: Played 3 full seasons, but never averaged 30mpg. Forgot to wear his orthopedic shoes one day while filming My Giant with Billy Crystal and it ****ed him up so much it was essentially career ending. Played 43games/season.
Zydrunas Illgaksas: Played 5 or fewer games in three seasons. Averaged 56games/season. Made two all-star games and had a good overall career. Always had nice footwork and a soft touch, but those broken bones in his feet and ankles slowed him down a lot.

Z's prime years (03-06 next to Bron) he was a 16/8 player in 31mpg.
Ralph put up 21/11 his first three seasons and made it to the Finals.
Eaton did his job of clogging the lane. His peak from 85-89 had him with 8points/9.5r/4.4b in 33mpg.
Smits prime of 94-98 had him producing 17/7 in 29mpg.
Ming was healthy his first three seasons, then his 7th season. Statistically, his best seasons were the half seasons he played in his 4th, 5th, and 6th seasons where he averaged 23/10 next to TMac. He was a 16/9 player his first three seasons when he was healthy.
Sabonis was a 14/9 player his first four years in the NBA, but that was after a bunch of major injuries and he was already in his 30s.
This season is Kristaps' best so far. Oh wow, it's a contract year. Has he been talking to Trevor Ariza? He's missed at least 15 games every year since his rookie year when he only missed 10.

I'm gonna bet on history. Zion may be the best player taken in the 2019 draft, but he has only played 114 games in 4 seasons. I'd rather have Ja Morant, who has his team 2nd in the Western Conference and has played 231 games.

And it isn't like Wemby is injury free. He played just 33 of 76 games last year. He missed the playoffs last year and a lot of the season with lower back muscle injuries. He missed ~4 months with stress fractures in his lower legs. He missed two months with a bone contusion of his shoulder blade. He missed a month with a broken finger.

Broken finger doesn't really bother me. It happens in basketball. Two months with a shoulder blade bruise? That sounds bad. But lower back muscle problems and stress fractures in lower legs for guys that are over 7' tall have to be extremely concerning. Especially when those injuries make them mis dozens of games and multiple months of basketball. Big men with back and lower leg problems seems to always have back and lower leg problems.

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