FRANCE TEAM – “With Embiid, you can bring back a gold medal at the Olympics”, Fred Weis wants to dream of the Blues at the top

For the former pivot of the France team Fred Weis, silver medalist at the Olympic Games in Sydney, it is even a headache for the coach of the Blues. Vincent Collet could be forced to decide between recovering the best scorer of the NBA season and ousting from the rotation certain players who are regulars at the gatherings of the Blues. Discussions are launched, decryption of this crazy situation with Fred Weis.

What do you think of a possible arrival of Joel Embiid in the France team?

Fred Weis : I am very torn. On the one hand, I have the fantasy of telling myself that he is one of the best players in the world on your team, so you can bring home a gold medal at the Olympics or at the World Cup. On the other hand, it means that all those guys who have made efforts until now will not be rewarded. It means that it’s a small admission of weakness by saying that without him we might not be able to do it. So maybe we’ll get there.

What can he bring to the game of the Blues?

F.W : From a basketball point of view, it’s a real sticking point. We have Rudy Gobert who is a wall, but we are talking about a player who is able to take the ball with his back to the basket, to create play, to dismiss also because he can even shoot at three points now. It’s a real offensive anchor. He’s not the NBA’s leading scorer for nothing. He is able to fit into a squad, to be caught at two, three or 14 and get by, so that can open up opportunities for Evan Fournier or Nicolas Batum in the corner, for example. His offensive range is incredible and defensively, combining Embiid, who is one of the best defenders in the NBA, with Rudy Gobert, who is for me the best, one wonders: who wants to get into this racket?

What do you think is going on in Vincent Collet’s head since this announcement of a possible naturalization of Joel Embiid?

F.W : In cartoons, on one side we have the little devil and on the other the angel on our shoulders. I think that Vincent Collet’s little devil dances saying I’m going to be Olympic champion, and that the angel says to himself we’re going to put things into perspective, talk about it with everyone and do things well as usual.

Who could suffer the most from an arrival of Joel Embiid?

F.W : It would be very hard for Vincent Poirier and Moustapha Fall, who was nevertheless fantastic with Olympiakos. But when you have the choice between Embiid and Fall in a team, you take Embiid without thinking. Except that Mous Fall is a great player and luckily we had him at the Olympics because he was an interesting point of fixation.

What about the upcoming arrival of the prodigy Victor Wembanyama? Can Embiid hinder his participation in the Les Bleus racket?

F.W : Nothing can block the door to Wembanyama. And if the door is blocked, he will go over it. As a coach, I would put a point guard like Théo Maledon, Evan Fournier in 2, and on the short front Wembanyama in 3, Embiid in 4 and Gobert in 5. I’m not saying on the whole game, but I’d give it a shot from time to time.

There are so many options. We can play a Nicolas Batum in position 4 and Embiid in 5, if Gobert is on the field Embiid goes to 4, if he is not he stays in 5. If Mous Fall is on the trip, he can also play in 4 at his side. The possibilities are incredible.

Usually, Joel, Embiid plays position 5 in the NBA, which is Rudy Gobert’s position. Could the Jazz pivot take this arrival of the Philadelphia player badly?

F.W : Deep down, if I were Rudy Gobert, I would be a little frustrated thinking “I’m the best defender in the NBA and you still need someone else”. I could understand his frustration. And at the same time, when he has his gold medal around his neck, it will be better.

If the France team gets Joel Embiid, it will take a huge step forward. We have the best pivot in the world. Among the Americans, I think of Jarrett Allen and Bam Adebayo but Embiid puts them in his shorts.

You won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 with Crawford Palmer, of American origin then naturalized French. How did his integration into the France group go?

F.W : He had a big advantage, he knew the French championship very well and he spoke French. So the integration is much simpler. The France team is not a dictatorship and I think Vincent Collet understood that very well. That’s why he gets results. He will discuss with his players and the decision of whether or not Embiid will arrive will be taken with everyone. So I can’t imagine Joel Embiid coming in and everyone not being happy.

Unlike Palmer, Joel Embiid has never known the French championship and has no common history with the Blues, can that be a problem?

F.W : In terms of integration, I don’t think there is really a problem. There are only smart players in the France team and he is too. If he comes it’s because he wants to win something so I don’t see any inconvenience from that point of view. But we have a training that works well, we worked for years, we proved during international windows that even when our superstars were not there we still have a very good team.

Could his status as an NBA star and contender for the title of MVP upset the hierarchy of the France team?

F.W : For me, the three leaders of the French team are Evan Fournier, Rudy Gobert and Nicolas Batum, without forgetting Nando De Colo. They are irremovable from this status because being a leader is about stats, but not only. It’s also the spirit, the desire to bring something back for the country, so whatever happens, even if Embiid puts in 30 points per game, he will be one of the leaders but not the main leader.