Spurs are building faster around Victor Wembanyama and hope to add more to his 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year trophy.

Darren Abate/Associated Press

On a cold day last winter, Gregg Popovich got to talking about one of his favorite subjects. The discussion involved grapes, of course, and fermentation, and complexity of flavor.

When it came to patience, though, the Spurs coach cautioned against excess. Yes, he conceded, most good wine ages well.

“But I’ve opened a couple of bottles and been very disappointed,” Popovich said, “because I waited too long.”

Even with careful planning and the best of intentions, timing can be tricky. More often than not, a huge reward comes to those willing to wait for it.

But stalling has its limits. At some point, you’re better off just popping the dang cork.

This, as illuminatingly as any basketball breakdown, explains why Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes came to San Antonio this summer. The Spurs know they have the good stuff. They know they have bottles and bottles and bottles of it, stacked high and deep in a 7-foot-3½-inch crate, with more than enough to last a decade or longer.

But the last thing the Spurs want to do is to look back one day and lament wasting a drop of it.

So this summer, six months before Victor Wembanyama was set to reach legal drinking age in America, the Spurs decided it was time to start pouring.

Obviously, they’re not going to open it all at once. They’re far too smart for that. The Spurs’ goal all along has been to make sure they have plenty of the good stuff to go around in five years, in six years, in seven or eight or nine years, when they expect it to be at its peak.

But that doesn’t mean they have to save the whole stash for later. If they pace themselves properly, they can maximize their enjoyment by opening a little at a time, letting it decant, and letting it breathe.

The addition of veteran Harrison Barnes is a sign the Spurs aren’t waiting too long on Victor Wembanyama’s next phase.

Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer

Finding the right pairing can help. And that’s where guys like Paul and Barnes come in.

Sure, the Spurs could have waited another year to add experienced winners around Wembanyama. Had they brought the whole gang back from last season’s 22-60 finish, they would have improved, because Wembanyama is amazing, and because the youngsters around him are getting better, too.

That would have done him a disservice, though. He’s ready to win now. And even though it might be a few years before it becomes realistic to start thinking about Most Valuable Player awards and NBA championships, it’s not too early to start building up to that.

“You just can’t fast-track experience,” said Barnes, the 32-year-old forward who won an NBA title at Golden State before joining rebuilding projects in Dallas and Sacramento. “There’s certain things you have to go through as a group.”

This is the tricky part. If Wembanyama is like most of the superstars who preceded him, before he succeeds in the playoffs, he will need to fail in them. Before he has his huge postseason breakthrough, he will need to come close to one and fall just short. And neither Paul nor Barnes figures to be around long enough to get him over the hump.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t play huge roles in lifting Wembanyama — and the young group around him — to the edge. By giving him one of the greatest pick-and-roll point guards in league history as a partner now, the Spurs are opening another piece of his game that might prove useful even after the 39-year-old Paul is gone.

By letting Barnes knock down some 3-point jumpers that make the Spurs’ starting lineup a little more balanced this season, they’re putting Wembanyama in position to play in more meaningful games, and to win some of them.

Chris Paul may not be with Spurs when Victor Wembanyama reaches his prime but Paul’s addition will help speed the process.

Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer

After all, winning is supposed to be the goal here, isn’t it?

Said Paul: “I don’t think you should play anything if you’re just doing it for s—- and giggles.”

That mentality will help Wembanyama, too. Last year, the Spurs’ penchant for staying upbeat through what could have been a miserable six months was an admirable testament to their positive attitude. In Wembanyama’s second NBA season, he’ll be around a couple of veterans who will show him that taking losses hard is OK, too.

He needs that, just as every young player does. The Spurs were bound to let him go through that process sooner or later. A year ago, they might not have realized “sooner” would come so soon.

But if Wembanyama taught them anything during his rookie season, it was that they don’t need to wait for him for, well, just about anything.

And on a cold day this winter?

Popovich, opening a little more of the good stuff earlier than he ever expected, doesn’t figure to be disappointed.