Should Warriors try for victories, or Victor (Wembanyama)?

It’s way too early too early to discuss whether the Golden State Warriors should tank this season.

So let’s discuss it.

Why not? If the Warriors’ decision-makers aren’t talking about it (yet), they have to be thinking about it. Hope for the best and plan for the worst, right?

First of all, let’s not call it tanking. Tanking is undignified, a legal but unsavory form of gaming the system.

Let’s call it what it would be for the Warriors: taking a tumble for Victor.

Victor Wembanyama is the prize. He’s the 7-foot-4 French power forward/center who will be the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. He has the potential to dominate like no big man since Wilt Chamberlain. He is Kevin Durant on stilts, with better handles.

Put Wembanyama with Stephen Curry and any 10 guys from the street and buckle up for a trip to the moon. Or several trips. Second-best scenario, the Warriors could land the other eye-popping prospect in the draft, Scoot Henderson, a 6-foot-3 point guard with stunning skills and great game feel.

The Warriors are not abandoning ship now. They are in a critical stretch of games, halfway through a brutal six-game road trip that could end ugly. Curry will be out three weeks or so with a left (thank you, hoops gods!) shoulder injury.

They then are home for eight in a row, and if they continue to struggle even at Chase Center, it will be time to think about rolling out the tank. If Curry comes back in three or four weeks, there will be a period of readjustment. By then, it’s possible the Warriors will be facing an uphill climb for a play-in slot at the bottom of the bracket.

If that’s the case, if a run to the Finals is not realistic, tanking might be the way to go. Step 1: Give the kids a lot of run. Give James Wiseman the playing time he badly needs to develop. Give Moses Moody, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins an extended run.

Right now, those players have fairly low trade value, which can rise only with playing time. Plus, extended time in real games for the younger players will give the Warriors a better indication of what they really have.

The Warriors have tons of young potential talent. Jonathan Kuminga is showing promise of being a fine NBA player, but none of the kids is looking like a future face of the franchise. That’s where Wembanyama or Henderson would come in.

When the Warriors had the

NBA’s worst record three seasons ago, it netted them the No. 2 pick in the draft. They could have picked Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball, who are thriving. They chose Wiseman, which seemed wise, man, but wasn’t. Not so far.

No such problem if the Warriors were to land Wembanyama or Henderson.

Based on the current standings, the highest pick the Warriors could land would be No. 19, per tankathon.com. But if they finish among the worst six teams, their chances of getting the No. 1 pick in the lottery are between 9% and 14%.

The Warriors legitimately could justify bringing Curry back slowly, resting the older players, and run to the kiddie corps. Curry would have to sign off on the plan. He is proud and competitive, but he lives in the real world. The idea of three or four more rings might appeal to him.

Meanwhile, enjoy those Victor Wembanyama highlight clips!

Deep thoughts & cheap shots ...

Draymond Green is a leader. That’s his ticket to a Hall of Fame induction down the road. Right now, he is an NBA leader — in technical fouls, with nine before Friday night’s game (Kevin Durant was No. 2 with eight). When your need to vent is greater than your need to lead, that’s a problem.

Jordan Poole was tied for sixth in the league with six technical fouls. Most of them, I believe, are related to traveling calls. If Poole and the Warriors — especially Poole and Curry — are being unfairly targeted for travel calls, as TV play-byplay man Bob Fitzgerald recently said, there is a cure. Go back to the basics. One pivot foot, except for Eurosteps. Not easy, but doable and necessary.

How long can Carlos Correa be an effective player? Thirteen more seasons, the length of his contract with the Giants? He will be 40 in that final season. Cal Ripken Jr., another 6-foot-4 shortstop, played in his age-40 season, with 14 homers and 68 RBIs that year (he switched to third base his final five seasons). Omar Vizquel, a small shortstop (5-9, 180), played until the age of 45. At 40, Vizquel hit .246 for the Giants, and at 39, he won a Gold Glove at shortstop. The wild-card factor is Correa’s balky back.