The Silver & Black have options for what to do with their picks before the draft gets underway June 25.
SAN ANTONIO — Their coach and core of the future determined, the San Antonio Spurs can now prepare for next month’s NBA Draft, where they hold the second and 14th overall picks.
The Spurs secured those picks at Monday’s Draft Lottery, where they came in with the best odds of getting the eighth overall pick after finishing 34-48 this season. They ended up ascending into the top four.
For a brief moment that saw San Antonio holding its breath, it appeared as though they might win the No. 1 pick two years after drafting Victor Wembanyama and launching their rebuild. Instead that pick will go to the Dallas Mavericks, who have the opportunity to select consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg months after shocking the league by trading away Luka Doncic.
San Antonio’s second first-round pick is conveyed from the Atlanta Hawks as part of the 2022 trade that sent Dejounte Murray east; it became a lottery selection when Atlanta lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.
Combined with that Hawks pick, the Spurs – who, between Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, boast the last two Rookie of the Year winners – had a 6.7% chance of hitting lottery gold and nabbing the top overall selection in the draft.
Barring a major development, it’s widely expected that cherished 6-foot-9 Duke forward Flagg will go No. 1 when the draft kicks off on June 25. He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 blocks in his freshman season as a Blue Devil. The Utah Jazz came in with the best odds of nabbing the top pick but ended up with the fifth selection.
The Spurs had just a 29.6% chance of moving into the top four.
In a move that puts the team’s future front and center, the Spurs sent newly christened head coach Mitch Johnson to Chicago to be San Antonio’s representative at the lottery.
This is a developing story.