San Antonio now knows when it will make its first selection in the draft come June. What remains to be seen is what they might do with their picks.
SAN ANTONIO — For the third straight year, the basketball gods smiled on San Antonio, bestowing upon the Silver & Black another lottery pick in the draft to continue retooling with high-end talent in their bid to return to postseason-contender status.
The question is: Will that talent come via next month’s draft or could the Spurs trade it away as part of a package to bring an established NBA star to the Alamo City?
Well, OK. In actuality that’s one of many questions facing General Manager Brian Wright and other top Spurs brass after their stroke of good luck Monday, when they beat the odds and vaulted to the No. 2 overall pick via the NBA Draft Lottery. Whereas the Dallas Mavericks are expected to use the top pick on vaunted 6-foot-9 Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the Spurs have the flexibility to make any numbers of things happen on Draft Night – or even before then – to further build around their young core of Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.
If there’s one thing we can be confident in from Wright and the Spurs front office, it’s to expect the unexpected.
“You’ll hear it in some of the conversations about the draft: This is a deep draft. So we have a lot of work to do to kind of put it together,” he said Monday night, after the Spurs found out their lottery fate. “But in the early planning, we like the potential group that could be there. Just possibilities. Endless ways to continue to build our team.”
Here are some of the options on the table for San Antonio.
Dylan Harper, Rutgers guard
2024-25 stats: 19.4 points, 4.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds per game; 48.4% shooting from the field
Cooper Flagg is the consensus top prospect in this year’s NBA draft, an indication of the talent and expectations he’ll bring to whatever organization drafts him (probably Dallas).
But though there’s agreement of the wide gap that separates Flagg from the rest of the prospect pool, most draft analysts also agree on No. 2. That would be Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper, who ESPN has going to San Antonio in their first post-lotter mock draft.
“The physical nature of the NBA playoffs has emphasized why a study playmaker of Harper’s type can be so valuable, with his ability to finish through contact and draw fouls a major part of his appeal,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony wrote of the 6-foot-6 guard, who other outlets have cited for his “ridiculous upside” and “crafty” finishing ability.
At the same time, as Givony points out, the Spurs are set at the guard position with Fox and Castle. That could send them looking elsewhere in the draft with specific needs to address this offseason…
Ace Bailey, Rutgers wing
2024-25 stats: 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game; 46% shooting from the field
The Spurs could opt for Harper’s running mate, 6-foot-10 wind Ace Bailey, whom The Ringer praised for his ability to create shots from all over the floor in college.
“Bailey is among the most talented pure shotmakers to come through college basketball in the past decade,” writes J. Kyle Mann, “…but it’s his head-to-flexibility that truly makes his scoring stand out.”
ESPN says supplemental shooting is one of San Antonio’s biggest needs to address in the coming months. Could Bailey be that addition that helps bring out the best in Wemby and make the Spurs more versatile on offense?
Kon Knueppel, Duke freshman
2024-25 stats: 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game; 40.6% on 3-point shooting
If San Antonio were looking to shore up a more specific weakness – shooting from beyond the arc – 6-foot-7 Duke freshman Kon Knueppel could make more sense than anyone. The Spurs 35.7% from 3, good for 20th in the league last season, while Knueppel’s sharpshooter 40.6% mark from long-range stands out among the top draft prospects.
ESPN pointed to Knueppel’s ability to “do a bit of everything on both ends of the floor,” which could also entice San Antonio if the team wants to shore up both its offensive and defensive games in one pick.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2024-25 stats: 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists per game; 60.1% shooting from the field
And then there’s 30-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom San Antonio has the arsenal of picks and players to acquire, should they want to do so.
The 6-foot-11 “Greek Freak” stands to be the big prize of the trade market this offseason after ESPN Insider Shams Charania, citing league sources, reported Monday morning that the two-time MVP is “open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere.”
That’s a big carrot to dangle in front of teams who are just one big piece away from title contention. And Antetokounmpo, nominated for MVP again this year alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, would more than fit the bill, having averaged at least 30 points a game each of the last three seasons. His 22.2% 3-point shooting mark leaves some to be desired, but that’s balanced out by his championship pedigree – he let the Bucks to a title in 2021 – and offensive starpower.
The Spurs are as equipped to put together a package and trade for him as any other team in the league, though as ESPN suggests, the team might not be keen on accelerating their timeline by acquiring him.
Someone else altogether?
Again, we should probably expect the unexpected. The Spurs have a war chest of stockpiled draft picks and compelling players they could make available, and Antetokounmpo is far from the only high-profile player that will be brought up in trade conversations ahead of June 25.
Will San Antonio identify another diamond in the draft rough not named above? Could they pull the trigger on a bigger name to get someone like Kevin Durant in the Silver & Black? Is there a role-player available that doesn’t have the glitziest stats but provides just what they need to put together a .500 campaign next year?
The fun – and the speculation – is just getting started.