Looking for future Spurs in the NCAA Tournament
Yesterday at 10:57 PM
The Spurs might not be able to land Cooper Flagg, but that doesn't mean they can't get a good building block or two in the upcoming draft.
Cooper Flagg has impressed in the NCAA Tournament, gotten Duke into the Final Four, and solidified himself as the top pick. How many assets/current players would you be willing to trade for him if San Antonio doesn't get lucky in the lottery?
Marilyn Dubinski: When there was no clearly defined top prospect last year, there was room to talk about swapping picks as high as number one. This is not one of those years. While Cooper Flagg is no Victor Wembanyama, he is clearly the top pick with the potential to be a franchise player, and teams who win the lottery don't just give that away. The Spurs could try to offer a few pieces of their young core (Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, etc.) plus their own and Atlanta's 2025 draft picks (and likely many more in the future), but neither figure to be in the top 7 at this point, and without Wemby included, I don't see the team that wins the lottery saying yes. It would be a waste of a phone call, just like it was for anyone inquiring about getting the top pick from the Spurs in 2023.
Mark Barrington: It kind seem like a meaningless hypothetical, because the team that gets the top isn't going to trade it. I guess you could offer something like the Herschel Walker trade, but even if you could pull that off, there's no way that could work with the NBA salary cap. There's just no way that whoever has the first pick is going to give it up unless the Spurs give them Victor Wembanyama, which would cause violence to erupt in San Antonio.
Jacob Douglas: There is no package great enough for Flagg except one that includes Wembanyama. If the team selecting first overall was actually willing to talk trades, every pick and player would be on the table besides Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox.
Jesus Gomez: No one is trading Flagg, but it's interesting to imagine what the Spurs would likely have to give up for a young superstar in a rookie deal. To start, the two picks from this year's draft, plus the remaining Atlanta picks. That, plus one or two future Spurs picks and Stephon Castle would get the other team to at least not hang up immediately. Would it be worth it? Probably, but it would be risky to put all the eggs in the same basket.
Have you been following the tournament? Has any player stood out to you as a potential sleeper pick for the Spurs with either of their first-rounders?
Dubinski: I'm only interested in my alma mater, so I was done once they were out in the second round. (I also find college basketball very difficult to enjoy when I don't have rooting interest: the 20-min halves, all the timeouts, the horrid officiating — the only thing they've done right in the last decade is lower the men's shot clock from 35 to 30 sec.) I do feel the Spurs need to address their lack of size and/or outside shooting, so I'm hoping they do that while breaking away from the norm of going for mid-sized guards with "defensive potential". (Not that that's an issue, they just have enough of those at this point.)
Barrington: Sorry, I kind of checked out early when all the teams I care about got knocked out in the first and second rounds. I'm not a big follower of college basketball, anyway, and when my favorite teams are eliminated, I'm out until the final four weekend. Although he didn't do great in the tournament, I really like Tre Johnson from Texas, but he's probably going to be gone by the time the Spurs pick.
Douglas: Kon Knueppel looks like a legit floor spacer and off-ball guard with size. He's held his own defensively in a good system at Duke. Pairing him with Fox and Wemby would be a lot of fun. Colorado State's Nique Clifford is an intriguing wing who can handle some playmaking responsibilities. Tre Johnson from Texas is awesome but didn't get the opportunity to do much in the NCAA Tournament. If the Spurs were to get into the late first round or early second, Johni Broome from Auburn and Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. are veteran college stars who I believe will be awesome role players at the next level. Broome would especially be a good fit given the Spurs' need for a backup center.
Gomez: I watch more FIBA ball than college basketball, so I don't have a great answer. I've watched Kon Knueppel play, and he seems intriguing as a shooter with size who can also handle the ball. I mostly watched Egor Demin highlights, and he looked like a special talent, but the shooting numbers are a little scary. He might be worth the risk if he drops and the Spurs go for upside.
True or false: At this point, the Spurs shouldn't be focusing on the NCAA Tournament or the draft. They should be thinking about moving their picks for veterans.
Dubinski: False. Ignoring any aspect of the offseason/team building process would be a mistake. Their goal next season should be to make the playoffs (and I believe they would have at least made the play-in this season had Wemby been healthy), and they should do whatever it takes to get there while also not giving up too much of the young core for just a year or two of help (this is me saying no to the Kevin Durant rumors). I would be all for them possibly packaging their two first round picks and maybe a mid-tier player for a higher pick and/or younger veteran, but they can't just ignore the draft assuming they'll get the deal they want. Plus, they'll need those cheaper rookie contracts going forward.
Barrington: False, sort of. They need to add an additional veteran player or two, but they will also need useful players on affordable rookie contracts. If they can bring in another big time scorer and floor spacer with draft picks, that would be awesome. But there are a lot of holes in the roster, so they'll need to fill out the roster with drafted players as much as they can.
Douglas: False. The Spurs are still in talent acquisition mode, whether that be via the draft, trade, or free agency. They still need to build the long-term core around Wembanyama. They took advantage of a good situation in the Fox trade and seemingly landed a long-term piece in Castle. This summer, they could draft the next long-term piece or trade picks for the star player next to Wemby. The front office should be, and likely is, considering all avenues to improve the roster.
Gomez: False. Blake Wesley and Malaki Branham will enter the last year of their rookie contract. So will Jeremy Sochan. Julian Champagnie only has one more year on his team-friendly deal. Some of the cost-controlled players will be gone soon, so even if they don't get a star, they could get an important piece that makes building around Wemby easier. San Antonio needs talent, and the draft is a good way to get it, but even from a cap management and roster construction standpoint, it just makes sense to get some cheap depth pieces.
