The San Antonio Spurs are firmly in the Victor Wembanyama era, and from the moment he was drafted first overall in 2023, the team's rebuilding schedule was his. As he moves forward, so does the team.
Despite finishing 14th in the Western Conference last season, the Spurs' future looks bright. Wenbanyama lived up to expectations, winning Rookie of the Year and becoming the first rookie to be named to the All-Defensive First Team. With some lottery luck, San Antonio enters this month's draft with the 4th and 8th picks, giving them some roster-building options. Will they combine the two picks to add a ready-to-go lead ball-handler and expedite the timeline, or will they add the best two players available? If it's the latter, which prospect should they target?
spoke to Athletic Senior NBA Draft Expert Sam Veceny breaks down the Spurs' options in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Kelly Iko: The Spurs' two top-10 picks bring to mind the Orlando Magic, who selected No. 5 and No. 8 in 2021. The Magic acquired two key starters in Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner who proved to be home-run caliber picks early on. Can the Spurs acquire two genuine contributors with those picks in a class that is considered weaker than the 2021 and 2023 groups?
Sam Veceny: Sure, there's a good chance they could land two players to help fuel the rebuild around Victor Wembanyama, and Wagner is a future All-Star, so he commands a higher yield than any other player in this class, but there are certainly players like him or better in this class; the Spurs just need to be smart about who they are.
The most important takeaway the Spurs can take from Orlando's 2021 acquisitions is how well Suggs and Wagner fit into the organizational identity that president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and the rest of the Magic front office laid out after the team began its rebuild in return for trading Nikola Vucevic to Chicago in 2021. Suggs and Wagner have above-average position size for their roles, and both were two-way players in college. Wenbanyama is the centerpiece of the Spurs. Their goal now should not just be to draft talented players, but to prioritize players who fit the organizational ethos around Wenbanyama and highlight his talents.
The Spurs have had success over the past 25 years by sticking closely to their game plan when drafting talent. They tend to value two-way players with good game feel, such as Dejounte Murray (29th in 2016), Derrick White (29th in 2017), Jeremy Sochan (9th in 2022), Tre Jones (41st in 2020) and Devin Vassell (11th in 2020), but Vassell's defensive prowess at Florida State has yet to translate to the NBA. With Wenbanyama, the Spurs have a chance to build a suffocating defense. They should value that end of the court with their picks.
Connecticut's Stephon Castle might be a good fit for San Antonio. (Bob Donnan/USA Today)
Ico: We've been hearing a lot about Connecticut's Stephon Castle lately. He's recently voiced his desire to play point guard and there are fans of him within the Spurs organization. Do you think this player would be a fit? If so, should he share the point guard role with Jones or should San Antonio look for a veteran lead ball-handler?
2015: I think Castle would be a good fit for San Antonio because he is a two-way player and competitor that fits alongside Wenbanyama. To me, the Spurs dream is to have at least four guys 6'6+ on the floor to cover the floor and play suffocating defense at the point of attack. If anyone gets too aggressive on the perimeter, Wenbanyama is there to clean it up. Castle fits that bill. I rank him in the top three in this class, so if he's available at No. 4, he'd be a valuable addition to San Antonio.
There would be concerns about using him and Sochan together given their respective shooting weaknesses — Castle will eventually become a decent shooter, but lineups with both on the court would be kept to a minimum while they each develop — but that's another benefit of having a center in Wenbanyama, who can handle the ball and shoot while also stretching the court on his own.
There should be no need to worry too much about Castle expressing his desire to play point guard. The Connecticut coaching staff raved about Castle's willingness to take on whatever role was necessary for the team to win. He never complained about not being able to play point guard, and he flourished while helping the Huskies win a national title. Furthermore, having multiple ballhandlers in an NBA offense is now a necessity, not a value-add. Even if Castle is not the team's primary “point guard,” he will have ample practice opportunities to start playing. Vassell is not a point guard, but his primary offensive usage this season was ball screens. The same could be said for bigger wings like DeMar DeRozan, Paolo Banchero, and Jalen Williams. Jayson Tatum is not a point guard, but half of his practice opportunities this season were ball screens and isolations. You don't need to be a “point guard” to have the ball in your hands consistently.
Either way, I don't think Castle is ready to play point guard in the NBA or handle a lot of on-ball stuff right from the get-go. He has a good feel for ball screens, and he showed it more often in high school than he did at Connecticut, but he needs to become a better scorer to avoid defenders dropping back or under screens. At the very least, he'll need a ball-handler like Jones next to him to help him develop.
While I rate Castle in the top three in this weak 2024 class, keep in mind that he's more of an average lottery pick in a typical draft, especially in terms of NBA readiness.
Ico: Let's say Castle's UConn teammate Donovan Clingan is still available when the No. 8 pick rolls around. Should the Spurs still draft him? Pairing Wenby with another big man didn't work out last season (sorry, Zach Collins), but should the Spurs give up on drafting another center and giving it another try? After all, the pairing of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony and Towns made it to the conference finals.
2015: Of course they should leave it out. To me he's a 5. He proved it last season.
The advantage that Wenbanyama has is the slight advantage he gets from playing the center position on both ends of the court. Defensively, when he played with Collins, he wasn't close to the basket often. He was chasing the 4 too much while Collins was guarding the center. What makes Wenbanyama special is that he can get up on ball screens when the 5 is screening the guard. His length and instincts across the entire paint allow him to chase down the ball handler and the big man. More simply, it's an advantage to have arguably the best rim protector in the NBA at the basket so often. Offensively, the Spurs will want to have Wenbanyama at the 5, as that puts him in a perfect position to create a speed mismatch.
Wenbanyama would be the Spurs' best version of Gobert defensively mixed with Towns' perimeter game. The reason the Timberwolves acquired Gobert is because Towns couldn't handle the defensive responsibilities of a number 5. But Gobert can't play the perimeter, so he can't play the number 4 offensively. Wenbanyama can do both, and that's the marginal advantage he brings to the team.
Ico: What is the ideal ratio for building a roster through the draft versus free agency? Should the Spurs be patient given Wenby's age, or should they consider being more aggressive now?
2015: The key is to remain flexible and maintain the ability to take advantage of all possibilities. This offseason is not an ideal season to prioritize the draft or free agency. The draft is not elite at the top, and this free agent class is not great. However, I think the Spurs should acquire a veteran or two on a short-term deal to bring some positive momentum and leadership. If they don't make any other big moves this summer, they should hold off until next year. The team doesn't have a bad salary and can carry over cap space to next year when the young players around Wenbanyama are approaching their primes.
But one avenue of roster construction you didn't mention is potentially exploring a winning move on the trade market. General manager Brian Wright shouldn't make a big winning move for, say, a 29-year-old player while Wenbanyama is still young. The Spurs should keep a core of players relatively close in age to Wenbanyama so that those within can grow together. But if a star-level player who is in his prime becomes available, the Spurs should consider the option of using a ton of future draft capital to acquire him.
Ico: Will Wenbanyama's influence be deep enough to warrant serious consideration for one of AC Project's top picks like Tijan Salone, or will it have a negative impact on the team-building process? The two are of the same nationality and have the same agent and other family ties.
BesenyeI don't think Spurs are at the stage where they should prioritise Wembanyama's influence. teeth As a prospect, he's worth considering in his own right. I'd rate Saraun lower than 8th and worry about the skill overlap with Sochan, but he's a lottery-caliber prospect in a flat class in terms of top-10 talent.
Salone plays hard, has good timing as a cutter and is good at running up the court in transition. He creates opportunities for his teammates by running hard to attract attention and open lanes for them. He has shown great improvement defensively throughout the year. While he is still a bit jumpy and needs to work on his fundamentals, he is active and covers a lot of ground with his 7+ foot wingspan.
My biggest concern is Salaun's lack of offensive skill, feel and vertical resilience. His footwork as a driver is poor right now, which is hindering his finishing. He's connecting on 43 percent of his layups this season, which is unusually low for a coordinated 6'9 forward. He's connecting on 31.6 percent of his 3-point attempts this season, but his high release and relative balance throughout the motion should make him a better shooter by the time he hits his mid-20s.
The best long-term role for Saloun is a high-end garbage man who provides value by playing hard, cutting, rebounding and adding a ton of value on defense. Maybe he can be to Wenbanyama what Aaron Gordon was to the Nuggets to Nikola Jokic. The problem is, that's also Socan's ideal role. If the Spurs still like Socan, they shouldn't even consider Saloun. If they don't value Socan's development that highly, then Saloun would make more sense.
Ico: Are there any scenarios in which the Spurs trade one or both of their picks?
2015: They won't trade either player, but I could imagine moving one of them. I also expect they'll trade the 35th pick or use it on a player they can keep overseas next season. There are already seven players on the roster with two or fewer years of NBA experience. Adding three more would be a bad idea.
The Spurs might make a trade involving some young players. That may or may not include the No. 8 pick, but if an offer comes from a team with better young players in their prime, the Spurs should listen. For example, if Cleveland can acquire Darius Garland, I'd include the No. 8 pick to get him. But you need a player like that to give up both lottery picks.
The Spurs could also trade down, especially if Clingan falls below the top three. All of the teams with picks 4-8 have young centers on their hands: Wenbanyama for the Spurs, Jalen Duren for the Pistons, Mark Williams for the Hornets, and Deandre Ayton (and Robert Williams III) for the Blazers. That could mean a team lower than the Spurs trades up to get Clingan. The Spurs own the 4th pick, which puts them in a favorable position in that scenario. Alternatively, if Clingan somehow falls to 8th without someone trading up (which I don't think will happen), the Spurs could trade down to acquire additional value.
(Top photo: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
