Why The San Antonio Spurs Should Not Trade The 14th Pick
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 18: Thomas Sorber #35 of the Georgetown Hoyas attempts a pass past Ryan ... More Kalkbrenner #11 of the Creighton Bluejays during the first half at Capital One Arena on December 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by)
Many NBA teams prefer to not overload their roster with rookies, as to avoid some of them being overlooked in regards to development.
That said, there have been exceptions such as the 1997-1998 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2004-2005 Chicago Bulls.
The Cavs rolled out four players (Derek Anderson, Brevin Knight, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Cedric Henderson) who all played over 27 minutes per game in their debut season.
The 2005 Bulls decided to gamble big, and handed out major minutes to Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, and Andrés Nocioni, none of whom had ever taken an NBA court before.
This is all a long-winded way of saying the San Antonio Spurs should not be in the market of trading the 14th pick, despite having the second overall pick also at their disposal.
Not only are there several intriguing options at #14, but the player they choose at that spot will be cost-controlled for four years, which is going to matter considering Victor Wembanyama will be extension eligible after the conclusion of his third season, which is next year.
For a Spurs team that still is in need of depth, and in need of putting the right players around Wembanyama, adding a player who will be comparably cheap until 2029, and who should make year-to-year improvements during that frame of time, is a slam dunk.
As it stands, the Spurs have some deals on the books currently, which might be utilized better as trade chips, further opening up opportunities for their two incoming first-round picks.
While Keldon Johnson is viewed as a tremendous locker room guy, the fit alongside Wembanyama is not particularly great, and that's an issue when you consider how important it is to streamline the roster around him.
Johnson, who's earning $17.5 million next season, is by no means a big contract, nor is he remotely overpaid. Yet, his contract is big enough in scale to act as a salary-matching component, should the Spurs attempt to make a consolidation trade, which would be in their best interest.
As such, the logic is fairly simple: Trade away two or three players for one better talent, and replace the lost depth via selections in the current draft class.
With their first selection, it appears obvious that Dylan Harper will get a strong look. But that's pretty much expected to be the selection - assuming they keep the pick - which leaves us with the unearthing of final lottery selection. Here, it gets trickier.
Carter Bryant out of Arizona projects as a consistent 3&D wing, but his physical profile, and the player archetype he projects as, could bump him up higher in the draft, potentially keeping him away from the Spurs.
Thomas Sorber, out of Georgetown, is a behemoth who can help strengthen San Antonio's big man rotation. He scores near the rim, defends, passes, and ultimately does a lot of big man things on the court, which in today's NBA climate is beginning to become attractive again.
Should he unexpectedly drop - which he likely won't - Collin Murray-Boyles would be an obvious selection, as the 6'7 do-it-all power forward could act as the team's primary two-way big man off the bench.
The overarching point here is that there's talent to be found at #14, and the Spurs should grab it. Even if they find someone they like for the future, and stash the player in Europe for a year, that would still help them financially as the rookie scale won't get triggered until the player comes over, as long as it's within three years.
It'll be interesting to see how the Spurs play it this summer.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
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