The San Antonio Spurs, as they prepared for the NBA offseason, knew that anything was possible, although they certainly had realistic expectations. Entering Monday's NBA Draft Lottery, the Spurs were expected to pick 14th and eighth.
The selection owed to them from the Atlanta Hawks will be 14th, just as expected, although their own pick rose up drastically, and the Spurs will have the second overall pick.
The Spurs will likely select Rutgers' guard Dylan Harper second overall, building a deep backcourt to support Victor Wembanyama.
Of course, the Spurs have been linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo ever since the Milwaukee Bucks lost in the first round. The second pick is a prime asset to land the Greek Freak, and a trade would certainly open up the Spurs' title window.
Antetokounmpo was not the only star the Spurs were linked to. Both the Spurs and Houston Rockets were linked to Kevin Durant, who has one season left on his contract. Had the Spurs landed the eighth pick, then trading that asset to the Phoenix Suns for Durant would have made sense; after all, could the Spurs really land a transformative player that late in the lottery?
Landing the second pick effectively ended the Spurs' interest in Durant, if there ever was any to begin with. Harper, Tre Johnson, VJ Edecombe, and Ace Bailey would not have been on the board when the Spurs picked eighth, but now San Antonio will have their pick of the litter, and Durant is not exactly known for his teammate development skills.
The Spurs can either set their sights on a better prize than KD, of which there are many at this point in his career, or simply stay the course, do their due diligence, and draft another young player. Either way, the Suns might have to take less than their asking price to unchain themselves from their horrid roster construction.
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