• How Spurs laid the groundwork for 2023 NBA Draft to change everything
Pre-Draft Outlook
Winning the NBA Draft Lottery for the third time in franchise history made deciding San Antonio’s first-round pick easy. So, it will take Victor Wembanyama No. 1 overall to add to an already talented young core. The task ahead now for general manager Brian Wright and the rest of the scouting staff is to focus on uncovering potential gems with the team’s two second-round picks (No. 33 and No. 44). The Spurs have proven it can be done, as they selected Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili in 1999 with the 57th pick. But San Antonio also owns multiple picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts that add flexibility to move up the board for another first-round selection if it chooses.
The Way To Go
We already know that Wembanyama will go off the board first at No. 1. To the Spurs’ credit, they’ve worked tirelessly the last few years of this rebuild to acquire solid talent on the fringes of the roster such as Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan in anticipation of the arrival of a star. Throughout the process, the Spurs created plenty of salary cap space while collecting assets to utilize in potential trades. So, even without the two additional picks in this Draft, San Antonio appears to already be well-positioned to start competing for titles again in the next few of years. Prospects such as Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther and Texas’ Dillon Mitchell could be at play at No. 33, while Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II and Adem Bona of UCLA might fit for the Spurs at 44.
— Michael C. Wright
Here’s a quick look at who the San Antonio Spurs have under contract, who is a free agent this summer and who they added in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Under Contract
G: Devonte’ Graham
G: Blake Wesley
G/F: Devin Vassell
F: Dominick Barlow
F: Malaki Branham
F: Doug McDermott
F: Jeremy Sochan
F/G: Keldon Johnson
F/C: Zach Collins
C/F: Charles Bassey
C: Khem Birch
Free Agents
G: Tre Jones (restricted)
G/F: Romeo Langford (restricted)
F: Dominick Barlow (two-way)
F: Julian Champagnie (two-way)
F: Keita Bates-Diop (unrestricted)
F/C: Sandro Mamukelashvii (restricted)
C: Gorgui Dieng (unrestricted)
> 2023 Free Agent Tracker
Last Year’s Draft
2022: Jeremy Sochan (9), Malaki Branham (20), Blake Wesley (25), Kennedy Chandler (38)**
* = acquired via trade
** = traded in draft-night deal
*** = traded in offseason deal