Philly Front Office

Admittedly, I do not care about on court basketball unless the Sixers are playing (and even then, woof) so the trials and tribulations of the NBA Playoffs do not really concern me right now. What I can’t get enough of is the roster building dynamics of the off-season. The Sixers and every other team right now are at the whim of the San Antonio Spurs. That’s right, the 34-48, didn’t make the playoffs Spurs. After landing #2 in the lottery, they are running things right now. They are the fulcrum of the NBA off season.

What Do They Have?

Two years ago, San Antonio was blessed with winning the draft lottery and the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. The Lakers might get all the flashy star centers, but the Spurs get the quiet dominant ones. He might be the single most valuable player in the league right now considering his unique skills (3 and D and everything else), age (21), and contract (2 more pre-agency years). On his own, he makes the Spurs special, but there is a lot more.

This season they traded for De’Aaron Fox, sending the Bulls their own pick back (#12), a Hornets first that did not convey, their own 2027 pick, and the Timberwolves 2031 first. Fox is a free agent after next season, but they will likely move to get him extended asap come July. He is a solid 25ish ppg lead guard who is firmly in his prime at 27. They didn’t get him for the short term.

They also have the Rookie of the Year for the second time in a row with Stephon Castle. Throw in Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Schoan, and Harrison Barnes and the Spurs have quality role players with nice movable salaries.

Thanks to trading Dejounte Murray a few years ago, the Spurs have the Hawks #14 pick this year, an unprotected 2027 pick, and swap rights next season. They also have all but one of their future picks including #2 overall this season. Most of these come with some kind of swap rights too, making them even more enticing. They can move 5 first round picks right now if they wanted to.

The Spurs are right around the salary cap and do not have to pay Wemby for 2 more seasons. This means they have access to the full mid-level exception and no trade restrictions. Aside from the movable firsts, they also have a ton of second round picks (with even more swaps). The Spurs are about as primed to make a roster splash as a wannabe contending team can get in today’s NBA.

What Do They Want?

This is the biggest question of the off season. Do the Spurs want to build organically through the draft or bring in another star while Wemby is still on his rookie deal? Everything changed when they jumped 6 spots to pick second in the lottery. With Cooper Flagg widely expected to go #1, this means they have a clear runway to selecting the other prize of this draft, Dylan Harper, if they want to. The problem with that is that Harper needs the keys. The Spurs already have Fox and Castle, do they really want to add Harper to the mix? He could be in play as their pick or maybe they move Castle instead, but there are just so many tantalizing opportunities out there for the Spurs to aim bigger.

Based on the Fox trade, I have to believe they are about to go for it. They have a unique window of opportunity with Fox in his prime and Wemby about to really explode (not from a blood clot, you’re a sicko!) to assemble title level talent right now. Luckily for them, the league has never been more ready to deal.

Who is on the Block?

I went into this 2 weeks ago, but it is pretty much known that Trae Young, Zion Williamson, and Ja Morant are available to some degree this summer. The Hawks, Pelicans, and Grizzlies will be listening to offers to some extent. Then once Damian Lillard went down, the Giannis clock in Milwaukee started blaring its alarm. The Spurs landing the #2 pick didn’t just give them the Bucks number though, now the rest of the league is accepting calls from the 210 area code.

The prospect of getting Dylan Harper allows any team in the league to immediately reset their situation. They can move a big contract from their noncontending team and get a potential star to build around. Instead of waiting for lottery luck, they can just trade for the luck on demand.

I think they can move #2 and salary for Young and Zion straight up, but there is no way they want Young. Morant might cost a little more, but there is no way the Spurs want him. So, let’s start with the Bucks. Pairing Giannis with Wemby and Castle is the kind of defensive problem that would flummox anyone. There are no safe spaces on the floor. On offense, if Giannis thought Brook Lopez spaced the floor well for a big man, he hasn’t seen anything yet. Plus his pick and roll with Fox would be unbelievable. As I have written about before, the Bucks have to trade Giannis and would probably be willing to do right by him. San Antonio can do right for everyone. Dylan Harper is the kind of prospect that Milwaukee can build around right now. They’ll take that Hawks pick and more too.

How about Boston? It may sound crazy, but would they be willing to give up Jaylen Brown to get younger and cheaper? They are in the bad spot of being incredibly expensive and not having their best player next season. After having already won a title, would they be willing to work with Harper next season and wait for him to get better and eventually join a core with Tatum? This would be Boston’s ticket to bridge generations while Brown perfectly complements the current Spurs roster. He wouldn’t cost as much as Giannis, but he wouldn’t come cheap either.

The Jazz will certainly listen on Lauri Markkanen. Despite having the worst record, they dropped down to #5 in this draft. By trading Lauri, Danny Ainge can properly begin his rebuild with almost no real salary on the books. Maybe the local fans wouldn’t like this move, but they will not likely get a better single asset for Markkanen than Harper. They don’t need MORE picks after the Gobert and Mitchell moves, they need quality picks. This is that pick. This could probably be a 1 for 1 with salary move. The spacing on this new Spurs team would be crazy.

The last one to be considered has to be Phoenix. No, not for Kevin Durant. I’m talking about Devin Booker. The Suns need to move KD too, but the Spurs could make the god father offer for Booker with the #2 pick. Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, #2, Hawks pick, and 2 more picks…the Suns might have to take that. Phoenix screwed up their whole situation by trading for Bradley Beal and are completely doomed with him on the team. They don’t have control of their picks and have no extra salary to maneuver around. They NEED to start over. Dylan Harper and the Spurs is their lifeline. Even if they don’t want to trade Booker, they might have to if this is on the table. This is very similar to the Bucks situation.

Could They Go the Other Way?

Absolutely! If you are the Sixers, what are you offering to swap 3 for 2? Maybe the Sixers are better off with Ace Bailey, but would they trade up for Harper? How about for that Clippers pick? Kyle Neubeck made the great Family Guy style point that the luster of the Clippers pick is that you don’t know what it could be, it might even end up being someone as good as Dylan Harper! I’m not against this. I think it would signal that the team is already post Embiid though. Bailey might fit what they Spurs are doing better than Harper anyway.

Could Utah swap some of their excess picks to move from #5 to #2? The same could be said for Brooklyn at #8. Both those teams need a star and could be willing to pay top dollar for one. Unlike the rest of the teams in the top 10, they have the picks and the need to make the move.

What Happens?

The NBA Draft is June 25th. If anything is happening with Dylan Harper, we will likely know before then. I just can’t see the Spurs staying put. They received a gift in landing the #2 pick and they won’t squander it. If I were to make one prediction, it is that they do anything but make that #2 pick themselves.