The clear focus for the San Antonio Spurs is to maximize their outlook for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft despite years of prioritizing remaining competitive.
The first measure the Spurs took was to trade Dejounte Murray for a trade return focused on future draft capital. Given he was San Antonio’s only All-Star on an already young roster, the outlook immediately shifts from play-in contention to lottery odds being the ideal outcome. How well positioned are they for the grand prize?
When ranking the best-positioned teams to gain the top overall selection in this year’s draft, NBA Analysis Network placed the San Antonio Spurs atop the list. Other teams include the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, and Utah Jazz.
One of the challenges the Spurs face entering the upcoming season is the lack of go-to scoring threats. Keldon Johnson is as close as it gets, given he’s coming off a campaign averaging 17.0 points per game. He did a lot of damage as a catch-and-shoot threat instead of being a dynamic shot creator.
While the outcome for Johnson’s development as a scoring threat remains to be seen, there may be some growing pains with greater responsibility in 2022-23. Other young players, including Josh Primo and Devin Vassell, will likely also potentially experience some growing pains in more prominent roles.
Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate season-ending injury is undoubtedly a factor for the Thunder this season. The team was already thin in frontcourt talent and lost their only high-ceiling option. Regardless, the team still has a backcourt star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey also on the perimeter.
The Pacers still haven’t traded Myles Turner, and when healthy, his rim protection raises the floor of their defense a bit. Now, they will have more speed around him than trying to make him cover up a slow-footed center in Domantas Sabonis. With the Pacers also having building blocks, including Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin, they’re currently more talented than the Spurs.
It remains to be seen how the Jazz will ultimately handle the Donovan Mitchell situation. Utah will be significantly worse defensively after trading Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team has also bought Mitchell in trade discussions throughout the offseason, with a deal appearing likely to get done eventually.
If the Jazz trade Mitchell for a trade return predicated on future draft capital, they could jump to the front of the line as the worst team in the NBA. There are still veteran talents on the roster, like Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, and Jordan Clarkson, that made positive contributions, but they’ll be moved swiftly in a rebuild.
Perhaps one factor to watch is the outcome of the Russell Westbrook trade talks. The Jazz, Pacers, and Spurs are all considered logical trade suitors to add draft capital to take on Westbrook’s $47.1 million salary before buying him out. It would be a great avenue to move veteran talents to maximize draft outlook.
You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.
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