Spurs Land Two Top-10 Picks in Draft Lottery
The San Antonio Spurs will have the 8th pick (via Toronto) and 4th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
While the San Antonio Spurs didn’t get as lucky as a year ago, when they landed the number one pick in the lottery to draft Victor Wembanyama, they still had some luck on their side Sunday in the Draft Lottery.
The Spurs needed the Toronto Raptors’ lottery pick to land in the 7-10 range for San Antonio to keep the pick, and that happened with Toronto’s pick landing at 8th.
Then, based on their record, the Spurs were supposed to have the 5th pick, but instead, they had some luck and ended up with the 4th pick.
So now that we know the Spurs will have the 4th pick, 8th pick, 35th pick in the second round, and 48th pick in the second round, let’s look at some questions moving forward.
What does the Spurs’ cap sheet look like?
With all cap holds and players on non-guaranteed contracts included, the Spurs are presently $12.3 million OVER the salary cap when July 1 strikes.
In the first year of their rookie scale contract, the player drafted 4th will earn $9.1 million and the player drafted 8th will earn $6.2 million.
How much max cap space can the Spurs open this summer?
If the Spurs were to waive all players on non-guaranteed contracts EXCEPT Julian Champagnie and let all free agents walk, they could open up to $19.4 million in cap space.
If the Spurs were to waive Champagnie as well, they could open up to $21.3 million in cap space. Since he was a starter last season and one of the reliable shooters on the team, I can’t see the Spurs waiving Champagnie this offseason.
Who are the prospects in the Spurs’ draft pick range?
The players with mock averages of 5th through 10th are: Donovan Clingan, Nikola Topic, Rob Dillingham, Matas Buzelis, Reed Sheppard, Stephon Castle, Cody Williams, Dalton Knecht, and Ron Holland.
Alexandre Sarr and Zaccharie Risacher will likely be off the board by the time the draft gets to the 4th pick.
With the combines starting soon and as teams workout and interview prospects, projections will start to change from now until draft night in June.
Which players will the Spurs have access to medical information?
Following a change in the latest CBA, the Spurs will have access to the combine medical, biomechanical testing, and functional movement information for the following prospects: Sarr, Buzelis, Castle, Clingan, Risacher, Topic, Dillingham, Holland, Knecht, Sheppard.
This is due to the Spurs having two picks in the Top-10.