San Antonio’s Strategy as Spurs Head into 2026 NBA Draft

Brian Wright will have his hands full during the draft (Photo via X)

The San Antonio Spurs enter the 2026 NBA Draft in a different phase of the rebuild. Actually, calling it a rebuild probably doesn’t make sense anymore considering that the Spurs are coming off a run to the NBA Finals. 

Victor Wembanyama is already one of the best players in the world. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper give the franchise two more young perimeter building blocks. De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and others round out a roster that is no longer hoping to be relevant someday. The good guys are relevant now.

That reality should change how the Spurs approach the draft. San Antonio owns the 20th pick in the first round and three second rounders: No. 35, No. 42 and No. 44. Overall, I think the Spurs should remain aggressive and should still look for upside. But the strategy this draft should be a little bit different than it has been in recent drafts.

Consider Kicking the Can on the First Round Pick

The Spurs shouldn’t be desperate to use the 20th pick. That’s not to say they should be trying to dump it. A first round pick is valuable, especially for a team that still has room to add to their young core. But if San Antonio can turn this year’s first round pick into a future first round pick, the front office has to seriously consider it.

Right now, the roster is relatively cheap. That will change before you know it. 

Wembanyama’s next contract will be massive. Castle, at this rate, is heading toward a max contract. Harper is riding along in that very same boat. In a few years, things will be super expensive in South Texas.

That’s why future first round picks matter. Once the payroll gets bloated, the easiest way to keep adding talent is through cost-controlled players. A useful rookie on a first round contract can be the difference between having depth and being forced to shop in the bargain bin every summer.

If another team wants to move into the 20th pick badly enough to offer an unprotected future first, the Spurs should listen. Based solely on economic reasons, that future pick could become more valuable than the player available at No. 20 this year.

San Antonio Doesn’t Need to Chase Outlier Outcomes Anymore

In the Bryn Forbes Dark Ages (basically the scary, cold and lonely years between the Duncan Era and the Wemby Era), it made sense for the Spurs to take big swings.

Blake Wesley was a bet on the 1% outcome that he’d be the next Russell Westbrook. Malaki Branham was hoping that the 1% chance that he’d become Michael Redd would hit. Jeremy Sochan was a 1% bet on Draymond Green. Josh Primo was a 1% hope that he’d be the on-court version of Kobe Bryant.

Those gambles were understandable at the time. The Spurs were bad, the roster needed star upside and the franchise could afford to take chances on players who had a narrow path to becoming great.

I don’t think that should be the approach anymore … and that changes the type of player who should be attractive.

A Derrick White-type outcome would be fantastic. Not necessarily a player who looks exactly like White stylistically or in terms of his forehead size, but an elite role player who defends, passes, thinks the game, makes open shots and helps the team win. If the Spurs can get that at No. 20, that’s a home run in their current situation.

The ceiling doesn’t have to be spectacular. The player doesn’t have to be 18 years old. The Spurs can afford to value polish, feel, shooting, defense and role acceptance more than they have in recent years.

Older Prospects Should Be More Appealing Than Before

In a normal rebuild, older prospects are easy to push down the board. When trying to find future stars, youth matters a lot. A 19-year-old with tools is usually going to be more attractive than a 23-year-old with two kids and a mortgage. 

San Antonio can still prioritize youth if the young player is clearly better. However, age shouldn’t be as much of a deal-breaker now. If an older prospect can help sooner, make fewer mistakes and fill a specific role, that player should be in play.

To add specifics, in this draft that strategy should help players like Cameron Carr and Dailyn Swain in the first round. In the second round, the Spurs shouldn’t automatically dismiss players like Joshua Jefferson, Alex Karaban and Richie Saunders. If San Antonio believes one of them can become a reliable rotation player, that should matter more now than it would have mattered in those bleak times when Forbes was inexplicably a mainstay in the starting lineup. 

A Win-Now Trade Also Makes Sense

Trading the 20th pick for a future first is one option. Trading it for a veteran is another.

If the right veteran becomes available, using draft capital to improve the current roster would be reasonable. The target would need to make sense financially and stylistically. A playoff-ready wing, a dependable shooter, a backup center or a versatile defender would all be worth exploring.

This is another way the team’s situation has changed. In previous years, trading a first round pick for a role player would have been difficult to justify. Now, it could be smart.

The Spurs already have the foundation. If No. 20 can help them land a veteran who makes the rotation better in May and June, the front office has to consider it.

The Second Round Is Where Things Get Complicated

The Spurs have three second round picks. Using all three would be weird, if we’re being honest.

I mean, I guess San Antonio could draft three players, let them compete in summer league and training camp, and then sort out who is actually worth developing. Two-way contracts and stash options could help. 

But from an asset management standpoint, the cleaner play is to use one second round pick and move the other two. The tricky part, though, is deciding which picks to keep.

Pick No. 35 has real value. Early second rounders are attractive because teams can get a player near first round quality without the guaranteed first round contract structure. My guess is that No. 35 could potentially be flipped for two future second round picks if the right team wants to move up.

Pick No. 42 has less value but could still bring back a future second. Pick No. 44 might only return cash, especially if the Spurs have already found suckers traded away No. 35 and No. 42. 

That creates a real decision. If San Antonio can turn No. 35 into two future seconds, it might be smart to do that and keep one of the later picks. In that scenario, the Spurs could draft at 20 and at 42 or 44 while adding future assets (or, less excitingly, more cash for the Holt Empire).

Final Thoughts

I’m confident Brian Wright and company know what they’re doing. Hell, asset management is the reason why the Spurs just went to the Finals yet still have four picks in the top 45. 

That said, we’ll know by the end of the draft whether the Spurs have shifted their priorities or if the Primo philosophies live to see another draft.