Lamarcus carried a couple of poor SA teams to the playoffs… but LMA is actually who came to mind. Different games of course, but just a player that doesn't have a higher gear when you need him.
I do keep coming back to what do you do with 4 picks and some contracts who are really not keepers? This is not about an evaluation of Ayton or Lavine in a ranking of the top players in the NBA. It’s a real world evaluation within context. It’s them versus what you have on the roster.
I do think the Spurs need to turn some of their assets into at least some kind of improvement somewhere. The worst that could happen is that you draft all those 4 guys, none of which has a chance to be as good as Lavine or Ayton right now. And if we are optimistic, let’s say they get one hit, the other 3 are below average, average at best, and nowhere close to the trade targets.
They also have some salary they can turn into a different player. So its a lot about opportunity cost, trying to get better in context, and building around the pieces that you have.
A franchise player is not up for trade, so you can only consider among the options that you have.