A noisy night at the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago earlier this month netted the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year’s draft, respectively, turning the top of the draft on its head in a flash. But the fallout from Dallas moving up 10 spots and San Antonio moving up six spots from their prelottery positions could be widespread and take years to unfurl.
How that fateful lottery affects not just the Mavs and Spurs in the immediate and long term, but the rest of the NBA, has quickly become the scuttlebutt in league circles.
The only certainty right now is that Dallas will make Cooper Flagg the No. 1 pick. With Flagg a -100,000 favorite to be picked No. 1 in the draft at FanDuel Sportsbook, this is hardly a bold prediction.
But beyond that, San Antonio has a menu of options beyond sticking and picking. Thus far: it has stated publicly it will keep the pick and is not shopping it. However, there’s no incentive for Spurs brass to dangle that asset and announce it is on the market — widely believed to be very, very valuable, given how highly Dylan Harper is viewed — to push down its perceived value.
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Cameron Salerno
The truth is this: San Antonio has a rising star in Rookie of the Year guard Stephon Castle and it also traded for De’Aaron Fox. This is a very good, and deep, backcourt in place. Adding Harper to that mix could complicate things.
I don’t doubt San Antonio would be thrilled to add him to its young core, to be clear. He’s a very good prospect. And I think taking another player who fits better instead of the best prospect is problematic. (That’s how you end up taking Marvin Bagley III over a Luka Doncic. Sorry, Kings fans.)
But I’m skeptical San Antonio isn’t, at the very least, noodling over other options, which would include trading back — or trading it altogether.
Enter 6-foot-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In my first mock draft after last week’s NBA Draft Combine, I have the Spurs in a blockbuster deal packaging, among other things, the No. 2 and No. 14 picks to land the 30-year-old former MVP winner and nine-time All-Star from the Bucks. There’d be a number of picks and players going Milwaukee’s way as compensation. It’d take a lot, and whether San Antonio thinks it’d be worth it remains to be seen. Again: San Antonio publicly has said it plans to keep the pick, in which case I believe Harper would be the selection.
But the idea of pairing Giannis next to a true superstar in Victor Wembanyama is an appeal that could, and should, be tough to turn down. Few teams have the draft and roster assets to make it worth Milwaukee’s while. San Antonio has that. And it might present a rare chance for the Bucks to reset while getting compensated for their troubles.
Let’s get to the mock.
