An NBA champion has been crowned, which means it’s full steam ahead into the NBA offseason. For the San Antonio Spurs, that means an interesting NBA Draft night. With two days to go before the big night, the rumor mill is heating up.
All signs point to the Spurs taking the combo guard out of Rutgers, Dylan Harper, with the second overall pick in the draft. According to Yahoo! Sports reporter Kevin O’Connor, they will listen to trade offers. O’Connor said that San Antonio is fielding offers for the pick, but it would take an incredible haul to pry the second pick from them. An offer so big that no team is likely to make it. All expectations are that the Spurs will select Harper with the 2nd pick after Cooper Flagg’s name is called for the Dallas Mavericks. Harper is -9000 to go second overall on FanDuel right now.
That leaves questions with the 14th and 38th picks. The Ringer’s J. Kyle Mann said on both the Zach Lowe Show and O’Connor’s podcast that the Spurs hold interest in Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber with the fourteenth pick. O’Connor also sent the big man to the Spurs in his latest mock draft. Sorber is a 6-foot-10, strong big man who is a solid passer. What he lacks in vertical pop, he makes up for in strong finishing around the rim and passing. He’s also one of the most impactful interior defenders in the draft.
In Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft, he has the Spurs selecting Washington State wing Cedric Coward with the 14th pick, but claimed that San Antonio has interest in Duke big man Khaman Maluach and French center Joan Beringer. ESPN’s mock draft also has Beringer to the Spurs after stating he worked out with them.
There hasn’t been a lot of reporting around the 38th pick, but Yahoo!, The Athletic and ESPN both have San Antonio selecting 24-year-old shooting wing Chaz Lanier from Tennessee. Lanier averaged 18.9 points while shooting 39.5% from three. Lanier would give the Spurs some shooting depth on the wing and would be similar to their selection of Harrison Ingram last year.
The rumors don’t stop at the draft, though. The Spurs also have reported interest in the Philadelphia 76ers wing, Guerschon Yabusele. “The Dancing Bear” is a French teammate of Victor Wembanyama, and would give them depth and versatility in the frontcourt, a position of need.
The NBA Draft is about adapting on the fly, but coming away with Harper, a big like Sorber or Beringer, plus Lanier in the second round would be a solid haul for the Silver and Black.
You can check out the updated betting odds on FanDuel to get a better idea of where the prospects might go on Wednesday night: https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-draft