Why the Spurs should use both of their top ten draft picks

Results from the latest Pounding the Rock draft survey.

With the NBA Draft Combine behind them, the San Antonio Spurs will bunker down and begin the final stretch of planning before the 2024 NBA Draft. With two picks in the top ten (#4 and #8) Brian Wright and the rest of the Spurs front office has some big decisions to make.

The Spurs 2023 Draft strategy was clear after Lottery Night. Everyone knew that the Spurs would take the generational big man from France, Victor Wembanyama. This year, it seems like anything could be on the table. Even if the Spurs were picking first in this year’s draft, no prospect would be guaranteed to go number one. In a fairly flat draft, San Antonio will have plenty of tough decisions to make with their two first-round picks. Do they trade one or two of the selections? If they don’t, which players should they select?

We polled our readers to see what they would do if they were the Spurs front office. Here are the results.

An overwhelming majority of Pounding the Rock readers would like to keep both selections. The Spurs are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Their core is filled with young players like Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Tre Jones and Keldon Johnson. Continuing the youth movement would be a sign from the Spurs front office that they are building the roster slowly.

Using both picks would give the Spurs two swings at a long-term member of their core next to Wembanyama. That’s a luxury in a draft with so many question marks across the board. Plus, they would still have around $19 million in cap space to acquire a veteran or two, supplementing their young players.

The fourth pick in the draft will be an interesting selection. The rumor is big men like Donovan Clingan and Alex Sarr are moving up draft boards. If both are selected in the top three, San Antonio should be able to pick a good player that fits their positional needs. Our readers would like that prospect to be Zaccharie Risacher.

Risacher is a 6-foot-9 wing from France who can shoot the ball from three. He’s a good defender on and off the ball with some athletic pop. The issue with Risacher is his inability to make plays off the dribble. He doesn’t create much separation, which limits him to mostly catch-and-shoot attempts. He profiles as a three-and-D player whose best role will be without the ball in his hands.

For most teams, that could be seen as a player not worth selecting in the top five. Risacher’s best fit may be with the Spurs. San Antonio wants the ball in Wembanyama and Vassell’s hands as much as possible. They need players to support their scorers. Risacher could step in to do that with his shooting, defense and length.

Point guard is a major need for San Antonio. Luckily for them, it’s not a big need for many other teams. After the Spurs select fourth, the draft order goes as follows: Detroit Pistons at 5, Charlotte Hornets at 6 and Portland Trail Blazers at 7. Those three teams have their franchise lead guards in Cade Cunningham, LaMelo Ball and Scoot Henderson. If the Spurs select a wing at four, a guard could wait for them at 8.

PtR readers want that guard to be Reed Sheppard from the University of Kentucky. You can read our full prospect preview of Sheppard here. To summarize, Sheppard has the potential to be an elite role player. He’s a smart prospect who makes high-level reads on the court, shoots above 50% from three and has a 42-inch vertical. While he has some physical limitations at 6-foot-2 with a 6-foot-3 wingspan, Sheppard makes up for it with his skill and athleticism. By all accounts, Sheppard is a great kid who grew up around the game (his parents both played at Kentucky.) Selecting him seems like a “Spursy” move.

Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.