The Spurs got lucky in the lottery for the third straight year, landing the No. 2 pick. They’ll get to add another high-quality young player to a mix that already includes the last two Rookies of the Year.
“When you jump into the top four again, you put yourself as an organization in a place to make a really big acquisition with a really good player,” coach Mitch Johnson said, per Michael Wright and Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “And that’s what we’re going to look forward to doing.”
Johnson was referring to getting a high pick, rather than dealing it.
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- The Spurs are well-positioned to make a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo, but LJ Ellis of SpursTalk.com doubts the Bucks star will wind up there. Antetokounmpo’s timeline doesn’t quite mesh with Victor Wembanyama’s timeline, Ellis notes, so San Antonio going all-in for the 30-year-old superstar seems like a premature move.
- The Pelicans dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 in the draft lottery but the franchise still has some reason for optimism, Will Guillory of The Athletic writes. Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones and Yves Missi are good building blocks and the possibility of Antetokounmpo being traded could also aid their cause. New Orleans owns the rights to the Bucks’ first-round pick swaps in 2026 and 2027 and those picks would rise in value if the Bucks deal their top player.
- While the Grizzlies have genuine interest in European star guard T.J. Shorts, he’s expected to get a much more lucrative offer if he remains overseas, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net. Memphis is willing to give him a guaranteed deal but it’s unlikely he’d get much more than the minimum. If Shorts decides to stay in Europe, he will easily get a multiyear deal with a much bigger net annual salary, Barkas adds. Given that Shorts will turn 28 in October, it would be tough for him to pass up the biggest contract of his career, but he has also said it would be a “dream” to play in the NBA.
Oh my… it’s really sounding like this is going to be the summer of Giannis trade rumors… nonstop. So buckle up. Meanwhile, he’s not going to be traded, but that won’t stop the rumor industry.
Why would he stay on a team not committed to winning? I mean Doc Rivers? Kyle Kuzma? That roster? That’s not even trying to win when you have a top 5 guy. Lazy team does not deserve superstar player.
Typical midwest loser team owner: wins 1 title finally, then hangs their hat on it forever, and proceeds to run the team into the ground in the meantime. Happened with the Cubs and Royals too.
I mean they went out and got Lillard after winning that title to try to get another one. That’s quite different than what the Cubs and Royals did.
Lillard with zero rings, is going to win you a ring? Okay.
What the Bucks want to do is what the Cubs and Royals did. Giannis needed to be placated, Cubs and Royals had no player on that level.
Scrap the lottery … useless for struggling teams.
Except Spurs and Detroit for example
Nah they just need to ban postseason teams from participating in it.
Zion is in year 6 and has played more than 60 games twice. Is he still building block material?
No
Nah. The Spurs had been to the Conference Finals the year before they drafted Tim Duncan. They just had a lot of injuries one season.
The top picks don’t always guarantee a team the best player. Not every team does a great job at talent evaluation. Jokic was the 41st pick; one can easily find more examples.
That’s about Jokic developing and Denver getting lucky. They didn’t pick him at 41st because they were the only team who was smart enough to see that he would end up being the best player in the world.
Spurs have two lottery picks. They could make trade for Giannis.
don’t think they need giannis. they need a shooter, a 3 point threat… too many forwards already…
Giannis is slowly embiiding. I could see rockets or Mavs overpaying but not spurs. Seems like he’s Texas bound
When Luka got traded to the Lakers Giannis said that was great and that he wants to see the top European players in big markets. As an example, he said Jokić to New York. But what he really was talking about him going to a big market like New York or LA.
I doubt Giannis is going to want to go to OKC or Texas even though those teams are more set up for success. He wants to be in the biggest limelight at those points, and the Bucks owe him that at this point.
If Knicks don’t win it all this year I can see Towns and Bridges as a trade for Giannis. Or maybe even Lakers with Reaves, Rui, Knecht, pick and pick swaps. Less than they can get elsewhere, but they also owe Gianni’s to send him where he wants to go.
They do not owe it to Giannis to send him where he wants to go because Giannis didn’t negotiate for a no-trade clause. That said, they do have a moral obligation to try to trade him if that is what he wants. But players, even the second best player in the world, don’t get to pick where they get traded because that would basically mean that the player is the one negotiating the trade. That would be…basically free agency.