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The San Antonio Spurs were the best fit for Victor Wembanyama for a number of reasons. Gregg Popovich's experience guiding a young, star big man will be critical. The organization has had more success with French players than any other in the NBA. There is an established culture and an infrastructure that Wembanyama can trust from the moment he arrives in Texas.

But San Antonio's roster makeup is pretty high on that list. The Spurs are, in short, a blank slate. They are not beholden to any preexisting schematic or contractual commitments. They have no pricey veterans. They haven't drafted a high-usage ball-handler recently. Their young players are relatively malleable. This is a roster that can be actively shaped around the sort of player Wembanyama ultimately turns out to be. The Spurs can take this thing in almost any direction.

So let's take a look at where the Spurs are now, and where they might go over the next few years. What do they have? What do they need? And what might their approach be to this offseason?

Needs

Tre Jones took major strides last season, but point guard is still by far San Antonio's biggest need. It simply isn't feasible to expect to survive on offense when your starter is a career 27.1% shooter from deep and is an average playmaker at best. San Antonio is going to need a primary ball-handler. Even if Wembanyama is their top scoring option, the only team in the NBA to truly run its offense through a big man is Denver, and it's safe to say that Wembanyama isn't going to have Nikola Jokic's playmaking instincts as a rookie.

Jokic is important on the other end of the positional spectrum for San Antonio because the Spurs obviously don't want Wembanyama defending him yet. Perhaps he'll bulk up enough to do so down the line, but for now, he's a power forward defensively. Jakob Poeltl would have been a nice fit next to Wembanyama defensively, but the Spurs sent him to Toronto at the trade deadline. Jeremy Sochan was San Antonio's primary power forward last year, but at 6-9, 230 pounds, he probably isn't big enough to defend most top centers. Fortunately, he is versatile enough defensively to slide down positionally if needed.

The Spurs have plenty of players in that vein. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson both check the "reasonably versatile wing" box. Vassell reached nearly 39% on seven 3-point attempts per game last season, so he'll immediately slot in as a spacer alongside Wembanyama that can also create his own looks in the mid-range. Johnson is the athlete of the group, leading San Antonio in both shot attempts in the restricted per game (6) and made shots in the restricted area per game (3.6). His shot is still a bit of a mystery. If he shoots 39.8% from deep as he did in 2022? He'll fit in perfectly. If he's closer to last season's 32.9%? Things get a bit murkier. Sochan is a total non-shooter, but offers so much as a defender, rebounder and playmaker that the Spurs are going to do everything in their power to make that fit work on some level.

Draft

San Antonio's draft equity beyond the No. 1 pick is relatively meager this season. They can get valuable contributors at No. 33 and No. 44 overall, but second-round picks are rarely sure things. No, San Antonio's real draft flexibility comes in its future picks. The Spurs control all of their own first-round picks, and also own the following picks from other teams:

  • 2024 via Charlotte Hornets (protected 1-14 in 2024 and 2025 before converting to second-round picks).
  • 2024 via Toronto Raptors (protected 1-6 in 2024-2026 before converting to second-round picks).
  • 2025 via Atlanta Hawks (unprotected).
  • 2025 via Chicago Bulls (protected 1-10 in 2025 and 1-8 in 2026 and 2027 before converting to a second-round pick).
  • 2027 via Atlanta Hawks (unprotected).
  • 2026 swap rights with Atlanta Hawks (unprotected).
  • 2028 swap rights with the Boston Celtics (protected No. 1 overall only).

That's not exactly Oklahoma City's mound of draft picks, but it isn't far off, either. That's five first-round picks incoming, two of which are unprotected, and two more swap rights that San Antonio should be good enough to exercise if Wembanyama is the player they expect him to be. With all of this capital to play with, the Spurs have access to almost any prospect in the draft. So, who makes sense?

Well... anyone... and no one. This isn't a draft filled with players that fit San Antonio's specific needs. The only true center with a consensus first-round grade is Duke's Dereck Lively, and while this class is full of combo guards, there aren't many traditional floor generals available. That means that San Antonio, like most teams early in a rebuild, should be working under the "best available prospect" mindset. If there is a player within their trade range that they think makes sense, they can afford to go for it. If not? They can just as easily be patient.

Free agency

The Spurs can create around $37 million in cap space, and there are plenty of ways they can spend it on the free-agent market. The point guard market is relatively thin. San Antonio could afford to splurge on Fred VanVleet if it so chooses, but the competition for him will be steep, and it's worth asking if committing to a long-term deal with a 29-year-old makes sense before even seeing Wembanyama on the court. 

However, if the Spurs do want to address point guard in free agency, their options are pretty slim aside from VanVleet. There's Kyrie Irving... not exactly an ideal influence on a young star. And then there are the four former members of the 2023 Los Angeles Lakers (D'Angelo Russell, Patrick Beverley, Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder), but none make sense for a multitude of reasons. After that? The only viable starter is Miami's Gabe Vincent. The Heat have luxury tax issues and are targeting Damian Lillard, so he's probably gettable, but he's much more of a point guard-sized scorer than a typical table-setter. With this in mind, point guard is probably a position they pursue on the trade market.

But the front court? That's where they'll have more optionality. Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis are the true splurge options here, but odds are San Antonio isn't going to want to spend on someone as old as Green or fragile as Porzingis. Go a bit further down the list and the options look a bit more appealing. How about an offer sheet for Grant Williams, who is bulky enough to defend centers but shoots well enough to play power forward on offense? Rui Hachimura offers a variant of that skill set that is geared more toward offense. Brook Lopez is probably gettable on a relatively short deal, and he's one of the NBA's best 3-and-D centers. Heck, the Spurs could even try to nab Poeltl back from Toronto.

The big-man market is relatively deep this offseason. The Spurs have the money to chase whoever they choose. That might mean a younger player they can easily slide into their core, or, in the case of someone like Lopez, a placeholder to help Wembanyama out as the Spurs figure out what makes sense next to him for the long haul.

Trades

In the short term, the goal here is going to be finding a point guard. If San Antonio wants to go the stopgap route, they'll have options. The Heat, for instance, would probably love to save some tax dollars and get off of the last year of Kyle Lowry's contract. If he is willing to come to San Antonio this late in his career, the Spurs could probably get him as a pittance and just ask him to help them build a cohesive offense for a year before parting ways. The higher-end version of this approach would involve a Chris Paul trade, though the odds of him eagerly playing for the Spurs next season appear slim. 

There are longer-term options available, but they will depend on San Antonio's appetite for absorbing long-term salary. Take Terry Rozier, for instance. If the Hornets wind up drafting Scoot Henderson at No. 2 overall, they'll have two top young point guards on rookie contracts with LaMelo Ball factored in. That makes Rozier expendable, but would the Spurs want to pay him $75 million for the next three seasons? Probably not. Boston might have a solution. The Celtics have a bit of a guard glut, and Malcolm Brogdon has become a frequent name in the rumor mill. He is owed $45 million over the next two seasons, giving the Spurs a medium-term answer that could possibly stick around longer.

But the truth where players like Wembanyama is concerned is that short-term, gap-filling trades are rarely the ones that make the difference. It's entirely possible that the Spurs keep their powder dry for a big move in the near future. With those five extra tradable first-round picks and Wembanyama around as a recruiter, the Spurs should have a decent chance at attracting a second star in the near future if they want to. San Antonio might not seem like a star-friendly market, but remember, the Spurs lured LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency once upon a time. The best players typically want to win. Wembanyama is a ticket to championship contention.

The star market is far too unpredictable to truly speculate about names. Players of that caliber often force moves to specific teams. We can point out, for instance, that Luka Doncic already lives in Texas, and that Joel Embiid gained French citizenship in 2022 and may play with Wembanyama on the 2024 French National Team at the Olympics, but for now, these players are entrenched with other teams and not actively seeking movement.

Ultimately, though, Wembanyama's future roster is likely going to be defined by a player we can't identify yet. The Spurs are well-positioned to grab him a sidekick when that player becomes available. But until then? They can do just about anything to build a roster around their No. 1 overall pick.