Unlike last year, the San Antonio Spurs don’t have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. However, the Spurs do boast the fourth and eighth selections, giving them plenty of capital to trade for a star or possibly even climb further up the draft board.
According to ESPN’s NBA Draft insider Jonathon Givony, the Spurs are even entertaining the idea of packaging No. 4 and No. 8 to trade for the first overall pick from the Atlanta Hawks. In this scenario, the Spurs would reportedly be targeting Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher.
As for the Hawks, it may seem odd to move off the top overall selection, but The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor recently noted how difficult it’s been to get any of the draft’s top prospects to work out with the team to this point. So if the Hawks can’t get Risacher, or another top target in for a workout, it’s possible they’ll have more success bringing in someone else.
Plus, drafting a player fourth or eighth reduces the potential blowback compared to picking first and taking the wrong player. Not to mention, the Hawks could always pick one player and trade the other pick for someone who can help win now.
If the Spurs and Hawks did execute this trade, it’s believed that one of the top targets on Atlanta’s draft board is UConn’s Donovan Clingan, who Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is reportedly a big fan of.
Related: NBA insider: Atlanta Hawks haven’t been able to secure workouts with any top prospects