76ers reportedly throwing curveball option into Spurs' controversial draft plan

The San Antonio Spurs made waves when Jonathan Givony of ESPN reported that they're locked in on Dylan Harper with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. It was a controversial report, as Harper is a guard who would be drafted to a team that already has Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox.

The Philadelphia 76ers have laid the foundation for an unexpected twist, however, with a trade offer that could cause the Spurs to think twice about their polarizing strategy.

Harper is a tremendous talent, but the idea of building a perimeter around three guards has inevitably caused concern among Spurs fans. Victor Wembanyama is a generational talent, but some fear that San Antonio would overburden him on defense with this approach.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the 76ers could potentially resolve that issue for the Spurs by trading up from No. 3 to No. 2 at the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Spurs would only be moving back one pick, but doing so could require San Antonio to accept that they wouldn't be able to draft Harper.

76ers attempting to swap top-3 picks with Spurs at 2025 NBA Draft

The intriguing note from Scotto's report is that Harper isn't actually named as one of the four prospects Philadelphia is zeroing in on. Instead, it's Ace Bailey and V.J. Edgecombe who were singled out as options at No. 2.

That isn't to say that the 76ers aren't considering Harper, but it's hard not to read between the lines even if there isn't a confirmed reason to do so.

Regardless of whom Philadelphia is interested in, San Antonio will have an opportunity to potentially net a significant return. It's highly unlikely that the Spurs would simply swap the No. 2 pick for No. 3. As such, they'd likely request additional assets in the deal.

For perspective: The Dallas Mavericks sent the No. 5 pick and a top-five protected future first-round selection to the Atlanta Hawks when they moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 to select Luka Doncic at the 2017 NBA Draft.

If the Spurs are able to get a similar return for this exchange, it may be worth considering. The only way to justify the deal, however, would be if San Antonio truly covets one of the players who would then be available at No. 3.

If not, then it would be an example of a team trading down because of the undetermined value it acquired—with no way to guarantee that said assets will amount to what they could've had at No. 2.

It's a challenging situation for San Antonio to find itself in just under two weeks ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. Either it will put its hopes of a bright future in a prospect it declines a trade for at No. 2 or it'll run the risk of losing said player for nothing more than hypothetical future value.

A summer of difficult decisions awaits the Spurs as they look for the best way to support their promising trio of Castle, Fox, and Wembanyama.