Hawks' killer free agency night deals multiple body blows to Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are watching their long-term draft assets take a hit before next season even tips off. Thanks to a surprisingly aggressive free agency haul by the Atlanta Hawks, highlighted by additions like Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard, the Spurs’ prized draft capital from Atlanta suddenly looks a lot less valuable.

San Antonio owns a 2026 first-round pick swap and an unprotected 2027 first-rounder from the Hawks, stemming from the original Dejounte Murray trade. Until recently, those selections projected as potential lottery gold. But if the Hawks' offseason overhaul works as intended, the Spurs may instead be holding late-first-round picks by the time those years arrive.

Atlanta did not just get marginally better this offseason. They loaded up on size, shooting, and high-IQ veterans in a way that positions them to rise fast in a wide-open Eastern Conference. Adding Porzingis alone gives them a legitimate stretch big who fits cleanly alongside Trae Young. But the depth added around the margins is what really stings for San Antonio.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker brings versatile perimeter defense and playmaking. Luke Kennard remains one of the league’s most accurate three-point shooters. These are the kinds of savvy, win-now pieces that help push fringe playoff teams into top-four seeding conversations, especially in a conference that just watched Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton go down with Achilles injuries.

The Hawks' rise is bad for the Spurs

And while Atlanta’s long-term direction was once murky, there is now clarity. No tanking here, they're making a push for a championship. And with the East lacking clear superpowers for next season, that decision makes exceedingly more sense.

From the Spurs’ perspective, though, it complicates things. When they acquired those Hawks picks, San Antonio likely envisioned a rebuild dragging out in Atlanta. But the Hawks’ front office seems to believe the window is open now, and the roster moves suggest they may be right.

For a Spurs team just starting to hit the gas with Victor Wembanyama, those future Hawks picks were supposed to supplement a growing young core. If those picks end up closer to the end of the first round than in the lottery, that changes the calculus.

To be clear, it is not all doom and gloom. Atlanta still carries risk, as Porzingis has battled durability concerns, and the long-term fit of this roster remains to be seen. But if you are San Antonio, the floor just got a little lower on how much return you may get for trusting the Hawks to implode.

It's fair to assume that in the Spurs’ front office, this whole situation likely feels like a blow to the ribs.