Looming expansion draft could force tough Spurs decisions sooner than expected

More teams are coming. At this point, it's inevitable. Adam Silver has been talking about it for years, and the Board of Governors is set to vote on adding two teams this summer. When they inevitably decide to move forward, an expansion draft will come soon after. The new additions will get to fill their roster with players from existing teams, and the Spurs will have some important decisions to make.

There hasn't been an expansion draft in over 20 years when the Charlotte Bobcats joined the fray, but the rules likely won't change too much. Each team gets to protect up to eight guys. They can be under contract or restricted free agents but cannot be unrestricted free agents. If they keep all of the rules the same, they'll also have to ensure that at least one available player is under contract.

If the vote to add two new teams passes this summer, it's likely we'll see those teams begin their journeys in the 2027-28 season. That's not that far away, and San Antonio has plenty worth protecting.

The Spurs are at the expansion draft's mercy

If the expansion draft rules stay the same, the two new franchises, let's call them Las Vegas and Seattle, will get to choose only one player from the teams they pluck from. In the past, the NBA has also capped losses to a single selection, so the odds of having to say goodbye to two players are nonexistent under those circumstances.

But losing one is still impactful. Right now, the Spurs only have seven players under contract or set to be a restricted free agent entering the 2027-28 season. But that's because a couple of guys will be due for a payday.

If I had to guess who the protected players would be right now, I'd name Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and Luke Kornet. Noticeably missing from that list are Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie. And that's just based on the current roster.

The Spurs have Atlanta's first round pick, and if the Hawks end up in the lottery, San Antonio gets to add a talented young player from a stellar draft class. The rotation will be pretty snug with skilled guys the front office would probably rather keep. Watching one of them go elsewhere will suck.

The commissioner is on the record throwing his support behind Las Vegas and Seattle as two cities he believes to be perfect hosts for a couple of new franchises. With so much of this information being public, it feels like the owners' voting is just a formality. It's going to happen. When it does, the Spurs will have to hope they can hold onto all of their guys.