3 Disastrous mistakes the San Antonio Spurs must avoid this summer

2: Shifting into "win-now" mode

With Wembanyama coming their way, ample cap space, and a war chest of future first-round draft picks, the Spurs have never been better positioned to shift into win-now mode. But just because they can doesn't mean they should.

Two targets come to mind when thinking about how the Spurs could push all their chips to the center of the table - Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal. Both Washington and Portland are teetering between playoff contention and full-scale rebuilds. And even though Portland is rumored to be eyeing trades for the third overall pick to build around Lillard, it's not hard to see how the Spurs could put together a compelling offer that would at least make them pause and reconsider.

I'm still in favor of the Spurs being aggressive in trades and kicking the tires on every high-level star that might be available, but cashing in their future first-round picks for a superstar in their mid 30's like Lillard isn't the best route right now. It doesn't fit their timeline, and even with the relative parity in the Western Conference, it might be jumping the gun by a few years.

The Spurs can confidently plan on contending for a play-in spot next year and probably a shot at an outright playoff berth. But they're still a long way from going toe to toe with Phoenix or Denver over a seven-game series. And that's perfectly okay.

The Spurs should be thinking less "win-now" and more "win soon". That should rightly dissuade them from trading away their future draft capital this summer. But trades aren't the only way to improve their postseason chances.