5 Reasons the Spurs landing Victor Wembanyama is only the beginning

The fate of the San Antonio Spurs changed in ways we hardly imagined were possible on Tuesday night. In winning the NBA Draft Lottery and the right to select French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick, the Spurs have entirely altered the trajectory of their organization and the city of San Antonio.

From a pure basketball perspective, securing Wembanyama automatically makes the Spurs one of the most exciting franchises in the NBA. They were already on their way to reaching that level once they locked themselves into the top four of the draft, but landing the first pick launched them into a completely different stratosphere.

The Spurs and Wemby are a match made in heaven. He fits a massive area of need for San Antonio, and according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, this is where Wembanyama wanted to end up all along. Some things are simply meant to be.

Wembanyama's impact will be felt off the court as well. The relationship between the Spurs and the country of France is unique and only going to get stronger with this new chapter. Victor's move to South Texas will further expand the international influence that the Spurs have built over the years.

On and off the court, it's hard to measure the exact impact that Wembanyama will have on the San Antonio Spurs. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say that he can have a more transformative influence on reshaping the franchise than any of the great Spurs players to come before him.

5. Adding Wembanyama skyrockets the value of the Spurs

We will get to the on-court implications of Wembanyama's addition in a bit, but it's impossible to overlook the effect he will have on the valuation of the Spurs franchise.

According to NBC Sports, the Spurs were the 19th most valuable franchise in the NBA in 2023, with a valuation of $2.16 billion. That's a great return from the Holt families' original $76 million purchase of the team, but it should only get better with the addition of Wembanyama. 

For perspective, look at how the Bucks' value skyrocketed after they drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks were worth $550 million in 2014. Today they're valued at $2.43 billion. That's an incredible return on investment for the Bucks' ownership group. While several deep playoff runs and an NBA championship contributed to that growth, it should still set a relatively comparable range of improvement for what the Holt family can anticipate in the coming years.

Furthermore, downtown Milwaukee has completely transformed since 2013, with the development of the Deer District and surrounding areas driving an influx of tax revenue that added $57.6 million to the city of Milwaukee's coffers during the Bucks' championship run in 2021. 

There is no reason to think the Spurs and the city of San Antonio shouldn't undergo a similar transformation over the next decade or so. Their new $500 million practice facility that opens this fall could be the tip of the iceberg. 

You can see the impact Wembanyama is having on the Spurs in real-time. In the hours since it became clear that he would wear Silver and Black for the foreseeable future, interest in the Spurs has taken off. An often ignored franchise has been front and center on ESPN and other major media outlets, and that interest is translating directly to ticket sales.

That interest isn't going to slow down over the next few years. Add a few playoff appearances, and the Spurs could be on their way to being one of the most valuable franchises in the NBA.

Forget the "small market" label they have donned over the years. San Antonio is one of the largest cities in the United States and just landed the brightest international prospect in NBA history. The Spurs' value and influence across the league will explode over the coming years as a direct result of a few lottery balls bouncing their way.

4. Wembanyama sweetens every free agent pitch from the Spurs

The Spurs have always struggled to lure free agents to South Texas, and there's no getting around that. While San Antonio is a massive city, it doesn't have the same draw of "big markets" like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. With the addition of Wembanyama, that should change.

What sounds better to a prospective free agent - playing for an up-and-coming franchise, or signing with an up-and-coming franchise that just added the most transformative teenager since LeBron James? That's a rhetorical question, but one that should have legitimate impacts on the Spurs' free agent prospects this summer.

I recently wrote about the 5 free agents that would fit perfectly alongside Wembanyama. The Spurs' pitch to these players just got a lot more compelling with the addition of Wembanyama.

It's not just this summer, either. The NBA is a star-driven league, and even with the impending implications that the new CBA will have on free agency, veteran players chasing titles will always give a healthier look toward teams with a legitimate chance at making a deep playoff run. With Wembanyama in hand, there is no reason why the Spurs shouldn't be able to lock themselves into that category.

Armed with north of $30 million in cap space, the San Antonio Spurs should be significant players on the free-agent market this summer. And with their new superstar in the making, they should have no issue offering quite a compelling pitch to prospective free agents.

After this summer, San Antonio will be significantly better positioned to pitch to veterans. This isn't an up-and-coming roster anymore, with the addition of Wembanyama, this is a team that can and should make real noise in the playoffs for the significant future.

3. San Antonio's rising stars should see an easier path to success

Even without Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs had the foundations of a solid roster with Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Jeremy Sochan. But now that San Antonio can confidently pencil Wemby into their starting rotation next season, everyone's life just got substantially easier.

Let's start with Devin Vassell. Devin performed better than expected in his first season as the lead scoring option. He averaged a career-high 18.5 points per game, but Vassell occasionally looked overmatched as San Antonio's top option. Devin seemed downright annoyed at times that Spurs fans kept spamming his mentions with talk of Wembanyama, though he has changed his tune since then.

With Wembanyama and the attention he will demand from opposing defenses, Gregg Popovich should have no problem scheming up cleaner catch-and-shoot opportunities for one of the NBA's premier shooters.

Devin shot 43% on catch-and-shoot attempts this season. On a healthy diet of kick-outs from Wembanyama, I imagine the frequency and accuracy of these looks should increase. That'll go a long way toward helping one of the NBA's worst three-point shooting offenses.

Wembanyama's abilities as a skilled passer should also benefit Keldon Johnson. I would like to see San Antonio lean into Wemby's passing ability. It is almost impossible to obstruct his view of the court, and they could use him similar to how the Kings brought out the best in Domantas Sabonis this season.

Whether it's finding Keldon on cuts to the rim or utilizing dribble handoffs to get him a head of steam, the Spurs should try deploying Wembanyama at the top of the key and running the offense through him. Johnson averaged 1.4 points per possession on cuts and 0.96 points per possession on handoffs this season but rarely utilized these actions.

KJ is at his best when he's attacking the rim. Pulling the opponent's big man out of the paint and forcing them to guard Wemby on the perimeter will open up the lane for Keldon, and using well-timed cuts and handoffs should help him beat his man to the rim. The results could be deadly.

Finally, adding Wembanyama enables Jeremy Sochan to do what he does best - inject an element of chaos and unpredictability into San Antonio's defensive schemes.

Even in his rookie season, Sochan effortlessly switched onto guards, wings, and forwards on the perimeter and held his own in the post. That's something San Antonio should enable even further now that they know they can rely on Wembanyama and his eight-foot wingspan to protect the rim. Let Sochan run rampant on the perimeter and trust that Victor can cover for any mistakes he might make gambling.

2. Spurs can continue filling out their roster with first-round picks

Fans will undoubtedly view Victor Wembanyama as the crown jewel of the Spurs' draft picks over the next few years, but he shouldn't be the only star San Antonio picks up through the draft. Through several trades, they've accumulated quite the war chest of first-round picks they can cash in over the coming years.

Here's a breakdown of the Spurs' future first-round picks through 2029. We noted protections and swaps where applicable.

Add in a smattering of second-rounders over that span, and the Spurs have 28 draft picks coming their way through 2029. That's a treasure trove that only Oklahoma City can match, and it gives San Antonio near-unrivaled draft flexibility.

The Spurs have already solved the most challenging problem any NBA team can face. They have their franchise cornerstone in Victor Wembanyama. The next step is using their deep reservoir of picks to shape the roster around him.

I'll eat some crow here - it wasn't long ago that I was lampooning Brian Wright for what I perceived to be an egregious lack of trade activity. But to Wright's credit, he's done an excellent job assembling a collection of picks he can now deploy to build around Wembanyama. Surprise, surprise, the roster-building professional knew more than your local blog boy. 

1. Spurs can shift into win-now mode whenever they choose

The San Antonio Spurs have a boatload of cap space and almost 30 draft picks over the next five years. They can take their time and build a contender if that's their preferred route. But that's not the only path they can pursue.

If the Spurs want to help Wembanyama realize his goal of winning a ring as soon as possible, they can slam the pedal to the floor on their rebuild and cash in their picks for a superstar. And with their cap flexibility, they're more than capable of taking on almost any contract in the league.

Guys like Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal should be available if San Antonio decides to come calling. Portland and Washington are toeing the line between play-in contention and full-blown rebuilds. A package centered around a young player like Keldon Johnson and three or four first-round picks could be enough to push them over the edge.

San Antonio could call Minnesota about Karl-Anthony Towns if they want to get aggressive. The Wolves mortgaged their future to acquire Rudy Gobert last summer and may have a little buyer's remorse. The Spurs can flip that around and empty their cache of picks to bring KAT to San Antonio and build the modern version of Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

San Antonio could also look to a lower-tier star like Pascal Siakam, O.G. Anunoby, Jordan Poole, or Mikal Bridges. Toronto and Brooklyn held off on moving their young stars at the deadline this year, but San Antonio can put together as compelling a package as anyone in the NBA. The Spurs should get involved in those discussions if the Raptors or Nets consider moving their stars.

The Spurs don't have to cash out now. They can bide their time, trust their draft and development strategy, and slowly build a title contender around Victor Wembanyama. But with their collection of young players, first-round picks, and a future superstar, they've never been better positioned to go big game hunting.

Victor Wembanyama is going to transform the future of the Spurs, but the lottery balls bouncing San Antonio's way was just the beginning. The real fun is only getting started.