Insider clarifies Spurs stance on 2025 number-one prospect Cooper Flagg

It's time to address a major point of focus for a lot of Spurs fans as they watch the careful construction of the team that's going to ride with Victor Wembanyama into the future. San Antonio has been rebuilding for years, ever since they traded Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks. The move was a signal that they were ready to start their process over again, and the product of that was the drafting of Wemby.

Now that he has a year under his belt and the organization has had a chance to see exactly what type of player they have, they know how to proceed. This offseason gave fans an indication of what that path looks like. If they wanted to continue to slow roll the process, they would have kept their number eight draft pick in the 2024 draft, but they chose to trade it for flexibility. It tells you that they're ready to start taking leaps forward, and a long-time Spurs insider confirmed this in his recent newsletter.

"As for the tanking thing, these guys have zero interest in being part of the Flagg sweepstakes. I hate to put this out there, but it would likely take a serious injury to Victor, or a rash of injuries elsewhere on the roster, for their hands to be forced." - Matthew Tynan

The Spurs are making the right decision to move forward

Cooper Flagg is an exciting prospect, but it wouldn't be smart to attempt to tank for the chance to draft him. The Spurs' young players are getting better, and by the end of last season, you could see substantial growth in all of them, including Wemby's elevation to a top-15 player in the NBA. To ask that team to intentionally lose for another season would be cruel and unusual. Not to mention that Coach Popovich is over 70 years old and likely prefers to compete as much as possible.

But those are not the only factors. Cooper Flagg's hype train is running full steam ahead and there are reportedly several teams who are interested in tanking. They'll muddy the waters for obtaining a top pick, making it even more difficult. Besides, Flagg isn't the only prospect worth exploring. This is a deep class, and with a potential four picks in their pocket, they don't need to put all their eggs in one basket.

You don't pick up Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes if you want to tank the season, so this should have been obvious already, but based on some of the conversations on social media, it's not. But after Tynan's report, everyone should just be focusing on winning as many games as possible. The fans and the players deserve it.