San Antonio Spurs: No-brainer trade idea shows fans are overvaluing 12th pick

With a solid foundation to build upon, the San Antonio Spurs have the chance to add a solid player into the mix come July 29th. With so many promising prospects waiting in the wings of the 2021 NBA Draft plus the Spurs' drafting track record, it's almost a given they'll get it right as they select in the lottery yet again.

While the Spurs still must address how they're going to either acquire or develop a superstar, I'd like to paint you a picture about the future of their 12th pick this year. Let's hypothetically say he has a decent rookie year. As expected, he doesn't get a ton of minutes in Gregg Popovich's system, but he still manages to make his mark and averages 10 points per 36 minutes. Not a bad start, right?

Flash forward to year five into his career, and this pick has become a reliable, 14-points-per game scorer who's shooting nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line. Still pretty good for a 12th pick. A couple of years later, he maintains his solid outside shooting while scoring 22 points a night as one of the team's top options. It's hard to consider the choice at 12th as anything but a resounding success, right?

Now, let's look at why I'm asking this hypothetical, which was based on a trade idea by a FanSided colleague.