Three Spurs who would lose minutes due to NBA draft results

With the NBA draft almost a week out, the big picture should start becoming more apparent to Brian Wright and the Spurs front office. There are special players on this young roster, but there are a lot of problems, and this is the draft where those issues can be resolved with the Spurs owning the fourth and eighth overall picks.

Now, while the Spurs can address some of the sore thumbs, it will cause some current roles to be significantly diminished with new additions to the roster. Here are three Spurs who will lose minutes due to the NBA draft. For simplicity and despite rumors, we will assume everyone under contract remains on the roster going into next season.

3. Julian Champagnie

The third-year forward started 59 games last season to allow Keldon Johnson to be a scoring leader off the bench, and neither of these roles worked for either player. Johnson struggled to lead the second unit, and Champagnie was really in the lineup to only provide spacing and outside shooting, which he didn't do consistently.

There is a great war in the fan base revolving around which of the Spurs' needs are the biggest: a dynamic point guard or a long 3-and-D wing, and with two high lottery picks, both needs can be addressed. San Antonio can land a forward in a highly talented wing class that includes players like Zaccharie Risacher, Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland, Cody Williams, Dalton Knecht, and Tidjane Salaun. Drafting any of these players would result in Julian's role potentially disappearing entirely.

Outside of Risacher, more than likely, all of the previous players should be available by the time the Spurs are on the clock. Now, while the highest ceilings of these guys belong to G-League Ignite forward Ron Holland, we know the Spurs have some interest in French native Tidjane Salaun.

Regardless of the result, drafting any top wing prospect immediately makes them the starter on a roster where wing talent is at its lowest in recent memory. This allows Keldon to have the reigns again in what is a 'prove it year' for the sixth-year forward and eliminates Julian Champagnie's minutes.