The Spurs are 48 minutes from getting an extra lottery pick in 2025

Atlanta taketh away, Atlanta giveth; as the old saying goes. Spurs fans must be thrilled by the developments happening in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks ended the season on a three-game win streak, so expectations on what they would do in the first play-in game against the Orlando Magic were shaky. The Magic have been inconsistent all season, so ATL had a great chance to win that game.

Fortunately for San Antonio, they didn't even really come close. ORL controlled that game for the majority of it, and Trae Young got himself ejected from the contest on the way to a 120-95 loss. Now they're on the verge of missing the playoffs entirely with one final chance against the Miami Heat on Friday night. If they lose, the first-round pick they owe the Silver and Black drops into the lottery.

Spurs' chance for a top-12 lottery pick has increased

The Spurs need two things to happen for their perfect scenario to play out. The Hawks need to lose to Miami, and Memphis must lose to Dallas. Memphis would be placed into the lottery, but their 48-24 record would guarantee they land at 14, ensuring a coin flip between Atlanta and Sacramento for the 12th spot in the draft lottery. Both teams finished the season 40-42.

A funny side note about Sacramento's pick is that it's top-12 protected. They desperately want it to land at 12 to increase their chances of landing a higher spot in the draft. If they end up with the 13th pick when the balls land, they'll have to give it up to Atlanta, of all teams.

San Antonio already has one lottery pick, but having two in this draft is gold. The Spurs don't even have to use it. That may be a controversial opinion, but I propose trading back if they land the 12th pick in the draft.

If Brian Wright has a top-eight pick to work with, hopefully, he uses it on Kon Knueppel. At that point, the focus should be on getting the right big man to back up Victor Wembanyama, and if you've read some of my past pieces on this subject, you know I'm a big fan of Thomas Sorber's game.

The Georgetown center would be a great fit behind Wembanyama, but he's not projected as a lottery pick, so the Spurs could trade back. This is the sort of draft where you can expect that teams will want to trade up. San Antonio should take advantage of that.

They can increase their assets by trading with a team like the Mavericks, who, in this scenario, make the playoffs but lose in the first round. They'd end up out of the lottery, but after trading Luka Doncic, it makes sense that the organization would be aggressive to get back into the good graces of their very angry fan base.

If Dallas approached San Antonio with the 18th pick in the 2025 draft, PJ Washington, and a future second-round pick or pick 18, and their first-round pick next year, some semblance of those packages would be worth consideration.

Washington brings toughness, shot 38% from three this season, and they would be reuniting Keldon Johnson with his college teammate, as both players were on the same Kentucky team. PJ is also going into the last year of his deal, so it gives the team flexibility because at 27, he could end up being a perfect fit for the roster, but they could always move on next summer if it doesn't work out.

He's only owed $14 million next year, so it's not a massive hit to the salary cap by any means. However, this is just one example of how San Antonio could turn a potential 12th overall pick into an even bigger win. They'll have a wealth of options, but the first steps will be for the Miami Heat to finish Atlanta off tomorrow night and it will help if the Mavs do the same to Memphis.