Spurs' aggressive intentions revealed in new report regarding 14th draft pick

The Spurs are starting to make a little noise, and it's about time. There's been a ton of speculation surrounding what the Silver and Black could do, but nothing we could chalk up to anything more than spitballing. That changed today as Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor revealed what he's recently learned from his NBA sources.

"Around the league, sources say the Spurs have explored packaging the 14th pick with a player to upgrade the roster." - Kevin O'Connor

This is a talented draft. We've heard it a hundred times. There are likely several teams interested in trading into the lottery, even if it's in that 14th spot. San Antonio is and should be ready to compete. They have players good enough to do it, leading the charge, so the ancillary pieces must be up to the task.

The question is, who should Brian Wright make the deal with? You could add Liam McNeeley, Thomas Sorber, Carter Bryant, or some other highly skilled young player with that pick, so you need to bring in someone you can rely on the bring consistent value. If they nail the trade, their acceleration could be faster than Dominic Toretto's Charger in Fast & Furious.

Spurs can skip the play-in phase of the playoffs

San Antonio was right in the thick of the race for the playoffs this season. They even reached the seventh seed briefly before the wheels fell off. At that time, they were only a game or two behind the sixth seed, and analysts were shocked. Coach Popovich wasn't there, and injuries had been a factor for the Spurs, but they were overachieving anyway.

Victor Wembanyama was placed in the MVP talks, and even broached the top five on the Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com.

Next year's team will be much better. Let's assume they add a player like Kevin Durant or Brooklyn's Cam Johnson. They would immediately add a real threat to their perimeter to elevate their offense from an inconsistent threat to a perennial problem.

If done right, they'll skip over a year spent fighting through the Play-In Tournament. That's what this year was for. The Silver and Black finished with a 34-48 record, but this team was on pace for 41 wins before everything fell apart. Had Coach Pop been there and no problem had arisen, they could have reached that record, and they would have been the ninth seed.

Sacramento finished with a 40-42 record. I would pick the Spurs to beat the Kings right now if everyone were healthy, and that's before any moves are made.

Wembanyama has an MVP-caliber season incoming. A full year of Mitch Johnson at the helm with an improved roster that includes the potential addition of Kevin Durant will propel the Spurs to a 50-win season. You heard it here first.