Spurs fans should be rooting for Jonathan Kuminga saga to follow him to his new home

Although the San Antonio Spurs didn't make a single move at the NBA trade deadline, they were undoubtedly keeping a close eye on the Atlanta Hawks' moves. The Spurs obviously have a vested interest in the Hawks, with them owning two of their future firsts.

However, it's not exactly clear what the Hawks are doing after trading Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis for a middling haul that includes former Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga is a former top-10 pick but was largely acquired as a matching salary to offload Porzingis but might be worth a flyer.

Even so, his fit with the Hawks is questionable at best, with them already having Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson. Neither of them are great shooters, and adding Kuminga to the mix seems like a mistake.

What is clear is that the Hawks have taken a clear step back in the short-term, hoping to build a better team in the long-term. That should be positive news for the Silver and Black.

San Antonio owns a pick swap in this year's draft as well as an unprotected 2027 first-round pick. That would give the Hawks incentive to not tank, but their moves say otherwise.

The Spurs are hoping for an Atlanta Hawks free fall

If the season ended today, the Spurs would end up with the 14th pick courtesy of the Hawks. Considering that San Antonio's pick is currently 27th, that would be a huge difference.

Better still, the Charlotte Hornets are hot on Atlanta's heels after winning nine straight games. As a result, it's entirely possible that ATL's pick could end up being 12th.

Imagine the Spurs jumping up 15 spots in the draft thanks to the Dejounte Murray trade. That is quickly becoming the most important trade in franchise history, with it on pace to deliver them two lottery picks and possibly a third next season.

The Hawks' post-Trae Young plans could help the Spurs

Hopefully whatever plan the Hawks have post-Young will take time to fully implement. While they have a star in Johnson, they are also likely to have a top-five pick in this year's draft as well as two other firsts.

Additionally, they will have around $40 million in cap space this summer, but Atlanta isn't exactly a free agent destination. Instead, they seem likely to rebuild through the draft. Unless they find success in the draft lottery this summer, achieving that will be much harder to do.

Meanwhile, for the Spurs, they are hoping that the Hawks slip up enough to guarantee them another lottery pick. After all, Atlanta missing the playoffs last season netted them the pick that became Carter Bryant.

A potentially better pick in a better draft could yield San Antonio another top prospect. Given how good they already are, that would be an embarrassment of riches, but one that could help them contend for years to come.