The 2025 NBA Draft gives the San Antonio Spurs a perfect chance to bolster their roster ahead of the summer. Center is a big area of weakness, with the Spurs' backups behind Victor Wembanyama being embarrassingly bad this season.
However, they could turn to a friend of Wembanyama to address their center woes. Stanford center Maxime Raynaud is expected to be selected in the draft and would be a tempting backup big man option for the Spurs.
Frenchman Maxime Raynaud is here in San Antonio, presumably to work out with the Spurs.
— Matt Roy (@MattRoy_TV) June 9, 2025
The Stanford 7 footer is going to get drafted later this month and is a childhood friend of Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs have a need for a big man and plenty of draft capital 👀
Raynaud is a behemoth, standing at 7'2 and 1/2 in shoes, and posted an impressive 20.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks during his senior season. Even better, he shot a solid 34.7% on 5.5 3-point attempts per game and 77% from the free throw line, showing that he has a legit shooting touch.
Maxime Raynaud has gone from walk-on to ACC player of the year candidate, making more 3s than any collegiate 7-footer at Stanford. He's the type of highly skilled, versatile big man many NBA teams are looking for, with plenty of upside still left to tap into long-term. pic.twitter.com/7NDXl73MRU
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 14, 2025
He, of course, wouldn't be in play for the Spurs at two, or even with the 14th pick, but would still be a terrific option.
The Spurs may have to get creative to draft Maxime Raynaud
If Raynaud were to fall to them at 38, then that would obviously be preferable, and it's possible but perhaps unlikely. Still, there are other ways that they could get him. One option would be to trade back, with the Spurs already shopping the 14th pick in the Kevin Durant trade.
If that deal falls through, then they could potentially trade back with the Brooklyn Nets being a possible target. The Nets have four firsts in this year's draft. Thus, they could try to consolidate those picks, and one option might be to trade 19 and 26 for 14 if they covet a player expected to go in the late lottery.
In that scenario, San Antonio could select players such as Cedric Coward, Rasheer Fleming, and Raynaud. Or, the Spurs could trade the 14th pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for 17 and 31, but that assumes that the Wolves don't end up landing KD.
A more outside-of-the-box option would be for the Spurs to buy a second-round pick, with them giving, say, the Charlotte Hornets $3,000,000 for the 33rd or 34th pick if he's still on the board. Either way, Raynaud would give the Spurs a solid and cheap option at backup center that could also space the floor.
All in all, Raynaud could be a realistic draft option for the Spurs, depending on how aggressive they are. With his ties to Wembanyama and potential fit at backup center, they should consider drafting him.