Spurs perfectly underscore everything wrong with current draft lottery system

The headline makes it seem like I feel that the draft lottery system is bad. Well, that's true. It's awful. But that doesn't mean Spurs Nation should feel bad about benefitting from an imperfect science. That's what it seems like the fans of other teams and analysts want from us sometimes, but it's not happening because the truth is, there's nothing you can do about tanking. So get over it and deal with it.

Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps had a conversation about how San Antonio ended up with the most promising young core in the league without doing anything spectacular. It was just a product of the system. To which I say, "And?"

Windy went and rattled off every draft pick made by the Silver and Black in the first round since 2018. There were some monumental misses in there. But every team gets it wrong in the summer. The overall stance is "even the best-run teams in the league have to tank to get franchise-changing players," and the fact that you don't have to be completely awful but can get those guys isn't fair.

Teams must play the hands they're dealt

It's an interesting conversation to have. The Spurs landed the number one pick at the right time, and that's changed their fortunes, but they don't choose which draft classes are good and which ones aren't. The Spurs went over 20 years without getting another number one pick after Duncan and maintained success anyway, adding key pieces to extend their run.

Organizations need to be accountable for what they're doing when they don't land the top selection. Kawhi Leonard wasn't even a lottery pick, but his addition was a game-changer for the Spurs. They need to find top-tier talent like that in the draft to have a chance, and they've been able to do that repeatedly.

I'm tired of people acting like Adam Silver gifted San Antonio their bright future. Top-5 talents don't make their way to the Alamo City, so they have to acquire them the other way—through the draft.

Sometimes, that works out. When LeBron James was a free agent, he likely never even considered SA. Kevin Durant didn't think about joining the Spurs until he was in his late 30s.

Had they not gotten Wemby in 2023, do you think Rich Paul would have steered De'Aaron Fox to the 210? Probably not. Meanwhile, the top-tier guys are always favoring places like LA, Miami, or Boston.

So, tanking while being a well-run organization actually helps to even the playing field for small-market teams. The CBA is nice, but it isn't enough to steer stars down south.