This year's draft will be a great place to add talent, but it's not the only place. There have been suggestions that this year's free agent class isn't very talented, but I disagree. Stars may be lacking, but that's another product of the CBA. Though it's difficult to stack too many top-tier players on one team, it's easier than ever to convince your main star to stay because of the money they can make by staying put.
That means general managers must be astute in their evaluations of the role players on the market to build their teams. It's become increasingly important to ensure depth. Besides the Knicks, the remaining teams in the playoffs are a reminder of that, and New York is getting smacked around now as that reality is finally catching up to them.
With that being said, the Spurs can find plenty of talent to address their needs through free agency if they turn over the right stones.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (26)- Amir Coffey (27)- Matisse Thybulle- (28)
San Antonio is in dire need of more wing defenders who can knock down open shots. All three players here can do that. Alexander-Walker and Coffey will be unrestricted free agents, but Thybulle would have to turn down his player option to hit the market. He only played 15 games last year as he recovered from a serious ankle sprain, but those games came at the end of the year, so he's cleared.
Each of these players shot at least 38% from deep last season, and they have strong defensive chops the Spurs could use on their roster. It's uncertain whether Thybulle will leave Portland, but they're on the fast track to nowhere, so I'm not sure why he'd stick around. SA could use his talent and would take him further than Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons could.
Ty Jerome (27)- Luke Kennard (28)- Gary Trent Jr. (26)
None of these players are elite defenders, but they're snipers from deep, and defenses would be making a major mistake by leaving them open. There's a ton of value to natural shooters who knock down shots with the kind of regularity that gets specialists to the best league in the world. San Antonio doesn't have much of that right now.
Only Harrison Barnes could reasonably brag about being that dangerous. It'd be nice to have other guys who you trust would average a three-point percentage over 40%. They've all done it and are known for it. There are no player options among any of them, either. San Antonio would just need to convince them to come hoop with Victor Wembanyama. That shouldn't be too difficult.
Naz Reid (25)-Guerschon Yabusele (29)-Myles Turner- (29)
Some of you may be surprised to see Myles Turner on this list, considering how well the Pacers are doing right now. Why would he want to leave, right? Well, because they've put him on the trade block every year for the last five seasons. He's even talked about his name constantly being in trade rumors. That has to be exhausting.
Their general manager made some dismissive comments earlier in the year regarding those trade rumors, but one player's name doesn't get floated repeatedly in that kind of talk unless there's some truth to them. That's just too much smoke for there not to be at least some minor flames burning beneath the surface. He's also from Texas, so that's a factor that could play into SA's favor.
It's easy to see how all these players fit alongside Victor Wembanyama, though. They're all stretch bigs with versatility to their game. San Antonio would do well to sign any of them. Turner would be the most expensive, but his talent is undeniable. It'd be worth it.
Wembanyama will need space to operate to his fullest potential, and the addition of guys who can defend will only make his already cosmic-level defense look even better.
Fans are excited to see which moves the Spurs make to improve the roster this summer. There are several avenues they can use to improve the team, and I expect them to dabble in all of them.