WOJ: Spurs draft Rob Dillingham 8th, then trade him to the TWolves for an unprotected 2031 first

[WentzerWuver]

:-?

Good for Minnesota?

What the hell was that move for the Spurs?

I assume it was some handshake agreement that also involved Ant man that if he evet get traded, the Spurs will be at the top of the list. The odds are good since he will likely grow frustrated with his twin towers and demand a trade from cold Minny to the Alamo.

[LakersLegacy]

Trading pick 8 for 7 years away?! Tanking again

[jpengland]

On the face of it, it’s a strange one.

But think the fact is that #8 in this draft just had very little value. There wasn’t anyone they wanted and chose a high variance future swap and first rounder.

This draft is just THAT bad IMO

[Thaddy]

Dillingham is the new apprentice under Conley. It makes sense for the Wolves. The Spurs are just capitalizing on this being a weak draft and already kind of being set as a young team.

[Anticon]

The Spurs don't have this omniscience that still gets attributed to them, but you can see the logic in this move.

A free asset that instead of consuming you extend into two more assets that could be useful in a trade when Wemby is in his prime. The only issue is Edwards will be in his prime too, so it's really a bet on the Wolves flaming out.

I do love - as they did with Toronto - the Spurs staring teams in the face and saying we're betting on you being much worse than you think. Worked out well in the Poeltl trade where they played Toronto on the protections.

[Onlytimewilltel]

:-?

Good for Minnesota?

What the hell was that move for the Spurs?

I assume it was some handshake agreement that also involved Ant man that if he evet get traded, the Spurs will be at the top of the list. The odds are good since he will likely grow frustrated with his twin towers and demand a trade from cold Minny to the Alamo.

Didn’t you promise to everyone that if Clingan is not drafted in top 5 you would stop posting???

A man of integrity I see.

[vxmike]

How exactly have we traded away our future when the large majority of our roster is under the age of 25? Within that core we have Ant, McDaniels, Naz Reid and NAW. Dillingham and Shannon Jr may also become very good NBA players too.

Barring a tragedy or an Anthony Edwards trade/injury - we will not suck come 2031.

Well I just meant the Wolves have already traded away all their draft assets. My wording was a bit extreme.

Anyways Gobert will be gone or ancient. KAT will be well past his prime and even more grossly overpaid if still present. Conley will be gone and they have no proven PG replacement. For a young contender the team is already very expensive and has traded all future draft assets.

I love what the Wolves are doing and was cheering for them all the way, but they might have a short window as a contender.

I understand what you are saying and agree to an extent but the Wolves can always trade Gobert and KAT for picks + players back. Seeing what Bridges got in the market, I have no doubts KAT can fetch something similar.

Dillingham is supposed to be the Conley replacement. In fact, nobody better to nurture Rob than Conley and Monte Morris' themselves. Two incredibly high IQ pg's.

Whoa…you think KAT returns 5 FRPs? Certainly not on his current contract.

[PhilBlackson]

Bit of a lame & obvious attempt to tank again next season. I get that the pick could turn out to be really good but this is so obviously about not trying to be “too competitive, too soon”. I’m obviously not claiming that Rob is the difference between a Playoffs appearance or not lol but I’m sure he could’ve helped them get a few more wins but we all know they want to add another top 5 next season as well. I get it, obviously they want a super young core but still…

[kobyz]

Bit of a lame & obvious attempt to tank again next season. I get that the pick could turn out to be really good but this is so obviously about not trying to be “too competitive, too soon”. I’m obviously not claiming that Rob is the difference between a Playoffs appearance or not lol but I’m sure he could’ve helped them get a few more wins but we all know they want to add another top 5 next season as well. I get it, obviously they want a super young core but still…

What if this trade is to free a little more cap space for free agency move later this off season?

[Got Nuffin]

Spurs basically playing the long game saying this draft stinks to high heaven

Maybe they think these picks are barely contributors in a couple of years, which honestly may be true?

If the Wolves are terrible in 2031, Wemby will be just starting his prime and let's say they draft top 3 in a star studded draft?

Will it pay off? Really depends what you think of Dillingham, and the Spurs obviously don't think very much about him.

[WentzerWuver]

:-?

Good for Minnesota?

What the hell was that move for the Spurs?

I assume it was some handshake agreement that also involved Ant man that if he evet get traded, the Spurs will be at the top of the list. The odds are good since he will likely grow frustrated with his twin towers and demand a trade from cold Minny to the Alamo.

Didn’t you promise to everyone that if Clingan is not drafted in top 5 you would stop posting???

First off, I don't make promises on here ever. Secondly, I would stop posting during the live draft if he was not taken, which I honored while everyone else here was posting away until the last pick for day 1. I didn't even make one comment when my Sixers was on the clock which was hard for me.

Now I will be tuning in until Bronny is taken, hopefully by the Lakers. Why upset Lebron?

[PhilBlackson]

Bit of a lame & obvious attempt to tank again next season. I get that the pick could turn out to be really good but this is so obviously about not trying to be “too competitive, too soon”. I’m obviously not claiming that Rob is the difference between a Playoffs appearance or not lol but I’m sure he could’ve helped them get a few more wins but we all know they want to add another top 5 next season as well. I get it, obviously they want a super young core but still…

What if this trade is to free a little more cap space for free agency move later this off season?

Like who?! lol you know they’re not going after anyone of significance (and there aren’t many meaningful players available).

[Clemenza]

2031? For all we know AI will seize the world and shut down society and all of its sports leagues across the globe. If they didn't like Dillingham why not take one of the prospects that was selected right after him? "Oh this is such a terrible draft". I get it, but let's really wait and see about that first. People are screaming this just so they can sleep better at night.

[Sealab2024]

It's worth it to remember as well that the 2031 pick was the only one the wolves could trade. I get the projection part of the equation from a Spurs standpoint, but it's not like they decided to project out 7 years in some mastermind manner.... It was that or don't take the deal.

[CBS7]

Dillingham legit just got traded for a 12 year old

[CBS7]

Also, its an asset. in 3 years when Wemby signs his extension and they know what they have with the rest of their roster, an unprotected 1st rounded in 4 years can be a valuable asset

[SkyBill40]

Puzzling decision by SAS. They are supposed to be building around Wemby, not Deuce Tatum

What if they just didn’t love any of the prospects left in the draft?

But they see someone they like in the 2031 draft?

Scouting elementary schoolers now, eh? Pop is next level. LOL

[The-Power]

One would think San Antonio would be serious about building a contender with Wembanyama sooner than later, and this trade does not fit the "sooner" plan at all.

How could you possibly know that? The Spurs are not building a contender anytime soon by relying on mid-lottery Rookies, and we all have no idea if and when the picks are used. Is there a chance the Spurs will use them themselves in 2030 and 2031? Sure. But I'd say it's much more likely that they'll be used to add a high-level player to the roster when the opportunity arises.

If you want to trade for stars to complete your core, you need a bunch of picks most of the time. The Spurs just added two of such picks to use. People really need to learn to wait and see what happens before jumping to sweeping conclusions.

Keeping Wemby happy should be the #1 priority, and I don't see how that is achieved by trading away lottery picks when the roster is full of holes and the Spurs could use any help?

The holes in the roster are not filled by Rookies. If you identify a prospect in the draft who you believe can be a core piece going forward, you draft them. But if your priority is to assemble the best roster in the short term (as you seem to hint at here) then you should use FA or trades to do so.

I'm sure Victor knows better than any of us that the Spurs follow a strategy to compete for titles all throughout his prime and make moves accordingly. The Spurs have no incentive not to maximize their title window with a generational talent, so people should really relax and see what happens going forward. Trading their second lottery pick in a weak draft is certainly not an indication that they do not prioritize winning. Come on.

Trading pick 8 for 7 years away?! Tanking again

Not adding a Rookie with the 8th pick and giving him a ton of playing time is actually not an indication of a tanking team, no.

[HoopsterJones]

SAS playing 4D chess by already tanking for Cooper Flagg next draft to pair with Wemby.

They will have at best a 14% chance at him, the notion that the worst team in the NBA has a huge chance to get that #1 pick is absurd. It's like the guy that thinks that putting 10 grand on 26 black is a good bet.

[KembaWalker]

Salaun was going to be their big steal but we stole him first. Can’t blame them for bailing after the last compelling talent in the round falls off the board