Spurs future outlook: Free agency, draft, trades to improve on Finals performance
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Spurs future outlook: Free agency, draft, trades to improve on Finals performance originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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While it has to be a disappointment that the Spurs came within a few wins of an NBA championship, they have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. This is the worst that they will be for the foreseeable future. That thought should terrify the rest of the league.
Victor Wembanyama is only getting better. Dylan Harper looked far more impressive than any rookie should. And Stephon Castle made some nice strides from his 2025 Rookie of the Year season.
Internal improvement from those three is going to be the biggest driver of future success. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Carter Bryant are all under 28 as well and haven't yet hit their peaks.
If being on the right side of the age curve weren't enough, the Spurs also have the tools to make improvements via the draft, trades, and free agency. Here's what they're looking at this summer in order to build an even stronger team that should be considered the title favorites next year.
MORE: Why Victor Wembanyama is the NBA's best player|SN names Wembanyama 2026 POY
Spurs offseason preview
Some spending flexibility in free agency
The Spurs likely won't have cap space to work with, which will make it hard to land a big fish in free agency. They are a relatively inexpensive team though, particularly for how good they are.
San Antonio has avenues to add some good players either via sign-and-trades or through the $15 million mid-level exception. CJ McCollum could get more on the open market, but maybe the veteran sharpshooter is willing to take a discount for a ring. Quentin Grimes could add good bench depth. Nikola Vucevic would be a different dimension from Luke Kornet as a backup stretch 5 for Wembanyama.
The Spurs also have some decisions to make on their own players. Julian Champagnie was on a massively under-market $3 million this past season and the Spurs have a team option to retain him for another $3 million next season. They will probably sign him to a longer-term extension and give him a significant pay raise.
Harrison Barnes is the other key free agent that the team should retain. At 34, Barnes isn't getting a huge payday if he tries to switch teams. The Spurs can bring him back at a cheap price.
There are some other bench pieces that the Spurs can retain on minimum salaries. Mason Plumlee, Jordan McLaughlin, Bismack Biyombo, Lindy Waters, Kelly Olynyk, David Jones-Garcia, and Harrison Ingram are all free agents.
Draft picks for 2026
The Spurs have the No. 20 pick in the first round and Nos. 35, 42, and 44 in the second round. This is considered a great draft class, but the talent starts to drop off around where San Antonio is selecting.
Karim Lopez has been one of the most popular picks for the Spurs in mock drafts. The 6-foot-8 wing is a good 3-and-D prospect who fits well next to Wembanyama. Other options might include Allen Graves, an analytics darling that does a little bit of everything at forward or Koa Peat, a bowling ball wing who was once thought of as a lottery talent but has slid down boards due to poor jump shooting.
The second round is very weak this year due to how many players have taken NIL money and returned to college rather than trying their chances at non-guaranteed NBA deals. Alex Karaban is a veteran shooter that could be available at 35. The selections at 42 and 44 will be mostly a crapshoot.
MORE: SN's latest 2026 two-round NBA Mock Draft
The Spurs have real avenues to improve via trade
Most contenders have already moved all of their tradeable picks by the time they get to the level the Spurs have reached. What makes San Antonio so dangerous is that they have so many avenues to continue to improve due to their youth and their war chest of assets.
San Antonio has four future first-round picks and several pick swaps that they can move in any trade. While their picks project to be at the end of the first round, some of their pick swaps are very juicy. The crown jewels for them are pick swaps with either the Mavericks or Timberwolves in 2030 and an unprotected pick swap with the Kings in 2031.
If the Spurs wanted to get in the sweepstakes for any star player, they could. Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to get moved this summer. San Antonio hasn't shown any interest in him, or any other big name on the market, but they could put together packages that would rival any other team in the league.
The looming question for the Spurs is what to do with De'Aaron Fox. He will start the first year of a four year, $222 million contract that doesn't look terrible now but will as it ages. It's not an issue now with the team's finances in good order, but the rapid development of Dylan Harper makes Fox expendable, and he would be the piece that goes out in matching salary if San Antonio did decide to make a giant swing.