NBA draft: Hypothetical trades for future top pick Victor Wembanyama

We know the San Antonio Spurs aren’t actually going to trade the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.

But what if a trade offer landed on the desk of Spurs general manager Brian Wright that at least forced the organization to briefly consider it … before saying no?

Projected as the first player off the board in Jonathan Givony’s latest NBA mock draft, Victor Wembanyama was not at last week’s draft combine, as he’s concluding his season with Metropolitans 92 in France. But NBA teams have seen enough of the 19-year-old French big leading up to the draft that NBA commissioner Adam Silver could announce the pick immediately after declaring the Spurs are on the clock.

That was the task of our NBA insiders as they were asked to play the role of GM and propose hypothetical trades for San Antonio’s top pick, and the right to draft Wembanyama on June 22, that wouldn’t make Wright immediately hang up the phone (which he’d probably do anyway).

“Process 2.0” in Philly

San Antonio Spurs get: Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers gets: 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Toronto’s 2024 first-round pick, Doug McDermott, Devonte’ Graham

Let’s say the reigning NBA MVP decides to send the next shock wave throughout the league by requesting a trade from Philadelphia this summer. The 76ers couldn’t close out a 3-2 lead against the Boston Celtics and failed to get past the second round for the sixth straight season. They are once again looking for a coach, James Harden is a free agent, and maybe Embiid decides he has reached the ceiling in Philadelphia and the Sixers start taking calls on his availability. What about the league MVP for the No. 1 pick? Big for big? Embiid for Wembanyama?

Both teams would be undergoing pretty drastic pivots in this scenario. For Philly, this would mark the official end of “the process era,” but instead of a full rebuild, this “Process 2.0” gets jump-started by another swing at a generational talent at the top of the draft. And San Antonio passes on the chance of a potential great player for a proven dominant center.

It would instantly shift the Spurs into a competitive mindset with Embiid in his prime, cap space and a draft pick haul from last summer’s Dejounte Murray trade they could use to build a team around Embiid to compete in the West. In the above trade scenario, San Antonio gets to clear a few more contracts off its books and keep all of its financial flexibility, but there’s a version of this deal that could just swap the centers straight up, with maybe an additional pick going to Philadelphia. A move like this would be the antithesis of how the Spurs have historically operated. Without another ready star on the roster, making a move to acquire Embiid, who turns 30 next season and has a long injury history, actually makes San Antonio the team most likely to turn down this deal. But in a world where Embiid is available, the chance at Wembanyama is enough upside to make negotiations intriguing.

— Jamal Collier

The Thunder make use of their draft picks

San Antonio Spurs get: Chet Holmgren, 2023 No. 12 pick, 2024 Rockets first-rounder (top-four protected), 2025 76ers first-rounder (top-six protected), 2026 Clippers first-rounder

Oklahoma City Thunder get: 2023 No. 1 overall pick

Surely, if the Thunder called about trading for the No. 1 pick, the Spurs’ ask would include All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Rookie first-team pick Jalen Williams and all eight extra first-round picks Oklahoma City has coming over the next four years. More realistically, building a trade offer around last year’s No. 2 pick would give San Antonio a blue-chip prospect along with extra picks in each of the next four years — one of them already in the lottery and the other three with considerable upside — while allowing the Thunder to plug Wembanyama alongside the perimeter-heavy core that reached the play-in tournament as the NBA’s second-youngest team this season.

Holmgren and Wembanyama have been tied at least since squaring off in the final of the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup. Wembanyama had 22 points, 8 rebounds and an eye-popping 8 blocks in his coming-out party at age 17, while Holmgren had 10 points and five assists as the USA held off France in a thrilling 83-81 win. Both young big men stand out for their ability to create shots off the dribble at their size, but Wembanyama’s superior size (he’s 7-foot-5 in shoes to Holmgren’s 7 feet and has an 8-foot wingspan as compared to Holmgren’s 7-6) and higher-usage offensive role portend greater NBA upside. Add in the fact that Holmgren is a year closer to restricted free agency after missing his first NBA season because of a Lisfranc injury, and the Spurs would surely reject this offer, even if the Thunder threw in more draft picks from their stockpile. That’s a testament to how special Wembanyama is as a prospect.

— Kevin Pelton

The 2022 Rookie of the Year on the move

San Antonio Spurs get: Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, two first-round picks (2023 No. 6 and No. 11)

Orlando Magic get: 2023 No. 1 overall pick

This at least gets San Antonio to answer the phone, right? Right?? Look, we all know how hard it would be to actually get the Spurs to trade this pick away. If you have to do it, you have to swing for the fences. In return for Wembenyama, the Magic would send the 2023 Rookie of the Year and 2022 No. 1 pick (Banchero) as well as one of the team’s lottery selections from the 2021 draft (Suggs). Throw in this year’s two first-rounders and that’s four top-11 selections over a three-year span for the French phenom. Banchero averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his rookie season. San Antonio also gets Suggs, the No. 5 pick in 2021, who has struggled shooting the ball but was 36% from deep after the All-Star break this season.