By Nick Moyle, Longhorns Insider | San Antonio Express-News, 2024-04-24 13:36:04

由Gemini Pro人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。


2023 年 6 月 22 日，在布鲁克林的巴克莱中心举行的 2023 年 NBA 选秀大会上，法国篮球运动员维克托·文班亚马（左）与 NBA 总裁亚当·萧华。圣安东尼奥马刺队在布鲁克林巴克莱中心举行的 NBA 选秀大会上，以第 1 顺位选中了 19 岁的法国篮球明星维克托·文班亚马。（Hiriko Masuike/纽约时报)

在 NBA，选秀权既是可靠资产，也是可交易货币。从这个意义上讲，马刺队积累了足够的财富，足以让其他球队的财产黯然失色。

马刺队在未来四次选秀中最多可能有八个首轮签和八个次轮签，其中大部分是通过最近围绕德玛尔·德罗赞（交易至芝加哥）、德容特·穆雷（交易至亚特兰大）和雅各布·珀尔特尔（交易至多伦多）进行的交易获得的。如果猛龙队的首轮新秀排名跌出前六，他们今年可能会得到两个乐透签。

在以联盟第五差的战绩完赛后，马刺队有 10.5% 的几率连续第二年获得总第 1 顺位，并且在选秀乐透中不会低于第九顺位。多伦多队以第六差的战绩完赛，尽管猛龙队的选秀权跌出前六的概率为 54.2%，并传达给圣安东尼奥。

如果受乐透保护的黄蜂队首轮新秀在 2025 年没有传达，马刺队将在未来七次选秀中结束 11 个首轮签和 21 个次轮签。如果夏洛特的首轮新秀确实传达，马刺队将有 12 个首轮签和 19 个次轮签。

由于 G 联盟的发展以及引入了对球队友好的双向合同，即使是次轮新秀也变得更加诱人。这使得 NBA 球队可以将球员送到小联盟附属机构进行发展或康复，并且可以更轻松地召回他们。

现在的问题是——即使是教练格雷格·波波维奇和总经理布莱恩·赖特还没有答案——马刺队将如何处理这些有吸引力的选秀签。

他们预计今年将保留自己的首轮新秀，希望找到另一位年轻的补充球星来搭配 20 岁的文班亚马，他令人印象深刻的新秀赛季让他成为联盟年度最佳新秀和年度最佳防守球员这两项奖项的入围者。除此之外，管理层似乎正在权衡所有选择，以避免头也不回地陷入可能引发挫折的冒险举动。

“答案有两个极端，”赖特说。“回到过去，因为你看到了进步，并且不要改变任何东西。（或）嘿，我们只赢了 X 场（比赛），所以我们需要改变一切。”

“现实是你的答案介于两者之间。”

目前，明星的交易汇率至少是几个首轮选秀权以及一名优秀首发球员或一名（或两名）具有相当大潜力的年轻人。例如：今年 1 月，印第安纳队将三个首轮选秀权加上布鲁斯·布朗和乔丹·恩沃拉送到多伦多，换来了 2019 年的冠军和两次全明星帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆。

对于安东尼·戴维斯这样的 MVP 级别的超级巨星来说，要价更高，他在 2019 年与湖人队的交易中为鹈鹕队带来三个首轮选秀权、一次选秀权互换、未来的全明星布兰登·英格拉姆、朗佐·鲍尔和约什·哈特。戴维斯和勒布朗·詹姆斯继续带领洛杉矶湖人在迪士尼世界的“泡沫”中赢得了 2020 年 NBA 总冠军。

与往常一样，NBA 并不缺少似乎对他们目前的组织越来越不满的领军人物和补充球星，反之亦然。亚特兰大后卫特雷·杨和穆雷、克利夫兰后卫多诺万·米切尔、芝加哥后卫扎克·拉文和明尼苏达大个子卡尔·安东尼·唐斯都卷入了交易传闻，任何一名全明星都将立即提升马刺队自 2019 年以来首次重返季后赛的前景。

随着明星球员和宝贵的角色球员在这个夏天冲击交易市场，马刺队必须决定是否放弃他们为了加快重建而囤积的部分令人垂涎的选秀权。波波维奇、赖特甚至文班亚马都宣扬耐心，但如果一名改变联盟的资深球员确实可用，他们将有足够的筹码来达成交易。

波波维奇在三月说："我假装不知道我们要做什么"。 “我们有很多机会，无论是用钱存入银行、选秀权还是进行创造性的交易。所有这些选项都在考虑之中。但他们不是为每支球队准备的吗？我不知道我们有什么不同。我们只是更年轻。”

原文如下：

Spurs have options when it comes to their future NBA draft picks

[Image] French basketball player Victor Wembanyama with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, left, during the 2023 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, on June 22, 2023. The San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama, the 19-year-old French basketball star, with the No. 1 overall pick in the N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. (Hiriko Masuike/The New York Times)

In the NBA, draft picks are both bankable assets and tradable currency. In that sense, the Spurs have amassed enough wealth to spark envy in just about every other franchise.  

The Spurs could have as many as eight first-round picks and eight second-round picks over the next four drafts, with much of those gained through recent trades centered around DeMar DeRozan (to Chicago), Dejounte Murray (to Atlanta) and Jakob Poeltl (to Toronto). They could wind up with two lottery picks this year alone if the Raptors’ first-rounder falls outside the top six. 

After finishing with the league's fifth-worst record, the Spurs have a 10.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick for the second straight year and can fall no lower than ninth in the draft lottery. Toronto finished with the sixth-worst record, though there's a 54.2% chance the Raptors' pick falls outside the top six and conveys to San Antonio. 

If a lottery-protected Hornets first-rounder does not convey in 2025 the Spurs would end up with 11 firsts and 21 seconds over the next seven drafts. If Charlotte's first-rounder does convey, the Spurs would have 12 firsts and 19 seconds.

Even second-round picks have grown more enticing thanks to the evolution of the G League and the introduction of roster-friendly two-way contracts, which allows NBA teams to send players to their minor league affiliate for development or rehab and recall them with less hassle.

The question now — one even coach Gregg Popovich and general manager Brian Wright don't have an answer for yet — is what the Spurs will do with that attractive cache of picks.

They're expected to hold onto their own first-rounder this year with the hopes of finding another young complementary star to pair with 20-year-old Victor Wembanyama, whose impressive rookie season made him a finalist for both the league's Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Beyond that, though, the front office appears to be weighing all options so as to avoid tumbling headlong into a risky move that could trigger a setback. 

“There’s two ends of the spectrum,” Wright said. “Run it back because you saw progress and don’t change anything. (Or) hey, we only won X number (of games), so we need to change everything.”

“The reality is your answer is somewhere in between.”

The current going trade rate for a star is at least a few first-rounders and either a quality starter or a youngster (or two) with considerable potential. To wit: Indiana sent three first-round picks plus Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora to Toronto for 2019 champion and two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam this January.

The asking price is steeper for an MVP-caliber superstar like Anthony Davis, who netted the Pelicans three first-rounders, one pick swap, future All-Star Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart in a 2019 deal with the Lakers. Davis and LeBron James went on to lead L.A. to the 2020 NBA title in the Disney World “Bubble.”

As usual, the NBA has no shortage of headliners and complementary stars who seem to be growing disenchanted with their current organization, or vice versa. Atlanta guards Trae Young and Murray, Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell, Chicago guard Zach LaVine and Minnesota big Karl Anthony-Towns have all been invoked in trade rumors, and any one of those All-Stars would immediately lift the Spurs’ prospects of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

As proven stars and valuable role players hit the trade block this summer, the Spurs will have to decide whether they want to part with some of the coveted picks they've stockpiled in order to speed up the rebuild. Popovich, Wright and even Wembanyama have all preached patience, but if a franchise-altering veteran does become available they'll have more than enough trade chips to work out a deal. 

"I don't pretend to know what we're going to do," Popovich said in March. "We have a lot of possibilities ahead of us, whether it's money in the bank or draft picks or being creative trade-wise. All those things are on the table. But aren't they for every team? I don't know why we're any different. We're just younger."

By Nick Moyle, Longhorns Insider, via San Antonio Express-News