As teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies surge in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs loom.
Armed with the future face of the league in Victor Wembanyama -- and now star guard De'Aaron Fox post-deadline -- it's only a matter of time before the Spurs begin to vie for those top spots.
Still, drafting remains the most important piece to the puzzle. So far, they've done a nice job in adding connective players like Jeremy Sochan and Stephon Castle, but they'll need to keep adding complimentary players around their future superstar.
As it stands now, the Spurs are 23-29 and trending towards a pick in the late-lottery. Additionally, they'll earn a pick from Atlanta, meaning they could leave with a few different prospects in that range. Here are a few options for the Spurs:
A 6-foot-7 sophomore, Collin Murray-Boyles feels plucked out of an older period of basketball, playing essential small-ball center for South Carolina.
He's averaged 15.5 points, 8,5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game on 57% shooting, relying heavily on solid athleticism, physical rim finishing and exceptional defense.
Despite being an undersized big, Murray-Boyles would thrive in San Antonio alongside Wembanyama, who can extend his skillset to the perimeter at the five and provide the best rim protection in the league.
UConn's Liam McNeeley would offer the Spurs an entirely different look, mostly offering an off-ball skillset based around shooting at 6-foot-7. He's shot 37% on over five attempts so far in his short collegiate career, and offers decent scoring at other levels, too.
With Wembanyama, McNeeley would have ultimate space to operate as an ancillary scorer for the foreseeable future. Something the Spurs already lack, to some degree.
He would certainly need to hone his defense, but Wembanyama as a backstop certainly helps.
Another interesting prospect for San Antonio would be Derik Queen, who offers one of the more unique players in the entire draft.
He's a 6-foot-10 small-ball center, offering an offensive punch not dissimilar to a player like Alperen Sengun, who has elite rim finishing and passing. Queen doesn't yet add a perimeter threat or real rim protection, but Wembanyama has both of those in bounds.
This would certainly be a swing rather than adding a complimentary role player, but Queen could blossom into a star alongside Wembanyama.