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Part of what makes predicting what will happen during the NBA Draft so fun is the unexpected. Trades are inevitable. And when they occur, the ramifications are wide-ranging. ClutchPoints Reporter Brett Siegel sees the San Antonio Spurs playing such a role later this month as they look to build around Victor Wembanyama and one deal in particular centers on Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland.
Among the several moves he projects the Spurs will make on draft day, Siegel has this deal in place.
“Spurs trade pick Nos. 8 and 35, F Keldon Johnson, and G Tre Jones to Cavaliers for G Darius Garland and pick No. 20 | Spurs also trade G Devonte' Graham to Raptors for F/C Chris Boucher. | Cavaliers trade a 2025 second-round pick to Raptors.”
Let's assess the hypothetical trade, which centers on a swap said to have interest on San Antonio's behalf.
Hypothetical Spurs-Cavaliers trade
Brett Siegel details a deal that would send shock waves through the lottery portion of the draft.
“The first massive trade to take place in this NBA mock draft involves three teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors. While the Cavs are signaling they won't trade Darius Garland, in this scenario Garland finds himself joining Victor Wembanyama at the cost of the Nos. 8 and 35 picks in this year's draft, as well as Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, and Devonte' Graham, who is re-routed to Toronto.”
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Slotted to also have the fourth overall pick, the Spurs would've also traded that selection in Siegel's prediction. In this deal, San Antonio would land a proven point guard who's just 24 years old and has already made an All-Star game. Garland has twice averaged more than 21 and half points per game a season. They'd get him without having to give up either Devin Vassell or Jeremy Sochan. Himself just 23 years old, Vassell has had two seasons in which he's averaged 18.5 and 19.5 PPG. Sochan has made consecutive Rising Stars Challenges and at 21 years old is considered to have a high ceiling.
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Because Johnson ranked third on the team in scoring (he averaged 22 PPG two seasons ago) and because he's 24, the former Kentucky Wildcat represents the Spurs' best tradable asset. Though San Antonio played better when he started, Jones fits best as a backup point guard. With his departure, one of the Spurs' three first-round picks in 2022, Blake Wesley, could get more playing time. The Notre Dame product played well for a good portion of this past season. Devonte' Graham wasn't part of Gregg Popovich's rotation last season and there's little reason to think that would change as the team looks to add talent.
In other draft day moves, Siegel has the Black and Silver still drafting Serbian point guard Nikola Topic and French forward Tidjane Salaun through a series of related trades. ClutchPoints wrote earlier about how the Spurs taking Salaun with a top-ten pick may be risky because he's raw. The pressure to hit on a now 14th pick would be alleviated with Garland in the mix, not to mention Topic appears to be the type of prospect who can help from day one. They also would've added the Chicago Bulls 2027 first-round pick (top 5-protected) and the Bulls 2029 second-round pick.
They would've achieved all of this while parting with their two second-round picks this year, the Atlanta Hawks 2025 unprotected first-round selection (obtained in a 2022 Dejounte Murray trade) and two 2026 second-round picks, one of theirs and a selection from the Utah Jazz they would've also acquired in Brett Siegel's hypothetical.
Grade: A
