How The Spurs Should Use The 2024 NBA Draft To Build Around Victor Wembanyama

The Spurs need to build around Victor Wembanyama the right way, and it starts by using the 2024 NBA Draft.

Victor Wembanyama mania is sweeping the world, and rightly so. The 7-foot-4 do-it-all center is on a trajectory that — pending health — could see him win more Defensive Player Of the Year trophies than anyone in history, not to mention multiple MVPs.

However, while individual awards are nice and fluffy, they lose substance unless they're accompanied by championships. After all, that's why the game is played.

Some of that of course falls on the play of Wembanyama, but the vast majority of the responsibility falls on the San Antonio Spurs front office who will need to find the right pieces to put alongside the Frenchman long-term.

As currently projected, the Spurs stand to select third overall this year, with the Toronto Raptors securing their selection by picking sixth.

(The Raptors owe the Spurs their selection if it falls outside the top six this season.)

Given that it's impossible to predict the precise landing spots of each draft pick due to the fact we're months away from the actual draft lottery, I'll take some liberties in this piece by predicting the Raptors will lose their selection to San Antonio at seventh, and to outweigh that, I'll predict the Spurs drop a little with their own selection, picking fourth.

Which players, at No. 4 and No. 7 respectively, will make the most for the Spurs to go after?

There are two things to take into account: Upside and specific fit with Wembanyama.

One element that simply cannot be ignored when pairing a player with Wembanyama is shooting. The big man is going to need all the space he can possibly get as his career progresses, which means drafting shaky shooters - and betting on upside - isn't exactly an asset.

Another element that is more nice to have than need to have is great positional size. You don't want Wembanyama having to cover for too many players, by having players around him who opponents can shoot over. You need those players to be able to challenge shots on their own, thus helping Wembanyama optimize himself defensively instead of spreading himself too thin.

The above descriptions fit two players in particular. Cody Williams from Colorado, and younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams, and of course Wembanyama's fellow countryman Zaccharie Risacher.

Williams, standing 6-foot-8, has connected on 41% of his outside shots, albeit on low volume, and has the athleticism necessary to play on the wing, where his height will work as an advantage. He's generally done well navigating screens defensively this year, and he appears to have a strong intuition on when he needs to switch, and when to fight to recover his original man.

Offensively, Williams even has some on-ball pop as a playmaker, and you can see a pathway for him to become a self-creator even if it's not an area of his game that's being utilized a great deal at this point.

Risacher is a very similar player as Williams, but at 6-foot-9 he's taller, and he's more battle tested against stronger competition.

The 18-year-old Risacher is more finesse than aggressiveness compared to Williams, but makes up for it with a more effective outside shot, which he gets to more seamlessly, and hits at a rate of 42.8%.

He's fluid and determined in his movements, and projects to be able to cover multiple positions due to his size and touch. Next to Wembanyama, Risacher could be used as either a wing or a four, depending on matchups.

Risacher seems to be well aware of the height advantage he has over players, leading him to often just raise on smaller players and knock down jumpers, knowing whatever contest is coming is limited.

(It's also worth noting that Risacher, despite being listed at 6-foot-9, looks taller and could surprise when it's time to conduct measurements before the draft.) 

In the NBA the option of just raising up against smaller opponents will mostly be taken away, given the amount of players that have proper size at every position. So it'll be up to Risacher to figure out how squeeze out additional offense.

Whether the Spurs walk away with Williams or Risacher, they'll get a significant long-term upgrade at the wing, with a player in possession of a skill set that fits Wembanyama, which is ultimately the point.

For what it's worth, with the Spurs picking fourth in this scenario, Williams is more likely to be the player left on the board.

As we move on to the seventh selection, things get considerably more murky. By then, Nikola Topić is likely off the board. Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard could also be gone.

That means the Spurs will need to make a decision. The team is in dire need of a young playmaker, and the aforementioned names would both have fit a best player available description as well as filled a need. At #7, there isn't an obvious point guard candidate on the board to justify that draft slot, which means the Spurs could look at trading down.

Isaiah Collier is currently projected as a late-lottery/mid-first round pick, and could fill a need while being the best player available at such a draft slot. Would the Miami Heat, at #13, be willing to trade up and relinquish said selection and future draft capital as to get a chance of getting Ron Holland onto their team?

If so, the Spurs taking Collier at No. 13 would seemingly appear like strong value. 

While not a natural long-range shooter, Collier does have some upside on that end of the floor. His 33.8% from the outside is far from spectacular, but a few years in San Antonio's training facilities could shape him into a 40% shooter just off minor adjustments.

What Collier does do, however, is get into the paint. He averaged 5.8 free throw attempts at USC, and at 6-foot-4 he's unquestionably got quality size at the point guard position.

Collier is extremely strong, able to absorb contact as he attacks the rim, and is fully capable of finding teammates when defenses collapse on him. His high-powered scoring instincts, which led to 16.3 points per game this season, will give the Spurs a new look, and allow Wembanyama to play off his downhill point guard.

Should Collier's stock climb during the pre-draft process, the Spurs can just sit at No. 7 and make a call by then to go for him.

Ultimately, if the Spurs walk away from the 2024 NBA Draft with Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier, they'll have taken a big step in rounding out the long-term roster, headlined by Wembanyama. 

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glassor Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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