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NBA Draft Rumors: Spurs Trade Keldon Johnson for Top 5 Pick?

The San Antonio Spurs could be wheeling and dealing during the NBA Draft, and a trade cannot be ruled out.

The San Antonio Spurs are going to take Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick, but they might not be done adding rookies in the NBA Draft.

It may behoove the Spurs to add someone who can complement Wembanyama and have them develop together.

The Athletic proposed a trade that would give the Spurs the No. 4 pick from the Houston Rockets, along with an additional first-round pick in 2025 (top-three protected) for Keldon Johnson.

"As good as Johnson is now, there may be a higher ceiling for one of Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Taylor Hendricks or Anthony Black," The Athletic writes. "Whitmore, in particular, has a similar profile to Johnson when Johnson was draft eligible. The Spurs don’t have to go the route of replacing Johnson with the Houston pick, however, and could improve their wing and playmaking with one of the Thompson twins or if Henderson or Miller unexpectedly drop to No. 4."

Adding another pick in the first round makes sense for the Spurs, especially if they are going to draft a point guard, arguably San Antonio's biggest position of need with Tre Jones testing free agency. The price to trade back into the top five is steep, costing the Spurs their leading scorer. However, to pair Amen Thompson or perhaps Scoot Henderson with Wembanyama may be too enticing to pass up.

However, what feels more likely is a trade that doesn't cost the Spurs a player like Johnson. Maybe a trade into the back half of the lottery for someone like Kentucky's Cason Wallace or into the late first round for Indiana's Jalen Hood-Schifino makes more sense?

That being said, this trade does a good job in illustrating the idea that San Antonio could very well be busy making deals in the first round of the draft.


You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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