Three Names Keep Popping Up for Spurs at Pick No. 20 After Finals Loss

The San Antonio Spurs just lost the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks. Now they’re back in the draft room, trying to figure out how to build around Victor Wembanyama before the window closes. And at pick No. 20, there’s no shortage of chatter about who they might grab.

NBA insider Brett Siegel put out his latest mock draft and tied three names to the Spurs at that spot: Houston center Chris Cenac Jr., Santa Clara power forward Allen Graves, and Texas wing Dailyn Swain. According to Siegel, those three have been “frequently mentioned” in conversations around San Antonio’s front office.

Of the three, Siegel has the Spurs taking Cenac. That makes sense if you think about it — Wembanyama needs a real backup, and Cenac is still raw but has the kind of mobility you want in a modern big. Siegel compared his game to Jalen Duren of the Pistons, which is a solid comp for a guy who’s more athlete than polished scorer at this point. “While Chris Cenac Jr. still needs time to reach his full potential, which could very well be a similar skill set to Jalen Duren, he would immediately benefit from playing behind Victor Wembanyama and in a system that allows him to display his mobility as a big man,” Siegel wrote.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Siegel also reports that the Spurs might try to trade up. The targets? Picks 15, 16, and 17 — currently held by the Bulls, Grizzlies, and Thunder. And the player they’d be going after is Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, a 23-year-old forward who’s been climbing boards. The Spurs and Pistons are both reportedly interested in moving up for him. “In the event that he falls out of the lottery, multiple teams will have interest in trading with the Bulls (#15), Grizzlies (#16), and possibly the Thunder (#17) to try and get Lendeborg,” Siegel claimed. He added that San Antonio and Detroit have been linked to that possibility for weeks.

It’s hard to know which direction San Antonio goes until draft night. Cenac makes sense if they stay put. Lendeborg makes sense if they can get aggressive. Either way, the Spurs aren’t just sitting on their hands. They lost a Finals. They don’t want to lose another one.