Few teams had a more disappointing season than the San Antonio Spurs, and the latest development has only confirmed that. They have been without their head coach, Gregg Popovich, for most of the season, and star Victor Wembanyama since the All-Star break.
Even recently acquired star De'Aaron Fox was ruled out for the season as they have upped their tanking efforts. That will help them in the long run with them having two first-round picks in this year's draft, including a top-10 selection.
Even so, they are no doubt kicking themselves following a big mistake they made two summer ago that is becoming increasingly evident now. Mistakes happen, but the Spurs may have passed on a chance to add a future star to pair with Wembanyama.
One major mistake may have cost the Spurs a future all-star to pair with Wembanyama.
The Spurs had major cap space two summers ago, which many suspected they could use to make a run at Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves. If nothing else, it would have been a chance to force their former rivals to pay far more for Reaves since the Lakers had the right of first refusal.
Instead, they didn't, and the Lakers kept Reaves on a 4-year, $54 million deal that will pay him just $13.5 million on average over this season and the next two. He has since broken out, proving that he is an offensive star, averaging 19.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
I don’t have much analysis I want to add to this at the moment, I just think it’s preposterous how good Austin Reaves has gotten. We’ve had great undrafted players before, but they’re usually defender/role player types. Scorers like this just don’t get passed on 60 times.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) April 4, 2025
Even more impressive is the fact that he's posting a terrific 25.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists over his last 11 games. That is all after they acquired Luka Doncic, proving that Reaves can thrive as a third star, especially with him being able to toggle and play both point guard and shooting guard.
The San Antonio Spurs failing to sign Austin Reaves was a major mistake.
Passing up on going after him is clearly a mistake by the Spurs. After all, they could have had both him and still been in position to draft rising star Stephon Castle, who is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year.
To San Antonio's credit, they did use some of their cap space to make the Grant Williams sign and trade happen with the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. That netted them a 2030 pick swap that is very valuable after the Mavs traded Doncic.
Still, it isn't enough to warrant not making a run at Reaves. After all, doing so would have still allowed them to trade for Fox. At the very least it would have likely made it much harder for the Lakers to acquire Doncic with them being in the second apron.
Either would have made a big difference for the Spurs, who will probably have to compete with Doncic, Reaves, and the Lakers in the future.
For Spurs fans' sake, hopefully, a healthy Wembanyama, Fox, the emergence of Castle, and that 2030 Mavs pick swap will help them get over their team's big mistake.