The NBA’s hammer on the Clippers didn’t just wreck one franchise. It also handed the Spurs a cleaner runway in the West.
Los Angeles was already staring at an ugly stretch before the league stepped in. Now the damage is even deeper: five first-round picks gone through 2033, front office and ownership suspensions, and a roster that was never overflowing with star power to begin with. The result is a team with little room to maneuver and even less ability to climb out quickly.
That matters for San Antonio. The Spurs are no longer trying to claw their way up from the bottom of the conference.
They’re aiming higher now, with Victor Wembanyama entering the part of his career where the clock starts ticking in a real way. Every obstacle that disappears between the Spurs and the Larry O'Brien Trophy helps, and this latest blow to the Clippers removes one more threat from the path.
There’s a sharp irony in it, too. Kawhi Leonard pushed his way out of San Antonio years ago, and now his impact in Los Angeles has left his current team in no position to build a contender anytime soon. It wasn’t done for the Spurs’ benefit, but that’s the end result all the same.
San Antonio, meanwhile, has spent years rebuilding with patience and discipline after Leonard tore things down. That approach has brought them back with stocked draft capital and a deep group of players, and the organization is now positioned to compete with the best for the next decade. The Spurs kept trusting their process, and it’s paying off.
For Clippers fans, it’s a rough scene. For the Spurs, it’s another sign that the West just got a little more open.
In Other News...
Rockets Could Solve Their Biggest KD Problem With One Bold Move
A hypothetical blockbuster trade has started to gain attention for the sheer number of moving parts, and it would touch the Spurs in a meaningful way. In the proposed scenario, San Antonio would be giving up DeAaron Fox while bringing back Darius Garland and Derrick Jones Jr., a kind of reshuffling that would change the backcourt picture in a hurry and add another layer to the teams long-term planning.
The catch, of course, is that this is only a speculative exercise aimed at a future offseason, not a deal that has been reported. Even so, it is the sort of idea that invites a closer look because it threads San Antonio into a much bigger conversation involving Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler III and the possibility of Golden State re-entering the picture in a major way. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs May Revisit One Missed Free Agent Fit Around Wembanyama
Rui Hachimuras free-agency decision gave the Spurs another reminder of how competitive the market can be for players who fit alongside Victor Wembanyama. He landed with the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $28 million contract, choosing to stay in Los Angeles after drawing interest from the Spurs, Warriors, Timberwolves and Nets, and he pointed to the support around players and the quality of the facilities as part of what made the move appealing.
For San Antonio, the larger takeaway is less about one lost chase than about the type of complementary piece the franchise is still trying to gather around Wembanyama. Some observers have already wondered whether Hachimura might look back and think twice, given the Spurs upside as a Finals-level contender, but for now the conversation shifts to whether that kind of fit becomes available again and whether San Antonio is ready to pounce when it does. [Read more 🡒]
Rui Hachimura Choice Could Haunt Clippers If This Backfires
Rui Hachimuras decision to sign a two-year deal with the Clippers added another wrinkle to an offseason that had San Antonio watching closely. According to the reporting around his free agency, Hachimura had other paths on the table, including interest from the Spurs, but ultimately chose to remain in Los Angeles rather than make a move that might have given him a different basketball lane.
For San Antonio, the broader takeaway is less about one missed signing than the way the rest of the board kept moving. A Spurs reporter noted that Hachimura could come to regret passing on the opportunity, especially because the team pivoted after his hesitation and filled that spot elsewhere, leaving open the question of whether a cleaner fit in San Antonio might have looked better in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]