The Spurs spent the offseason making one thing obvious: they wanted more size up front. San Antonio addressed that need with two first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, bringing in Jayden Quaintance at No. 20 and then trading up to land Tarris Reed Jr. at No. 26.
That move came after the Spurs’ lone major free-agent addition, Tobias Harris, who is expected to add size to the starting lineup. With Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet already in place, San Antonio clearly set out to remake its frontcourt around bigger bodies.
Quaintance is the more long-term swing. In a normal draft, he would have had a real shot to go in the lottery, but injuries in college pushed him down the board. He is expected to miss the start of his rookie season, then become a promising young force once he gets healthy.
Even with the injury concerns, Quaintance arrives with plenty of intrigue. He was one of the youngest players in the draft despite being a second-year college player.
As a freshman at Arizona State, he was the youngest NCAA player in the country. After tearing his ACL and meniscus at Kentucky, though, he remains very raw.
Reed brings a different profile. He spent four years between Michigan and UConn and is expected to be ready to contribute sooner.
As HoopsRumors’ Rory Maher put it, "Quaintance, who was one of the youngest players selected in June, represented a clear upside swing for the Spurs, who have star Victor Wembanyama and backup Luke Kornet as their main options in the middle," outlined HoopsRumors' Rory Maher. "Reed, on the other hand, is four years older than Quaintance and is expected to be closer to contributing right away."
For this season, Reed should be the third option behind Wembanyama and Kornet. Once Quaintance is healthy, the expectation is that he’ll back up Harris at power forward. And because the Spurs can always lean into two-big looks when needed, Quaintance should also get chances alongside Wembanyama, Kornet, or the other rookie.
San Antonio knew exactly where it had to improve, and even with a shorter offseason after its Finals run, the team is expected to be better equipped than it was before.
In Other News...
Spurs Have A Real Reason To Watch OKCs Latest Power Play
Oklahoma City keeps finding ways to make life harder on the rest of the Western Conference, and San Antonio has a legitimate reason to pay attention. The Thunders latest move was a two-year, $12 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Spencer Jones, another aggressive swing from a front office that has spent the summer squeezing value out of every angle while piling up future draft leverage.
The ripple effects matter far beyond Denver, where Oklahoma Citys maneuvering has already touched the Nuggets roster and tax situation. Spurs fans should have their eyes on the Thunders broader web of deals too, because Oklahoma Citys transactions with Atlanta can chip away at San Antonios own draft outlook through a swap on the Hawks 2026 first-round pick, a small but meaningful wrinkle in a conference race built as much on asset management as wins and losses. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs May Have Found A Sneaky Move That Matters In June
San Antonio added a familiar kind of veteran insurance in Tobias Harris, a 15-year NBA veteran whose presence should give the Spurs a sturdier look in the frontcourt. The move is aimed at strengthening the power forward rotation and adding another option who can score and handle different lineup combinations, a useful trait for a team still sorting out its depth.
For the Spurs, the appeal is less about changing the top of the roster and more about finding dependable minutes when the second unit comes in. Harris brings the kind of bench scoring and versatility that can settle a game when the offense stalls, and the hope in San Antonio is that a seemingly modest addition now could pay off when the margins get tighter later in the season. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Is Already Becoming The Wests Ultimate Measuring Stick
Victor Wembanyama is already forcing the league to adjust its language around matchups, and Anthony Edwards is the latest star to make that plain. After their Western Conference finals meeting, the Timberwolves guard acknowledged the Spurs center as the kind of opponent that sharpens the standard, the sort of player who changes the tone of a series simply by being on the floor.
For San Antonio, that matters almost as much as any box score. Wembanyama is no longer just a rising talent to file away for the future, he is becoming a reference point for the West itself, the player other elite names now have to measure themselves against. If this is the early shape of a rivalry, it is one the Spurs will be happy to carry forward. [Read more 🡒]