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The San Antonio Spurs are seen by “some teams” as “a potential trade-up option” from the No. 4 pick in order to draft French forward prospect Zaccharie Risacher, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor meanwhile reported that “the Spurs have had talks with Atlanta about moving up, and the expectation around the NBA is that they’d select Risacher.”
Whoever wants to draft Risacher may need to make a deal with the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 1 pick, where Jonathan Wasserman projects the 6-foot-8 wing being selected in his latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft for Bleacher Report.
If the Hawks decide to hold onto the No. 1 pick in order to select another prospect like fellow French prospect Alex Sarr, other teams see the Spurs’ No. 4 pick as the “floor” for Risacher, Givony wrote.
Risacher, who averaged 10.1 points per game in France’s top league in 2023-24, was “scouted extensively last season” by the Spurs, Givony reported.
Givony noted that Risacher previously played with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama during the 2021-22 season in France, and that a team official described them as “being extremely close at the time.”
According to O’Connor, the Hawks “have had discussions with other teams about moving down from the first pick,” but “reportedly haven’t even worked out all of their candidates for the No. 1 pick yet either, so they’re just exploring their options.”
No matter which player the Hawks decide to pursue, the Spurs may need to move up in order to snag Risacher. O’Connor reported that the Washington Wizards are likely to select either Risacher or Sarr with the No. 2 pick.
Wasserman described Risacher as a prospect who brings a “perceived level of certainty tied to his positional size, shooting and defensive tools/quickness” that could allow him to develop into a three-and-D at the NBA level.
The Spurs currently hold four draft picks, which they could be willing to use to move up if they believe adding that player archetype could help maximize Wembanyama’s sophomore NBA season.
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