On Thursday morning, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that the Sixers have "engaged" with the San Antonio Spurs about moving up one spot in this month's 2025 NBA Draft, from No. 3 to No. 2:
Sources: The 76ers have engaged with the Spurs about potentially moving up to the No. 2 pick. For now, the Sixers have zeroed in on four NBA Draft prospects with the No. 3 pick, including a private workout last week with VJ Edgecombe and Ace Bailey visiting Philadelphia next week
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 12, 2025
The move would theoretically be done to secure the ability to draft Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, the consensus second-best prospect in this year's class with the upside of a star-caliber lead guard at nearly 6-foot-6. Harper cannot play alongside both Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, but he is an ideal long-term partner for either one, as his stellar frame for a ball-handler will offer whichever team drafts him significant lineup optionality.
So, why would San Antonio move their pick? There has yet to be any indication that they are seriously considering doing so — the teams engaging in talks does not mean they have had advanced negotiations — but there have been many people wondering if a move like this could be in the cards for the Spurs, whose backcourt already has former All-Star and recent trade acquisition De'Aaron Fox and Rookie of the Year Award winner Stephon Castle.
At the crux of the discussion is this: while the Sixers could want to move up for Harper because they think he has far and away a better chance of being a franchise-altering player than anyone they could draft at No. 3, a Spurs team already armed with Fox and Castle to support young superstar center Victor Wembanyama has the right to worry more about roster fit.
Until there is any hard reporting to the contrary, it would be wise to operate under the assumption that San Antonio is enamored with Harper's potential like just about everyone else and will happily draft him at No. 2, ease him into their rotation and figure out the more distant fit when the time comes.
But what if San Antonio would rather have Harper's teammate, Ace Bailey, to keep a Fox-Castle backcourt humming? What if they think the gap between Harper and other guards in this class — Baylor's VJ Edgecombe or Texas' Tre Johnson, for example — is not as wide as most do? The conversation becomes awfully interesting.
How would the actual talks between the Sixers and Spurs go? Despite their backcourt being locked in, San Antonio would certainly begin by asking for McCain. He is the best asset the Sixers could realistically put on the table in this deal, and a Maxey-Harper partnership is extremely exciting to imagine, particularly as it could enable Maxey to be at his absolute best in a role with a healthy blend of on-ball and off-ball duties while maintaining defensive viability.
In terms of pure value, though, McCain is worth far more than a one-spot jump, even if it is the second-most significant jump possible in this class. McCain, 21, was clearly outpacing Castle and the rest of the field in the Rookie of the Year race before his season was cut short after 23 games. His combination of scoring volume and efficiency as a 20-year-old with just a handful of NBA games under his belt was remarkable, and his rookie campaign ending in December should not take away from the significance of what he showed.
There are more complicated frameworks where San Antonio also sends the Sixers its other lottery pick, slotted at No. 14, to balance things out. But those trades are more common in fantasy basketball and video games than the NBA; in real life there is rarely a trade where both teams are giving up multiple prized assets.
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The most realistic framework of a deal is probably the Sixers giving up No. 3 — and perhaps also No. 35 — with a future first-round pick that San Antonio can credibly claim has significant upside, in exchange for No. 2. The most obvious piece is the Sixers' most valuable draft pick moving forward: the Los Angeles Clippers' 2028 unprotected first-rounder, which the Sixers acquired in the James Harden deal.
With Steve Ballmer ready to spend and tremendous geographic advantages, the Clippers could find a way to remain competitive in 2028. But they have almost no young talent right now with no control of their draft capital until the 2030s. It could be a major challenge for them to maintain a good team in a loaded Western Conference late in the decade, even with Ballmer capable of flexing his financial muscles at any moment.
San Antonio still has one first-round pick in every future draft in addition to their pair of first-rounders this year, but they could look to restock their supply after pushing some chips in to acquire Fox at last season's trade deadline. It would give them additional ammunition for either future trade talks or eventual roster reinforcements around a more experienced version of Wembanyama so they can build a sustained winner around him.
Because of obligations to Oklahoma City and Brooklyn from earlier trades, the Sixers cannot trade any of their own first-rounders until 2029, when they happen to also have top-three protected swap rights with the Clippers thanks to the Harden deal. The Sixers could offer San Antonio that asset — it would likely be written out as San Antonio receiving the more favorable first-round pick of the Sixers and Clippers, unless the Clippers' pick is in the top three, in which case San Antonio receives the Sixers' pick — and hope it is enough to jump one spot.
In terms of general expected value of these picks, any asset of this significance should at the very least be on the borderline of getting a deal done. But when applied to this draft class, it is undeniable that the No. 2 pick is more valuable than usual, and the No. 3 pick might be a bit less valuable than it is in many years.
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Whether or not San Antonio is prepared to earnestly entertain moving down and bypassing the chance to pair Wembanyama with Harper remains to be seen. If it is something they will actually consider, it could be a tremendous opportunity for the Sixers to add a franchise centerpiece who fits seamlessly with either Maxey or McCain in the team's backcourt of the future.
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