SAN ANTONIO — Mike Budenholzer was there at the beginning. It was June 2011, and the San Antonio Spurs had decided to gamble on potential and promise at the N.B.A. draft.

Kawhi Leonard was no sure thing back then. In two seasons at San Diego State, he had not proven himself to be a terrific outside shooter. But he could defend and rebound and cut through traffic like a hot blade, and the Spurs were seduced by his many gifts. He had those hands that were the size of sauce pans. Imagine the possibilities.

So the Spurs engineered a draft-night trade, sending George Hill — a steady, productive guard whom the Spurs had drafted and developed and whom Coach Gregg Popovich loved — to the Indiana Pacers for Leonard, whom the Pacers had selected with the 15th overall pick. The impact of the deal would reverberate for years to come.

“The draft is always hard,” said Budenholzer, who was an assistant coach with the Spurs at the time. “There’s some uncertainty about how good somebody is or isn’t going to be, and you trade somebody we all felt strongly about in George. But just studying the film and working with everybody — putting their minds together — it felt like a great opportunity for the Spurs.”