The San Antonio Spurs have gotten lucky in the past couple of drafts with players of need falling to the end of the first round. With two first round picks in the 2019 draft could San Antonio strike gold again?

With draft season approaching, it’s time for the Spurs to look hard at addressing one of their biggest needs. Late in the fourth quarter under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, one of the lowest moments of the San Antonio Spurs season was taking place. Dennis Smith Jr. jumped a passing lane, tipped the ball away and took off.

With rookie center Mitchell Robinson sprinting behind him, DSJ tossed the ball off the glass and let the high-flying Robinson hammer it home. The play was the exclamation point of a 130-118 Spurs loss that broke an 18-game home losing streak for the Knicks.

The 2018-19 season has been one of ups and downs for the Spurs, but one thing has been made quite clear: the San Antonio front court is in serious need of a youth movement.

LaMarcus Aldridge has continued to be a consistent force as the veteran big man just made his 7th All-Star appearance and Davis Bertans has also played very well. However, outside of those two, the Spurs frontcourt has been underwhelming.

The talk around this year’s draft has largely been dominated by Duke’s trio of talented freshmen. But there are plenty of NBA-ready players outside of Durham. With two picks in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, the Spurs are set up well to select a young frontcourt player.

Given San Antonio’s strong track record of developing late round picks, I doubt they would have an issue with sending their pick to play in the G-League for the majority of their rookie year considering that’s the path they’ve taken with their last two first round picks. Knowing all of that, here are a few prospects for San Antonio Spurs fans to keep their eyes on as the college season approaches its close.