Fischer: Spurs Repeatedly Mentioned By NBA Figures As Potential Home For Young

[Leetonidas]

I still think Trae would be great with Wemby, and that with the right pieces around them we could contend, but I'm convinced the Front Office won't do this, even if he's offered to us at a reasonable price.

I think it depends on Vic. If he says "I want to play with Trae, you need to figure out how to get him here" they'll do it. Victor is obviously a level headed kid but let's be real, he's made his desire to win rings and be an all-timer very obvious from day one. He's not going to just stand by and let his FO sit on their hands. I guarantee he will push for them to do what needs to be done to field a compe ive team in the near future

[exstatic]

I still think Trae would be great with Wemby, and that with the right pieces around them we could contend, but I'm convinced the Front Office won't do this, even if he's offered to us at a reasonable price.

How do you get better pieces than we have now, if you throw everything in the deal like almost everyone here wants to?

I actually suspect you’re right, though. Everything that is Spurs says you don’t skip steps, you don’t take shortcuts. Looking at OKC, and to a lesser extent Orlando, I’m comfortable using the picks, as i suspect PATFO is.

[exstatic]

I think it depends on Vic. If he says "I want to play with Trae, you need to figure out how to get him here" they'll do it. Victor is obviously a level headed kid but let's be real, he's made his desire to win rings and be an all-timer very obvious from day one. He's not going to just stand by and let his FO sit on their hands. I guarantee he will push for them to do what needs to be done to field a compe ive team in the near future

The question is and has always been, is Trae a ceiling raiser or a floor raiser? Those who want him believe the former, those against, the latter. I haven’t seem him raise ceilings for his teams.

[Dejounte]

How do you get better pieces than we have now, if you throw everything in the deal like almost everyone here wants to?

I actually suspect you’re right, though. Everything that is Spurs says you don’t skip steps, you don’t take shortcuts. Looking at OKC, and to a lesser extent Orlando, I’m comfortable using the picks, as i suspect PATFO is.

The same way the Spurs were able to obtain serviceable players to put around the big three.

[exstatic]

The same way the Spurs were able to obtain serviceable players to put around the big three.

The big three wasn’t one transformative player. They were three HOF players who just needed complementary players around them. Complementary players are exactly what we have now. We need to draft a star or two.

[Leetonidas]

The question is and has always been, is Trae a ceiling raiser or a floor raiser? Those who want him believe the former, those against, the latter. I haven’t seem him raise ceilings for his teams.

I don't see why he can't be both. Wemby is going to be a superstar MVP level player as soon as next year. Wemby is the ceiling raiser. Trae is the optimal offensive running mate for him, imo. Trae wouldn't be coming here to be our best player, he would be coming to be Wemby's Robin.

And I disagree on that. Young has never really had a legit #2 next to him and his idiotic FO thought trading for another PG that needs the ball to be effective was the right move when it clearly wasnt. He's had some really nice playoff performances already and he consistently has the Hawks as a top 10 offense his entire tenure basically while having nothing but role players around him. Give him a true #1 like Wemby to play with and it unlocks his game even more

[Spurminator]

DAL traded their pick the following year to get Luka. This is not an option for them.

What you mean it wasn't an option? The Mavs traded one (Lotto-protected) pick in that deal. They've had (and traded) several draft picks since then.

[rankingtear]

What you mean it wasn't an option? The Mavs traded one (Lotto-protected) pick in that deal. They've had (and traded) several draft picks since then.

Top 5 protected.

[Ariel]

I'd like to add some further thoughts about the possible overrating of the ATL picks because of the play-in

And that is that it's not just the ATL picks being overrated

The ENTIRE "warchest" is being overrated and not enough of the downside is being priced in leading to some Spurs fans being over exuberant in the future of those picks and being too dismissive of just a Young trade

Because it could all go up in a puff of smoke easier than you can say cement shoes draft bust getting cut.

The Toronto pick? Could easily convert to seconds. If the season ended today they'd be 6 in the lottery. Yes they could finish outside the top 6 or slide on lottery night. In games with OG on the court, they were 11-16, 40% wins. Without? 8-28.. 28% winning percentage. Over a season that's good for a bottom 5 record. And next year the Spurs SHOULD be better, giving them one less than below them.

If that pick doesn't convert this year, don't expect it next year because they are not good and this draft probably wouldn't be such a huge impact on them next year. Wemby can't fix this roster by himself, I don't think anyone is doing it for the Raptors.

The Chicago pick next year? They are on the borderline this season at 12 right now with aging DeRozan and Vucevic. That pick could easily disappear into seconds

The Charlotte pick we all know is a longshot. If they don't make the playoffs next year? Boom, seconds.

So the "Wemby Rookie Deal Zone" before his extension would kick in, prior to a possible Boston swap or Dallas swap could be awesome.

Yes, Trae Young could get hurt, Murray pout his way out of town, giant disaster, high lottery odds and we'll well well now the Spurs get lucky and pick Cooper Flagg with the ATL pick. And they get Toronto's pick this year to add a Shepperd or a Knecht or a Kyshawn or a Salaun on top of their own pick.

That could happen, yes. Absolutely.

But

It's also possible that this incredible war chest devolves into:

A bunch of future seconds
2025 ATL pick 15
2026 Spurs swap up to pick 10 for instance
2027 ATL pick 15

And you have to hope Wright can even identify talent that isn't obvious rather than the next midround Primo or Samanic. Considering the number of legit players taken after Primo, I'm not 100% sure on that.

Wouldn't Trae Young be preferable to a reasonable outcome of some middle of the first round picks and moving up a few spots in a swap?

So the point I'm getting at is I'm more inclined to see a trade happen for players who have proven themselves. For me that's Trae Young. But let's say Atlanta doesn't want to play ball. I still would hope for some trade. Get someone to help Wemby now and use these suspect picks to do it. Especially those protected picks.

That's not an "objective" view, you're assuming worst case scenario everywhere and trying to pass it off as a reasonable outcome. Let me give you an example: you say "The Toronto pick? Could easily convert to seconds". Right now, Toronto is at 6th, with 4 more wins than Portland with 26/27 games left. The chances Portland surpasses them is minuscule, And even if they stay at 6th, the pick is more likely to convey than not (54% vs 46%). But let's say it doesn't. Does Toronto go for an all out tank? That'd be very surprising, it's against everything Masai has ever preached and done. But a similar path to that which they're now is possible, so let's say they end up with the 5th worst record the following 2 seasons. The likelihood the conveys in such a pessimistic scenario (if they end up with the 6th-5th-5th worst record) is still 81.2%. So is a (pessimistic) 18.9% chance it doesn't convey what you mean by "easily"? I'd strongly disagree. Furthermore, if you go by OKC's famed war chest of picks, you'll see that, though more in quan y, they're far less promising than these picks.

I often see this kind of behavior when people are trying to rationalize a decision they've already made. You want to justify the Spurs trading for Trae Young, so you paint any other scenario in the worst light possible, while at the same time ignoring every possible risk associated. If you go by every recent blockbuster made, you'll see that the most common outcome actually favors the seller, precisely because buyers convince themselves of the hefty price to pay by reasoning the exact same way you do here. I'm fine with the Spurs making a move to improve the team (I've proposed several) but they have to be aware that you have a limited number of shots at it, and you have to make sure the target, price and time is right. I'm not sold it is, with some of the proposals I've seen here for Young.

[mo7888]

Thanks you the info there guys. Paul Garcia had me a little confused on that..

[scott]

I'd like to add some further thoughts about the possible overrating of the ATL picks because of the play-in

And that is that it's not just the ATL picks being overrated

The ENTIRE "warchest" is being overrated and not enough of the downside is being priced in leading to some Spurs fans being over exuberant in the future of those picks and being too dismissive of just a Young trade

Because it could all go up in a puff of smoke easier than you can say cement shoes draft bust getting cut.

The Toronto pick? Could easily convert to seconds. If the season ended today they'd be 6 in the lottery. Yes they could finish outside the top 6 or slide on lottery night. In games with OG on the court, they were 11-16, 40% wins. Without? 8-28.. 28% winning percentage. Over a season that's good for a bottom 5 record. And next year the Spurs SHOULD be better, giving them one less than below them.

If that pick doesn't convert this year, don't expect it next year because they are not good and this draft probably wouldn't be such a huge impact on them next year. Wemby can't fix this roster by himself, I don't think anyone is doing it for the Raptors.

The Chicago pick next year? They are on the borderline this season at 12 right now with aging DeRozan and Vucevic. That pick could easily disappear into seconds

The Charlotte pick we all know is a longshot. If they don't make the playoffs next year? Boom, seconds.

So the "Wemby Rookie Deal Zone" before his extension would kick in, prior to a possible Boston swap or Dallas swap could be awesome.

Yes, Trae Young could get hurt, Murray pout his way out of town, giant disaster, high lottery odds and we'll well well now the Spurs get lucky and pick Cooper Flagg with the ATL pick. And they get Toronto's pick this year to add a Shepperd or a Knecht or a Kyshawn or a Salaun on top of their own pick.

That could happen, yes. Absolutely.

But

It's also possible that this incredible war chest devolves into:

A bunch of future seconds
2025 ATL pick 15
2026 Spurs swap up to pick 10 for instance
2027 ATL pick 15

And you have to hope Wright can even identify talent that isn't obvious rather than the next midround Primo or Samanic. Considering the number of legit players taken after Primo, I'm not 100% sure on that.

Wouldn't Trae Young be preferable to a reasonable outcome of some middle of the first round picks and moving up a few spots in a swap?

So the point I'm getting at is I'm more inclined to see a trade happen for players who have proven themselves. For me that's Trae Young. But let's say Atlanta doesn't want to play ball. I still would hope for some trade. Get someone to help Wemby now and use these suspect picks to do it. Especially those protected picks.

Great post. Fans and teams always overrate the unknown. You see this a lot in the NFL where bonafide, legit NFL starts get traded for 4th round picks and like that.

[Kevin]

People are dreaming of Luka or Giannis both of which are pipe dreams.

Wemby will be a MVP level player next season. The time is now and Young and Wemby are a perfect match offensively.

[scott]

How do you get better pieces than we have now, if you throw everything in the deal like almost everyone here wants to?

I actually suspect you’re right, though. Everything that is Spurs says you don’t skip steps, you don’t take shortcuts. Looking at OKC, and to a lesser extent Orlando, I’m comfortable using the picks, as i suspect PATFO is.

No one has suggested "throwing everything in the deal", and you know it. The Spurs warchest gives them the flexibility to offer up significant draft capital in an acquisition, and still have plenty remaining (including all of their own picks). We get it, you don't like Trae, and that's okay... but there is no need for blatant misrepresentations of what people are suggesting.

[scott]

That's not an "objective" view, you're assuming worst case scenario everywhere and trying to pass it off as a reasonable outcome. Let me give you an example: you say "The Toronto pick? Could easily convert to seconds". Right now, Toronto is at 6th, with 4 more wins than Portland with 26/27 games left. The chances Portland surpasses them is minuscule, And even if they stay at 6th, the pick is more likely to convey than not (54% vs 46%). But let's say it doesn't. Does Toronto go for an all out tank? That'd be very surprising, it's against everything Masai has ever preached and done. But a similar path to that which they're now is possible, so let's say they end up with the 5th worst record the following 2 seasons. The likelihood the conveys in such a pessimistic scenario (if they end up with the 6th-5th-5th worst record) is still 81.2%. So is a (pessimistic) 18.9% chance it doesn't convey what you mean by "easily"? I'd strongly disagree. Furthermore, if you go by OKC's famed war chest of picks, you'll see that, though more in quan y, they're far less promising than these picks.

I often see this kind of behavior when people are trying to rationalize a decision they've already made. You want to justify the Spurs trading for Trae Young, so you paint any other scenario in the worst light possible, while at the same time ignoring every possible risk associated. If you go by every recent blockbuster made, you'll see that the most common outcome actually favors the seller, precisely because buyers convince themselves of the hefty price to pay by reasoning the exact same way you do here. I'm fine with the Spurs making a move to improve the team (I've proposed several) but they have to be aware that you have a limited number of shots at it, and you have to make sure the target, price and time is right. I'm not sold it is, with some of the proposals I've seen here for Young.

The best and worse case scenarios for these picks set the range of outcomes, and it's important to know that. I didn't view objective's post as pessimistic at all, it's just outlining the worst case scenario range out of outcomes to highlight that you can't simply assume that the Spurs have this influx of high picks coming - the only high pick that is assured is ours this year. It is entirely possible we never see another top 10 pick in Wemby's career, and it is worth recognizing that just as it's worth recognizing that a lot of those high picks also don't pan out, so you can't take "building through the draft" for granted. It makes the solid foundation for a case why perceived valuable draft capital may be better used to acquire proven quan ies rather than rolling the dice on 19-year-old kids.

[RC_Drunkford]

The big three wasn’t one transformative player. They were three HOF players who just needed complementary players around them. Complementary players are exactly what we have now. We need to draft a star or two.

or trade for one

I don't see why he can't be both. Wemby is going to be a superstar MVP level player as soon as next year. Wemby is the ceiling raiser. Trae is the optimal offensive running mate for him, imo. Trae wouldn't be coming here to be our best player, he would be coming to be Wemby's Robin.

And I disagree on that. Young has never really had a legit #2 next to him and his idiotic FO thought trading for another PG that needs the ball to be effective was the right move when it clearly wasnt. He's had some really nice playoff performances already and he consistently has the Hawks as a top 10 offense his entire tenure basically while having nothing but role players around him. Give him a true #1 like Wemby to play with and it unlocks his game even more

The best players Young played with were John Collins and DJ. And Young was never a 2nd option, which he would be here.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

And a disclaimer: I'm not even completely sold on Trae. Part of me would even prefer to bring DJM at a much lower cost to be a key starter but not our co-star. But, I can definitely clearly see the appeal of a Trae acquisition.

i am in this boat also. I wouldn’t be mad if the front office traded to bring Murray back because he is still young, is a good player, signed for a while on a decent contract, knows the coaching staff and system, and would cost less to acquire.

[objective]

That's not an "objective" view, you're assuming worst case scenario everywhere and trying to pass it off as a reasonable outcome. Let me give you an example: you say "The Toronto pick? Could easily convert to seconds". Right now, Toronto is at 6th, with 4 more wins than Portland with 26/27 games left. The chances Portland surpasses them is minuscule, And even if they stay at 6th, the pick is more likely to convey than not (54% vs 46%). But let's say it doesn't. Does Toronto go for an all out tank? That'd be very surprising, it's against everything Masai has ever preached and done. But a similar path to that which they're now is possible, so let's say they end up with the 5th worst record the following 2 seasons. The likelihood the conveys in such a pessimistic scenario (if they end up with the 6th-5th-5th worst record) is still 81.2%. So is a (pessimistic) 18.9% chance it doesn't convey what you mean by "easily"? I'd strongly disagree. Furthermore, if you go by OKC's famed war chest of picks, you'll see that, though more in quan y, they're far less promising than these picks.

I often see this kind of behavior when people are trying to rationalize a decision they've already made. You want to justify the Spurs trading for Trae Young, so you paint any other scenario in the worst light possible, while at the same time ignoring every possible risk associated. If you go by every recent blockbuster made, you'll see that the most common outcome actually favors the seller, precisely because buyers convince themselves of the hefty price to pay by reasoning the exact same way you do here. I'm fine with the Spurs making a move to improve the team (I've proposed several) but they have to be aware that you have a limited number of shots at it, and you have to make sure the target, price and time is right. I'm not sold it is, with some of the proposals I've seen here for Young.

I'm pricing in downsides, and they are realistic outcomes.

You bring up OKC warchest.

They are not the same, just compare protections and guarantees. There's a big difference in whether a pick conveys when with the Spurs it's top 6 protected with a team that's whack and currently 6, top 10 2025 with a team currently 12 depending on a 34 year old DeRozan, and top 14 for a team currently in the bottom 5 ....

And compare 5o the OKC picks

-2024 top 4 Houston (currently 10)
-2024 top 10 Utah currently 11 - this pick is very similar to the Spurs situation
-I'm not bothering with the 24 Clipper pick since either it or OKC own go to Toronto
- some weirdo swap with Houston and LAC & Brooklyn that will probably jump OKC into the teens as it's protected top 4 and Houston is getting better
- 2025 top 14 Miami. This becomes UNPROTECTED in 26 and therefore is guaranteed. Furthermore Miami is a credible threat to make the playoffs unlike Charlotte in 2025
- 25 76ers top 6, 2026 top 4, 2027 top 4, then seconds. Lighter protection than any Spurs pick and much more likely to convey considering the team
- 2026 OKC gets the 2 best 1sts between OKC, Houston, and LAC, Houston is too 4 protected and LAC not protected. Light protection on Houston that becomes a 2nd. Maybe Houston with VanVleet and Brooks has some age related decline by then but top 4 is light enough to convey more likely than the Spurs conditionals
Then after 2026 they have a couple of lightly protected Denver picks that are top 5 protected for some time and some more swaps, but I'm really just interested in the time before a Wemby extension would have cap impact

OKC has protected, conditional firsts that are more likely to be firsts compared to SA's collection due to the lightness of protection and the reasonable expectations of the teams involved

[objective]

How do you get better pieces than we have now, if you throw everything in the deal like almost everyone here wants to?

I actually suspect you’re right, though. Everything that is Spurs says you don’t skip steps, you don’t take shortcuts. Looking at OKC, and to a lesser extent Orlando, I’m comfortable using the picks, as i suspect PATFO is.

While I am one of the few that has supported a perceived high price to pay for Young, it couldn't be called 'everything'

Because the Sun's and the Bucks are closer to 'everything'

A Spurs 'everything' Godfather offer would include:

24 Spurs 1st
25 swap
26 Spurs
27 swap
28 Spurs
29 swap
30 Spurs
31 swap

Plus all the seconds

That's an everything offer. Giving ATL it's picks back, even with a Chicago and/or Charlotte, still leaves everything I've listed above for SA to draft or put into other trades

[spurraider21]

I don't see why he can't be both. Wemby is going to be a superstar MVP level player as soon as next year. Wemby is the ceiling raiser. Trae is the optimal offensive running mate for him, imo. Trae wouldn't be coming here to be our best player, he would be coming to be Wemby's Robin.

And I disagree on that. Young has never really had a legit #2 next to him and his idiotic FO thought trading for another PG that needs the ball to be effective was the right move when it clearly wasnt. He's had some really nice playoff performances already and he consistently has the Hawks as a top 10 offense his entire tenure basically while having nothing but role players around him. Give him a true #1 like Wemby to play with and it unlocks his game even more

the closest thing Young has had to a #2 was pre-injury John Collins who was fine but but cmon

otherwise dejounte who is not a natural fit alongside him as Trae has never developed an off-ball game like Curry did

[JeffDuncan]

Beyond the question of draft picks conveying, there’s another factor. That is, of course, the Spurs’ use of their draft picks. I have no confidence the Spurs will use any of their draft picks to get a player better than Trae Young. My pessimism is based on the history of this Spurs front office. I don’t think they’re very good at identifying the best player when several choices are available.

Is a given draft even going to offer a better player than Trae? If so, will the Spurs recognize that player and draft him instead of some other player?

Merely having a draft pick accomplishes nothing.

[exstatic]

No one has suggested "throwing everything in the deal", and you know it. The Spurs warchest gives them the flexibility to offer up significant draft capital in an acquisition, and still have plenty remaining (including all of their own picks). We get it, you don't like Trae, and that's okay... but there is no need for blatant misrepresentations of what people are suggesting.

Oh, that’s not remotely true. Not everyone has, but some posters (Kevin is one) want to throw our pick this year, all of the ATL picks and swap, the TOR pick , the CHI PICK, and the CHA PICK.

I am not gaga for him,but I’ve actually proposed some sensible trades like returning the CHA and 27 ATL picks, and adding the CHI pick, and was met with the above.

[exstatic]

While I am one of the few that has supported a perceived high price to pay for Young, it couldn't be called 'everything'

Because the Sun's and the Bucks are closer to 'everything'

A Spurs 'everything' Godfather offer would include:

24 Spurs 1st
25 swap
26 Spurs
27 swap
28 Spurs
29 swap
30 Spurs
31 swap

Plus all the seconds

That's an everything offer. Giving ATL it's picks back, even with a Chicago and/or Charlotte, still leaves everything I've listed above for SA to draft or put into other trades

Paging scott…

[CGD]

Trae Young’s value is not as high as folks here think. I’m not budging on giving back ATL’a 25 tbh.

Let’s first see who beats a Player (Keldon) + 2 decent FRPs (ATL27 & TOR) + a less good FRP (CHA or other ptx pick).

[RC_Drunkford]

Oh, that’s not remotely true. Not everyone has, but some posters (Kevin is one) want to throw our pick this year, all of the ATL picks and swap, the TOR pick , the CHI PICK, and the CHA PICK.

I am not gaga for him,but I’ve actually proposed some sensible trades like returning the CHA and 27 ATL picks, and adding the CHI pick, and was met with the above.

I think that would be a NBA record of picks tbh. That's not even realistic. It's the Hawks picks, their swap and maybe 2 firsts or 1 first and 5 2nds. That's the max. If it's 2 additional firsts they can have the CHA pick back. In no way should the Spurs trade their 24 pick either.

Spurs would either throw in the TOR pick, CHI pick or a protected Spurs pick further down the line, which would probably be my favorite option. So Hawks 25, 26 swap, 27, CHA 1st and Spurs 27 will probably work. And there's no way we can keep any ATL picks if we trade for Young. The Hawks won't go for that.

[scott]

Oh, that’s not remotely true. Not everyone has, but some posters (Kevin is one) want to throw our pick this year, all of the ATL picks and swap, the TOR pick , the CHI PICK, and the CHA PICK.

I am not gaga for him,but I’ve actually proposed some sensible trades like returning the CHA and 27 ATL picks, and adding the CHI pick, and was met with the above.

That first scenario still isn't an "everything in the deal". (See quote below).

Your second scenario isn't a realistic offer, it's a "I don't like Trae, so this is my low ball offer". CHA + CHI + ATL '27 isn't landing an all-star player.

Paging scott…

Paging me to demonstrate that yet again, no one is suggesting an "everything" offer. objective wasn't suggesting that is what he would offer, he was defining what an "everything offer" would be - which no one has proposed. Thanks for proving the point.