Spurs trade ideas

[Manu&Duncan fan]

Spurs have something like 5 second round picks in 2026. What could they do with it?
Could they just exchange some of them for second round pick in another futur draft?

We should use two or 3 of them + #38 to trade up to low 20s to get Raynaud.

Use another two + Keldon for John Collins.

[Chinook]

Spurs have something like 5 second round picks in 2026. What could they do with it?
Could they just exchange some of them for second round pick in another futur draft?

I count four seconds in 2026, 1 in 2027, likely 3 in 2028 (with a fourth if Boston wins the lotto that year), 3 in 2029, 2 in 2030 and 2 in 2031.

If the Spurs trade 14 for something, I'd rather the team use some of those future seconds to move back into the first from 38. There are a lot of teams bereft of future seconds, so the Spurs should be able to find a taker. They did a great job of trading away their extra picks before the draft this year, so I think they'll find a way to do it again next year.

[DPG21920]

I count four seconds in 2026, 1 in 2027, likely 3 in 2028 (with a fourth if Boston wins the lotto that year), 3 in 2029, 2 in 2030 and 2 in 2031.

If the Spurs trade 14 for something, I'd rather the team use some of those future seconds to move back into the first from 38. There are a lot of teams bereft of future seconds, so the Spurs should be able to find a taker. They did a great job of trading away their extra picks before the draft this year, so I think they'll find a way to do it again next year.

Brooklyn clearly would be a partner here one would think…

[Bruno]

What would you want to see, Bruno?

And is your primary concern running back the current depth on the team (eg Devin/Keldon)?

Aside of Spurs drafting Harper at #2, I don't really have a strong opinion on what Wright should do this summer.

Just to give some random ideas: at #14, I quite like Carter Bryant, PJ Washington seems to be a good trade target and signing a backup center like Capela with the MLE would be fine.

Right now, my primary concern with the team is Vassell. I don't know what is his current trade value. I don't know how this value will hold with his future role next season (playing SF and being the 4th offensive option on the court most of the time). Vassell has $106M left on his contract, Spurs could end up being trapped with him if they keep him for too long.

[Kevin]

Aside of Spurs drafting Harper at #2, I don't really have a strong opinion on what Wright should do this summer.

Just to give some random ideas: at #14, I quite like Carter Bryant, PJ Washington seems to be a good trade target and signing a backup center like Capela with the MLE would be fine.

Right now, my primary concern with the team is Vassell. I don't know what is his current trade value. I don't know how this value will hold with his future role next season (playing SF and being the 4th offensive option on the court most of the time). Vassell has $106M left on his contract, Spurs could end up being trapped with him if they keep him for too long.

I see Dev as a neutral value asset. Package him and the 14 for John Collins or some other PF with matching salary.

[Ariel]

I count four seconds in 2026, 1 in 2027, likely 3 in 2028 (with a fourth if Boston wins the lotto that year), 3 in 2029, 2 in 2030 and 2 in 2031.

If the Spurs trade 14 for something, I'd rather the team use some of those future seconds to move back into the first from 38. There are a lot of teams bereft of future seconds, so the Spurs should be able to find a taker. They did a great job of trading away their extra picks before the draft this year, so I think they'll find a way to do it again next year.

I agree, there are many interesting prospects in the mid 20s to mid 30s going by ESPN mock, which is usually the most reliable resource for this kind of projections. Not perfect, but should be reasonably close. From the 20s on:
23 Nique Clifford
24 Maxime Raynaud
26 Yaxel Lendeborg
27 Rasheer Fleming
28 Noah Penda
30 Cedric Coward
31 Drake Powell
35 Ryan Kalkbrenner
51 Tyrese Proctor
I like a lot of those guys, in terms of profile and fit, most of them are productive, can shoot and defend, and I don't know that there's a huge gap between them and those mocked at 14. Personally, I have Carter Bryant as my first option at 14, but if he goes a couple picks earlier and you need to trade assets to move up, it might be a better idea to just roll over 14 and package a bunch of 2nds plus something else (say, eat a bit of money) and draft a couple of guys from that range. Harper plus whatever combination of 2 guys from that group and I'm pretty happy with that.

[Ariel]

Aside of Spurs drafting Harper at #2, I don't really have a strong opinion on what Wright should do this summer.

Just to give some random ideas: at #14, I quite like Carter Bryant, PJ Washington seems to be a good trade target and signing a backup center like Capela with the MLE would be fine.

Right now, my primary concern with the team is Vassell. I don't know what is his current trade value. I don't know how this value will hold with his future role next season (playing SF and being the 4th offensive option on the court most of the time). Vassell has $106M left on his contract, Spurs could end up being trapped with him if they keep him for too long.

Especially if you are adding Harper to the mix, there won't be that many shots to go around and if Vassell loses any more value his contract will make him hard to move. I'd absolutely explore trade options for 14 + Vassell and/or Keldon

[RC_Drunkford]

What's the relative trade value of PJ Washington vs Collins vs Cam Johnson? I like all 3 for different reasons, but personally prefer PJ just for the simple reason that he seems to consistently on OKC and matching up with them is basically my primary point of concern for the foreseeable future. Normally this seems like a bad idea to build your team around matching up with a single team but with their assets, quality of their front office, and the age of their core, I think they are going to be a problem for at least the next 5 if not 10 years.

I'm thinking the same way tbh.

Cam Johnson is an offball shooter. One of the best shooters in the league, but he's too slow to guard 3s and too thin to guard 5s. He can basically only defend PFs. Averages 4.3 rebounds, so in my opinion it's a no because we need somebody who can grab boards.

P.J. Washington is the best perimeter defender out of the 3. Averages 7.8 boards, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks. Having a 7'2'' wingspan helps a lot on that end. Shoots 38.1 % from 3 on decent volume and is only 26. Played with Keldon in Kentucky. Would also be my top option at PF for the same reason, he just gives OKC problems.


John Collins is the best player out of the bunch. He's basically a fringe All-Star and outplayed Lauri Markkanen last season. Shot 52.7/40/85 on a tanking Jazz team. Those numbers are nuts. Shoots the corner 3 better than Harrison Barnes (44%).

Averaged 19 PPG 8.2 REB 2 AST 1 STL 1 BLK, but they only played him 40 games because he's too good and would've messed up the tank. He's solid defensively if you play him at the 4. People have tried to do the smallball C stuff and it just doesn't work, because he's not a rim protector (6'11'' wingspan). He is an excellent weakside shotblocker though and extremely athletic.

You have to play him exclusively at PF. You can put him on Giannis, Embiid, etc., but he'll have problems defending guards. I'd say he can guard 3-5. All in all he's basically a net neutral on the defensive end, although he's never been part of a good defensive team, so there might be some untapped potential there.

Offensively he can do everything. Screen and roll, post up smaller defenders, face up slower bigmen, pick & pop, can shoot the 3 and the midrange J, hook shots, alley oops, you name it. The Jazz actually ran a lot of offense through Collins. Using him as a scorer against benches would make a lot of sense for example.

Will Hardy said he's the engine of the team and always brings maximal effort and physicality. Given that Mitch Johnson said in every second interview last year that we didn't match the opponents physicality, he would be a good addition. Military guy, went to Wake Forest, lived on the Virgin Islands, good locker room presence. Became a fan favorite in Utah.

[RC_Drunkford]

Aside of Spurs drafting Harper at #2, I don't really have a strong opinion on what Wright should do this summer.

Just to give some random ideas: at #14, I quite like Carter Bryant, PJ Washington seems to be a good trade target and signing a backup center like Capela with the MLE would be fine.

Right now, my primary concern with the team is Vassell. I don't know what is his current trade value. I don't know how this value will hold with his future role next season (playing SF and being the 4th offensive option on the court most of the time). Vassell has $106M left on his contract, Spurs could end up being trapped with him if they keep him for too long.

I think the general consensus here is:

draft a Forward
draft a backup C in the 2nd round
trade for a starting PF
sign a back up C in free agency

those 4 moves plus adding Harper should be enough. Bring in another veteran for the end of the bench and we're good to go.

I agree, there are many interesting prospects in the mid 20s to mid 30s going by ESPN mock, which is usually the most reliable resource for this kind of projections. Not perfect, but should be reasonably close. From the 20s on:
23 Nique Clifford
24 Maxime Raynaud
26 Yaxel Lendeborg
27 Rasheer Fleming
28 Noah Penda
30 Cedric Coward
31 Drake Powell
35 Ryan Kalkbrenner
51 Tyrese Proctor
I like a lot of those guys, in terms of profile and fit, most of them are productive, can shoot and defend, and I don't know that there's a huge gap between them and those mocked at 14. Personally, I have Carter Bryant as my first option at 14, but if he goes a couple picks earlier and you need to trade assets to move up, it might be a better idea to just roll over 14 and package a bunch of 2nds plus something else (say, eat a bit of money) and draft a couple of guys from that range. Harper plus whatever combination of 2 guys from that group and I'm pretty happy with that.

According to most people the players from 9 to 35 are more or less all in the same tier and it depends more on fit who you go for.

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs have something like 5 second round picks in 2026. What could they do with it?
Could they just exchange some of them for second round pick in another futur draft?

trade multiple 2nds for a late first or a future swap. Plenty of teams are asset depleted and could need a bunch of 2nd round picks to make smaller trades for role players.

[Guru of Nothing]

What's the record for most teams involved in a trade? Is there a 15-teamer deal on the horizon with caps and aprons blooming? With the Spurs crazy cache of flexibility, I get a sense others may come to us offering favors to grease their blockbuster deals. Could be a great opportunity to acquire another first round pick or two for 2028 and 2029 drafts. I like to think we can be of service to the those suffering from desperation and urgency.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Question for CBA experts here: I understand that you can trade into your MLE now. Can that be used as a part of an outgoing salary match? So if incoming player a makes $40 million and you want to trade out player B that makes $25 million can you use the MLE to absorb enough additional salary to make the trade work? Thanks.

[scott]

A not-fun and not-great scenario that could totally happen this summer is Spurs just not doing trades.

Spurs offseason would be something like Harper at #2, a project like Carter Bryant at #14 and using the MLE on a backup center.

After that, Spurs team will look like that:
Starting lineup: Fox/Castle/Vassell/Sochan/Wembanyama
Bench: Harper, Keldon, Champagnie, Barnes and the backup center.

Even if there are legit reasons to doubt on players like Vassell and Sochan, it isn't a that bad team.

This is what I expect to happen for the most part, except instead of a project like Bryant, Spurs just trade $14 for future picks.

ST.com will be fun if this happens.

[scott]

Spurs have something like 5 second round picks in 2026. What could they do with it?
Could they just exchange some of them for second round pick in another futur draft?

The Spurs are always ready to welcome Cash Considerations to the team

[rankingtear]

Question for CBA experts here: I understand that you can trade into your MLE now. Can that be used as a part of an outgoing salary match? So if incoming player a makes $40 million and you want to trade out player B that makes $25 million can you use the MLE to absorb enough additional salary to make the trade work? Thanks.

No.

[rankingtear]

Fire up the trade machine what combinations gets us Cam and Giannis in a BKN-MIL three teamer. BKN has the picks and the thing MIL wants the most cap relief. BKN wants their hometown prospect. This is a high leverage trade.

[jesterbobman]

If you want to get Collins (for the record, I don't), I think it's going to cost a little more than that. My guess would be something around Keldon + #14 for Collins + #21.

Probably right on value. I don't love Collins, but looking for a PF who can rebound, shoot and who seems likely to not cost the world (given team situation), I think he might be the best option. I think PJ is better, and I'd rather have him - but I think PJ is Keldon + 14 + stuff, rather than Keldon and a high value second or two. Given where we are in the build, I think it's worthwhile giving up assets to improve the environment and make a stronger commitment to winning, but I'm not sure if we're good enough to use up high quality fringe assets for better role guys.

[SpursBills]

Honestly if you can get PJ + Gafford for Vassell + undoing the Dallas swap + Boston swap, I'd probably do that as long he's willing to re-up for 20-25 a year. I like a lot of the draft and trade ideas I've seen here.

Fox-Harper
Castle-Champagnie
Barnes-Keldon
PJ-Sochan
Wemby-Gafford

Take whoever you want at 14 - Essengue, Sorber, Carter Bryant, or convert it to two picks and do 2 of Yaxel/WCJ/Kalkbrenner/Fleming/Penda/Thiero/Powell for depth. Let Gafford roll off after a year or re-sign him to something reasonable depending on who you draft. This way there's no pressure on whoever's going 14, and you can bring them along slowly which is my preference anyway since I don't think rookies (and especially teenagers) should have significant roles in a team gunning for the playoffs with certain rare exceptions.

[Chinook]

Question for CBA experts here: I understand that you can trade into your MLE now. Can that be used as a part of an outgoing salary match? So if incoming player a makes $40 million and you want to trade out player B that makes $25 million can you use the MLE to absorb enough additional salary to make the trade work? Thanks.

You can't. It's just like any other trade exception. A player's full contract has to fit inside of it, and it can't be aggregated with any other exception. It can still be used on multiple players, and as far as I know, that can be a mix of signings and trades. It can also be mixed in with other trades so long as the deal can be broken down into separate sub deals that don't violate any rules.

Like for example, the Spurs could trade Johnson, Barnes, Sochan and 14 for Durant and then use the MLE to take in O'Neale. That works so long as the Spurs send in the trade as the players for Durant and the pick for O'Neale via the MLE.

[buttsR4rebounding]

You can't. It's just like any other trade exception. A player's full contract has to fit inside of it, and it can't be aggregated with any other exception. It can still be used on multiple players, and as far as I know, that can be a mix of signings and trades. It can also be mixed in with other trades so long as the deal can be broken down into separate sub deals that don't violate any rules.

Like for example, the Spurs could trade Johnson, Barnes, Sochan and 14 for Durant and then use the MLE to take in O'Neale. That works so long as the Spurs send in the trade as the players for Durant and the pick for O'Neale via the MLE.

Thanks.

[Chinook]

So what about the opposite of what the most folks are talking about? Does anybody have an example of a trade the Spurs could do to gain an asset? We talked about the Spurs using the MLE on Clarke and trading for MPJ. But for example, Branham and Wesley can combine to bring back a player making more than $17 Million next year. Individually, they can return almost $10 Million. It feels like there have to be some contracts out there for players teams want to get rid of but who could be useful bench pieces for a couple of seasons.

[tbdog]

For a Branham and Wesley package, upgrades would be.

Peyton Watson
Wendell Carter
Aaron Wiggins
Caleb Martin
Goga Bitadze
Naji Marshall

[CGD]

Aside of Spurs drafting Harper at #2, I don't really have a strong opinion on what Wright should do this summer.

Just to give some random ideas: at #14, I quite like Carter Bryant, PJ Washington seems to be a good trade target and signing a backup center like Capela with the MLE would be fine.

Right now, my primary concern with the team is Vassell. I don't know what is his current trade value. I don't know how this value will hold with his future role next season (playing SF and being the 4th offensive option on the court most of the time). Vassell has $106M left on his contract, Spurs could end up being trapped with him if they keep him for too long.

100% agree on Devin. He is the biggest question mark for me this offseason.

Personally, I think today he has more value than the average person on this board thinks, but I am concerned it will diminish with a bench role and the addition of Harper and growth of Castle.

[CGD]

So what about the opposite of what the most folks are talking about? Does anybody have an example of a trade the Spurs could do to gain an asset? We talked about the Spurs using the MLE on Clarke and trading for MPJ. But for example, Branham and Wesley can combine to bring back a player making more than $17 Million next year. Individually, they can return almost $10 Million. It feels like there have to be some contracts out there for players teams want to get rid of but who could be useful bench pieces for a couple of seasons.

Aside from Boston, who are the teams in tax ? I’d start looking there.

[mo7888]

Aside from Boston, who are the teams in tax ? I’d start looking there.

Phoenix, Minnesota, and Cleveland as currently constructed.