Does this trade work for the San Antonio Spurs?
The last time the San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs, Karl Malone was league MVP, Allen Iverson won rookie of the year, and Jordan was on his way to capturing his fifth championship ring. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 23 years, it’s time for the San Antonio Spurs to embrace the inevitable rebuild fully.
After two seasons of trying to make it work, it’s obvious the Spurs won’t get very far with DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way.
Both are likely gone before the completion of next season. It appears DeRozan will be the easier one to trade of the two, despite earning $3.74 million more than Aldridge next year once he officially opts into the final year of his contract. There’s a bigger need for perimeter shot creators across the league than for aging big men.
If Aldridge is moved, expect him to be traded to a championship-caliber team in need of a big and looking for an extra push. Maybe he’ll end up somewhere like Brooklyn or Houston, who could use someone to man the paint on defense but can also stretch the floor to allow the guards to attack the paint.
With Rudy Gay, Aldridge, Patty Mills, and Derrick White entering the final year of their respective contracts trading DeRozan instead of granting him a contract extension would effectively make the Spurs major players in free agency next year and the Giannis Antetokounpo sweepstakes. 2021 will be the biggest year of free agency since 2016.
At the same time, it will open up more playing time for Keldon Johnson, who had a promising rookie season, and Lonnie Walker, who showed some improvements last season and displayed the potential to be one of the premier two-way players in the league.
If the Spurs absolutely love a player early in the draft and don’t expect him to be there at 11, then it makes sense to embrace the rebuild; dump some of your larger contracts and actually get something in return for DeRozan instead of allowing him to walk in free agency next year for nothing.