San Antonio Spurs: Pass or pursue on 3 huge trade and draft rumors
By Duncan Smith
Pass: Trade DeMar DeRozan to the Los Angeles Lakers
The San Antonio Spurs are also rumored to be interested in moving DeMar DeRozan, and apparently, the Los Angeles Lakers would consider sending back Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma in exchange.
While DeRozan is not necessarily a player that can lead you to championship contention, he has value on the floor as a lead scorer and playmaker. He also has a player option worth $27.7 million that he is sure to pick up, and when his deal wraps up next summer the Spurs will figure to have massive available cap space for the Great Free Agency Bonanza of 2021.
The Lakers would be sending back two expiring contracts themselves in Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma. While Green will likely get a significant pay cut next season, Kuzma will be a restricted free agent who appears ready to play hardball in negotiations next summer.
It won’t be hard for the Spurs to find max (or more) cap space next summer, so it’s not that Kuzma will curtail those efforts. The issue is that a trade for Kuzma marries your organization to him in the long-term. For a team like the San Antonio Spurs with the potential to retool in an exciting way, this is simply not a deal they need to do.
Trade DeMar DeRozan, sure. Do it in the offseason or before the trade deadline if you like, but this isn’t the deal for the Spurs.