5 Bold San Antonio Spurs trades ahead of the deadline
By Cal Durrett
San Antonio Spurs: Trade #5
After salary-dumping Kristaps Porzingis, the Dallas Mavericks are stuck with one of the worst contracts in the league. Former Spur Davis Bertans is currently owed around $33 million over the next two seasons, and the Mavericks would probably prefer to not have to pay him that. Therefore, they could seek out the rival Spurs in hopes of a trade. The Spurs have almost $28 million in cap space remaining and could afford to take on Bertans’ contract in a trade.
Better yet, they have several assets that the Mavs might want, one of which is Josh Richardson. Richardson played in Dallas before he was shipped to Boston and then the Spurs. While he didn’t play all that well in Dallas, he has been much better in those subsequent stops. Therefore, he could help the Mavericks and save them a lot in future salaries.
As far as a trade, the Spurs could ship Richardson to Dallas for Bertans, a Mavericks unprotected 2025 first, and a 2027 first-round pick swap. That deal might seem advantageous to the Mavs at first, but the deal makes plenty of sense for the Spurs. Bertans is owed $33 million, but the final year of his contract is only partially guaranteed for $5 million unless he plays in at least 75% of the games.
He probably won’t reach that threshold, making his remaining deal worth closer to $22 million over the next two seasons. The Spurs receiving a first-round pick for taking on that amount is fair market value, while the distant pick swap is icing on the cake.
The Mavericks have done a bad job of building around Luka Doncic so far, and he may not even be on the team by 2027. That could mean that the Spurs would be able to swap picks with a rebuilding team, assuming they aren’t still rebuilding themselves by then. This could be a good deal for Dallas and a potentially great one for the Spurs.