San Antonio Spurs: Trade #2
Perhaps the most underrated trade candidate on the San Antonio Spurs roster is backup center, Zach Collins. Collins was signed to a three-year deal back in the summer of 2021 and has slowly rebuilt his trade value after missing significant time as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers.
He’s been productive in the silver and black, averaging 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in just 22 minutes per game this season. Additionally, he’s shown improvement defensively, particularly as a rim protector, and has given the Spurs’ second unit some toughness. Collins can also knock down open threes, but that isn’t a reliable part of his game just yet.
Fortunately for both Collins and the Spurs, Collins has managed to stay mostly healthy and could even be sought after by another team. One team could be the Los Angeles Clippers, who may be in the market for a backup center. The Clippers have struggled this season, and despite being one of the deeper teams in the NBA, they don’t have a quality backup center. Collins has already proven to be that for the Spurs and could make an impact on a playoff team such as the Clippers if given the chance.
As far as a potential trade is concerned, the Spurs could trade Collins for Robert Covington and the Clippers’ 2025 and 2026 second-round picks. Covington makes nearly $5 million more than Collins this season and $6.2 million more next season, saving the Clippers millions in salary and more than double in luxury tax payments.
By moving on from Collins and presumably acquiring Poeltl in a separate trade, the Spurs would worsen their team, which would improve their lottery odds. After all, without those two players, they would only have Charles Bassey Jr., Isaiah Roby, and Gorgui Dieng at center.
Furthermore, if the Spurs do land the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, Victor Wembanyama, they will almost certainly move on from Collins. Receiving two second-round picks in return is decent value, and they could theoretically trade Covington next season for more assets.