6) NBA Trades: The Spurs address their biggest flaw by acquiring Jonas Valanciunas from the Wizards.
Any deal that would allow San Antonio to trade backup center Zach Collins without having to give up a first-round pick would be a win considering that he is on one of the worst contracts in the NBA. When he signed his 2-year, $35 million extension, he was starting for the Spurs.
However, he failed in that role, and the Spurs opted to move Wembanyama up to center, forcing Collins to the bench. Even despite him previously thriving in the second unit, he has been a train wreck this season, with his skills as a scorer in the post, as a passer, and as a theoretical floor spacer all seemingly having evaporated.
That should make the Spurs interested in Washington Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas is owed $30 million over this season and the next two years, but his contract is spread out enough that it isn't considered to be an overpay. He is also having a better year, averaging 11.7 points and 8 rebounds in just 19.4 minutes per game this season.
Trading Collins and Charlotte's top-14 protected first, which is likely to convey as two projected high second-round picks for Valanciunas, would allow the Spurs to get off of a bad contract while distributing that money over three seasons as opposed to two. That would save around $5 million in the long run and allow them more cap space this summer and next summer. That is not to mention that they would be getting an upgrade at backup center where they have struggled at this season.
They have tried out both Collins and Charles Bassey; even power forward Jeremy Sochan has spent time in that role, and none of them have been effective. While it is only about 16 minutes per game, whenever Wembanyama heads to the bench, the Spurs suddenly look far more vulnerable. Valanciunas won't solve all of their problems, but he should be better than Collins has been, even though that is damning with faint praise.
Being able to have a competent backup to Wembanyama would be helpful, with him having to play increased minutes of late to counterbalance the lack of having a decent backup. Better still, while Valanciunas is older than Collins and more likely to regress over the remainder of his contract, should he decline, his roughly $10 million salary for next season and the season after it would be easier to move.
For the Wizards part, they are still early on in their rebuild and can use all of the draft picks that they can get, and swapping Valanciunas out for Collins would net them multiple second-rounders. After all, they intentionally signed him last summer with the goal of eventually trading him to a playoff team in need of big-man help.
The Spurs are among the teams that do with other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, also in pursuit of more size up front. However, the Spurs have more picks, including better-quality second-round picks, making them a viable option for the Wizards and Valanciunas.