Spurs should trade Vassell for picks and expirings

[Chinook]

The first has an innate contradiction that comes from fundamentally not understanding who Vassell is as a player. If he's not good enough to be the third star on the Spurs, he's not good enough to be the third star anywhere, and "third star" is the only role he knows how to play. There is not another team that can use Vassell better. There is just another team that could use him "sooner". The only sensible trade for him requires another team to value him higher than the role he already has with the Spurs. The only way to do this is to pretend he occupies a different niche than he does.

If Markkanen has to be the third guy on a contender or can only be the second option if it's a 2a/2b thing, I question his trade value. Simply put, you can't have an offense-first guy on a max contract who can't be a top-two option on a contender. The Spurs should just not trade for him and focus on acquiring that real second guy. Vassell may not be a second banana -- it's too early to tell. But because he's making about half of what some other players are making, it's not really an issue. He's being paid a sustainable salary for what he's likely to be. The next guy the Spurs bring in won't be in that same position.

[Cappy_Smurf]

Spurs should think about moving Wemby so they can tank properly.

[babyjax13]

The latest noise is that Markkanen intends to go the FA route and will not extend.

From where? I've not seen that from any Utah or national reporter and we've held enough space too R&E him to his full max this year. In fact, all I've heard is the opposite - he will R&E and Utah is uninterested in trading him unless an offer is overwhelmingly tilted in their favor. Hence, Sacramento and Golden State have been rebuffed, and Utah has made no moves that would tie up more cap than they need for the R&E.

[babyjax13]

If Markkanen has to be the third guy on a contender or can only be the second option if it's a 2a/2b thing, I question his trade value. Simply put, you can't have an offense-first guy on a max contract who can't be a top-two option on a contender. The Spurs should just not trade for him and focus on acquiring that real second guy.

I really don't understand this logic at all. 25ppg on 64%TS and 23ppg on 63%TS as a first option on low usage doesn't convince you that he can be the second option on a championship team? Honestly I really can't imagine watching Lauri consistently and walking away saying, "man, that guy should be a third option." That, frankly, would be wasting him. He's an 'offense first' player in the sense that he's one of the 15-20 best scorers in the league (depending on how you weigh volume vs. efficiency), but he's also not a sieve defensively and quite versatile as a mobile seven footer. He gives effort, he isn't hunted, he is an excellent rebounder...he's not a transcendent defender, but that's (a) not why he is special, and (b) isn't a liability.

I am not saying the Spurs should trade him, it might be better not to accelerate their rebuild - but he 100% would be a great second option, probably one of the 6 or 7 best secondary scorers in the league . The only second options I think are or might be better scorers (not remarking on other parts of their games) are:

Durant
Irving
Probably Davis
Maybe Brown (depends on how you value efficiency - he does have more value in other areas of the game than Lauri)
Maybe Bane (not as efficient, Lauri has scored at higher volume)
Maybe Lillard (depends on if we get late Portland efficiency and/or earlier career volume, or Milwaukee efficiency + volume)
Maybe George (not sure he can score at the same volume, not as efficient)

[One_and_Done]

Trading Vassell is a horrible idea.

[cl2117]

As others have highlighted, I don't see the logic behind trading a guy like Vassell for assets that you're expecting to turn into a guy better than Vassell. Feels contradictory. I also truly believe in Vassell as a player, so wouldn't want to be moving him unless I was getting a true next level star back in return, couldn't accept picks/expirings for the guy.

The only way I could have seen the Spurs move Vassell is if they were ballsy enough to tank try and tank for Flagg. Given how good Wemby might be next year, that could be hard even if you gut the roster, so tanking might not have ever even been an option. Still though the thought of being able to pair two talents like that, they had to have at least thought about it for a bit.

But with the way the draft odds are spread out it's too high a variance play when you've got such a solid core in front of you already, plus they've already got a couple of bites at the apple anyway thanks to Atlanta's pick. It's not worth rocking the boat too much when you've already got a cheat code on the roster.

[Chinook]

If Markkanen has to be the third guy on a contender or can only be the second option if it's a 2a/2b thing, I question his trade value. Simply put, you can't have an offense-first guy on a max contract who can't be a top-two option on a contender. The Spurs should just not trade for him and focus on acquiring that real second guy.

I really don't understand this logic at all.

I think that's because you're reading this defensively and not in the context of my point. It's not really making a judgment on Markkanen at all. It's about the logic that the Spurs should have Wemby, Markkanen AND a third max player. I don't think that's sustainable. If Wemby and Markkanen aren't enough star power that means either Wemby's not ready or that Mark isn't good enough. It doesn't mean the team should be trying to save max cap space to go even more all-in on a third guy.

If the duo is good enough, the Spurs aren't likely to get a better number three than Vassell given his contract and upside. If Devin is so incapable of being a third option on a contender, then he doesn't have the trade value the OP suggests the Spurs should be exploiting. No matter where he'd go, Vassell would be acquired to be their second or third option, because that's where he skill-set fits. He doesn't actually have a role-player skill-set, even though he had the potential there in college.

I'm not as desperate for Markkanen as many Spurs fans are. I don't think the Spurs are at the point where they should be worrying about a move like this. Maybe that changes by the time the deadline rolls around. We'll see. Regardless, the same conditions I brought up for Mark would be applied to any potential major acquisition on a max contract. Any of them have to be able to be a clear number two on a title team. Simply put, the Spurs can't afford three max contracts, especially with their current ownership. That will never be an option for them. Their path to building a contender doesn't necessarily include Vassell -- there's a chance someone like Castle become their SG of the future, while Devin is moved for that second max guy and the team picks up a dynamic PG through the draft. But right now he's their second-best player locked up through the second year of Wemby's extension for an ever-decreasing percentage of the cap. He's the (second-to-) last person the team should be looking to trade.