2021 SPURS TRADE DEADLINE THREAD

[imagump1313]

Interesting.

I'm not bagging on Aldridge, I'm just trying to think like other teams interested in him.

If I'm Ainge or Pat Riley, I know in the back of my mind that if he's not dealt by the deadline I can get him for nothing. I know we can't get much in return anyway but this is why Miami is offering their dirty laundry.
There is a reason Harkless doesn't play
Bradly isn't needed so we would probably release him anyway
Leonard might be useful if he could stay healthy but right now no one in the league wants to touch him(Miami just wants to be rid of him at this point IMO)

I'm afraid if Aldridge is traded at all its going to be a last second deal at the deadline if 2 teams happen to be competing for him. But lets be honest. He isn't going to put Miami or Boston or anywhere else he goes over the hump to contending for a championship so I'm not expecting a deal. Hopefully I will be surprised

[G R E Y]

Interesting.

I'm not bagging on Aldridge, I'm just trying to think like other teams interested in him.

If I'm Ainge or Pat Riley, I know in the back of my mind that if he's not dealt by the deadline I can get him for nothing. I know we can't get much in return anyway but this is why Miami is offering their dirty laundry.
There is a reason Harkless doesn't play
Bradly isn't needed so we would probably release him anyway
Leonard might be useful if he could stay healthy but right now no one in the league wants to touch him(Miami just wants to be rid of him at this point IMO)

I'm afraid if Aldridge is traded at all its going to be a last second deal at the deadline if 2 teams happen to be competing for him. But lets be honest. He isn't going to put Miami or Boston or anywhere else he goes over the hump to contending for a championship so I'm not expecting a deal. Hopefully I will be surprised

I think that's what other teams are hoping. But with several teams reportedly interested and only one being able to secure LMA, I think there is a team that gives up some assets for him.

If baseline is Okpala and a pick (once everything settles with all the other players to make the financials work), then this is a solid return for a player out of our rotation and future. Perhaps we're now using this as a baseline for the deal to beat. And I think we do deal LMA rather than buy him out - he's not the player he was even last season, but he's still averaging nearly 14 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Off the bench as a vet presence who is playing for his next contract? That's a solid back up who can give a little something extra and provide insurance.You never know when you'll need it. Look at Philly, for instance.

Heat have been linked to LMA for two seasons, and can get him cheaper now. We're still getting expirings so cap next season is about same plus a prospect at a position of need (I'd be interested in Okpala at the 3 rather than 4, but the more versatility the better).

[imagump1313]

Sorry, I missed the part about a pick. That makes a big difference.

[G R E Y]

Five teams, interesting! And it's worth repeating that LMA's $24M requires a minimum of $19M coming back, depending on who we deal with:

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Here's the original source:

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[MiamiSun]

Heat fan here to give you perspective on our thoughts as well as info about the players available.

We don't want to trade Kelly Olynik. In our opinion, it defeats the purpose. Jimmy Butler and KO when playing together have great chemistry and their +/- is somewhere around +13. We are looking at LMA to soak up the minutes that are available due to Myers injury. We are lacking depth next to Bam. Right now the only front court players we have are rookie Precious Achula (who for some reason has never played alongside Bam), Andre Iggy, and KO. Like I said, trading KO leaves us thin and totally defeats this purpose.

Harkless was supposed to be the replacement for Jae Crowder but is just not big or strong enough so he fell out of favor quickly. He has not been in the rotation since the first month of the season.

Avery Bradley is a player we really were counting on to be a closer and a point of attack defender against other teams best backcourt player but he has been injured and not been available enough. He is an elite defender and I really think we need him in the playoffs. Seeing that things are going well without him makes him available but again we signed him to be a stopper in the playoffs.

Now the young ones:

KZ Okpala is a nice young that our fan base has really been rooting for throughout his development. He is a very good defender and shoots the 3 well but he just hasn't had the minutes on the floor in the NBA to show his full skillset. His D-league outings were very impressive. You will love KZ. Reminds me a bit of Shawn Marion with a better looking shot.


Chris Silva was supposed to be the next UD Haslem. He is rough and rugged and very physical. He shoots well from midrange and rebounds well. He has been inconsistent but is a high character guy.

Other trades that we are in the mix for include Victor Olidipo and Kyle Lowry. So this means that both the Spurs and Heat have leverage to use their assets in the best way.

I hope that they can come to a deal, as I know LMA could fit perfectly into our system.

[G R E Y]

Heat fan here to give you perspective on our thoughts as well as info about the players available.

We don't want to trade Kelly Olynik. In our opinion, it defeats the purpose. Jimmy Butler and KO when playing together have great chemistry and their +/- is somewhere around +13. We are looking at LMA to soak up the minutes that are available due to Myers injury. We are lacking depth next to Bam. Right now the only front court players we have are rookie Precious Achula (who for some reason has never played alongside Bam), Andre Iggy, and KO. Like I said, trading KO leaves us thin and totally defeats this purpose.

Harkless was supposed to be the replacement for Jae Crowder but is just not big or strong enough so he fell out of favor quickly. He has not been in the rotation since the first month of the season.

Avery Bradley is a player we really were counting on to be a closer and a point of attack defender against other teams best backcourt player but he has been injured and not been available enough. He is an elite defender and I really think we need him in the playoffs. Seeing that things are going well without him makes him available but again we signed him to be a stopper in the playoffs.

Now the young ones:

KZ Okpala is a nice young that our fan base has really been rooting for throughout his development. He is a very good defender and shoots the 3 well but he just hasn't had the minutes on the floor in the NBA to show his full skillset. His D-league outings were very impressive. You will love KZ. Reminds me a bit of Shawn Marion with a better looking shot.


Chris Silva was supposed to be the next UD Haslem. He is rough and rugged and very physical. He shoots well from midrange and rebounds well. He has been inconsistent but is a high character guy.

Other trades that we are in the mix for include Victor Olidipo and Kyle Lowry. So this means that both the Spurs and Heat have leverage to use their assets in the best way.

I hope that they can come to a deal, as I know LMA could fit perfectly into our system.

Hello and welcome, MiamiSun!

Thanks for your insights. Sounds like you'd be ok with swapping Okpala as part of a package to match the financials for LMA. I really liked the videos I saw of him. We need someone that's both like Okpala and Silva, though I think the former has a bigger ceiling while also younger and the latter is someone we potentially have with Keita Bates-Diop even if he's listed as a 3.

I thought incorrectly that Okpala is a PF (probably because his #4 is listed beside his name ) but we've interchanged 3s and 4s depending on need anyway. While I find the prospect of his size, 3&D, and athleticism tantalizing, we're still doing 4-by-committee with acquiring him. I'd still like to do that deal, especially if there were a reported pick of some sort attached. Outside of DeMar whose tenure with us may end after this season, guys we have playing the 3 are on the shorter side. Having a talented 3 with his size is also a need.

With LMA you get a pro's pro with some automatic shots which muscle memory have honed throughout his career. Even in this off year he's averaging nearly 14PPG and 5 rebounds. He's a big body and can use it to bang down low, but his hops are not really there anymore (at least they weren't with us. If he happens to make some miracle fountain of youth recovery it'll be a bit upsetting), his hips are stiff in that he can't change direction very well so he got switched on by guards to drive by him, and he doesn't really run the floor well either; rotations out to close out 3s were the stuff of memes. Our unspoken break from LMA really happened late last season in the bubble when we moved to a transition style of play.

But in a half court setting, and in the left block he is pretty much automatic. He also wants to prove himself for his next contract so he'll be motivated to do what's asked of him and do it well. I bring up the latter because it took some time and soft adjusting on Pop's part and then on LMA's to get him to be more willing to change his style of play. He was our biggest FA acquisition and we catered our game around his.

He's an enigmatic personality - not easy to know, coming across as introverted / doesn't give a lot away / hard to read at times, and in the past that has manifested with some passive aggressiveness about changes to his game. But to his credit, he's an old dog who willingly took on new tricks - stepping out for more 3s (last season he was one of our most efficient shooters from the arc), moving the ball more rather than mostly being the end point of a possession, drawing and getting out of doubles either with passes or splitting defenders. His patented turnaround Js are still a thing of beauty. He can punish defenders with his post ups, and is a big body in boxing out so that even if he doesn't get the rebound, his presence helps a team mate get it. Overall, he's altered his game, added to it, so that he can prolong his career and be more serviceable.

He's a very solid, dependable presence for your team needs. And better to have him on your side than to play a team that has him and he can still hit those shooting streaks where he just doesn't miss.

Best of luck the rest of the way. I hope we do the deal and mutually benefit from it.

[G R E Y]

Good. If we end up having to buy out LMA rather than take back contracts beyond this season of players who won't help our roster without even getting some kind of pick then fine. But we're not in the giving away our valuable vets business - in this case, Rudy - for nothing. The three vets we have now - only three! - are each valuable to us, so unless we get comparable value back, we're great with using their services for our best benefit, thanks:

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[imagump1313]

Honestly, I think Gay is a better player than Aldridge right now. We wont get much for either, but I'm still in the camp that Aldridge will be bought out.

[G R E Y]

Well we know that info about Rudy didn't come from us. Wonder about the reason behind the leak. Like they didn't like what we sought for LMA or Rudy so the word got out in retaliation or what? It's the time of year for rumours but this sounded like a specific discussion. **** thing to let leak.

And we now have some more info about LMA:

Speaking on ESPN's The Jump, Windhorst reports the issue with trading Aldridge.

"They have continued to have trade talks. They could trade LaMarcus by sundown here in San Antonio if they wanted to but the issue here is are they willing to take back long-term money."

"I suspect they're not going to find a deal they like and that LaMarcus will get bought out by next Thursday. San Antonio is still listening to offers and there are a few on the table they could go with if they decide to go a route we don't expect."

https://news4sanantonio.com/sports/spurs-zone/espns-windhorst-spurs-continue-to-have-trade-talks-for-aldridge-are-offers-on-the-table

Interesting. So there are concrete offers on the table. I wonder if there are some picks attached if we take on longer contracts.

What I find most intriguing is what's not said. Reading between the lines, we're so careful about preserving that cap space you can't help but think we have specific targets we don't want to compromise on.

[G R E Y]

Per RealGM wiretap, word of Heat's interest in LMA - in the buyout market - keep circulating and it's not coming from us. I don't like the signal sending through the media - hey man, would love to have you... for nothing! Let's talk! The circumventing of dealing with the team via media rubs me the wrong way.

That said, I hope we get something for LMA and if we have to go the buyout route, he goes east somewhere.

EDIT to add:

Subtle

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[G R E Y]

So LMA we clearly know about as Pop said it.

Now we have word or DeMar, Rudy, and Trey possibly being moved. Some context:

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I don't trust Bleacher Report as I do other sources, and I trust all of them less without players saying or confirming something themselves. DeMar s previously shot down rumours that he was unhappy in SA, saying that if it doesn't come from him then don't believe it. What we do know is that he and the Spurs have differences in terms of contract duration - he'd be willing to re-sign with us if it were for the full term whereas we want a shorter deal. So it's not a surprise that word of his moving elsewhere as FA is a consideration, that it's East is also not surprising, and that we're doing due diligence on potential deals is responsible.

Trey has said he'd love to stay here long term, but that was before the season started and he fell out of the rotation so it's no wonder he and his reps would want a place where he could get more minutes.

Rudy is a very solid vet and second to Patty as our best 3 shooter. His defensive metrics are really good this season as well.

Nevertheless, LMA, DD, Rudy and Trey are all FA's this off-season, and if we can get some quality assets back now we have to consider all options for the best of the team now and for the future.

So these are the reports up for speculation right now:

According to a report from Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, San Antonio Spurs' DeMar DeRozan, Trey Lyles, and Rudy Gay may also be changing teams along with LaMarcus Aldridge ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline.

The report states that teams - Bulls, Knicks, and Magic - are inquiring about DeRozan. Fischer reports that DeRozan is interested in playing elsewhere as he enters unrestricted free agency this upcoming offseason.

"The San Antonio Spurs have made it clear that LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan are available via trade, according to league sources."

"DeRozan is also playing out the final year of his contract, and sources said he has an interest in playing elsewhere following this season—perhaps with an eye toward the Eastern Conference."

"There's a faction of the Chicago front office that feels adding one piece such as DeRozan could push the Bulls firmly into the postseason, sources said."

"And the Orlando Magic have discussed trading Evan Fournier, also on an expiring deal, plus a first-round pick for DeRozan, as the four-time All-Star could re-sign and help bolster the Magic once their roster returns to full health next season."

"The ever-active Knicks have considered acquiring DeRozan, sources said, but New York has the same reservations regarding that possible move as with the Victor Oladipo scenario we detailed Monday."

"Multiple league sources mentioned Trey Lyles and his representatives are interested in a new destination for the 25-year-old forward and that the Spurs are also open to moving Rudy Gay in the final year of his contract."

Again this report could simply be the Spurs doing their diligence and inquiring about the kind of return they could get for DeRozan. With him in his final contract year, perhaps it is prudent for the Spurs to net something in return versus seeing him walk away for nothing. The same goes for Gay.

https://news4sanantonio.com/sports/report-spurs-are-open-to-moving-derozan-gay-lyles-interested-in-new-team

[RaptorPride]

DeMar is not getting traded?

[G R E Y]

DeMar is not getting traded?

I guess we'll know soon enough. Listening to offers is due diligence. I reckon some previous discussions are being returned to, and some new ones potentially on board, but that's par for the course at this time of year.

Fournier and a 1st is being bandied about but I don't put much stock into the source. I'd be thrilled with a 19PPG expiring who shoots 3s and what looks like a lotto pick so I'd be surprised if we get that. Both franchises are tight lipped. Heat, it seems, like to put out info about other franchises. Somewhat underhanded, and comes across as a bit desperate with all that signalling, but whatever.

[G R E Y]

Sure. Makes sense. Too bad it couldn't have worked out for one with us. But this doesn't sound like the Heat. Probably why they've been signalling so hard for him. He may be on their radar, but they may not be on his. Either way, I hope LMA goes out East:

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[G R E Y]

I think Bleacher Report is making hypotheticals. There was some bad blood between the Spurs and Knicks after the MM debacle and them trying to cover themselves for their unprofessional conduct, excusing it with accusations that we supposedly tried to talk to PK behind their backs. Crying while stabbing you type of thing.

Plus there's nothing concrete about what would potentially be coming back.

Right now I like Fournier and a 1st best.

We'll see how things progress.

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[G R E Y]

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Not a damn thing. Hard not to be frustrated as a fan when we clearly need 4/5 help and West opponents are shoring up there all the more. But as a fan I also don't know the offers that came our way and whether this was not the best option.

We know guys were available but if we were to have gotten offers that handcuffed us or ones that don't meet our needs, what's the point? We have five FA's now. With potentially cap space as the biggest asset. So we better have some exceptional plan for it.

[G R E Y]

WAIT! ONE DAMN THING!

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Looking up Cady Lalanne...

Chriss is out for the season. We seem to be doing our West coast friends a financial favour to get under tax line:

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Well there's the context, then:

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[G R E Y]

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Translated: The next big date in the NBA, April 9. Last day of deadline to be able to terminate a contract with a team and be eligible to sign as a free agent for another and at the same time be able to be registered to play the playoffs. (Aldridge, Drummond ...)

[G R E Y]

You were right, gump:

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[G R E Y]

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We were initially sending Trey to Dallas per two deleted Shams tweets. For what we don't know. Given we got some cap money and cash considerations from GSW it may have been an expiring contract.

We still have a roster spot available. I wonder if we explore that route?