Devin Vassell #24 and Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs
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Devin Vassell #24 and Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs
When it comes to what the San Antonio Spurs have done so far here in the first half of the NBA season, the remarkable aspect has been the way they’ve gone from a team that was expected to take a nice step forward from the 34-win team they were last year to a real contender–not for a playoff spot, but for an NBA championship.
The Spurs are 25-10 and feature three wins over the Thunder this season, a remarkable turnaround for a young team on the rise. They were slated by preseason bookmakers to win 44.5 games, but their current pace has them at 58 wins, an early arrival for a bunch that features three top players–Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle–22 years old or under.
The Spurs are the No. 2 team in the West, and the No. 3 team overall in the league. That’s led to a persistent question around the NBA: Can this team vault itself into the role of NBA title favorite by doing some tinkering at the NBA trade deadline?
Spurs Set to Be Boring at NBA Trade Deadline
The answer might be boring for fans of NBA transactions–and there are many of those–but around the league, the Spurs are increasingly seen as a team that will hold its cards as they are, at least for this season.
“A lot of teams have tried to engage them on their young guards and they’ve consistently said, ‘No,’ on that,” one GM told Heavy Sports. “They’re busy, they have a lot of targets. But then even their veterans, they really like everyone they’ve got in place. Harrison Barnes is 33 now but they’re not going to move on from him, they love his presence. Teams have asked. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, (Julian) Champagnie–there are guys they’re just not giving up on now even if you wonder how they fit going forward.
“The plan there is to stay put and it looks pretty definite.”
Patience Is a Virtue in San Antonio
Basically, the Spurs’ approach to this season is to see how things work together, play it out all the way through, and then see what changes might be available in the offseason. Not only does San Antonio have a wealth of talent, but they also have the right to swap picks with Atlanta in this year’s draft, plus Atlanta’s pick in next year’s draft. There’s also Boston’s pick in 2028.
The Spurs will send out their own first-rounder in 2027. But San Antonio also has 17 second-round picks in the next six years, as well as two future pick-swaps.
That would be plenty of assets to add a player like Anthony Davis or Giannis Antetokounmpo, if the Spurs sought to make an upgrade like that. But they’re not in that market.
“They’re in a position where they have a lot of look forward to, where they can be a contender for the next five or 10 years–they do not have to go all-in this season,” the GM said. “There’s no move out there that is going automatically make them contenders, no move that does not come with the risk of blowing up in their faces.
“Maybe something happens after the season. But they’re gonna play it out first.”