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After enjoying one of the most successful runs in professional sports history behind the Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs have digressed to an average basketball team. Kawhi Leonard's surge kept them competitive for a couple of years before he departed for the Toronto Raptors. Dejounte Murray has reached All-Star caliber level already, while certain role players like Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl have been tremendous as well.
With some of these positive results in the midst of another losing season, it was a massive surprise for the San Antonio front office to execute numerous moves before the NBA trade deadline. Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks, Bryn Forbes and most importantly Derrick White were all dealt to either clear cap space or take a flier on young players with upside. White was the most surprising player moved not just because he was performing at an excellent level alongside Murray in the backcourt, but because there's a chance the Spurs could have traded him elsewhere for a bigger return.
Spurs' biggest mistake at the 2022 NBA trade deadline
The viable reason in letting White go was it would open up more minutes for Devin Vassell. That has been a remarkable move so far as Vassell has been terrific in the first two games without White in the lineup. Even with Vassell's emergence, the questionable decision was the package they gained from sending White to the Boston Celtics. Josh Richardson has broadly struggled since moving on from the Miami Heat three years ago, while Romeo Langford has not been close to reaching his potential with the Celtics.
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The Spurs received draft compensation in the deal as well, but with Richardson being the best player coming back to San Antonio, it seems the front office could've shopped White more aggressively and found a better package than Boston's. Richardson wasn't very consistent alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, thus it would make it tough for him to blossom playing behind Vassell and Johnson. Langford has been hobbled with injuries all throughout his first few years in Boston, which has caused him to never find his rhythm as a three-and-D wing.
Two of these acquisitions do not help a rebuilding squad like the Spurs, thus making it questionable why they settled on this trade. For instance, they could have called the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets or New Orleans Pelicans for better draft compensation because those three franchises have a plethora of picks at their disposal for the next several years. They may not have been able to receive a player of Richardon's caliber, but it is the draft capital that is more vital for the position San Antonio is currently in.
Even in separate trades involving Young and Goran Dragic deal, they could have angled for more draft assets rather than absorbing Dragic's expiring contract and just negotiating a buyout instantly. The culture and environment of the Spurs organization cannot be heavily doubted with the numerous championships they have earned already, but these trades just seem odd for them to execute in the middle of the season.
Frustrated Spurs fans must focus on the optimistic facets of their team, like the exponential development of Murray, Johnson and Poeltl, intriguing potential of Vassell and rookie Josh Primo and revitalization of veterans like Doug McDermott and Zach Collins. Gregg Popovich's illustrious coaching career is winding down. San Antonio's faithful must enjoy these moments rather than focus on the immediate repercussions of these trade deadline deals.
