Despite reported interest in making a move, the San Antonio Spurs did not make a trade ahead of the NBA deadline. Second in the Western Conference standings for the better part of a month and a half and loaded with a talented young core, the organization decided to let February 5 come and go without front office activity. Victor Wembanyama heard the lack of a deal loud and clear.
“If there's any message to be taken from it, it's that we trust who we are, we trust the process. And what I love is that the front office trusts these guys just like I do.”
Combine the Spurs chest of draft picks into the next decade with their willingness to part with 2022 first rounder Jeremy Sochan, and there was anticipation something might get done. The fact that no move was made is just fine with Wemby.
“We're on the same page.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs are enjoying easily their best season since the generational talent entered the league in 2023. A 135-123 win against a Dallas Mavericks squad they're playing back to back marked their 35th win through 51 games. They won 34 games all of last season.
De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell open up about trade deadline
The toughest stretch of the year is now over. At least, when it comes to off-the-court matters. That's according to Spurs guard Devin Vassell.
“Yeah, I would say so, for sure,” the sixth-year veteran responded when asked if the trade deadline represented the worst part.
“There's a lot of uncertainty, with the trade (deadline), like last year with the Luka [Doncic] trade. You never know what could happen. It's obviously a stressful time, but we're focused on the game.”
Spurs star De'Aaron Fox was, himself, a part of a mid-season trade relatively recently. Though San Antonio's deal to acquire him last February marked the first time in his career he'd moved after seven and a half seasons with the Sacramento Kings, it wasn't his first experience with the pre All-Star break marker.
“I'm trying to think. In my ninth year – well, let's go with eight years – I've seen trades at least five or six of them,” the Spurs second leading scorer admitted. “I mean, I don't know if I would say that's what I'm expecting, but a lot of things happen at the trade deadline.”
Vassell has yet to directly experience any kind of movement from one team to another. Drafted by the Silver and Black in the 2020 first round, the former Florida State Seminole has ranked among the team's top three scorers in the last three seasons. He's fourth this year at 14.3 points per game. They're the kind of credentials valued league-wide.
“It's definitely a lot. It's a stressful time, not only for you, but players that you might know, teammates that you might know. You look at your phone and you see something else and you just never know what's going to happen next. I can't wait for this trade deadline to be over, honestly,” Vassell said the day before the deadline.
Now, it's on the the rest of the season. And a matter of whether Vassell, Wembanyama, Fox and the Spurs live up to the trust that's been put in them.
