Nick Wright has found a way to turn the San Antonio Spurs into instant championship contenders, teaming together two future Hall of Fame stars, LeBron James and Steph Curry, with the NBA's most recent Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. Wright proposed the following three-team trade between the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and the Spurs on a recent episode of FS1's First Things First.
In this hypothetical deal, all future first-round picks would be unprotected. The proposed trade would pair James and Curry, two of the greatest players in their respective guard and forward positions, and one of the association's greatest point guards, Chris Paul, together in San Antonio. Under Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs would become instant title favorites in 2024-25.
“Here's the argument for the Spurs, by the way: Chris Paul is on the team, and Gregg Popovich is the coach,” Wright said. “Teach Wemby how to win. You are not sacrificing long-term flexibility with Wemby because when those guys are gone now, all of a sudden, you have all this cap space. You'll still have a surplus of picks.”
This proposed trade is a slam dunk for the Spurs but not so much for the Warriors or the Lakers, for that matter. One team would be giving up the greatest player in its franchise history in Curry, a four-time champion, for a 20-point scorer and an aging forward, while the other would be letting go of LeBron and its only chance of remaining a title contender. The two future first-round picks can only do so much to sweeten the deal for the Lakers and Warriors.
Will Gregg Popovich guide the Spurs' next title-contending team?
Unless James and Curry both demanded a trade to San Antonio, this proposal would not make much sense for the Lakers or Warriors. Still, hypothetically, the Spurs would return to being Western Conference title favorites, which would answer the question of whether their head coach in Popovich, 75, will still be around by the time San Antonio is in their next championship-contending era.
“For the good of the league, we're gonna get Wemby and Big James. We're going to get Steph and LeBron with Pop for a farewell,” Wright added. “It's a neutral site. Nobody can be like, ‘he went to his team, he went to his team,' and I capitalize it can't happen until October 4. So, when I said it can work, I understand it's not going to happen. But my point is that it is a trade because of aprons and everything. Trades are hard. The Spurs have so little salary; they have real old-school trade flexibility of taking on that type of salary that could work.”
While it may not be Steph and LeBron, the Spurs have enough assets to trade for a star within the next year or two. As a result, it will be interesting to watch how Popovich, Wembanyama, and the rest of the franchise blossom.
Follow Us
Subscribe