By now, everyone knows which teams are good and which teams are bad in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs would certainly qualify as the latter. The Spurs are 7-33 on the season, good for last in the Western Conference. Their -9.4 point differential exceeds only the Portland Trail Blazers in the West and the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, and Detroit Pistons in the East.
Some of this was to be expected. Despite drafting Victor Wembanyama first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, this season was always going to be about growth and development for the Spurs. They are playing the long game, which means they are not interested in, nor are good enough at the moment to make a playoff push. That means that the few veterans they do have on their roster could get rerouted elsewhere. The Spurs look like prime sellers and should look to add more draft picks to their arsenal. The question then becomes: who would the Spurs look to trade? Two players stand out as prime candidates to be traded by the Spurs at the trade deadline.
Doug McDermott
There isn't likely a veteran on the Spurs' roster that teams would be interested in more than Doug McDermott. McDermott has already undergone quite the journey throughout his NBA career; he's already played for six teams in his ten-year career. But he can really shoot the ball, and that is why multiple teams have taken turns trading for him. Doug McDermott is shooting 41.3% from three for his career. This season is no different. He is shooting 45.8% from three on 3.7 attempts per game. Among players who have played at least 15 games and are averaging at least 3.5 attempts from three per game, only four players have a better three-point percentage than McDermott this season: Malik Beasley, Kevin Durant, Aaron Nesmith, and Grayson Allen. That's pretty good company to be in.
A trade involving McDermott should be fairly easy to construct. He is on an expiring contract and is making $13.75 million this season. A team doesn't have to pair together multiple players or hefty contracts to make the money work in a potential trade. A second-round pick or two might be all the draft capital the Spurs would want to make a deal happen as well. If that's the price for one of the better shooters in the NBA, the rest of the league should be more than willing to pounce. And the Spurs should be more than ready to trade a veteran on an expiring contract.
Cedi Osman
Cedi Osman is not the shooter that McDermott is, but he isn't too shabby there either. Osman is shooting 36.9% from three on 3.3 attempts per game this season. For his career, Cedi Osman is hooting 35.4% from three on 4.3 attempts per game. While those numbers are not what McDermott is doing, they are more than serviceable, and Osman is much of a defender than McDermott is.
Osman's contract situation is eerily similar to McDermott. Both are on an expiring contracts and very affordable. Osman is even more affordable than McDermott, making $6.7 million this season, a bit more than half of what McDermott is making. It won't take much at all to make the money work in a potential deal, and teams that are really against it regarding the luxury tax could potentially look at Osman as a cheap upgrade for their roster.
Osman and McDermott are available, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports. If the Spurs can get a couple of solid draft picks for them, they should not hesitate to take it.