Combine their standing at the bottom of the Western Conference with the generational superstar at the top of their roster and the San Antonio Spurs find themselves involved in trade chatter. Essentially, everyone outside of Victor Wembanyama is touchable.
Therein lies the question. What players do the Spurs have that could help other teams – namely playoff and title contenders for the stretch and beyond.
In return, the Silver and Black would be looking for draft picks – not only for the future to build around Wemby but also, frankly, because the roster needs so many upgrades that a role player or two won't help much.
Here are two players most likely to be moved given the Spurs realities.
Doug McDermott
The consummate professional. Doug McDermott's stats this season don't overwhelm. There's a reason.
“At the end of the day, this is a young team, it's a developing team and we have to look at all these guys, I'm always ready when my number is called,” the sharp-shooter said, fully aware that the Spurs have bigger priorities these days.
The former Creighton star is averaging 6.2 points per game in his third season with San Antonio. But his 44.9% from beyond the arc marks a team high and would rank among league leaders if he had enough attempts to qualify.
“I just try to approach each game the same way. If I play 20 minutes, I play 2o minutes. If I play five minutes, I play five minutes. I'm just going to try to approach the game the same way and try and impact it while I'm out there,” McDermott said. “I know that I can provide spacing for groups and make shots,” the tenth-year wing player continued.
McDermott has been traded four times throughout his career, including twice mid-season. He went from his first NBA team, the Chicago Bulls to the Oklahoma City Thunder in February of 2017. That September he was traded to the New York Knicks. In February of 2018, McDermott was moved from New York to the Dallas Mavericks.
After three full seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the Spurs acquired McDermott via a sign-and trade deal in August of 2021.
Cedi Osman
In the same mode as McDermott is Cedi Osman. In fact, a look at the Spurs scoring leaders shows the Turkish star sits right above McDermott at 7.3 points per game. Osman also shoots the three-ball well – at a clip of 37.2% – but throughout his seven seasons in the NBA, he's also shown other facets to his game.
As this year's progressed, there's no question where the focus lies.
“We're obviously playing more through Vic now and he's been doing a really great job facilitating, finding the open guys and everything. It's been good so far,” the former Cleveland Cavalier said.
In his first season with the Spurs, Osman, who normally plays around and off the wing areas of the court, started a game at point guard last month. A role that began with Jeremy Sochan and included Malaki Branham after Osman's short lived stint, is now manned by last year's starter, Tre Jones.
“It's been much, much better, Now, everybody understands what we need to do offensively. We know our roles and everybody's even more comfortable,” Osman says.
A trade involving the 28-year-old Osman would signify only the second time he'd be dealt in his NBA career, though it would mark the second time in seven months after arriving in SA as part of an off-season three-team trade with the Cavs and Miami Heat.
Both Osman and McDermott are good enough to fill key roles for a contender. What kind of draft value they're looking to part with will determine whether the Spurs deal.