The 2022-23 season is the start of a new era for the San Antonio Spurs. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive years, the Spurs fully embraced the rebuilding mode by trading All-Star guard Dejounte Murray in exchange for most first-round picks. With the 2023 NBA trade deadline approaching in under two months, expect San Antonio to make more trades, so let's makes some Spurs trade deadline predictions.
Following a promising 5-2 start, the team could not maintain its rhythm in November. The Spurs lost all but one of the 15 games in the month, moving them all the way down in the Western Conference standings. Now, at 10-20, San Antonio is No. 14 in the West and has one of the worst records in the entire league.
With hopes of getting a higher first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and maybe selecting Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs should be very active ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 9. Some veterans could be on the move with the goal of playing for contenders while San Antonio continues aiming for the lottery.
With that being said, here are some early Spurs predictions for the 2023 NBA trade deadline.
3. Spurs trade away Doug McDermott
While most of the players in the rotation are very young, there are still some veterans contributing to the Spurs. One of them is 3-point specialist Doug McDermott, who is playing 20.9 minutes a night. He is averaging 10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists while hitting 43.2% of his 3-point attempts.
But after starting in all of his 51 games last season, McDermott is coming off the bench in every game in 2022-23. He will be 31 by the end of the season, the second-oldest player on the roster behind Gorgui Dieng.
He is currently making $13.75 million and is under contract for the 2023-24 season. That makes a trade involving him more complicated. However, his solid 3-point shooting could be useful to some playoff contenders, so there is a chance he does not end the season in San Antonio.
Teams such as the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat are in the bottom 10 in 3-point percentage. Acquiring McDermott might be the move to improve that area while not giving up too many important assets. The Creighton product could immediately contribute off the bench since Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are not 3-point threats, for example.
Combining his age and abilities, there is a good chance San Antonio trades McDermott away. If that happens, it should give youngsters such as rookies Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham even more minutes.
2. Jakob Poeltl gets traded to a contender
Jakob Poeltl became an important rotation piece for the team in his first few years in Texas. Acquired in the Kawhi Leonard-DeMar DeRozan trade, the Austrian eventually became a full-time starter last season.
So far in 2022-23, he is averaging 12.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists plus a block a game. Additionally, he is shooting 63.7% from the field. Most of those numbers are better than his career averages. He is also grabbing 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, showing his importance close to the basket.
At the age of 27, it seems Poeltl is more of a veteran than a youngster in San Antonio. Because of that, his name has been in trade rumors for a while.
The big man is on an expiring contract worth about $9.4 million. That makes him one of the most intriguing options on the market considering what he can do on the court. Also, he most likely wants to compete for a playoff contender instead of being on a lottery team. Since he will enter free agency in the summer, playing in the postseason could increase his value.
The prediction is that Poeltl will eventually be traded to a contender in exchange for at least a first-round pick.
1. San Antonio is involved in a three-team trade, agrees to a buyout with a veteran
Perhaps one of the best things about San Antonio this season is how much cap space the team has. The Spurs still have nearly $25 million in cap space, per Spotrac.
That creates many interesting options. Teams that want to acquire big names but do not have cap space can use San Antonio's help to make a deal happen. For example, the Spurs could receive Russell Westbrook if the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers make a trade involving Buddy Hield and Myles Turner if the Pacers do not want to keep the 2017 MVP on the roster.
Because of that, the way-too-early prediction is that San Antonio will be part of a three-team trade and will get a veteran. However, expect Gregg Popovich's team to agree to a buyout with the player. Since the Spurs are likely aiming for a higher draft pick, this would allow the veteran to sign with a contender while San Antonio acquires some other assets.
In the end, this would be a win-win situation for all parties. Most importantly, the Spurs would help a veteran to pursue a better fit for the playoffs without hurting their plans for the future.