Inside The Spurs

Speculation vs. Reality: What Will the Spurs Do in This NBA Trade Season?

As the NBA trade deadline approaches, the San Antonio Spurs face a tough choice: make a big move for stars like Jimmy Butler or focus on the future with their draft picks.

Taylor Hodges

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) tries to drive between Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (left) and forward Royce O'Neale (right) during the second half at Kaseya Center.
Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) tries to drive between Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (left) and forward Royce O'Neale (right) during the second half at Kaseya Center. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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It’s officially trade season in the NBA.

The unofficial starting gun for the trade season came Sunday when guard Dennis Schroder was traded to the Golden State Warriors for De’Anthony Melton and three future second round picks.

Frankly, it’s one of the best times in the regular season of any sport. It’s fun to speculate on what players will be traded and where to and how the ripple effects each trade has across the league. Sadly, reality is never as exciting as what’s speculated in columns and TV shows.

San Antonio could make a major move at the trade deadline. It has four first-round draft picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, which would be enticing to almost every NBA team.

However, the reality of the situation is the Spurs aren’t in win-now mode. Victor Wembanyama is great, but he’s not an MVP candidate (yet). Chris Paul is about to be 40. Rookie Stephon Castle has shown promise, but he’s still a rookie. The rest of the roster has played well at times and not-so-well other times.

The question to ask, when speculating on any trades the Spurs might make, is who can elevate this team into a serious playoff contender this season and in future seasons?

Would adding Jimmy Butler accomplish that? He nearly fits the idea of a Spur perfectly. Great defense, good offense, shows up in key moments and isn’t a big talker (so, like, a smaller Tim Duncan).

He would fill a position in need of improvement. His 18.6 ppg, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game would all be improvements on what Harrison Barnes has done this season.

New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are both included in the trade buzz team and both would fit a position of need. However, Ingram should be the better option considering Williamson’s injury history. However, it’s not likely either Pelican would turn the Spurs into a championship contender this season.

There will be temptation to make a trade like one of these, but in reality, the Spurs are better off holding onto their draft picks and finishing out this season. The better option for San Antonio might be package its draft picks to move up higher in the next NBA Draft for one of the classes’ best prospects.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

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