For fans of the San Antonio Spurs, the offseason was highlighted by one thing – Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs selected the superstar with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, and he is now set to become the face of the franchise moving forward.
However, while Wembanyama’s arrival in San Antonio, and the subsequent hullabaloo he caused at Summer League, made headlines, the Spurs have been very active this summer outside of his presence. The Spurs have been making little moves around the edges, helping other teams complete deals and adding rotation-level players in the process. Guys like Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, Reggie Bullock, and Cameron Payne have all been added via various three-team trades.
According to Tom Petrini of KENS 5, these players give the Spurs a ton of flexibility moving forward and could be used to facilitate future trades.
“Payne, Osman, and Bullock could all play productive minutes for San Antonio and help address the team’s obvious need for perimeter shooting,” Petrini wrote. “Add in Stevens, and their contracts represent about $25 million that could be used in a trade. If a team is looking to trade away a star in exchange for picks and money that will quickly come off their books and let them get a fresh start, the Spurs are a perfect trading partner.”
As Petrini noted, all the players San Antonio brought in could be valuable rotation pieces, but they could also act as salary-fillers in future moves.
The fact that the Spurs were able to add that sort of flexibility this summer while simultaneously retaining players and accommodating Wembanyama’s arrival is a huge win.
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