Who the Spurs are most likely to trade at the deadline

01/28/2025 02:28 PM

San Antonio could look to move one of its young players at the trade deadline.

With the NBA trade deadline just over a week away, it's officially "slop season." The rumor mill is as busy as ever, and transactions rule the basketball discourse. Why shouldn't they? It's exciting to see teams make moves that will hamper them for years or turn them into NBA title contenders.

The San Antonio Spurs find themselves at an interesting stage during this time. At 20-23, they are good enough to justify going after a rotational piece or two in order to make a run at the NBA Play-In Tournament. You could also justify them selling off veterans to improve their draft standings in a loaded 2025 class.

Every year, SB Nation publishes a piece on the most likely players to be moved at the trade deadline for each team. Here is the snippet from this year's article about the Spurs:

Many Spurs fans might expect to see Zach Collins or Keldon Johnson's name on this list. This is a bit of a zag because San Antonio doesn't seem like a team that will make a big splash at the deadline. This front office has proven to be patient. Waiting until the offseason to make a big move allows them to construct a roster around whatever players they decide to surround Victor Wembanyama with. Because of that, San Antonio will likely keep their tradeable contracts for a potential big move in the summer.

That doesn't mean they won't make any moves. Smaller, marginal moves like going after a backup center make a lot of sense for San Antonio. A move like that will likely include some draft capital or young players. Malaki Branham makes sense here. He's had a rocky start to his NBA career, showing signs of shot creation from three and in the mid-range, all the while struggling on the defensive end. Branham has found himself on the outside looking in of the Spurs rotation, with no clear path to meaningful minutes.

But on a cheap contract with one more year of team control, he may be worth a flyer for a team heading toward the bottom of the standings while the Spurs look for a player that can help them ascend.

You could make an argument for a lot of different Spurs for this thought exercise. Branham and Blake Wesley could be candidates, as well as Collins and Johnson. It may be disappointing, but there is a chance San Antonio doesn't even make a deal! We'll have a week and a half to wait and find out what comes to fruition.