The Spurs made many moves during the offseason to help move along their rebuild. Here is a full report card for their offseason moves.
The Spurs started off their offseason by winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. This allowed them to select one of the best prospects ever in Victor Wembanyama first overall in the draft. They then selected another Frenchman, Sidy Cissoko, in the second round.
Wemby will quickly become the Spurs’ star player for the future and Cissoko will be a solid defensive addition to the bench.
In terms of adding talent through the draft, the Spurs succeeded and their draft was an A+.
San Antonio started off free agency by bringing back starting point guard Tre Jones. They gave Jones a two year, $19 million contract.
Jones is a solid starting point guard who the Spurs needed to bring back after failing to make a move back into the first round to draft a point guard of the future. San Antonio believes in Jones and he will be their point guard for the foreseeable future.
They then brought back Julian Champagnie who proved to be a knock-down outside shooter towards the end of last year. They signed him to a four year, $12 million deal.
The Spurs also re-signed Sandro Mamukelashvili to a one year, $2 million deal. Mamu played well last season in San Antonio and should compete for the backup center spot.
The Spurs signed head coach Gregg Popovich to a five year, $80 million extension. Pop, now officially a Hall of Famer, has been the Spurs’ head coach since 1996 and will continue to be the longest tenured coach in any major sport.
Pop already holds the record for most wins in NBA history and will look to add to that number over the next five seasons. After reports of him contemplating retirement, bringing him back is the best move of the Spurs’ offseason.
The Spurs made many trades over the offseason and may not be done making them as they currently have more players on their roster than is allowed.
They started by trading away the 33rd overall pick to the Timberwolves for two 2028 second round picks. The pick turned into Leonard Miller. This was the worst trade the Spurs made as they did not receive a great return for a pick that could have ended up being a solid player to add to their roster.
The second trade they made was one with the Cavaliers that saw Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens and a second round pick head to San Antonio. The Spurs already cut Lamar Stevens and it is likely that they find a trade partner for Osman.
They then got Reggie Bullock from the Mavericks along with a 2030 first round pick swap. Bullock is another player that could possibly be traded before the season starts.
The final trade the Spurs made was with the Suns. They received Cameron Payne and a 2025 second round pick. Payne will more than likely be the backup point guard in San Antonio this season. This was the best trade they made as Payne has proven that he is a top backup guard in the NBA. They could also trade him and get more draft capital at the deadline.
Overall, the Spurs offseason moves should grade as an A. They brought in the most hyped prospect ever in Victor Wembanyama, who should be another star big man for the franchise.
They were also able to bring back some of their key players from last season in Tre Jones and Julian Champagnie. The trades they made helped them gain more draft picks and their will be opportunities to make more deals before and during the season.
This offseason was almost perfect for a team that is rebuilding.
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Featured image courtesy of NBA.com.
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