OKC Thunder: Presti mic drop trade deadline deal for a Southwest player

Stand pat Spurs:

The team most likely to make no moves at the deadline is the San Antonio Spurs. RC Bufford and Gregg Popovich tend to evaluate talent and target them during the draft or offseason. So, it would be a shock if they varied from that typical pattern.

Even when it was clear Kawhi Leonard wasn’t happy with the franchise Pops tried to pull him back but to no avail. Then, and only then did San Antonio move their star.

Of all the teams in the association, the Spurs simply don’t make gut check moves. Case in point as per Real GM since 1989-90 there are precisely eight moves the Spurs made at the deadline. That includes waiving or releasing players and recalling a player from the G-League. The last time San Antonio was active on trade deadline day was 2013-14.

The oddity here, is the Spurs are a team that theoretically should make moves specifically with DeMar DeRozan who can opt-out of his final contract year this summer. Mind you, DeRozan is one of the good guys and would likely work with the Spurs on a sign and trade if he elected to take that route, so again there’s no true urgency if the franchise is happy to finish out the season with the shooting guard.

The paradox in San Antonio is there is a good mix of vets and youth but they haven’t exactly meshed well. Certainly not to the degree the OKC Thunder players have in a similar situation (though not quite as many vets or at least older vets).

Of all the vets the only one who might make sense in OKC is Patty Mills and only if the Thunder move Dennis Schroder. And, even that’s a stretch. There are some intriguing youngsters but that is who the Spurs will build around and therefore aren’t likely to be on the market. The one who best fits the Thunder is Bryn Forbes and he’ll be available this summer in free agency — consequently the period when the Spurs will be more inclined to talk turkey.