After their worst stretch of basketball this season, going 3-6 in their last nine games, the San Antonio Spurs have a lot of work to do to improve their roster. They have blown several winnable games, including dropping a game to the lowly Chicago Bulls, where they were up big in the second half.
They also went toe to toe with the Memphis Grizzlies in consecutive games only to get overwhelmed in the third and fourth quarters both times. The two biggest culprits of their recent poor play have been a lack of a second option and a lack of shooting.
In 40+ games this season, there really hasn't been a clear number two option established behind star Victor Wembanyama, and despite their explosion in Paris, shooting remains a big problem.
Technically, Devin Vassell is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points per game, but his inconsistency on both sides of the ball makes him a bad fit for that role. The Spurs can't rely on him if they want to get back to the playoffs for the first time in 5 years.
As a result, they should target a true second option in the trade market, with New Orleans Pelicans star Brandon Ingram making the most sense and being the most affordable.
The San Antonio Spurs must solve two flaws to make the playoffs
San Antonio could offer up Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins for Ingram as well as Chicago's 2025 first and Charlotte's lottery-protected 2025 first, which will almost certainly convert to a high second-round pick in 2026 and 2027.
That deal could solve several Spurs problems in one fell swoop. One problem this deal will solve would be getting rid of Collins and his ugly contract that will pay him around $16.7 million next season. It would also fix the Spurs bench woes with the second unit being a collection of non-shooters.
A starting lineup of Chris Paul, Vassell, Ingram, Jeremy Sochan, and Wembanyama would give Wemby three shooters and a clear second and third option. Better still, a bench unit consisting of Tre Jones, Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, and Charles Bassey would have more shooting than it does now.
It would cost San Antonio a potential lottery pick but could be worth it to both them and the Pelicans. The Spurs would add a legit second option in Ingram, who is having one of his best seasons shooting the ball from outside and has been a perennial 20-point-per-game scorer over his last six seasons. Meanwhile, the Pelicans would get significant value from a player who they are unlikely to re-sign.
Ingram will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, but San Antonio could re-sign him to a 3-year deal worth around $120 million. That would be costly, but swapping Collins and Johnson out for Ingram would be worth it, not only to offset a likely extension for Ingram but to help solve the Spurs' two biggest flaws.