Lu Dort trade is everything Victor Wembanyama is trying to help Spurs avoid

The Oklahoma City Thunder just traded Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that also included the Dallas Mavericks. Atlanta got Dort and Ryan Nembhard, Dallas got Zaccharie Risacher, and OKC got three second-round picks. But the Thunder made the move for cap relief. It’s the exact type of move Victor Wembanyama is trying to help the San Antonio Spurs avoid.

OKC traded Dort because it was over the second apron. The Thunder needed to shed salary in order to get under that line. The second apron comes for everyone. But Wemby taking a pay cut with the Spurs on his next contract will help them avoid it at least a little bit. He doesn’t want San Antonio to have to make trades like this: Dumping quality players for financial purposes.

It’s inevitable, because Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper need to be paid, too, but Wemby is helping them push off those decisions for as long as possible.

Wembanyama wants to help Spurs avoid moves like the Lu Dort trade

The Thunder went into this summer well above the second apron. They had some tough decisions to make if they wanted to get under that mark, which they ended up doing.

OKC started off by trading Aaron Wiggins to the Hawks to shed salary. Then, they did the exact same thing with Isaiah Joe, trading him to the Detroit Pistons in another financial move.

After that, all they had to do was decline Dort’s team option, and they would have been under the second apron. But they didn’t want to lose him for nothing, so they picked up his option and eventually traded him to the Hawks, getting three seconds back in the deal.

The Spurs will inevitably have to make some hard decisions like this one. They have too many good players who will eventually need paydays, so their finances will skyrocket.

San Antonio will have to make some second-apron decisions, especially once Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper are all making max contracts, which seems like it is an eventual certainty.

But Wemby’s pay cut will help, even if just a little bit. He’ll be making around $10 million less per season. It’s 25% of the cap instead of 30% of the cap.

That could help the Spurs make fewer cost-cutting moves than teams like the Thunder and Boston Celtics have had to in recent years. That’s what he wants to help the Spurs avoid.

Dort got traded because of money. Wemby doesn’t want the Spurs to have to make as many of those types of trades.

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