Multiple rejected trade packages for Sochan revealed after Spurs' silent deadline

As the dust settles from the NBA trade deadline, San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan is still in town. With him already out of the rotation, it's surprising that he wasn't moved.

However, we're finally learning about the potential trades that didn't materialize. Sochan was never going to fetch much since he has barely played this season.

Still, Spurs fans were hoping for something--anything-- but nothing. That may be for the best. San Antonio was reportedly interested in New York Knicks center Guerschon Yabusele, and N.Y. was interested in Sochan.

Even so, a deal that would have sent Yabusele and Pacôme Dadiet to San Antonio never happened. Yabusele has a nearly $6 million player option for next season that the Silver and Black didn't want to take on, according to The Athletic.

San Antonio clearly wants to preserve their cap flexibility and roster space. Therefore, I'm fine with that deal not happening.

The Spurs refused to make a bad trade to move Sochan

They also came close to a deal with Chicago Bulls players Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips, neither of whom are all that interesting. Perhaps more intriguing was a possible trade with the Phoenix Suns for center Nick Richards.

Adding a more traditional big man to replace Sochan makes sense due to injury risk to Victor Wembanyama and Kelly Olynyk and Bismack Biyombo being out of the rotation. Better still, he is on an expiring deal, meaning San Antonio had no obligation to bring him back after the season if he didn't work out.

Nevertheless, given the options that were available to the Spurs, they were right to keep Sochan.

The Spurs have their reasons for keeping Jeremy Sochan

Sohan's situation reminds me of former Spurs center DeJuan Blair. Blair was previously a starter for San Antonio back in the day but fell out of the rotation and was expected to be traded in the final year of his contract.

Instead, San Antonio opted to keep him rather than trading him for a second-round pick. That turned out to be the smart move, with him coming in handy in the postseason that year.

During the first round of the 2013 playoffs, Blair scored 13 points in both Game 3 and Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He didn't do much else beyond that, but he gave San Antonio depth in case they needed it, and that paid off.

Perhaps Sochan could have his Blair moment. But, in his case, potentially coming in and swinging a big game by shutting down the other team's best player. That's not far-fetched, and he has the talent to do so.

Who knows, maybe he can make the most of whatever opportunity he gets during the second half of the season and can return to the rotation. It's possible, but more likely than not, this is his final season with the Spurs.