3 Likely next moves the Spurs will make after the Cam Payne trade

The San Antonio Spurs continued their offseason wheeling and dealing by acquiring point guard Cam Payne from the Phoenix Suns. The move netted the Spurs cash considerations as well as a future second-rounder to add to their ever-growing draft pick war chest. It also pushes the Spurs number of players under contract to a total of 18, not including forward Dominick Barlow and the 41st pick in the 2023 draft, Sidy Cissoko.

That will force the team to make some tough decisions to narrow their roster down to 15 NBA players. Fortunately, the roster cutdown date is still months away, and there is still training camp and the preseason.

That will give the team a chance to evaluate what they have. However, the Spurs could also look to make additional moves to try and free up roster space to accommodate some of their new additions before then. But which players will make the final roster? Let's take a look at three roster moves the Spurs can make following their acquisition of Payne to clear out roster space.

3.) Trade Doug McDermott and Devonte Graham

The Miami Heat, along with the rest of the NBA, are left to wait to see what the Portland Trail Blazers decide to do with Damian Lillard. Depending on the trade package or whether the trade happens at all, the Heat would have one of the biggest expiring contracts in the NBA with Kyle Lowry. Lowry is owed nearly $30 million, but most trade proposals involving the Heat and Blazers seem to be centered on Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.

That could mean that the Heat are hoping to make a separate deal after landing Lillard to try to fill out their roster. One option could be a deal with the Spurs in which the Spurs trade Doug McDermott and Devonte Graham for Lowry. That would be a mutually beneficial deal in which the Heat get two short-term rotation players for less than the price of Lowry without having to waive and stretch him.

McDermott is a free agent after next season, and Graham's contract is only guaranteed for $2.85 million for the 2024–25 season, making the trade virtually risk-free for them. More importantly, for the Spurs, they'd clear up a roster spot and add a veteran point guard in Lowry who can clearly still play.

2.) Waive Lamar Stevens and Khem Birch

Not every move will require the Spurs to make a two-for-one deal to free up roster space. They could look to waive at least a couple of players, with Khem Birch and Lamar Stevens being the most likely players to be waived before the start of next season.

With plenty of guard and big man depth, the Spurs are unlikely to need either player, so they could be waived sooner rather than later to give them a chance to catch on with another team. Losing Birch and Stevens, in combination with the aforementioned two-for-one deal, would allow the Spurs to get down to 15 NBA roster spots, the maximum.

That could be all they would need to do, aside from signing Cissoko and Barlow to the two remaining two-way roster spots, with Sir'Jabari Rice already filling one. That is certainly possible, though the team's recent track record suggests that they might want to lock either or both players up on cheap long-term deals.

They did the same with Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie. They also signed Tre Jones to a three-year deal after he was taken 41st overall in 2020. That would seem to bode well for both players and suggest that the Spurs may need to clear out additional roster space.

1.) Trade or waive Cedi Osman or Reggie Bullock

If the Spurs plan on signing Cissoko and Barlow to NBA contracts, they will have to either waive or trade wings Cedi Osman and Reggie Bullock. That could mean yet another deal involving the Spurs, though they would have to wait until September before being able to aggregate their salaries in trades.

As a result, barring a one-for-one or one-for-none deal, it may take some time before the team could officially sort out their roster situation. Another possibility would be the Spurs simply waiving Osman, despite his shooting ability. That would allow San Antonio to hold onto Bullock to start the season, with the goal of moving him later on.

Doing so would allow the Spurs to sign Cissoko to a multi-year deal in addition to bringing Barlow back on a two-way contract, leaving another two-way spot open. Later, the team could move Bullock near the trade deadline for multiple seconds, much like they did with Josh Richardson. Better still, that could also pave the way for the Spurs to convert Barlow to a standard multi-year deal similar to what the team did with Bassey last season.

All in all, the Spurs will need to do some maneuvering to trim the roster after the Payne trade. Luckily, making a two-for-one trade and waiving Stephenson, Birch, and Osman would be enough to get the team's roster down to 15 NBA players.