3 overlooked reasons the Spurs must close Trae Young deal

2. Keep Trae Young away from a rival

Gaining the services of Trae Young would mean keeping those services away from the Los Angeles Lakers. If there is ever a time the Spurs can make advantageous moves that work as double-positives as they hurt their adversaries, they should do that, and a recent report indicates the Silver and Black have competition from the West Coast for the right to Trae's talents.

If you are on social media, you may be aware of the "Lakers Interest" phenomenon. It seems that every time any player's name is even whispered as possibly available, someone says the Lakers are involved, interested, making calls, etc. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. If Rob Pelinka were that aggressive as a general manager, he would simply be doing his job, but why the news has to get out every time is baffling.

Regardless of why, it's annoying. Though that could be a product of just not liking the Lakers, anything Purple and Gold-related can be eye-roll-inducing. But if they are indeed trying to prepare themselves for a post-LeBron era by acquiring Trae Young, the Spurs would be smart to stop the pairing of Young with Anthony Davis. It may not be the threat it would be if AD were Wemby, but let's not get it twisted; Davis is a beast, and defending them would be a nightmare.