Bombshell report may give Spurs yet another star trade target this summer 

The San Antonio Spurs 2023–24 season is almost over, and fans are likely eager for the offseason to begin. Among their offseason to-do list is upgrading at point guard. That has led to plenty of speculation about whether they will pursue a star such as Trae Young this summer.

However, with Donovan Mitchell reportedly unwilling to sign an extension, the Cleveland Cavaliers may have little choice but to trade him this summer, with the Spurs seeming like an obvious trade partner.

That, of course, leads to the obvious question about which player the Spurs should pursue this summer. Either player would be a major upgrade at arguably their weakest position, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Should the Spurs pursue Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young this summer?

Before getting into who the Spurs should chase, there is a clear silver lining to Mitchell potentially becoming available.  The Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers will want a large return for their best players and that could include at least three first-round picks for each player.

Of course, not many teams have those assets to offer up and some of the ones that do might not want in on the Mitchell and Young sweepstakes. That potentially limits the trade market for each player to a handful of teams, including the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, and Los Angeles Lakers.

That's a lot of teams for the Spurs to outbid, but teams such as the Knicks, Heat, and Nets might pursue Mitchell while the Lakers and Rockets might prioritize Young. Young is, well, two years younger and is under contract for at least two seasons, as opposed to one for Mitchell.

Both are putting up similar scoring numbers, with Mitchell being slightly more efficient and Young being a better playmaker. It's not like the Spurs would be worse off with one player over the other, but considering that Young is younger, under contract longer, and seems to have a relationship with Victor Wembanyama, he seems like the more obvious option.

Atlanta may also prefer to do a deal with the Spurs since San Antonio owns three of their picks going forward, and they'd need them back to tank. Thus, the Spurs should focus on Young, with Mitchell being a fallback if Atlanta decides against trading Young.