6 offseason trades the Spurs can make to utilize their cap space

The NBA playoffs are almost here, but for the San Antonio Spurs, their season is already over. That will give them plenty of time to prepare for a pivotal offseason, which begins with the NBA Draft Lottery on May 16th. What happens there will dictate how the Spurs operate this summer and going forward.

If they land the number one pick, the Spurs may choose a more conservative approach by focusing on the short term, allowing them the flexibility to build around Victor Wembanyama. If they pick second or third, however, they may continue strategically taking back unwanted contracts and stockpiling assets.

Considering the Spurs could clear as much as $50M in cap space with few players to spend that money on, San Antonio could add to that stockpile this summer via the trade market. Teams are always looking to get off bad contracts, particularly with a new collective bargaining agreement that is especially harsh on teams over the luxury tax. As a result, several clubs could seek out the Spurs in hopes of making a salary-cutting deal while also giving up assets in the process. Let's take a look at those potential deals.

In four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Tobias Harris has seen his production drop every year, posting just 14.7 points per game this season. While Harris was bound to underperform his five-year, $180M contract, he was at least a serviceable player. That isn't as much the case this season, and he is entering the final year of his contract, in which he will earn nearly $40M. With a massive expiring deal, the Sixers could finally trade him, but it may be more complicated than it sounds with the new CBA.

The Sixers are in the luxury tax. That would still be the case even if James Harden left this summer. If that happened, it would force the 76ers to rebuild on the fly and require more cap flexibility than they currently have. Getting rid of a negative asset in Harris would help. That's where the Spurs come in; they could trade McDermott's expiring contract for Harris' while eating the $25.5M difference in exchange for a 2024 first-round pick. San Antonio could waive Harris after the deal, and his contract would still count toward the team meeting the minimum salary cap threshold.

It would also clear a roster spot and make way for a younger player. Much like Harris, the Spurs likely won't bring McDermott back after next season, making him expendable. If they can get a first-round pick in a deal for him, it would be hard to pass up, and it would also allow the team to put their massive cap space to good use.

Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons likely has the worst contract in the NBA. He is paid like a superstar, even though he is a shell of his former self. This misfortune presents the Nets with a problem. Brooklyn traded Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the deadline and received five future first-round picks.

But if they want to get rid of the former three-time all-star, they will likely be the ones giving up first-round picks. Even after trading their superstars, the Nets managed to sneak into the playoffs, with little thanks to Simmons, who missed 40 games and struggled with consistency throughout the year. That's where the Spurs come in.

The Nets owes Simmons $78M over the final two years of his contract, and they will need to find a taker for his undesirable deal if they want to hit the reset button. The Spurs could offset some of it with McDermott's contract in exchange for two first-round picks. While San Antonio couldn't waive him, they could find a better use for him than Brooklyn did.

In Brooklyn, he was initially cast as the team's third star but was better suited for playing center and handling playmaking responsibilities with shooters around him. San Antonio doesn't have a ton of shooters, but they could experiment with Simmons, and head coach Gregg Popovich may even find a way to restore some of his value like he's done with other unwanted players many times before.

Simmons would be an odd fit in San Antonio, as he would with almost any other franchise. But the Spurs are one of the few organizations that could take on his contract without gutting their team. They could also reap the benefits by collecting two first-round picks for their troubles.

It's pretty ironic that the Mavericks and Spurs both missed the playoffs despite Dallas having a top-five player and a six-time all-star. Needless to say, there will be some offseason movement for Dallas, and one possible change might see them get rid of their worst contract to increase roster flexibility.

The proposed trade is straightforward: Dallas saves $22M in guaranteed salary by dealing Davis Bertans and a 2026 top-ten protected first-round pick to the Spurs in exchange for a late 2024 second-rounder. While they could theoretically hold on to Bertans and his contract to try and make a bigger deal, that is harder under the new CBA.

Assuming they re-sign Kyrie Irving to a max contract and retain Christian Wood, the new CBA would prohibit them from making deals that take back more salary than they send out, limiting trade options. Moving another first-rounder to get off Bertans' contract might not be the Mavs' first choice. Still, it is an option that would save the team significant money and allow them to drop far enough below the luxury tax to use their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign players.

The Mavs are in win-now mode, after all, and Bertans doesn't help them win-now, plus his contract is one of the worst in the NBA. From San Antonio's perspective, they could keep Bertans around until next year's trade deadline and then use his big expiring contract to take back longer deals in exchange for more assets.

Or, they could waive him, even though San Antonio owes him about $5M during the 2024–25 season. The Spurs wouldn't be guaranteed to receive that 2026 pick if the Mavericks don't turn things around, but if they can, that pick could convey, and San Antonio may pick up yet another first-round selection.

Former perennial punching bags, the Sacramento Kings are finally back in the playoffs after a 17-year drought and will undoubtedly look to build upon their strong season. That could include trimming some of the fat on their roster by moving on from Richaun Holmes and the two years and $24.9M remaining on his contract.

Holmes fell out of the rotation this season, and the Kings could look to move him to either save money or upgrade their roster. The Spurs could easily absorb his entire salary for next season in exchange for a future first-round pick, and the Kings are flush with draft assets they may be willing to part with.

Or, perhaps, they would be interested in Collins, giving them a better backup to All-Star Domantas Sabonis. That would be added value for the Kings, who could swap out an overpaid rotation big for a starting caliber center making third-string money. This trade would be more dependent on the results of the draft lottery.

If the Spurs don't land Wembanyama, they will need Collins; if they do, they might not need him as much. Either way, the Kings could look to get rid of Holmes' contract, and the Spurs have the cap space to get a deal done.

The Miami Heat are owners of two bad contracts they would likely want to get off of, but Duncan Robinson's is much worse than Kyle Lowry's. As a result, they could look to trade him this summer, even if it costs them assets. Should that be the case, the Spurs would make an ideal trade partner. They have a few expiring contracts, including McDermott, and would probably be willing to part with him if it meant taking back a long-term salary in exchange for more picks. The Spurs could trade McDermott to the Heat for Robinson and a protected first-rounder.

Taking on the final three years of Robinson's contract for a first-rounder might not seem all that appealing, but it's a better deal for the Spurs than it might seem at face value. McDermott isn't worth a first-round pick by himself and isn't likely to be part of the team's future. Moving him in any deal for a valuable asset seems like a wise use of future cap space, even if Robinson is a net negative.

The salary cap will continue to rise dramatically after next season, and his contract will take up an increasingly smaller percentage of that space as time goes on. Then there is the fact that the Spurs have a history of rehabbing players' value. Who's to say Robinson doesn't reemerge as a valuable asset in San Antonio and eventually make himself flippable on the trade market?

The Heat can't necessarily wait for that to happen since the East has become more competitive, and they have fallen behind the pack. Not to mention the new CBA, which benefits teams like the Spurs and hurts teams like the Heat. All of that works in the Spurs' favor and increases the chances of a deal like this getting done.

The Portland Trail Blazers have missed the playoffs for the second straight year, which could mean massive changes for them in the offseason if they want to keep superstar Damian Lillard happy. One of those changes could be their starting center, Jusuf Nurkic, who is on a questionable contract despite being a capable player. Nurkic has three years and $54.2M remaining on his contract, and while the salary cap will rise to help offset it, it seems clear that Portland wouldn't mind moving him. That may be rearranging chairs on the Titanic, but trading him could open up different possibilities, and the Spurs would be the perfect trade partners.

Why? Because the Spurs have a younger, cheaper, starting-caliber center that could replace Nurkic and save them money. Zach Collins has emerged following the Jakob Poeltl trade, averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks since the trade deadline. The Blazers also drafted Collins, and he spent his first four seasons in Portland before signing with the Spurs. How ironic would it be for San Antonio to sign Zach and trade him back to the Blazers for a first-round pick? The answer is very, and it could happen.

Portland will likely go all-in this summer to build around Lillard, and they will have a top-six pick in this year's draft. If they were to make this trade and return to the playoffs, their 2024 draft pick would go to the Spurs. On the other hand, if they fail to make the postseason and Lillard wants out next summer, they would be off the hook from having to pay Nurkic and have some pick protections in place. For San Antonio, there is a decent chance this pick will convey, and considering Collins is an unrestricted free agent after next season, getting something in return for him makes sense.