LATEST UPDATE: 5 Spurs most likely to be traded before the deadline

The San Antonio Spurs are making plans for the future, and it is a fact that all players save Victor Wembanyama are tradeable. Do we actually exist in that reality? It remains to be seen, as the trade deadline is less than a week away.

The top Spurs officials are the only ones who actually know who is and is not being considered for a trade. However, reasonable judgments can be made regarding which players are most likely to be traded based on a variety of factors. Out of all the guys on the roster right now, five stick out.

1. McDermott, Doug
One of the best options to be included in a possible trade deadline deal is Doug McDermott, a seasoned player with a contract that is about to expire. In terms of his on-court skills, Doug’s continual off-ball movement and lightning-fast pull-up jumper are what create offensive gravity.

This season, he is shooting an incredible 43.8% from three-point range. He still fires the rock quickly, but the average number of shots he attempts has decreased by almost half from the previous season.

McDermott will have less opportunities going forward, therefore it might be best for the Spurs to let him go and reclaim their assets. These days, shooters are not hard to find, so San Antonio runs the danger of losing him this summer for nothing.

2. Graham Devonte
Devonte Graham is the player on this list who might be in the most unusual circumstance. This season, he has only appeared in 10 games for the Spurs, and in the ones that he does play in, his average playing time is less than nine minutes. His lack of playing time has been rather perplexing, particularly for a squad that needed better point guard performance to begin the season.

In actuality, this is a very different version of the Graham than the one we saw three or four years ago, but Devonte is still only 28 years old and in the prime of his athletic career, so theoretically, he should be able to perform exactly as he did then, which was lightening up the scoreboard for the Charlotte Hornets. In the 2019–20 season, Graham averaged a career-high 18.2 points per game while shooting 37% from beyond the arc, making him one of the league’s most potent catch-and-shoot threat.

Perhaps Graham could still find an opportunity to bomb away from the outside like he loves to do somewhere else in the NBA. Keeping him in San Antonio where he continues to mostly ride the bench does not seem like an ideal outcome for either party.

3. Cedi Osman
Cedi Osman has been one of San Antonio’s most pleasantly surprising (and unforeseen) surprises this season. Osman joined the Spurs in July of last year as a part of a three-team transaction that also included the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. Cedi had a change of scenery when he joined Wembanyama and the Spurs, having played his first six seasons in the NBA with the Cavs.

Although not many anticipated Osman to be a major impact player right on, he has contributed greatly to this team. Osman, who is playing the fewest minutes per game since his rookie campaign, has been effective in scoring for the Spurs this season, recording a career-high 48.6% shooting percentage and making clutch shots.

Because of his consistently strong performance, Osman may prove to be a valuable member of this team for many years to come. However, this would be the ideal chance to sell high on him should San Antonio decide he’s not a viable long-term piece.

Becoming an unrestricted free agent in summer of 2025, Osman will have a partially guaranteed salary for next season. A playoff team that is looking for a versatile wing would do well to give the Spurs a call about Cedi Osman.

4. Johnson Keldon
Before the season started, few would have predicted this discussion, but Keldon Johnson might also be a guy the Spurs want to let go of very soon. Just eighteen months prior, in July 2022, San Antonio signed him to a four-year, $80 million contract extension.

Following his re-signing with the team, Keldon proceeded to enjoy what is still his finest season as a professional in 2022–2023, leading the Spurs in scoring with 22 points per game, while also contributing five rebounds and almost three assists per night. Guys can experience a lull following a payday. However, Keldon was flourishing as one of San Antonio’s primary scoring alternatives without Dejounte Murray.

Regretfully, this season has seen a slight regression for him. Since the end of December, Johnson has been used less frequently as a primary scorer and has been used off the bench. His performance has suffered as a result, as he has made some dubious decisions at the conclusion of certain games.

A trade involving Keldon is not out of the question if the Spurs want to invest in Devin Vassell to anchor the team’s perimeter scoring and if they believe Victor Wembanyama can be the offensive showcase he has the potential to be.

5. Tre Jones
Some people may be surprised by the last name on our list, but Tre Jones ought to be the Spurs’ top trade target at this deadline. It has been around one month since the ‘point Sochan’ experiment was officially abandoned, and he is now San Antonio’s starting point guard.

However, his inclusion in the starting lineup does not ensure that he will remain on this squad in the future. Indeed, since Tre started, Victor Wembanyama’s stats have increased because of his basketball IQ and ability to locate teammates. However, the truth is that even though Jones has his moments, he is not a point guard in this league that can start.

That is in no way a criticism of Tre or his basketball skills. It’s a straightforward admission that, in the end, the Spurs will have to use a different starting point guard if they want to contend for a title. At this moment, Jones isn’t athletic, quick, or a good enough shooter to be this team’s long-term solution.

Tre’s contract is still valid for another year. Before thinking about re-signing him, there would seem to be a good probability that at least one team would be willing to take him on for a season and a half.