The San Antonio Spurs were able to come up with a decent free agency haul this offseason by acquiring Rudy Gay and retaining the services of Pau Gasol and Manu Ginobili. Yet, many NBA experts think it won’t be enough to topple the kings of the West: the Golden State Warriors and the revamped Houston Rockets, who acquired All-Star point guard Chirs Paul.
Spurs’ chance of acquiring Irving
On paper, the Spurs are the third best team in the league at best. The gap that separates them and the Warriors has apparently widened in just a matter of two months since their Western Conference Finals showdown.
San Antonio badly needs a power-move right now if they still want to end the Warriors’ dynasty. With no game-changing player left in the free-agency pool, R.C Buford and Gregg Popovich can shift their attention to the trading market where a certain superstar named Kyrie Irving is gaining all the attention.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Spurs are reportedly on top of Irving’s wish-list should the Cavs grant his trade request. Unlike the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and Miami Heat, the Spurs consists mostly of NBA veterans and untouchable pieces such as Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. Sure, San Antonio has point guard prospect DeJounte Murray and forward Davis Bertans, but the Cavs could get a far better trade package elsewhere.
In short, the Spurs have almost zero chance of landing Irving. Besides, developing Murray into a starter-level playmaker should be the Spurs’ top priority heading into training camp. The prospect’s physical tools (6-foot-5 with near 7-foot wingspan) and athleticism are too much for the Spurs to ignore.
Trading LaMarcus Aldridge for Kevin Love
One trade the Spurs should explore is a potential Aldridge for Love swap. Even before Irving’s trade request broke out, the Cavs were trying to move Love for a better piece. Cleveland also has legitimate interest in acquiring Aldridge, as reported by multiple NBA insiders.
Flipping Aldridge, who can opt-out next summer, into a better floor spacer in Love would be a remarkable coup for the Spurs' front office.
Aldridge has struggled fitting in with the Spurs' system, especially after the emergence of Leonard as a go-to-scorer. Love, on the other hand, had early chemistry problems with LeBron in Cleveland but he slowly found a niche as a third scoring option for the loaded Cavs.
Financially, the Cavs gain from this trade because Aldridge could basically bolt next summer with his player option and leave $22 million in cap room. Love is under contract for three more seasons with a player option for the 2019-20 season.
