Free agency has gotten quiet. Even a lot of the deals that were agreed on haven’t been finalized and while there’s talent out there, money is drying up. As the end of the moratorium nears, teams are trying to dot their i’s and cross their t’s before July 6.
The Spurs are one of the few franchises that are still trying to make something big happen, according to reports. They are in the Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes and have recently been linked to DeMar DeRozan.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what the Spurs have done so far, and the tools at their disposal to try to answer some pressing questions.
The Spurs went into free agency with the option of working as an over-the-cap team by keeping the cap holds of their own free agents on their books or as an under-the-cap team by waiving players on partially or non-guaranteed contracts and renouncing free agents. After they traded the eighth pick and created more potential cap space, it seemed like they were going to choose the latter option. A few days into free agency, now it looks like they are instead more likely to stay over the cap, but they could still reverse courses.
If the Spurs decide to act as an under-the-cap team, they will have around $15.4 million to spend after signing Chris Paul and Stephon Castle and keeping the qualifying offers for David Duke Jr. and Sandro Mamukelashvili. If instead they act like an over-the-cap team, they would have only the biannual exception worth $4.5 million to spend after using the mid-level exception to sign Paul, but they would still have rights to their own free agents. A sign that the Spurs were keeping their options open was their agreement with Devonte’ Graham to push back the date when Graham’s contract becomes guaranteed, as San Antonio could waive him to create cap space or guarantee his deal to create a $12 million expiring contract to match salaries.
Graham’s situation is interesting because his partially guaranteed contract could be used cleverly in a trade. If his contract is guaranteed, San Antonio could trade his expiring deal and take on around $20 million in salary, because of the league’s salary-matching rules. They can also send Graham to a team looking to cut salary before his deal becomes fully guaranteed and take back up to around $6 million in salary while the franchise receiving Graham waives him and saves over $3 million. The number doesn’t seem huge, but it could be the difference between being under or over the apron for some.
The Spurs are one of the few teams that can make a meaningful addition but it’s not surprising not much has happened in recent days. No one is in a rush to make deals right now.
San Antonio was linked to the Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen. If all Utah wants is draft picks for the sweet-shooting forward, the Spurs can put a great package together by including the Hawks’ picks and maybe even the recently acquired 2031 Timberwolves pick. They are not the only suitor, though, so it’s up to the Jazz to determine what’s the best offer they can get, and everyone knows how tough it is to deal with Danny Ainge. On top of that, the Jazz could simply use their cap space to renegotiate Markkanen’s contract to up his salary and add more years to his deal, negating any rush they might feel due to his current contract expiring in 2025. Utah can wait until someone meets their price.
On the free agent front, there’s no one who would make a difference for the Spurs. After adding Chris Paul and Stephon Castle, there’s no reason to look at guards like Tyus Jones. The team needs shooters, but the wing rotation is crowded, so bringing someone in, say, Malik Beasley just to sit on the bench makes little sense. The big men left are not particularly interesting. There are no difference-makers left outside of DeMar DeRozan, who appears to be a potential target but has no market, so the Spurs can wait him out to see if he’ll take a team-friendly deal. Spending just to spend on someone who won’t see the floor much would be unwise and overpaying DeRozan would be a mistake. Being patient seems smart since prices should go down as time passes and guys are still unsigned.
So are the Spurs done adding good players if they strike out on Markkanen and don’t aggressively pursue DeRozan? Not necessarily. As mentioned, trades are still being finalized and more teams could get involved. The same applies to signings that could turn into sign-and-trades. The Spurs can facilitate transactions because of their cap space or the Graham partially guaranteed/expiring contract and could get another piece for their troubles. Franchises trying to get under the first or second aprons will call San Antonio. Whether something big materializes is impossible to know but there is a good chance the Spurs are trying to get involved in transactions.
The 2024 free agency period hasn’t been particularly exciting in general, and the Spurs haven’t done much to improve their team. It’s understandable to feel underwhelmed at this point. Fortunately, the offseason is not over and San Antonio has some tools to make another move, either via free agency or trade. Hopefully, there’s more to come.
