Free agency has been quiet. Many of the deals that were agreed upon are still not finalized, the talent is there but the money is drying up, and with the end of the moratorium looming, teams are trying to be very careful before July 6th.
The Spurs are reportedly one of the few franchises still trying to do something big, as they are in the running to acquire Lauri Markkanen and have also been recently linked to DeMar DeRozan.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at what the Spurs have done so far and the levers they have available to answer some pressing questions.
Are the Spurs over or under the cap and how much can they offer?
The Spurs had the option of either keeping their free agent cap hold and operating as an over-capped team when free agents signed, or releasing players with partial or non-guaranteed contracts and forgoing free agents and operating as an under-capped team. With the potential for cap space increased after trading the No. 8 pick, it seemed likely the Spurs would choose the latter option. With a few days left in free agency, it seems likely the Spurs will remain over-capped, but they could still change course.
If the Spurs decide to act as an under-the-cap team, they can spend about $15.4 million after signing Chris Paul and Stephon Castle and keeping their qualifying offers to David Duke Jr. and Sandro Mamukelashvili. If they instead act as an over-the-cap team, they can spend only the $4.5 million bi-annual exception after signing Paul using the mid-level exception, but still retain their own free agent rights. A sign that the Spurs have options left is their agreement with Devonte Graham to postpone the date on which his contract becomes guaranteed, allowing San Antonio to either waive Graham to create cap space or guarantee his contract to create a $12 million deadline deal to match his salary.
Graham's situation is interesting because his partially guaranteed contract could be used to craft a trade. If his contract is guaranteed, San Antonio can trade his expiring contract and take on roughly $20 million in salary due to the league's salary-matching rules. They could also send Graham to a team willing to take a pay cut before his contract is fully guaranteed and recoup up to about $6 million in salary. Meanwhile, a team that takes Graham could waive him and save more than $3 million. That amount isn't huge, but for some, it could be the difference between being under or above the apron.
Why don't the Spurs make any new acquisitions or trades?
Spurs are one of the few teams in a position to make a meaningful addition, but it's not surprising they haven't made any major moves in recent days, with no team in any rush to make a deal at the moment.
San Antonio is reportedly interested in acquiring the Jazz's Lauri Markkanen. If all Utah wants is a draft pick for the hard-shooting forward, the Spurs could put together a nice package with the Hawks' pick and possibly the Timberwolves' recently acquired 2031 pick. That said, the Spurs are not the only ones looking to acquire him, so the Jazz need to decide what offer they are most likely to get. We all know how difficult it is to negotiate with Danny Ainge. On top of that, the Jazz could simply use their cap space to renegotiate Markkanen's contract, increasing his salary and adding more years to his contract. That way, they'll be less in a hurry as his current deal expires in 2025. Utah could wait until someone matches their price tag.
On the free agent side, there are no players who can make a difference for the Spurs. After the addition of Chris Paul and Stephon Castle, there is no reason to look at a guard like Tyus Jones. The team needs shooters, but the wing rotation is crowded, so acquiring someone like, say, Malik Beasley to bench him doesn't make much sense. The big men left aren't particularly interesting. There are no players left who can make a difference other than DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan seems like a potential target, but there is no market, so the Spurs can wait and see if he accepts a team-friendly contract. It would be unwise to spend money just to spend money on a player who won't be on the court much, and paying a high price for DeRozan would be a mistake. Prices should come down over time, and there are players who are not yet signed, so it would be wise to be patient and wait.
So if the Spurs fail to acquire Markkanen and don't actively pursue DeRozan, will that be the end of their search for quality players? Not necessarily. As mentioned above, the trade is still being finalized and could involve more teams. The same can be said about any contract that could become a sign-and-trade. The Spurs could potentially smooth the trade over due to their cap space and Graham's partially guaranteed/expired contract, and could potentially acquire a new player without much trouble. Any franchise looking to get into the first or second apron would be calling San Antonio. It's unclear if anything big will materialize, but it's likely the Spurs are looking to get involved in a trade.
The 2024 free agency period overall hasn't been particularly exciting, and the Spurs haven't done much to strengthen their team. It's natural to feel disappointed at this point. Luckily, the offseason isn't over yet, and San Antonio has some avenues to make further moves, either through free agency or trades. Hopefully, there will be more moves to come.
