San Antonio Spurs: A new chapter
It’s been an incredible 20-plus year run for the San Antonio Spurs but it looks like it’s finally over. Coach Popovich has been able to get teams to overachieve a lot in the past but this group just doesn’t seem to have it in them.
Since they drafted Tim Duncan in 1997 they’ve been more about re-tooling than rebuilding, but they’d be wise to shop DeMar DeRozan before the deadline and start thinking about their long term plans to turn this around. They have some solid young pieces with Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Lonnie Walker IV, but this looks like a rebuild that’s going to take some time to maneuver.
Toronto Raptors: a Kyle Lowry trade
He’s arguably the best player in franchise history so I’m sure the fan base has an extreme fondness for Lowry, but it would be foolish for the Toronto Raptors to not at least dip their toe in the water before the deadline.
This all definitely hinges on how they feel about their ability to re-sign Fred VanVleet this summer, but if they feel confident in that then I think it’s time to move on from Lowry. He’s still a really solid player that I think a lot of teams would have interest in, and in return, you can get some pieces that fit your Pascal Siakam future timeline a little better.