The NBA trade deadline has come and gone and the San Antonio Spurs didn't make a move for your favorite player on the trade block (one day Derrick Williams, one day).
While a deal wasn't made (sorry DeJuan, I wanted you to go to a team that could give you a consistent role too), that doesn't mean NBA teams are done dealing.
March 1st is the deadline for players to waived from their current team and still be eligible to sign with another team and be eligible for the playoffs.
The Spurs struck gold last year when Boris Diaw was bought out by the Charlotte Bobcats and signed with the Spurs, seamlessly fitting in to a system he grew familiar with playing with the French National Team over the last few summers. This season's crop of likely buy out candidates includes Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiel, Luke Walton and Desagana Diop (insert laugh track here).
Those four names and any other bought out player have one thing in common: They will not be members of the San Antonio Spurs by the end of this week.
Unlike last year the Spurs are maxed out on roster space. It seems unlikely they would cut Blair or anyone else to bring in a guy like Maxiel or Diop, who have their uses but would spend the better part of the final six weeks of the season figuring out the Spurs' system. Also, the Spurs are a couple hundred thousand dollars away from the luxury tax line and seem adamant on not crossing that line.
Last season, the Spurs were already over the tax line, so adding Diaw's prorated veteran minimum deal didn't make much of a difference. Long story short (too late, I know), the Spurs team you see now is the team you'll see in June (note the optimism).
