In Spurscast episode 660, Spurscast host Paul Garcia and Project Spurs writer Collin Reid discuss:
- The state of the Spurs’ roster before free agency
- The three ways the Spurs can use their cap space
The State of the Spurs’ Roster
The Spurs will enter free agency Thursday with 15 players under contract barring players being traded or waived before Thursday. Tre Jones, Keita Bates-Diop, and Jock Landale all have non-guaranteed contracts.
The Spurs can have up to 20 players on their roster in the offseason, but before opening night of the regular season, their roster needs to be trimmed to 15 players and two players on two-way contracts at maximum.
The Spurs have decisions to make on whether they’ll make Lonnie Walker IV, Joe Wieskamp, Devontae Cacok, Robert Woodard II, and DJ Stewart restricted free agents. Those decisions has to be made by Wednesday June 29.
The Spurs’ Three Options with Cap Space
The Spurs can go with one or a mixture of the following options regarding their cap space this offseason:
- Sign free agents – With the ability to open up to $34.4 million in cap space, the Spurs could choose to use their cap space to sign a free agent or multiple free agents. Are they a team that throws a max offer sheet at Deandre Ayton?
- Trade for players on multiple year deals – The Spurs could use their cap space to acquire a player already under contract via trade. John Collins’ name has been mentioned in trade rumors, though the latest reporting has Dejounte Murray included in a hypothetical deal.
- Use cap space to acquire future picks by taking on contracts – Similar to how the Spurs used their cap space to acquire Al-Farouq Aminu and Thaddeus Young from Chicago for future draft picks in the deal with DeMar DeRozan last year, the Spurs could go with a similar route to acquire players under contract for future picks. The New York Knicks have reportedly been trying to move veteran players under contract like Alec Burks and Evan Fournier.