The San Antonio Spurs are on top of the NBA with the best record in the league (43-12). Their roster, mainly unchanged since last season, is doing just fine in the highly competitive Western Conference. So, what will the Spurs be looking to do with their roster before the deadline, and what's the outlook going forward?
San Antonio Spurs trade rumors: Moving DeJuan Blair for the best deal possible
The Spurs are on top of the league and are likely to stand pat outside of moving DeJuan Blair for the best deal possible.
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The Spurs Outlook
The Spurs have $70.1 million on the books this season, putting them just outside the middle of the league in team payroll at 12th, while being first in winning percentage on the season at 78.2 percent. They are paying only three players over $10 million this season: Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Stephen Jackson.
Tony Parker is on contract until the Summer of 2015, while both Ginobili and Jackson will expire this season. As currently structured, the Spurs will only have $41 million to account for next season, giving them flexibility going forward. Tim Duncan accepting a modest $9.6 million this season, and $10.3 next season (with an identical figured player option for 2014-2015) has been an understated asset for the Spurs as they move forward.
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San Antonio will have to make a handful of decisions this Summer, however, starting with Ginobili who will be an unrestricted free agent. Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal will both be restricted free agents, while Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph have rookie contract team options for the Spurs to decide on. The Spurs are in fantastic position financially to handle their contract situations in the off-season, though, and won't have to do anything drastic in order to stay the course.
What are the Spurs up to, then?
It's all but a foregone conclusion that the Spurs will be moving the expiring contract of DeJuan Blair, but it's unclear where he will be headed. Blair is averaging 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game on 13.5 minutes. The market for Blair isn't large, but the Spurs will likely move him for the best offer possible before the deadline, via Adrian Wonjarowski of Yahoo! Sports:
The San Antonio Spurs will likely move forward DeJuan Blair close to the deadline, ultimately accepting the best final offer for him, sources said. Blair has wanted a trade for more than a year, and clearly will not re-sign with the Spurs as a free agent this summer.
The Spurs had tried to canvass the market for a first-round pick, but have relented on that demand. The Spurs could get a second-round pick, or perhaps a player on an expiring deal in return
The Spurs have also been linked to Omri Casspi of the Cleveland Cavaliers, via Steve Kyler of HOOPSWORLD:
Sources close to the process peg the San Antonio Spurs has a good fit and a team that has expressed some interest in Casspi, the problem is they won’t offer much for him. If the Cavs would do a DeJuan Blair based deal, the Cavs could find a taker on Casspi fairly quick.
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