The San Antonio Spurs continued their offseason by acquiring point guard Cam Payne from the Phoenix Suns. The move raised cash considerations from the Spurs, as well as a future second-round pick to add to their ever-growing draft pick war chest. It also brings the number of Spurs players under contract to a total of 18, not including forward Dominick Barlow and the 41st pick in the 2023 draft. sidy cissoko.
That will force the team to make some tough decisions to reduce its roster to 15 NBA players. Thankfully, the roster cut-off date is still months away, and there’s still training camp and preseason to go.
That will give the team a chance to assess what they have. However, the Spurs could also look to make additional moves to try and free up roster space to accommodate some of their new additions before then. But which players will make up the final roster? Let’s take a look at three roster moves the Spurs can make after the Payne acquisition to clear up roster space.
The Miami Heat, along with the rest of the NBA, are left waiting to see what the Portland Trail Blazers decide to do with Damian Lillard. Depending on the trade package or if the trade goes through, the Heat would have one of the biggest contracts to expire in the NBA with Kyle Lowry. Lowry is owed nearly $30 million, but most of the trade proposals involving the Heat and Blazers seem to center around Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.
That could mean the Heat hope to cut a separate deal after signing Lillard to try to fill out their roster. One option could be a deal with the Spurs in which the Spurs trade Doug McDermott and Devonte Graham for Lowry. That would be a win-win deal where the Heat get two short-term rotation players for less than Lowry’s price without having to give him up and extend him.
McDermott is a free agent after next season, and Graham’s contract is only guaranteed for $2.85 million for the 2024-25 season, making the trade virtually risk-free for them. More importantly, for the Spurs, they would clear a roster spot and add a veteran point guard in Lowry who clearly can still play.
