The San Antonio Spurs are the NBA's sleeping giant

The San Antonio Spurs made a big trade at the deadline when they traded for De’Aaron Fox, as a part of a three team trade.  In that deal, the Spurs traded Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Sidy Cissoko, 3 first round picks and a bunch of second round picks to the Bulls and Kings to land the star guard.  On Monday, the Spurs and Fox agreed to a 4yr/$229 million contract extension that has Fox locked in through the 2029-30 season.  In between the trade and extension the Spurs got the 2nd pick in the NBA Draft and selected Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with the pick, another point guard.  Did the Spurs make a mistake in paying Fox all that money?

This is a big deal given out by the Spurs.  It was likely agreed to when the Spurs traded for Fox and they had to wait to sign it until now because Fox wasn’t extension eligible until August 2nd but the Harper pick throws a wrench into how you evaluate this deal.  Even without the Harper pick, I have my worries about this.  In the new apron era, teams just aren’t automatically giving out these max deals to everyone.  De’Aaron Fox is a great player but a flawed one.  He isn’t a good three point shooter and his defense is lacking, in this modern NBA, it is rough being not great at either of those things.  His speed and ability to get to the cup are things that make Fox the great player that he is but is he worth $55.6 million a year?  In this apron era?  That I am not sure of and then you toss the Harper pick into the mix.  By all accounts, Dylan Harper is going to be a star in the NBA and would have been the first pick in a lot of drafts, this one just had Cooper Flagg in it.  He isn’t as quick as Fox, few are, but his ability to be crafty on the offensive end and finish around the rim are really high level.  Harper has NBA star written all over him and this Fox deal could end up holding him back a bit.

With that said, Fox is going to help out the Spurs a lot this coming season. Somehow we have yet to mention Victor Wembanyama, who is a superstar right now as he enters his third NBA season and is ready to make a real run in the playoffs.  I like the team San Antonio has surrounded him with to do that.  Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk are very good complimentary bigs that can play with or without Wemby on the court.  They have very different skill sets, Kornet is a really high level passer out of the pick and roll and a good rim protector while Olynyk is a stretch 5 who hit 42% of his threes last season.  They will need Devin Vassell to have a good season, he didn’t shoot it well last season as his points, field goal percentage, three point percentage and two point percentage were all down from 2023-24 but he could bounce back.  Stephon Castle is the reigning Rookie of the Year and looks to be a guy for years to come for the Spurs.  Although, I don’t think his upside is as high as Wemby or Harper, Castle can still be a really good player for years to come and should improve this season.  It is his three point shot that needs to improve the most.

I think the Spurs have a good chance to be this year’s breakout team in the West like we saw with the Rockets (2025), Thunder (2024) and the Grizzlies (2022) in years past.  That is how good Wembanyama is.  He showed that last season before he was lost to the year with blood clots, something that he says he is over now.  Fox is really important to the Spurs taking a leap, keeping pressure off of Harper to be awesome day one is one of the nice parts of having Fox on the roster.  Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes as wings are also going to be helpful but Vassell and Castle making shots is another big part of any success the Spurs will have.  Wembanyama can also cover for a lot of issues your team may have on the defensive end, that is how good he is on defense with his rim protection.  He is probably going to win the Defensive Player of the Year and have the Spurs as a top 5 defense.  That means it is the other side of the court where the Spurs need their young players to take off and I have the confidence they can do that.

The Spurs future is very bright.  I have the confidence to say that Wemby is going to be pretty good.  If he is as good as it seems he is going to be, the Spurs are always going to be in the hunt, health assumed.  If Harper is as good as his college tape and all the draft experts say he is going to be, the Spurs have a duo that can carry them into the future for years and years to come.  I like Castle but I have my worries about his shot, 28.5% as a rookie from three is not good.  I like Vassell but he needs to bounce back from a down season a year ago.  However, I would bet on both those players being key pieces to the Spurs future.  They are accumulating good players to put around Wembanyama and that will lead to success for years to come.

Sure, I have my doubts about De’Aaron Fox’s new contract extension.  However, that doesn’t take away from what the Spurs are building.  Lottery luck, of course, has played into what they have but the Spurs are building one of the sleeping giants of the NBA and I think we need to be prepared for them to ‘wake up’ this year.