2. San Antonio Spurs Cash In
The San Antonio Spurs land in this list because of the culmination of all of the deals they made, not just a single one. The Spurs are stuck in that awkward phase where they aren’t bad enough to earn the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, but they aren’t good enough to truly contend. The middle ground is the worst place to be in the NBA, but the Spurs navigated this unchartered territory well.
The Spurs jumped into a three-team deal with the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, taking on Tomas Satoransky and a future second-round pick days before the deadline.
On Thursday, they flipped Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks to the Toronto Raptors, along with a 2022 second-round pick, in exchange for Goran Dragic and a top-14 protected 2022 first-round pick.
San Antonio is working on a buyout with Dragic, as the first-round pick is what they wanted. In their final trade of the deadline, Derrick White was sent to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a top-4 protected 2022 first-round pick and the right to swap picks in 2028.
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That is a solid haul for San Antonio, who could have as many as three first-round picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. That gives them plenty of ammunition to maneuver around the draft board or swing a trade to upgrade the roster with an established player. They also get a look at a high-upside player in Romeo Langford who hasn’t been able to find much success behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the wing in Boston.
