Spurs vets understand what may lie ahead as February's trade deadline grows nearer
Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott have been in this situation before, where dealing with the reality of an uncertain future is just part of the job.
Part 1 of this series: As trade season unofficially begins, Jakob Poeltl's name remains high on list of intrigue.
If Jan. 1 offered an opportunity for reflection, perspective and optimism, Monday night’s 139-103 loss in New York to the Brooklyn Nets gave anyone who was watching a stark reminder of the gap that exists between these Spurs and the NBA’s elite.
There was no answer for the size and skill of Kevin Durant, and nobody on the floor was capable of slowing Kyrie Irving once he saw his first shot drop through the basket. It may have been a ‘burn the tape’ kind of game, but it made for good evergreen bulletin-board material. This is what true star power looks like. This is what you need to conquer in order to compete at the highest level in this league.
And that isn’t lost on San Antonio, a team that’s fully come to grips with its current lot in life. It knows there’s so much more to building a roster than whatever is accomplished internally during this developmental season. A talent infusion is necessary for success, and for teams in the Spurs’ position, the February trade deadline marks a pivotal point in not only the current season, but on the long road ahead. This is where they must make the most out of the assets they have, and unfortunately for many established veterans around the league, they’re often the first chips on the table.
Josh Richardson
At least on paper, J-Rich is the easiest starting point. A return piece in the Derrick White trade playing on an expiring contract, Richardson arrived in San Antonio as more of a salary-matching byproduct of the transaction than a long-term placeholder at his position. But since becoming a Spur he’s fit in seamlessly with everything the team is trying to do both on and off the court. He’s the definition of ‘culture guy’, and considering the circumstances, San Antonio probably couldn’t have asked for much more from an outsider who was flown in at the trade deadline last season.
Going from a franchise with title aspirations in Boston to one that launched itself into full rebuild mode only a couple of months after he landed is not easy, but Richardson has embraced his new role in San Antonio without any consternation.
Even more than that, he’s enjoyed the hell out of it.
“It’s been amazing. The way they go about things here is very professional, which I appreciate,” he said. “Pop is a great coach to play for, man. He’s really personable, he really cares about us outside of basketball, and you feel that every day. He teaches us a lot outside of hoops. I never really got a lot of that before here, and Pop has opened a lot of these guys’ eyes to some things we’ve never seen.”
But Richardson knows firsthand how this business works. San Antonio marks the fifth stop on the 29-year-old’s NBA journey, and a quick look at his surroundings reveals there could be a sixth in the near future.
The Spurs have been giving rookies Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham more and more rope to run the offense with the bench unit in recent weeks, and as Blake Wesley nears his return to an NBA court there will soon be another young mouth to feed. Richardson has occupied that backup guard role for almost the entirety of his San Antonio tenure, but with the franchise’s future being its top priority moving forward, there’s certainly writing on the wall.
At the start of the season, Richardson made clear he knew what his role would be. He was as ready for it then as he is enjoying the fruits of his labor now. In his eyes, regardless of circumstance, he’s got a responsibility to uphold. Whatever happens off the court and along the way is out of his control.
“I’m a pro, so I don’t get hung up on all that stuff. My job here is to play my game, do what I do,” Richardson said then. “We got 10 dudes under 22 years old, so I’m gonna help them however I can and see how it shakes out.
“They listen, and they’re hungry, so I appreciate it.”
Acquiring draft picks may have been the Spurs’ primary objective when dealing with the Celtics last February, but they also ended up with a valuable player in return. Aside from the good teammate stuff — and by all accounts, these guys love him — Richardson is the type of player who can quickly assimilate anywhere he goes.
He’s malleable, capable of handling the ball and initiating secondary offense, working out of the pick-and-roll, pulling up in the mid-range, spotting up from the 3-point line and getting out in space. He does it all calmly, too, never seeming rushed or forced to play outside of his own comfortable pace — a valuable trait in any nervy postseason scenario.
A steady scorer and reliable connector, Richardson is the kind of player contenders often seek this time of year in an effort to improve on the margins, as every little bit of preparation and stability matters in the buildup to a playoff run. While his expiring contract may offer teams a reason for pause in some negotiations, his salary isn’t exorbitant ($12.2 million), and the idea of potentially giving up a future first-round pick — likely the Spurs’ would-be asking price — in order to better compete for a title is a palatable one.
There’s no guarantee of anything at the trade deadline, but in terms of trade assets the Spurs have in their stash, Richardson is the No. 1 prospect with a bullet.
Doug McDermott
At first glance the case for trading McDermott may seem nearly identical to the Richardson pitch. But there are a number of factors in play that may make it difficult for the Spurs to trade their sniper.
First and foremost, McDermott was a free-agent signing two summers ago, not a trade throw-in. San Antonio has long valued the type of role player he’s become — an efficient gunner off the bench capable of igniting scoring runs — and the spacing he provides both as a cutter and as a movement shooter gives the rest of the offense more room to breathe. He was a target acquisition, not a small piece of a bigger deal. And while that doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t be moved, especially after the Dejounte Murray trade triggered an alteration of the timeline, McDermott is a player whose impact has been important to the team’s relative success.
Over the last month, the Spurs’ offense has scored 119.7 points per 100 possessions when he’s been on the court, the highest number for any regular rotation player on the team during that stretch. McDermott’s constant motion alleviates the pressure felt at times by the team’s younger players, and his 41-percent shooting mark from the 3-point line speaks for itself.
But more than that, he, like Richardson, understands the role he signed up for off the floor as well. Healthy NBA locker-room environments are cultivated by the pay-it-forward types who are interested in the long-term success of their younger teammates, as well as their own.
“When I came into the league, I was on the Bulls and we had Joakim Noah, Nazr Mohammed, (Mike) Dunleavy, (Kirk) Hinrich, and they showed me the way. It’s weird that I’m 30 years old and I’m in the spot now,” McDermott said earlier this season. “It’s a blessing honestly, you know, that I’m in that spot now — that they value me and Josh (Richardson) and Jakob (Poeltl) to be those guys.
“Because we don’t have any egos, and we want to see these guys thrive just as much as they do.”
Still, there will always be suitors interested in the skill set McDermott possesses, and the Spurs are in a position where picking up the phone for anyone who’s calling is essentially a requirement. No stone can go unturned at this stage of the rebuild, and contenders are always looking for elite floor-spacing and microwave shooters this time of year.
“With Doug, it’s the way he can spread the court and he can score the ball. He gives us those little runs we can go on for 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, where he just gets it going,” Tre Jones said. “It could be six points, it could be 15 points, it happens quick.”
McDermott is the Spurs’ highest-paid player this season (Keldon Johnson’s extension doesn’t kick in until next year), but with more than a full year left on his three-year deal and a league salary cap that continues to rise, that $13.7-million price tag isn’t difficult for a contender to stomach if they believe he’d have a significant impact on their title chances. But should offers land on San Antonio’s table, it’s got to ask the question: Is the potential asset return for McDermott more valuable than the unique brand of spacing he provides a roster full of developing players?
Unlike Richardson, there is no threat of losing their sharpshooter for nothing this summer, so the Spurs still have time to assess their situation as it pertains to McDermott moving forward. If there’s a deal in place that’s a no-brainer, great; if not, there’s no harm in keeping him around. In a lot of ways it would be beneficial to a young team fighting the uphill portion of the learning curve. The more space in which to operate, the better.
And Doug knows how this goes. If he had his druthers, he’d like to remain a Spur despite the fact this team won’t be contending anytime soon. But he understands the reality of the team’s outlook.
“We get the situation that we’re all in right now. It is what it is, and we’re still professional basketball players. And I know that sounds like a cliché answer, but I’m gonna do my job here until I’m not here anymore,” McDermott said. “I was on four teams in five years at one point, and then I settled down with Indiana and (in San Antonio). So the more you think about that it’s just gonna mess with the way you play.
“I feel like I’m valued here, and I would love to be here for the rest of my career,” he continued before turning and smiling. “But that’s not really all up to me.”
Regardless of what happens next, Richardon and McDermott have done their jobs well in San Antonio. Chatter at the trade deadline and during the offseason can often dehumanize players, especially as the conversation starts to fill up with buzzwords like “assets” and “pieces.” But the Spurs know what they have in these guys. And while the front office understands it has a job to do, the contributions of veteran leaders on a young team hovering near the bottom of the standings are not lost on them.
“It’s the experience that they have. They’re very open with their teammates, they gained respect very quickly, they’ve been a couple of places, and they understand the league and how the game is played,” Gregg Popovich said. “So for the young guys, it’s really important to have that kind of leadership, and they’ve provided that.”
The trade deadline is Feb. 9, and as the NBA’s playoff contenders continue to sort out their lists of needs and wants, San Antonio will continue to wait patiently. With years of development ahead and the meticulous planning required to construct something that will compete for titles over the long haul, there’s no need to rush.
Great stuff as always- glad the Spurs will consider all options and not be pressured to make a poor choice. Here’s hoping contending teams feel pressured to add and throw out first round picks our way!