The San Antonio Spurs are 22-18 on the year, good for seventh in the Western Conference. Despite likely possessing enough talent to hang in there and make the playoffs, it appears as though the franchise is beginning to inch towards a rebuild.
Two dominoes that will drop sooner rather than later are DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge.
In the case of Aldridge, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich came out a few weeks back and admitted that he was definitely getting traded. There are two serious suitors for his services.
DeRozan’s status was a bit murkier.
This week, some clarity emerged on how San Antonio views the 31-year-old’s future with the franchise.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, DeRozan has been made “available” for a trade.
Presently, there are three viable options for him.
“The ever-active Knicks have considered acquiring DeRozan,” he wrote.
“…There’s a faction of the Chicago front office that feels adding one piece such as DeRozan could push the Bulls firmly into the postseason…And the Orlando Magic have discussed trading Evan Fournier, also on an expiring deal, plus a first-round pick for DeRozan, as the four-time All-Star could re-sign and help bolster the Magic once their roster returns to full health next season.”
DeRozan is currently in the final year of his contract with the Spurs. Thus far this season he is averaging 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and a career-high 7.4 assists per game. Because of a how solid of a campaign he has been having, he was particularly offended when Michael Conley Jr. of the Utah Jazz got an All-Star nod over him.
While there are genuine questions regarding whether DeRozan is able to single-handedly carry a team, he is an incredibly talented player. Any squad that lands him will immediately become significantly better.
More must-reads: