Spurs Agree To Waive Jeremy Sochan

The No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Sochan had fallen out of San Antonio’s rotation since December and was viewed as a change-of-scenery candidate ahead of last week’s trade deadline. The club reportedly gave his representatives permission to explore a potential move leading up to February 5.

The Spurs, one of three NBA teams not to make an in-season trade, didn’t make a deadline deal involving Sochan, but he’ll still get a chance at a fresh start before the summer. Assuming no team places a waiver claim on the forward and his expiring $7.1MM expiring contract, which is probably a safe bet, he’ll reach unrestricted free agency and will have the opportunity to sign outright with any NBA club. According to Charania, multiple teams are expected to have interest.

Sochan made 149 starts and averaged 27.3 minutes per game in his first three seasons with the Spurs, contributing 11.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per contest during that time.

Although he’s a solid, versatile defender who earned a regular spot in Gregg Popovich‘s and Mitch Johnson‘s rotations for several years, Sochan has struggled with his shot, having made just 28.7% of his career three-pointers. It also never seemed as if the Spurs entirely figured out how they wanted to use him — at various times, he was deployed as a point guard, a small-ball center, and almost everything in between.

Jared Weiss of The Athletic reported after the trade deadline that Sochan wasn’t expected to negotiate a buyout with the Spurs and would likely finish the season in San Antonio, but the 22-year-old’s plans changed within the past week as he remained out of Johnson’s rotation, Weiss tweets.

It will be interesting to see whether Sochan draws more interest from playoff contenders looking for help in the short term or from retooling teams who view him as more than just a rest-of-season addition. The Spurs reportedly discussed possible Sochan deals with the Suns, Bulls, and Knicks prior to the deadline, though it’s unclear whether all of those teams had legitimate interest in him as a player or were intrigued by his expiring contract for cap-related reasons.

Because he’s in his fourth NBA season, Sochan technically remains two-way eligible, so that could be an option if he isn’t offered a standard contract or wants to join a team without a 15-man roster spot available.