Trade Spurs Trade Ideas

[mo7888]

Castle reminds me of MVP Derrick Rose, when he was undeterred abusing the rim every chance he got. At first I thought Cooper would outmuscle him, but our boy is strong as an ox. I even suspect Castle has grown taller. Cooper doesn’t seem to be much bigger than him

Watching Castle last night was unbelievable, outshined only by Wemby. The way Castle keeps attacking the rim absorbing contacts and going to the line. He is a bully and exactly who the Spurs need next to Wemby. Anybody to even suggest trading him in the future is nuts.

I think down the road there's going to be a discussion surrounding Castle or Harper, but its years away. Any realistic trades to improve within the next year will center around Barnes, KJ, Sochan and picks.

 

[BacktoBasics]

I think down the road there's going to be a discussion surrounding Castle or Harper, but its years away. Any realistic trades to improve within the next year will center around Barnes, KJ, Sochan and picks.

There is no reason castle and Harper can’t coexist. I see no barriers with this backcourt.

 

[Ariel]

The bigger overlap is probably Fox vs Harper, but it's probably a couple of years away. I don't see Fox finishing his contract with the Spurs though.

 

[BankShot21]

The old site? Dunno what you're talking about. And never should be mentioned again

 

[CGD]

It’s one game, so important not to overreact, but if the spurs get out to a hot start I do think it puts more pressure to upgrade the rest of the front court. Jeremy most definitely on the clock now, and HB’s time in SL also seem numbered.

It may be worth the overplay for TM3 tbh

 

[OK Computer]

It’s one game, so important not to overreact, but if the spurs get out to a hot start I do think it puts more pressure to upgrade the rest of the front court. Jeremy most definitely on the clock now, and HB’s time in SL also seem numbered.

It may be worth the overplay for TM3 tbh

Terrible idea to get locked in to a fourth big contract tbh

Analysis Post in thread 'Spurs roster path: consolidate into one high-end role player or keep stacking affordable depth'

Oct 22, 2025

I voted for affordable long-term pieces... but with some nuance... because doing so requires a consolidation trade, IMO. Not for a star, but to get contracts like Vassell's off the books to create room for affordable pieces but also to clear what I perceive to be a log-jam of mid (role player) level wings.

Here is an example... would the team be much worse off if instead of Devin at $27MM/yr, we had Haywood Highsmith at his $5.6MM deal? Yes, Devin appears to be a "better player" but that's largely because of role. Highsmith is a role player who plays better D and is a better career...

• scott

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[Ariel]

Terrible idea to get locked in to a fourth big contract tbh

I was high on Trey Murphy when he was coming back from injury and his price tag was perceived to be lower, nowadays I think he's become overrated. However, it isn't a terrible idea if the price is right and that's how you get rid of a bad contract like Vassell. It's very situational, I'd need to see the details.

 

[Ice009]

It’s one game, so important not to overreact, but if the spurs get out to a hot start I do think it puts more pressure to upgrade the rest of the front court. Jeremy most definitely on the clock now, and HB’s time in SL also seem numbered.

It may be worth the overplay for TM3 tbh

Yep, just one game. Don't get too high, don't get too low. Lets see how the next few games go.

Not sure about going for TM3, though. Don't think he's worth overpaying for at this early stage.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

I was high on Trey Murphy when he was coming back from injury and his price tag was perceived to be lower, nowadays I think he's become overrated. However, it isn't a terrible idea if the price is right and that's how you get rid of a bad contract like Vassell. It's very situational, I'd need to see the details.

How is Vassell a bad contract but Murphy ain't? Your takes just keep getting worse. Murphy is a scorer on a bad team with bad defensive metrics who gets paid more money than Vassell. Do you think Vassell wouldn't average 20 PPG on this Pelicans team? There's no evidence that Murphy is not an empty stats guy. There's also evidence that he's a worse defender than Devin.

 

[Ariel]

How is Vassell a bad contract but Murphy ain't? Your takes just keep getting worse. Murphy is a scorer on a bad team with bad defensive metrics who gets paid more money than Vassell. Do you think Vassell wouldn't average 20 PPG on this Pelicans team? There's no evidence that Murphy is not an empty stats guy. There's also evidence that he's a worse defender than Devin.

Scoring 20+ PPG has nothing to do with it, Trey Murphy is a much more efficient scorer overall (better shooter from the line and from 3, more range, less reliant on the mid-range). For reference, Murphy's career eFG% is 61.2 vs Vassell's 55.4%. He's probably overrated on defense, but he's not worse than Vassell, not by a long shot. More importantly, as a true wing / forward with serious length (6'8" with a 7' wingspan), he's a much better fit than Vassell for the current roster.

His contract is similar to Vassell's (16% for the cap for Murphy vs 17.5 %to 13% for Vassell since it's descending) but what makes it more palatable is that it'd be a better use of the money, since it's less duplicative. Unless Vassell consistently shoots well above average from 3 on high volume, his skill set isn't worth his salary slot, whereas Murphy's probably is if you see him as a legit starter on a good team. All in all, like I said, I think he's become overrated recently but that is a different discussion from being better than what we have, if we can turn Vassell into Murphy for a reasonable price I think it's an improvement.

PS: Sorry to hear my takes are getting worse, I'll take the weekend in penance to reflect.

 

[CGD]

Yep, just one game. Don't get too high, don't get too low. Lets see how the next few games go.

Not sure about going for TM3, though. Don't think he's worth overpaying for at this early stage.

You’re right. The best outcome is that Sochan has improved enough to be the PF we need, with the added contract motivation to go along with it. That or CB overperforms as the season goes on (unlikely).

 

[Mugen]

Trade needs to happen offseason tbh.

I wouldn't be surprised if a big chunk of their (hopeful) success this season is continuity and guys finally knowing their roles well enough to translate to winning basketball.

Some shooting would be nice but I think a platoon of Barnes/Sochan/Kornet is enough for this year.

 

[ffadicted]

There is no reason castle and Harper can’t coexist. I see no barriers with this backcourt.

Agreed completely. Wemby is here to compete for MVPs and 'chips today, he needs a ready team to do that with. Fox helps so much with that, giving him just Harper and Castle would be a shame.

Let's have that chat in 3-4 years after we know what Harper is capable of and what Castle has grown into. We could really be looking at being competitive in the next couple years and at the same time having a worldly backcourt ready to take over once our all-star PG slows down. If we manage this well and Wemby stays healthy we could be eatin' good for a long time to come

 

[RC_Drunkford]

Scoring 20+ PPG has nothing to do with it, Trey Murphy is a much more efficient scorer overall (better shooter from the line and from 3, more range, less reliant on the mid-range). For reference, Murphy's career eFG% is 61.2 vs Vassell's 55.4%. He's probably overrated on defense, but he's not worse than Vassell, not by a long shot. More importantly, as a true wing / forward with serious length (6'8" with a 7' wingspan), he's a much better fit than Vassell for the current roster.

His contract is similar to Vassell's (16% for the cap for Murphy vs 17.5 %to 13% for Vassell since it's descending) but what makes it more palatable is that it'd be a better use of the money, since it's less duplicative. Unless Vassell consistently shoots well above average from 3 on high volume, his skill set isn't worth his salary slot, whereas Murphy's probably is if you see him as a legit starter on a good team. All in all, like I said, I think he's become overrated recently but that is a different discussion from being better than what we have, if we can turn Vassell into Murphy for a reasonable price I think it's an improvement.

PS: Sorry to hear my takes are getting worse, I'll take the weekend in penance to reflect.

DBPM:

Trey Murphy: -1.4
Devin Vassell: -0.8

Salary:

Trey Murphy: 25, 27, 29, 31
Devin Vassell: 27, 27, 24, 27

and that's not even factoring in giving up assets in a trade for a player who's not much better than Devin. But you're the guy who would trade Castle for Nesmith and Jarace Walker, so I don't expect you to make logical assessments.

 

[scott]

The bigger overlap is probably Fox vs Harper, but it's probably a couple of years away. I don't see Fox finishing his contract with the Spurs though.

It looked to me that Harper was mostly playing SG last night. I think Fox/Castle/Harper is going to be just fine... pretty pumped to see it honestly. For all the talk of big lineups... it was smaller lineups with multiple ballhandlers that beat them to start the season (SAS over DAL, OKC over HOU, NYK over CLE)

 

[Ariel]

DBPM:

Trey Murphy: -1.4
Devin Vassell: -0.8

Salary:

Trey Murphy: 25, 27, 29, 31
Devin Vassell: 27, 27, 24, 27

and that's not even factoring in giving up assets in a trade for a player who's not much better than Devin. But you're the guy who would trade Castle for Nesmith and Jarace Walker, so I don't expect you to make logical assessments.

So your argument comes down to a single year of a boxscore-centric, heavily context-dependant metric? Dude, even that same metric would have you reach the opposite conclusion if you take a different season, this is the problem with advance stats, they require nuance, otherwise they're like a machine gun that in the wrong hands end up in a massacre.

As for the trade proposal, just relax, I was just spitballing in a basketball forum. I actually really like Castle and was at the top of my board last year, I was thinking out loud non pipe-dream scenarios to address an actual team need (spacing) and player weakness (shooting), which even last game supports if you let yourself see beyond the win (several shots barely went in and FT shooting was atrocious). But if you're so triggered by it, just use the ignore function so that your blood pressure doesn't spike and you spare me the tantrum.

 

[koriwhat]

Of the guys I’m hyped for, Castle is at the top of the list.

I don’t think people are ready. Folks think Fox will be Wemby’s Robin this upcoming season, but I think it will be Castle.

Trading him would be a monumental mistake. It would be like giving away Kobe or SGA after their first year. I think Castle has a seriousness to his craft that I have only seen in top 10 players.

Castle brings the nasty! Bro has that dog in him and I love his tenacity.

 

[scott]

Rumor is that @Ariel was in Brian Wright's office finalizing the trade with IND and was about to drive Castle to the airport. BRING OUT THE TORCHES! BURN THE WITCH!

 

[Ariel]

It looked to me that Harper was mostly playing SG last night. I think Fox/Castle/Harper is going to be just fine... pretty pumped to see it honestly. For all the talk of big lineups... it was smaller lineups with multiple ballhandlers that beat them to start the season (SAS over DAL, OKC over HOU, NYK over CLE)

Oh yeah, Harper can absolutely do fine in that role, but long term I think both he and Fox require the ball in their hands most of the time to maximize their skill sets, whereas Castle can mix it up better. Bottom line, I don't see this trio playing together for the Spurs long term (say, 4 years or more), also from a player perspective (at least one of them will want to take on a larger on-ball role).

 

[OK Computer]

Oh yeah, Harper can absolutely do fine in that role, but long term I think both he and Fox require the ball in their hands most of the time to maximize their skill sets, whereas Castle can mix it up better. Bottom line, I don't see this trio playing together for the Spurs long term (say, 4 years or more), also from a player perspective (at least one of them will want to take on a larger on-ball role).

Listen to what Harper says about him and Castle here

 

[Guru of Nothing]

Three games in and it's pretty easy to see that the most bang for improvement on the Spurs roster is at the PF position, but I don't see a player to target today that makes sense. Does anyone here see something I don't see, something better than sticking with the status quo of developing what we already have?

Brandon Miller represents the upper limits of daydreams, but that'd still be a deal way too rich for anyone. Same for Trey Murphy, to a lesser extent.

There might be a case for targeting PJ Washington, depending on what we'd have to give up, but I'm pretty sure there are better deals to be had on the horizon, so I'm firmly in Camp Patience. An intriguing possibility would be if ATL struggles and they want to move off of Porzingis' expiring contract. Imagine the Spurs eyeing a top-6 seeding as we approach the playoffs and we bring in KP for a playoff run. Slim chance, I know.

Grady Dick and Johnny Furphy are interesting targets too, but I don't think they are gettable without an overpay, and that would be hard to justify.

Within reason, I don't see anyone else that interests me.

 

[Shmurs]

I guess the rumblings are that Yabu was going to NYC this whole time and that’s that…but if we didn’t make a sincere run at that guy, it’s a little bit of malpractice considering our need at the 4.

 

[OK Computer]

I guess the rumblings are that Yabu was going to NYC this whole time and that’s that…but if we didn’t make a sincere run at that guy, it’s a little bit of malpractice considering our need at the 4.

The guy is more of a 4/5 than a 4/3 and his lack of lateral foot speed would be causing Spurs fans to be complaining by game 5 if we had acquired him.

 

[spurraider21]

PJ Washington would be pretty close to ideal but the Mavs wouldnt move up form him cheap and certainly wouldn't send him to San Antonio

 

[spurraider21]

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