The San Antonio Spurs are back.
After a post-Kawhi Leonard purgatory that saw the club mired in mediocrity — and worse — the club now seems to have firmly established itself as a major team of the future.
San Antonio is 16-7 on the year, and currently is the No. 5 seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. The Spurs haven’t even had their best player, All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, available for their last 11 games — but that hasn’t mattered, as San Antonio has gone 8-3 across those contests. Prior to a return on Tuesday night, reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle had been out of commission since Nov. 16.
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During those 11 bouts, others have stepped up. One-time All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox has been averaging 25.6 points on .482/.394/.835 shooting splits, 6.8 dimes, 3.6 boards and 1.5 swipes a night. Reserve big man Luke Kornet has done a capable job of protecting the rim and sinking putbacks without Wembanyama.
“If we’re going to play one-on-one, a lot of defenders in this league give me a step, knowing that I’m trying to get downhill,” Fox said of his approach, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “If they give me the step, I have the confidence to step back, knowing that I have time and space to knock shots down.”
Still, the Spurs have the appetizing youthful prospects and assets, movable contracts, and present-day talent necessary to muster a major trade.
Now, San Antonio is being pushed to make a massive, league-rattling new deal for a superstar this season.
The Spurs’ longtime front office, led by CEO R.C. Buford and Hall of Fame coach-turned-team president Gregg Popovich, typically doesn’t swing for the fences in blockbuster, franchise-altering midseason trades.
But two-time league MVP Milwaukee Bucks power forward GIannis Antetokounmpo represent the type of talent worth acquiring, at virtually any non-Wembanyama cost.
On a new episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and Max Kellerman made the case for this rising power in the West to get in the Antetokounmpo hunt.
Antetokounmpo appears to have grown (understandably) frustrated with his Bucks, who have sunk to a paltry 10-15 record on the year as he has battled injuries. A calf strain could keep the nine-time All-NBA superstar and 2021 Finals MVP on the shelf for the next several weeks.
“San Antonio is the wild card,” Simmons opined.
“That’s the one,” Kellerman noted. “If I’m San Antonio, I’m doing whatever it takes to get Giannis.”
Simmons cautioned that the Bucks will likely demand at least one of Castle or 2025 No. 2 draft pick Dylan Harper in a return package.
“That’s like a brain breaker trade,” Simmons continued. “We’re just putting Wemby and Giannis on the same team Harper to me is untouchable. Castle should also be untouchable, but I have to give something to get something. I have to give you at least one awesome asset. Your fans can say, ‘Well at least we go that.'”
The impossible two-way duo of Wembanyama and Antetokounmpo in the Spurs frontcourt could evoke a prior superstar tandem, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, during its first few seasons. San Antonio would instantly rocket to true contender status, a tier it hasn’t really occupied since 2016-17.
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