SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs made a trade with the Sacramento Kings on Monday. They acquired Jalen McDaniels and a future second-round 2031 draft pick in exchange for absorbing McDaniels’ $4.7 million contract. The Spurs are expected to simply waive McDaniels, as they already have depth at the forward positions, but what has caught the attention of many fans is the importance the Spurs seem to have placed on that 2031 draft.

San Antonio has been involved in three recent transactions involving 2031 NBA Draft picks. In an earlier three-team trade made with the Sacramento Kings in August when the Chicago Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan to the Kings the Spurs obtained Harrison Barnes and the right to swap 2031 first-round picks with the Kings.

Following that, the Spurs traded the draft pick which became Rob Dillingham to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick and a 2030 protected pick swap.

And finally, on Monday, the Spurs traded their 2025 second-round pick- which was unlikely to convey since it was top-55 protected- to the Sacramento Kings, who in turn sent their 2031 second-round pick to the Spurs.

The biggest reason we’re seeing these trades is because NBA teams are allowed to trade draft picks up to seven years in advance since the implementation of the NBA’s Seven-Year Rule.

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This rule was established to protect future teams and owners from the decisions made by current GMs and owners. Teams could begin trading 2031 draft picks as early as this 2024 offseason. The Spurs have been happy to receive those assets from teams who may have little else to offer since they are stockpiling a scarce resource.

The other reason these 2031 transactions are interesting is because they show that the Spurs are strategic in their planning. Sources tell us the team is equipped with high-end software tools and Al technologies that help San Antonio make the type of key roster decisions and moves that usually make other NBA teams overplay their hands.

These tools give the Spurs a competitive edge and more context by providing detailed insights and data-driven decision making capabilities which may not be as evident to others. Since these tools and high-value information are not available to the public, it can leave armchair GMs everywhere frustrated, confused, and even angry. But the always-innovative Spurs have good reasons to move confidently forward and perhaps even make even bigger bets using these tools.

One recent example of this is when the Spurs decided to trade their #8 first-round pick to the Timberwolves on draft night 2024. The Spurs’ analytics department loudly encouraged the move and were excited that Minnesota was willing to trade back a pick for a draft that is seven years away. The same thing can be said about the other two trades involving picks in that draft class.

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The Spurs can still choose to package these picks and pick swaps in a high-value trade or roster move of their own, but San Antonio can take their time moving chess pieces in anticipation, instead of desperation. More and more NBA teams are being forced to act in response to the tightening grip of the NBA’s restrictive salary cap regulations.

The Spurs keep looking to grow their war chest of picks as they measure their chances of success without skipping any steps.

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