The Spurs are thinking about moving up from pick No. 26 and have talked to the Thunder about a deal that would give them the No. 14 pick, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Presumably, the Spurs would have to include at least one other asset to accommodate such a deal, though it’s unclear what that would be.
Oklahoma City already has 13 players with guaranteed salaries for next season, and the team would like to re-sign restricted free agents Kyle Singler and Enes Kanter. The Thunder have been shopping Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Steve Novak, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported earlier this week, so moving one or more of them would perhaps create the roster spot necessary for this year’s first-round pick to join the team. The discussion with the Spurs about the No. 26 pick could indicate Oklahoma City’s willingness to take a draft-and-stash player, as they did with Josh Huestis last year at the 29th pick, though that’s just my speculation.
San Antonio has had success in the past with trading into the middle of the first round, as former No.15 pick Kawhi Leonard demonstrates, though the extra money associated with a higher pick would, to a degree, complicate the team’s apparent plans to pursue marquee free agent targets. The 14th pick entails a cap hold of $1,684,600, while the cap hold for No. 26 is just $991,600, according to Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ.