1 player Spurs must trade after NBA Finals meltdowns vs. Knicks

The San Antonio Spurs were way ahead of schedule during this past NBA season. Many expected them to take a jump with Victor Wembanyama being in Year 3 and with De’Aaron Fox having a full offseason’s worth of work with the team, but not too many could have foreseen that they would make it as far as the NBA Finals and would be a legitimate title-contending team.

In the end, the Spurs just could not get the job done against a much more experienced and battle-tested New York Knicks team. They held double-digit leads in all five NBA Finals games, only to blow them on four separate occasions — including a soul-crushing collapse from 29 up in Game 4 on the road.

This Spurs team is certainly championship-caliber. There aren’t too many moves left for them to make other than to take their licks and come back better next season.

But considering how the team was so close yet so far from winning a title, it might be a smart idea for the Spurs to trim the fat from the roster. Title-contending windows can slam shut in an instant, so they cannot go around and take the opportunity they have in front of them for granted.

A full look at the roster is needed before the Spurs assess which players to keep for the long haul after a devastating loss in the NBA Finals to the Knicks.

Spurs’ young core is set for the long run

Untouchables: Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle

Safe from trade: Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Carter Bryant

There is no world where the Spurs entertain trade talks for one of their three core young players in Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle. It would be a franchise-altering mistake if they do.

Wembanyama’s status as an untouchable goes without saying. But there are some who think that the Spurs could dangle Harper or Castle for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo. That would not be a smart decision.

Harper and Castle are both cost-controlled at the moment, having three and two years, respectively, on their rookie deals. They both showed out in the playoffs, proving themselves to be long-term keepers for a Spurs team that was not too far away from winning a title.

Harper, in particular, looks like he’ll be a perennial All-Star and a potential All-NBA-caliber player. He looks so wise beyond his years, and the way he produced for the Spurs in the NBA Finals at age 20 in his first season in the league has been incredibly convincing that he has the potential to be a top-10 or even top-5 player in the league — he’s been that good.

Castle is also brilliant, as he’s able to guard multiple positions and he’s a calming presence on the court. With a little more polishing of his offensive game, he could be a perennial All-Star as well.

As for Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Carter Bryant, all of them are the kind of wings any team needs to flourish deep in the postseason. Vassell and Champagnie made plenty of big shots for the Spurs in the 2026 NBA playoffs, with the latter being incredibly dangerous from beyond the arc. Bryant is raw, but the athleticism and floor-spacing should make him a greater 3-and-D weapon down the line.

Can San Antonio improve on these players?

Up in the air: Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet

Keldon Johnson is beloved among Spurs fans, and he’s the longest-tenured player on the roster, being drafted by the team all the way back in 2019. Johnson has been through tough times, and he’s adjusted quite well to being a bench piece after being the number one option for a bad team not too long ago.

He’s a solid regular season performer; this past season, he averaged 13.2 points per game on over 52 percent shooting from the field, even earning himself the Sixth Man of the Year award. He provides tenacity on the glass, and he makes some big shots for the team, all while giving them an edge on the physicality side of things.

However, in the playoffs, Johnson’s impact became more muted the deeper the Spurs got. Johnson’s straight-line drives and bully ball just does not work against elite defenses, as opponents are almost always ready to take charges against the forward. Against the Knicks, he averaged just 4.4 points per game on 34.8 percent shooting. That is poor production from someone the Spurs expected to come up huge.

Johnson is entering the final year of his contract making $18 million. Odds are, the Spurs are going to keep him due to his importance to the locker room. He is this team’s heart and soul, and one bad playoff run should not take away from his contributions over the years.

But considering his present contract situation and poor playoff production, the Spurs should at least think about what they could get on the trade market.

As for Kornet, the Spurs already got more than they paid for when he blocked that Isaiah Hartenstein dunk attempt in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. But Kornet’s lack of mobility made him quite the liability against the Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Kornet is a good regular season player to have around since he can soak up minutes for Wembanyama. But the Spurs now know that they must make their rotation more matchup-proof come playoff time.

Maybe the Spurs would be open to finding an upgrade on Kornet, especially considering how Wembanyama was running out of gas towards the end of close games, presumably due to the fatigue that came from him logging heavy minutes night-in, night-out.

Who will take De’Aaron Fox off their hands?

Trade candidate: De’Aaron Fox

It’s not a secret at all that Fox is public enemy number one for the Spurs fanbase at present. Fox wilted under the pressure and gave away a few games to the Knicks, most notably Game 4. No Spurs fan is going to forget soon how Fox, instead of dribbling the ball out with the team up by one, chose to lay the ball up, only for his shot to get blocked by OG Anunoby.

Fox then compounded matters by letting the Knicks into the game and letting them take the lead late in Game 5, when he chucked up a few bad shots and missed all four of them in the fourth quarter. He ended the season on a 3-15 shooting night, scoring just seven points and playing so poorly that many agreed that the Spurs should have benched him instead.

The Spurs organization would be the first to defend Fox; they would not have won 62 games in the regular season if they didn’t have the speedy point guard on the roster.

He helped bed in Harper instead of having the Spurs throw the rookie to the wolves. He helped Castle navigate the difficulties of being a primary ballhandler. His presence made the life of his teammates easier.

But moving forward, Fox’s place on this team is rather questionable. Harper’s excellent play in the playoffs shows that he’s earned a spot in the starting lineup — a point of contention for him, according to Vassell. That would push Fox to the bench. But are the Spurs going to be happy with paying a total of around $222 million for the next four years for a sixth man?

Moreover, the bill is going to come due for the Spurs sooner rather than later. Wembanyama is going to be eligible for a supermax extension soon. Champagnie deserves a nice payday after developing into one of the best shooters in the NBA. And then a few years down the line, Castle and Harper will be commanding max deals of their own.

Suffice to say, the Spurs may have to get ahead of that cap crunch and shop Fox. But it won’t be too easy to find a taker for him due to his huge contract and postseason struggles.

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