When you think about the San Antonio Spurs franchise as a whole, it is hard to overlook the fact that they have always been winners and one of the NBA’s best organizations in terms of sustained success.
However, the end of an era has come in San Antonio and these last two seasons are just the start of what will be a tough rebuild.
DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills, and Rudy Gay departing in free agency leaves the Spurs with nothing but young talents, and seeing as they have missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in their 55-year history as an ABA/NBA franchise, it is safe to say that they are not going to be the contending team we are used to seeing.
Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, and Keldon Johnson are just a few of the versatile young talents on this roster who are definitely key players for the Spurs to look to build with for the future, but could they also be utilized as trade assets to get an established star to San Antonio?
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This Spurs-Timberwolves Trade Is Headlined By Thaddeus Young
Ever since they lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Atlanta Hawks in a year that they were supposed to contend for a title, the Philadelphia 76ers have been shopping around Ben Simmons and one of the teams who have been rumored to be interested in the young All-Star is the San Antonio Spurs.
Simmons has not reported to the team for training camp/practices and intends to hold out into the regular season until the 76ers meet his demands and trade him. However, the Sixers have remained adamant on the fact that they do want their All-Star to return and they will not trade him unless they get a terrific deal.
Well, the Sixers are not going to be getting the deal they want anytime soon and with the regular season set to begin shortly, the 76ers are running out of time to remain a championship contender. Maybe they cannot win a title with Ben Simmons being their point guard, but if he sits out and they do not add someone else in favor of him, then the 76ers are in just as bad of a spot, maybe worse, than if he was on the court playing.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This Spurs-Timberwolves Trade Is Headlined By Thaddeus Young
At 25-years-old, Simmons still has the potential to be one of the better two-way players in the league one day, but he will not reach his peak in Philadelphia as his time with the 76ers has come to an end, at least in his mind. San Antonio is interested in acquiring Ben Simmons, but do they have the assets to be able to trade for him?
Let’s look at a trade proposal put together by Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report that sends Ben Simmons to San Antonio, giving them an All-Star to build around for the foreseeable future.
