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?

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.

LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: This 76ers-Spurs Trade Sends Ben Simmons To San Antonio

The 2021-22 season is about a week away and with Simmons still not showing up for team activities, Philadelphia finds themselves in a tough spot now. Do they trade the 3x All-Star for less value than they had imagined originally or do they hold out hope that he will return? 

Philadelphia’s championship window is closing slightly every day that they hold onto Ben Simmons and at this point, who knows if they can even get a deal done anymore. If San Antonio is still interested in him though, they definitely have some key assets to offer up that could just give Philly what they need to contend in the Eastern Conference once again.