The San Antonio Spurs don't make many trades, let alone splashy ones, and the worst deal in recent memory was actually a genius move.
The San Antonio Spurs are not a frequent inclusion during NBA trade season. Sure, they moved for De'Aaron Fox last season, but that was the biggest trade in franchise history. More often than not, the Spurs emerge as winners in three-team trades that see them act as smaller facilitators for a much larger deal.
The exception, of course, is the Kawhi Leonard trade. By 2017, it was clear that he had no interest in continuing his NBA career in San Antonio. By 2018, the Spurs packaged him and Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and the draft pick that would become Keldon Johnson.
For the league's best defender and perennial MVP candidate, the trade didn't exactly leave the Spurs in the best spot, although Leonard had done all he could to force his way out, and he only had one season left on his contract. Dubbed the trade most fans would want to "undo" by The Athletic, the deal actually benefited the Spurs in the long-run.
Why Spurs Shouldn't Regret Blockbuster Deal
By the time Leoanrd was sent to Canada, was there any other option? The relationship between player and team was utterly destroyed, and the Spurs didn't believe in his long-term availability.
Of course, he was a title-worthy player and led the Raptors to their best season ever, but he quickly fled in free agency for Los Angeles. The Spurs were not going to win the 2019 Finals even with Leonard on the roster.
The DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge Spurs were able to stay afloat for a season, although long-term success was clearly unattainable. The Spurs would go on to send DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls for draft picks that were later turned into Fox, and Jakob Poeltl was sent to the Raptors for a 2024 draft pick. The Spurs then sent that pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future pick and a swap.
Did the Spurs have any other option other than to part ways with Leonard? Nope. Did it lead to several seasons of mediocrity? Yup, although it was the first move in the eventual tank for Victor Wembanyama, so it was clearly worth it in hindsight.
"Spurs fans still mourn losing Green," pointed out Jared Weiss. "DeRozan and Poeltl were good players, but kept the team on the treadmill of mediocrity instead of letting it tank and rebuild. The lasting memory of this deal was the pick used to take Keldon Johnson, now the team’s heart and soul. And that treadmill of mediocrity eventually led to Victor Wembanyama, so maybe it was the right call after all."
In 2018, the Spurs did what they had to do. If dealing Leonard is the worst deal in franchise history, clearly, fans don't have much to complain about.