The San Antonio Spurs are expected to field trade offers on Jeremy Sochan this winter, and their in-state rival, the Dallas Mavericks, made a similar move last season.
The San Antonio Spurs have moved on from Jeremy Sochan. The 2023 ninth overall pick was Gregg Popovich's golden child, although as Mitch Johnson takes over the team, it's clear that there isn't room for him in the rotation.
The Spurs have added talent like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, who are eating up minutes, and supporting players like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have fully bought into their smaller roles. Sochan, it seems, is the odd man out.
Since November, he has been relegated to garbage time and has not played in any of the last four games. The Spurs are expected to trade him this winter, which is similar to a move the Dallas Mavericks made last year.
Spurs to Copy Mavericks' Mistake
Being compared to the Nico Harrison-led Dallas Mavericks is almost never a good thing, but trading away Sochan wouldn't be anywhere near as detrimental as the Luka Doncic trade.
No, it would be a lot more similar to the trade that sent Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Caleb Martin.
That was a horrid trade for Dallas, as Grimes went on to have a career year in Philadelphia, and Martin has emerged as one of the worst players in the league. However, the reasoning behind it was sound.
At the time, the Mavericks were all-in on a win-now core of Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving. Did they really want to negotiate with Grimes in restricted free agency? Absolutely not, especially since he didn't fit the perceived timeline.
Does Sochan fit in with the Spurs' roster? Clearly not, as they are finding new success with him at the end of the bench. With Victor Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper all due for lucrative extensions in the coming seasons, would the Spurs really want to shell out money for a player they don't even need? That's hard to justify, especially when Sochan could be attached to bigger salaries in a move for a more proven player before the deadline.
Sochan was a fan-favorite, although it's worth noting that the Spurs were really bad during the seasons where he got a full run. Was that his fault? No, the Spurs were tanking for and to build around Wembanyama. However, as the Spurs are on the verge of a dynasty, it's clear that Sochan's time in the 210 has run its course.