One Trade That Every Team Should Do
San Antonio gets: SF Chris Copeland
Indiana gets: PF Jeff Ayres, San Antonio’s 2015 second-rounder
Finances: Both Ayres and Copeland are on expiring deals, worth $1.8 million and $3.1 million respectively. Neither figures to shake up the financial picture for either team. Nothing more to discuss here. Moving on.
The Fit: The Spurs have on of those luxury needs to be addressed, meaning it’s not really a need. Behind star SF Kawhi Leonard, their main option is rookie SF/PF Kyle Anderson, or else it’s guys like SG/SF Danny Green or SG/SF Marco Belinelli playing out of position. When healthy, Kawhi can shoulder so many of the minutes at small forward that this really isn’t an issue, but he has been injured fairly often. Because of this, they should probably turn to the trade market, something the league’s model franchise has rarely done. Copeland is available, and he can be had for exactly what you see above: a late second-rounder and a benchwarmer to make the money work. Copeland is nothing special, but he did hit 42.1% of his threes in his rookie season just two years ago, connecting on 1.1 a game. Now, he hasn’t really improved much, but is still knocking down 1.2 threes a contest, and is good enough to play backup minutes behind Leonard. Perfecting this roster before the Spurs’ annual playoff run has to be something GM R.C Buford should consider.
Why the other team does it: As the Pacers prepare for next season in which superstar SF/SG Paul George will return from his injury, it doesn’t seem likely that they will keep Copeland around, although they probably won’t keep Ayres around either. So why not get a late second-rounder if you can in the midst of a lost season?
San Antonio gets: SF Chris Copeland
Indiana gets: PF Jeff Ayres, San Antonio’s 2015 second-rounder
Finances: Both Ayres and Copeland are on expiring deals, worth $1.8 million and $3.1 million respectively. Neither figures to shake up the financial picture for either team. Nothing more to discuss here. Moving on.
The Fit: The Spurs have on of those luxury needs to be addressed, meaning it’s not really a need. Behind star SF Kawhi Leonard, their main option is rookie SF/PF Kyle Anderson, or else it’s guys like SG/SF Danny Green or SG/SF Marco Belinelli playing out of position. When healthy, Kawhi can shoulder so many of the minutes at small forward that this really isn’t an issue, but he has been injured fairly often. Because of this, they should probably turn to the trade market, something the league’s model franchise has rarely done. Copeland is available, and he can be had for exactly what you see above: a late second-rounder and a benchwarmer to make the money work. Copeland is nothing special, but he did hit 42.1% of his threes in his rookie season just two years ago, connecting on 1.1 a game. Now, he hasn’t really improved much, but is still knocking down 1.2 threes a contest, and is good enough to play backup minutes behind Leonard. Perfecting this roster before the Spurs’ annual playoff run has to be something GM R.C Buford should consider.
Why the other team does it: As the Pacers prepare for next season in which superstar SF/SG Paul George will return from his injury, it doesn’t seem likely that they will keep Copeland around, although they probably won’t keep Ayres around either. So why not get a late second-rounder if you can in the midst of a lost season?