After two blowout wins and a thrilling OT victory had the Summer Spurs sitting at 3-0 in Las Vegas but still needing a win by a decent margin to advance to the “playoffs”, they finally came back down to earth with a blowout loss to the Hornets. While they will have one more “exhibition” game that will be assigned soon, for all intents and purposes, Summer League is over, and now we face a long 70+ days until media day and training camp.
With that in mind, I thought it would be as good a time as any
to take a look at the current state of the roster. We are almost three weeks into free agency, and while the Spurs have made more understated moves than some teams, they have been very solid ones that addressed areas of need, all while holding on to their best assets. Let’s start with what changes have been made.
Who’s out and who’s in
Six players who were on the Spurs’ main roster at the end of last season have left, either via free agency or trade:
- Chris Paul — free agent, unsigned
- Charles Bassey — free agent, playing summer league with Celtics
- Bismack Biyombo — free agent, unsigned
- Sandro Mamukelashvili — free agent, signed with Raptors
- Malaki Branham — traded to Wizards
- Blake Wesley — traded to Wizards
In turn, the Spurs have acquired four new players and re-signed one of their own:
- Dylan Harper — drafted 2nd overall
- Carter Bryant — drafted 14th overall
- Luke Kornet — free agent, signed for 4 year/$41 million
- Kelly Olynyk — acquired from Wizards, 1 year/$13 million remaining
- Jordan McLaughlin — free agent, re-signed for 1 year/$3 million
This has the Spurs at 13 guaranteed contracts. They are required to have 14 of their 15 slots filled at the start of the regular season, so they still have at least one more move to make with regards to the main roster. Also note that former two-way players Harrison Ingram and Riley Minix were extending qualifying offers and are currently restricted free agents, but they can be rescinded and re-signed as two-way players or to the main roster at anytime.
Current Roster
While keeping in mind that the NBA is moving more and more towards being “position-less”, and there is more interchangeability between players and positions, this is at least how I see the Spurs rotation chart shaking out on day 1 with the current roster:
PG: DeAaron Fox — Dylan Harper — Jordan McLaughlin
SG: Stephon Castle — Keldon Johnson
SF: Devin Vassell — Julian Champagnie — Carter Bryant
PF: Harrison Barnes — Jeremy Sochan
C: Victor Wembanyama — Luke Kornet — Kelly Olynyk
Two-way: Riley Minex, Harrison Ingram
Of course, none of this is set in stone, but I think it at least defines the starting and backup rotations accurately. My biggest question would be whether Barnes or Sochan starts, which may come down to how far Sochan’s outside shot has come. Also, players like Harper, Castle, Johnson, Vassell and Bryant can all play multiple positions, and stretch fives like Wemby and Olynyk could also play next to Kornet or Sochan. The bottom line is regardless of how the rotation shakes out, the Spurs are arguably a 12-deep squad even with two more open roster spots available, which is a good place to be.
Cap space left
The Spurs are currently above the 1st apron but still have exceptions and salary cap room to spare. Kornet was signed using just over $14 million of the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level exception, leaving them another $3.1 million to work with. They also still have the entirety of the Bi-Annual Exception, which is worth about $5.1 million. Assuming that is what they use on their remaining roster spot(s), they are projected to have a total team salary of about $176 million for the 2025-26 season, nearly $20 million below the first apron’s hard cap of $196 million, courtesy of Spotrac.
(Getting below that number is why you see teams like the Celtics having to let some key players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis go, otherwise they face severe restrictions. The second apron is no joke and something the Spurs will have to monitor themselves in coming years, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.)
Who is eligible to sign a contract extension?
Other moves we should see in the coming weeks are contract extensions. Sochan is eligible to sign his rookie contract extension, which would kick in for the 2026-27 season. They have up until the day before the regular season starts to make a deal, otherwise he would become a restricted free agent next summer (meaning the Spurs would have the right to match any offer he receives while still being able to negotiate with him themselves).
Rookie scale contracts can be for up to 5 years and worth up to 25% of the salary cap in the first year, with 8% raises each year. It is highly unlikely Sochan signs for anywhere near the max (which is what the Thunder did with both fellow 2022 draftees, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams). Instead, he is projected to be more in the $12-20 million per year range. If they don’t reach an agreement or he wishes to try and raise his value with an improved offensive game this season, they can always re-negotiate next summer (but more often than not, players try to settle after year three).
Fox is also eligible to sign a contract extension and is expected to do so. It would also kick in next summer, but he can’t sign his extension until August 3 (six months after he was acquired on February 3). His current max offer would be for four-years, $229 million. He could wait until next summer to get a little more per season at $296 million across five years using his Bird Rights, but most indicators are he wants to be a part of the Spurs’ future, and the Spurs don’t want to risk losing him next summer, so an agreement is likely to be made this summer.
One thing to consider is it’s possible how much or how many years the Spurs were willing to offer Fox changed after they won the lottery and the right to draft a guard with future star potential in Harper, so maybe a similarly lucrative but shorter three-year extension is a possibility for Fox. Regardless, Harper’s next contract won’t matter until 2029-2030 — 2028-29 for Castle — so that leaves a window for the Spurs to lock up Fox in the meantime.
Barring any surprise trades, the Spurs roster is pretty much set in stone for next season other than at least one guaranteed roster spot and the two-way positions. Ingram and Minix are two players to keep an eye on, as well as Summer League breakout star David Jones-Garcia. You can also check out the NBA’s Free Agency Tracker to see who’s still available, but odds are they won’t be players who are looking for a significant role.
Like always, we will keep you informed on every transaction that goes down here at PtR, and we will also do our best to keep you entertained during the long, hot, grueling months of the summer (or winter, if you’re south of the equator), so be sure to stick around!
More from poundingtherock.com:
- Taking a look at draft prospects through Spurs-colored glasses: The Frontcourt
- Why the Jalen Duren/Mark Williams to the Spurs rumors make sense
- Building the Spurs back into a contender starts with the 2022 NBA Draft
- The benefits of the Spurs trading a pick for immediate help
- Report: The Spurs could trade up for Keegan Murray
- Open Thread: Join in Spurs NBA Draft Party
- Pounding the Rock’s 2022 NBA Draft Lottery Big Board
