As the Spurs peruse the free agent market for help at forward, there’s a belief that they’re not willing to offer more than two years to potential targets using their $15MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
As Fischer and Stein observe, after Victor Wembanyama‘s next contract hits the Spurs’ books in 2027/28, Stephon Castle will be due for his own second deal in ’28/29, so it makes sense that the club would want to maintain a relatively clean cap sheet in anticipation for what figures to be a significant commitment to the rising star guard.
Rui Hachimura, Tobias Harris, and John Collins are among the veteran free agents San Antonio is considering, Fischer and Stein note, with Hachimura also said to be drawing interest from the Nets and Pistons.
Here’s more from the Stein Line duo:
- Following up on their earlier report stating that Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili are widely expected to sign with the Lakers, Fischer and Stein say those contracts could come in around $10MM per year. Assuming the room exception is used to add one of those two players, that would leave the team roughly $40MM in cap room to make a play for Jazz restricted free agent Walker Kessler. Kessler is considered to be Los Angeles’ top center target over Pistons RFA Jalen Duren, though L.A. has interest in both players, who will likely be difficult to pry away from their current clubs.
- The Warriors, Cavaliers, and Heat are the teams most frequently cited by rival front offices as probable LeBron James landing spots, and Fischer and Stein hear that Golden State may have already lined up a move or two in order to create additional cap flexibility in case LeBron wants to come to the Bay Area.
- One minor complication for the Warriors, Fischer and Stein report, is that restricted free agent big man Quinten Post is receiving interest from multiple teams. There’s a chance one of those clubs may be willing to sign Post to an offer sheet in order to put some pressure on a potentially cap-strapped Golden State team.
- In order to re-sign restricted free agent forward Tari Eason and free up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to offer Marcus Smart a three-year deal in the range of $7MM annually, the Rockets are trying to move forward Dorian Finney-Smith, per The Stein Line. If those efforts are unsuccessful, Houston’s offer to Smart would have to be for just two years using the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth up to about $6.2MM per year).
- The Mavericks are a potential landing spot for Pistons guard Marcus Sasser, who is a candidate to be traded, Fischer and Stein report. Moving off Sasser’s $5.2MM expiring contract would create extra spending flexibility for Detroit in free agency.
