2. Doug McDermott
For a period of time, it seemed possible that the Los Angeles Lakers would trade Russell Westbrook to the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have no real intent on winning this season and have contracts in Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott to trade. They also have the cap space to absorb Westbrook with the intention of buying him out.
It became clear over time that the Lakers were not going to entertain this package. Now we know that the Lakers are only willing to trade both first-round picks (which is necessary for a Westbrook trade) for an all-star in return. This completely rules out a potential Westbrook trade with the Spurs.
That being said, the Lakers could still make a trade for one of the two shooters in Doug McDermott. Spurs fans will tell you otherwise but McDermott does not have a lot of value on the trade market. His contract is a tad bloated and has another year attached. Most contenders are not willing to take on a one-dimensional shooter with that attached.
The Lakers could be a different story, though. For a team that desperately needs wing depth and three-point shooting, a package of Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn for Doug McDermott might be a no-brainer.
Why would the Spurs do this? Simple. The team would be getting financial flexibility by trading the remaining year of McDermott’s contract (he has a $13.75 million cap hit next season) for expiring contracts. For a small-market team that has no intentions of winning, this is a home run deal. In most cases, the Spurs would have to send assets with McDermott to get a team to trade for him.
The Lakers would get shooting and more importantly, for ownership, would be saving $4.5 million this season.