The 2018 30-team NBA mega-trade that solves nothing and makes everyone mad
By Ian Levy
San Antonio Spurs
Sending out: Danny Green (UTA), Joffrey Lauvergne (PHI)
Bringing in: Dion Waiters (MIA), Abdel Nader (BOS)
The San Antonio Spurs dynasty endured for myriad reasons but one of the central ones was their ability to get solid contributions from players no one else seemed to be able to use. Enter Dion Waiters.
He earned a big new contract with the Miami Heat last season but was a disaster this year before going down with an injury and season-ending surgery. Acquiring him here essentially means punting on the playoffs this year since Waiters wouldn’t be available to replace Green until he’s healthy, but with Kawhi’s injuries maybe that’s for the best. Waiters makes roughly the same as Green and if he can recapture the form he had in Miami he gives San Antonio some of what Green did on offense, with a little more potential as a creator. Waiters has talent and no one seems to pull talent out of cast-offs quite as well as the Spurs.
Nader is also an interesting piece, a really versatile wing scorer who has had trouble breaking through in a crowded Celtics rotation. He is another player who seems like they could blossom in San Antonio’s system.