3 must-have free agents for the San Antonio Spurs this offseason
By Karan Jain
With a core already in place and significant cap space, here are three free agents the San Antonio Spurs can target this offseason.
The San Antonio Spurs’ offseason kicked off to the best possible start when they won the rights to draft Victor Wembenyama at the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery. With the likes of Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell establishing themselves as core pieces and 2022 lottery pick Jeremy Sochan also showing flashes in the 2022-23 season, the Spurs look like one of the promising teams in the league moving forward.
Along with their promising core which will almost certainly add Victor Wembenyama, the Spurs can potentially have more than $25 million in cap space.
With this cap space, the Spurs can add players that complement their core and are significant upgrades on their roster from last season.
Must-have free agents for the Spurs: 3. Fred Van Vleet
Fred Van Vleet enters the 2023 free agency as one of the most sought-after point guards and rightfully so. The former All-Star and NBA champion is not coming off his most efficient season but he still proved himself to be a genuine creator and playmaker in a far-from-ideal offensive context. Van Vleet leveraged his scoring gravity and creation into efficient looks for teammates backed up by his ranking in the 100th percentile for ‘passing efficiency’ and in the 96th percentile for ‘playmaking talent’ in Basketball Index’s 2022-23 metrics.
Despite being relatively undersized, Van Vleet has proven himself to be a pesky defender. The guard averaged 1.8 steals per game in 2022-23 and also ranked in the 94th percentile in Basketball Index’s ‘on-ball perimeter defense’ metric.
The Spurs are expected to pursue the former All-Star, who looks closer to leaving Ontario than ever before.