Clock ticking on Aldridge trade.
Potential Aldridge deal likely wouldn’t have major effect on roster
Jakob Poeltl could tell what time of year it was from the moment he walked into the Spurs’ practice gym for shootaround Wednesday morning.
It is the spot on the NBA calendar in which everyone becomes a comedian.
“I think you can notice it a little bit on trade deadline day,” Poeltl said, “just because guys are like joking around about it.”
Indeed, gallows humor is an annual fixture in 30 NBA locker rooms each season as the trade deadline approaches.
It typically has been an unnecessary one in San Antonio, where over the past two decades, in-season trades have been about as infrequent as snowstorms.
Related: It snowed five inches in the Alamo City in February.
With Thursday’s NBA trade deadline approaching, this much is clear: Unlike in previous seasons, the Spurs would like to make a trade.
They advertised as much in flashing neon earlier this month, announcing seventime All-star Lamarcus Aldridge would not be with the team with the front office looked for ways to move him.
The mechanics of dealing Aldridge and his $24 million salary cap number have so far proved too much to overcome, especially with the Spurs unwavering in their
refusal to take back long-term salary.
Cleveland has faced a similar obstacle in its attempt to trade Andre Drummond and his $28.75-million price tag.
Though Spurs general manager Brian Wright will continue to explore options leading to Thursday’s deadline, the feeling in NBA circles is that Aldridge most likely is ticketed for the free-agent buyout market that opens Friday.
In that case, Miami is considered the frontrunner to sign the 35-year-old forward as a rental for the remainder of the season.
Even if an 11th-hour trade is struck, the return for Aldridge almost certainly will have nil effect on the Spurs’ playoff push this season.
If the Spurs can get anything for Aldridge — a second-round pick or financial relief — it will be considered a bonus.
Any Aldridge-related transaction aside, coach Gregg Popovich expects the roster he led into Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers to look similar to the one the Spurs will take into Thursday’s rematch at the AT&T Center.
“That’s usually how we end up,” Popovich said of the Spurs’ tendency to stand pat. “So that’s my guess.”
On the court, the Spurs have long since moved on without Aldridge, their erstwhile eldest statesman.
The roster that had produced a 4-4 record after the All-star break is the one the Spurs intend to carry forward.
“We know what we have out there on the court, what we have to work with,” Poeltl said. “In a league like this, it might change tomorrow. You never really know. You got to roll with the punches and just make the best out of it.”
Having begun Wednesday in seventh place in the Western Conference, the Spurs — from the front office down — consider themselves a postseason contender as is.
Though the Spurs have made no secret of their desire to trade Aldridge, they have shown less inclination to move other veteran pieces. According to the Miami Herald, the Heat inquired about trading for Rudy Gay before ultimately pulling the trigger with Oklahoma City on a deal for Trevor Ariza last week.
The Spurs’ asking price for Gay was too expensive for the Heat, the Herald reported.
If the Spurs do forge ahead with the roster as is — sans Aldridge — that is fine with the team’s longest-tenured player. “The group that we have now, I think we are understanding the right way to play,” guard Patty Mills said. “We are on the doorstep of us playing the way we want.”
In the end, it could wind up being another quiet deadline day in San Antonio.
The Spurs haven’t brokered a trade-deadline deal since 2014, when they swapped Nando De Colo to Toronto for Austin Daye.
Including that deal, the Spurs have made only five in-season trades since Popovich took over as coach in 1996-97.
The most consequential came in 2005, when the Spurs sent fan favorite Malik Rose to New York in exchange for Nazr Mohammed, who became the starting center for the franchise’s third championship team that summer.
Other notable in-season additions include a 2008 trade with Seattle for Kurt Thomas and a 2012 deal to reunite with Stephen Jackson.
“We historically have not done much at the trade deadline, but when we have, it’s been meaningful,” Popovich said.
The Spurs’ choice to most often sit out the NBA’S annual midseason Trade-a-palooza has been by design.
“It depends on how the team is playing, what the needs are, if there’s anything that’s glaring,” Popovich said. “On the other hand, the continuity and everybody feeling comfortable with each other and knowing exactly how you play can be important too.”
Any move the Spurs make in advance of this year’s deadline likely is to be a low-impact one. The Spurs are who they are. “I am really happy with the squad we have,” Poeltl said. “I think we have done a really good job, if you look at the big picture.
“I am happy to go fight with these guys.”
No matter what happens Thursday, the passage of time will put an end to the deadlineday gallows humor.
With a playoff berth still in sight for the Spurs, it will be time to get serious.