Spurs: 3 players who would be massive mistakes to sign as free agents

The San Antonio Spurs should avoid these three players in free agency

With several matchups with marquee teams left on their schedule and a possible date with the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament, the San Antonio Spurs have quite a bit of excitement left in the 2020-21 NBA season. But you couldn’t be blamed for having an eye towards the summer.

Armed with one of the most exciting young cores in the league and a boatload of cap space, the Spurs are well-positioned to shake things up and start the next era of Spurs basketball in just a few months. With just north of $52 million dollars to spend, the Spurs should have their pick of the free-agent market.

We’ve covered players who we think the Spurs should go after, namely the Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins, but what about the players the Spurs need to avoid? We’ve seen over the past few years that this front office isn’t immune from making questionable decisions in free agency. Remember DeMarre Carroll? Yeah, that was a great use of team funds.

If handled correctly, this can be the summer where the Spurs turn the page and begin the next phase of their rebuild, but adding one of these three free agents would only hurt that process. Here are the three free agents they should avoid in free agency this summer.

It’s time for Rudy Gay and the San Antonio Spurs to part ways

I want to preface all of this by saying that what Rudy Gay has done for the San Antonio Spurs this season has been impressive and has probably been underappreciated by us here at Air Alamo. He’s got the 12th best defensive RAPTOR rating in the NBA and has bailed the Spurs out of several tight situations with his shot-making ability. Hand up, I’ve been fairly critical of Gay this season and haven’t given him enough credit for what he’s done for San Antonio on both ends of the floor.

That criticism stems from the all-to-frequent occurrences of Gay dribbling in past the three-point line and taking ill-advised mid-range two’s or frustratingly missing his teammates when they’re open beyond the arc.

So when I say that re-signing Gay would be a mistake please understand that it is truly nothing personal, I just don’t see the fit working past this season.

Newly named starter, Devin Vassell and Luka Samanic are going to need more minutes going forward. There’s an incoming draft pick who is going to need playing time as well. All in all, the team is trending younger. With respect to Rudy, but is this really where he wants to re-sign?

Gay drew interest from teams near the trade deadline and would likely have no problem finding a spot on a contender this summer. Do you think he’d rather play another year or two in San Antonio or go contend for a ring with someone like the Clippers or Nets?

I want Rudy to get a ring, I want him to add that gold star to his already impressive resume before calling it a career. I also want to see more playing time for guys like Vassell and Luka. Combined, those two factors make bringing Rudy back an ill-advised decision. We all wish him the very best going forward but I’d prefer to see him wearing someone else’s jersey next season.

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