The San Antonio Spurs suddenly look a lot more like a sleeping giant. Even with Victor Wembanyama sidelined, they just knocked the Lakers out of the NBA Cup and are marching into the semifinals with real momentum.
This team is winning behind Stephon Castle’s poise, Dylan Harper’s shot-making, and De’Aaron Fox’s speed, and the rest of the league has finally started to pay attention.
At the same time, the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes are hanging over everything. Any team with a young franchise cornerstone and a pile of assets has to at least game out what an all-in offer would look like.
Around the league, the sense is clear: Castle and Harper are off the table in almost any scenario, with the Spurs only even considering moving from their core if it means landing a true top-five player to pair with Wembanyama.
So who is untouchable, who is “only for a superstar,” and who is more realistically available as we creep toward the deadline? Let’s break down the Spurs’ roster through that lens.
Untouchables
Victor Wembanyama
This one is obvious. Wembanyama is the reason you do any of this. Before the injury, he was putting up 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game, shooting 50.2% from the field and 34.5% from three while destroying offensive game plans every night. He changes the geometry of the floor on both ends. You do not trade that, you build around it.
The more interesting part is how the Spurs are treating him while he is out. Instead of forcing a rushed comeback, they are letting Castle and Fox run the show, building habits that will make life easier when Wembanyama returns.
Every decision they make, every trade they consider, has one basic question attached: Does this help maximize the next decade of Wembanyama’s prime? If the answer is anything but “absolutely,” it dies on the whiteboard.
Stephon Castle
Castle has gone from “nice rookie guard” to “future All-Star” faster than anyone expected. He looks like the modern jumbo lead guard prototype: 18.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists, hitting 50.0% from the field, guarding up and down the lineup, and never looking rattled by the moment. That performance against the Lakers in the Cup, where he controlled the tempo and hit big shots late, felt like a coming-out party.
Because of that, Castle is basically being treated as a second franchise cornerstone. You can hear it in the way people around the league talk: if the Bucks ever pick up the phone on Giannis, the Spurs might put Fox, picks, and role players on the table, but Castle is the line they refuse to cross. A 6’6 guard who can initiate, defend, and grow on Wembanyama’s timeline is simply too valuable to entertain.
Dylan Harper
Harper is the chaos engine. His numbers are not as loud as Castle’s yet: 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists with a jumper at 48.0% from the field and struggling from deep, but the flashes are ridiculous. He can get to the rim, he has real passing feel, and he has already had nights where he looks like the best scorer on the floor. For a teenager sharing touches with Fox, Castle, and Vassell, that is wild.
More importantly, Harper fits the identity the Spurs are clearly chasing: big guards who can dribble, pass, and shoot, and who can defend multiple spots without needing the ball every possession. On a cheap rookie contract and with star potential, he is exactly the kind of player small-market teams dream of drafting. You do not flip that for anything short of a fully formed megastar, and even then, the front office would be sick about it.
Only For A Superstar
De’Aaron Fox
If anyone outside of Wembanyama is allowed to call this his team too, it is Fox. The veteran guard has been the steadying force in the middle of all this youth, dropping 24.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 48.6% from the field and 38.8% from three while constantly pushing the pace. He gives them late-game creation, a go-to pick-and-roll partner for Wemby, and a tone-setting competitiveness they badly needed.
Because of that, Fox lives in a weird space. He is not untouchable the way Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper are, but nobody inside the organization is eager to move him. The only way you even think about it is if a Giannis-level name is coming back. In that type of deal, he becomes the headliner, pure star power going out. Short of that, the Spurs are much more likely to keep riding this double-engine backcourt into the next phase of their timeline.
Devin Vassell
Devin Vassell is quietly one of the cleanest fits you could ask for next to Wembanyama. He is giving the Spurs 15.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, shooting 39.4% from three and guarding the best wing on most nights. He moves without the ball, hits shots off movement, and does not need a ton of dribbles to impact the game. Those players age well and translate to playoff basketball.
If a superstar trade ever materializes, Vassell is the type of piece rival teams would demand. Two-way wings in their mid-20s on non-crazy money always have a market. The Spurs know that, and they are not blind to the idea that pairing Wembanyama with an MVP-tier co-star might require real sacrifice. But Vassell is not getting moved for anything less. He is “break glass in case of Giannis” territory, not “random star who might not even fit.”
Jeremy Sochan
Every contender believes they can take a player like Jeremy Sochan and turn him into their ultimate connective tissue. The box score numbers are modest: 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, but he guards everywhere, pushes the ball in transition, sets screens, cuts, and just generally fills gaps. On a team full of young creators, that matters more than ever.
For the Spurs, Sochan is insurance. If Wembanyama is off the floor, he can function as a small-ball five. If they want to switch everything, he is the key. If they want to blitz ball handlers, he is the guy flying around behind the play. That versatility makes him incredibly valuable in San Antonio’s ecosystem. Like Vassell, he only really enters the trade conversation when the return is a no-doubt top-tier star. Otherwise, you keep the Swiss Army knife.
Carter Bryant
Bryant has not broken out the way Castle and Harper have yet, but the outline is obvious. He looks like a modern combo forward, playing limited minutes while shooting 28.6% from three, but holding his own defensively against bigger wings. You can picture him as the fifth starter in a terrifying Wemby-Fox-Castle-Harper lineup down the road.
With that in mind, the Spurs treat him as a premium sweetener, not a throw-in. He is young, cheap, and fits the exact position that teams usually lack. If a megastar deal really reaches the finish line, Bryant might be one of the kids who goes out to make it happen. Until that level of player is in play, they are not in any rush to move a prospect who fits this cleanly.
Trade Assets
Harrison Barnes
Barnes feels like the most obvious trade chip. A veteran forward on a sizeable contract, still capable of putting up 13.5 points and 3.4 rebounds with 43.4% from three, is a chip for contenders. He just gave Spurs fans a taste of “big playoff moment” energy in the NBA Cup win over the Lakers. His salary helps match money in bigger trades, and his game fits on basically any roster. If San Antonio wants a first-round pick or needs matching money in a star package, Barnes is front and center.
Keldon Johnson
Johnson sits in that middle tier between “core” and “expendable.” He can still get you 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds a night, crashes the paint, and brings a ton of physicality on drives. But with Wembanyama, Castle, Harper, Vassell, and Bryant all in the wing and forward mix, Keldon is suddenly more of a luxury than a necessity. His contract is reasonable, he is still young, and a team searching for downhill juice on the wing could absolutely talk themselves into giving up real value.
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie’s main selling point is simple: he shoots it. A guy hitting 38.1% from three on decent volume, who knows the system and stays within his role, is a classic end-of-rotation pickup for playoff teams. The Spurs can keep him as depth, but they can also toss him into trades as extra shooting for whoever takes him.
Luke Kornet
Kornet is there as a regular-season innings-eater behind Wembanyama and the other bigs. He can block a shot here and there, set screens, and hit the occasional jumper. If some frontcourt-desperate team wants a cheap, playable backup, he is available, but nobody is building a deal around him.
Kelly Olynyk
Olynyk is more interesting. A veteran stretch five who can pass, space the floor, and survive defensively always draws deadline interest. On the right night, he will give you 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and a couple of threes, and he can unlock second units with his playmaking from the elbow. For a contender trying to juice its bench offense, he is a very clean target.
David Jones Garcia
Jones Garcia is one of those sneaky developmental wings every smart team tries to stash. He has size, energy, and slashing ability, even if the numbers are not there yet. The Spurs can keep him as a long-term project or move him as a “we’ll take a flyer” throw-in for another rebuilding team.
Bismack Biyombo
Biyombo is exactly what he has always been: a veteran rim protector who will rebound, set hard screens, and never complain about minutes. For deep playoff teams whose backup centers keep getting hurt, he is the kind of emergency option you add in a small deal.
Jordan McLaughlin
McLaughlin is a pure third-guard safety blanket. He can run an offense, hit open shots, and keep turnovers low. If a contender loses a backup point guard to injury, the Spurs can flip him for a second-rounder without blinking.
Lindy Waters III
Waters is another shooter who can give you quick points in a short burst and force defenses to stay honest. If spacing is your issue, he is a simple, low-cost fix in the last spot of your rotation.
Riley Minx
Minx is more of a pure upside play. A rangy guard with tools on defense and a developing jumper, he is the kind of player who might be more valuable as a “mystery box” to another front office than he is in San Antonio’s crowded guard room. He can easily be part of the second or third tier of assets in a multi-player deal.
Harrison Ingram
Ingram brings size on the wing, some rebounding, and a jumper that could creep toward earning more minutes. He is not locked into the long-term core, but he fits the mold of the versatile forwards every contender wants more of. Slot him in as a nice sweetener in any mid-sized trade.
The big picture is simple: the Spurs finally have options. Wembanyama, Castle, and Harper are off the board. Fox, Vassell, Sochan, and Bryant are only leaving if it is for a true superstar running mate. Everyone else is at varying degrees of availability as the deadline approaches.
Whether they actually cash in now or slow-play things is the real drama. But if the Bucks ever decide to listen on Giannis, nobody should be shocked if the Spurs are one of the first teams on the line, holding a terrifying mix of blue-chip kids and ready-made trade chips.
