The San Antonio Spurs are performing well this season, led by Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. However, potential NBA expansion could pose challenges for the team.
NBA Expansion Could Impact Spurs Roster
The NBA might announce two new teams as early as this summer. These franchises could begin playing as soon as the 2027-28 season. The addition of teams in Seattle and Las Vegas would be exciting for the league.
However, this expansion could negatively affect teams like the Spurs. An expansion draft would allow existing teams to protect only eight players. This leaves the rest of the roster open for selection by the new franchises.
San Antonio could lose as many as seven players to a new team, possibly including Fox. This situation would force the Spurs to make difficult choices about which players to protect.
Protecting Key Players: A Difficult Decision
The question is, who would the Spurs protect in an expansion draft? Potential options include Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Wembanyama.
Luke Kornet, Carter Bryant, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, and their 2026 and 2027 first-round selections could also be considered. However, the Spurs can only protect eight players.
Decisions regarding Champagnie, Vassell, and Johnson further complicate the situation. The Spurs could let Johnson leave after next season, re-sign Champagnie at a reasonable price, and wait out Vassell’s deal.
Even with those moves, they would still have nine protected players.
The Dilemma of De’Aaron Fox’s Contract
Making Fox available in the expansion draft might make sense, depending on the details of the expansion teams’ announcement and debut. Fox is playing well and is 28 years old, meaning there’s little risk of decline.
However, he isn’t a true max player, even though he will soon be on a max contract. This situation is manageable now, but it will become difficult when Wembanyama is on his supermax contract. It will become even more complicated if Castle qualifies for a rookie max extension.
If Castle and Harper both develop successfully, Fox would eventually need to be moved. This may be more complicated than fans realise.
Fox will make at least $50 million annually once his new contract begins. If San Antonio has to trade him, they would need to get positive value while also reducing salary. That may be difficult to achieve.
Even if Fox has positive trade value, his contract might deter interested teams. Teams interested in Fox may only have undesirable contracts to offer in return. This might give the Spurs assets but limit their flexibility.
Instead, the Spurs could opt not to protect Fox in an expansion draft. This could potentially allow them to remove his remaining salary from their books.
This scenario is still years away, but it would give San Antonio a potential solution if Fox’s contract becomes problematic and they struggle to trade him.