By Jeje Gomez | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2025-07-10 09:46:13
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
马刺队不仅在进行有趣的重磅运作，在阵容边缘人员处理上也表现得非常精明。
马刺队送出马利基·布兰纳姆 (Malaki Branham)、布雷克·韦斯利 (Blake Wesley) 和一个次轮选秀权，换来了凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk)。从大局来看，这只是一笔小运作，但它延续了管理层精明的交易和决策模式。
让我们来看看这笔交易对圣安东尼奥马刺队的所有益处。
马刺队在不增加长期薪金的情况下清除了人员积压
去年十月，马刺队选择执行韦斯利和布兰纳姆合同的第四年选项，这多少有些令人好奇，考虑到两人在职业生涯前两年都未能获得稳定的轮换时间。不过，新秀合同很便宜，当时这两名后卫提供了经济实惠的深度，并且至少有一些未开发的潜力，值得在2025/26赛季进行探索，届时克里斯·保罗 (Chris Paul) 和特雷·琼斯 (Tre Jones) 预计将进入自由球员市场并可能离开。一旦圣安东尼奥马刺队交易得到达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 并选中迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 加入斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 的后场，情况就变了。进入新赛季，这两名年轻后卫已经没有上场时间了。
送走他们非常有道理，而且由于他们的薪水不高，并且都处于合同的最后一年，预计不会太困难。唯一的挑战是，在操作时不带回长期薪金。到期合同的价值不如从前——尽管随着新的劳资协议 (CBA) 限制，这种情况可能很快会改变——但它们仍然是有用的交易筹码，特别是对于重建中的球队。保留相当数量的到期薪金本身就可能值得一个次轮选秀权，以确保有足够的“压舱石”来促成与试图清空薪金空间的交易伙伴的交易，或者能够在下个休赛期削减薪金。
奥利尼克仍能打球，适配度高，并填补了位置需求
奥利尼克不仅仅是一份到期合同。这位经验丰富的大个子仍然能打球。他职业生涯的三分命中率为37.7%，在过去两年中，尽管出手次数不多，但命中率超过40%。他也能传球，职业生涯中只要有机会成为组织者，就能为大个子贡献精英级别的助攻率。他没有出色的垂直弹跳，但他是一名技术娴熟的内线终结者，对于一个大部分时间在外线活动的球员来说，他的进攻篮板率出人意料地不错。进攻端，他正是马刺队希望扎克·柯林斯 (Zach Collins) 能达到的水平，并且可以成为杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 的绝佳搭档，因为他能让这位年轻前锋像文班亚马 (Wembanyama) 那样在内线发挥。
问题出在防守端，奥利尼克无法提供护筐或换防能力。好消息是，圣安东尼奥马刺队应该只要求他在短时间内作为场上唯一的大个子，在这种情况下，他的进攻应该能弥补他在防守端的局限性。随着文班亚马和卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的加入，奥利尼克作为唯一的内线，是一个节奏变化的选择，而不是主要的替补内线。他的射程和比赛感觉应该能让他在大阵容中与中锋搭档。他不是一个改变比赛走向的球员，但他让马刺队能够针对特定对位派出不同阵容，并且拥有一个大个子来填补伤病情况下的出场时间。
额外的阵容名额赋予马刺队宝贵的灵活性
如果马刺队留下了布兰纳姆和韦斯利，他们将有13份保障合同，并且还需要一名第三内线球员。这笔交易将他们的保障合同数量削减到12份，并为他们提供了一个完整的轮换阵容，这也让他们在空余的阵容名额方面拥有了灵活性。
马刺队可以简单地以底薪签下一名球员，以最低13名球员的阵容进入赛季，并准备好在交易中接受比送出更多的球员，或者利用他们中产特例 (Mid-Level Exception) 剩余的大约300万美元来吸收那些急于削减薪金但又想获得资产的球队的合同。他们还可以同时使用中产特例和双年特例 (Bi-Annual Exception) 再增加两名优质球员，并且仍然有一个空余名额。他们可以冒险签下一些年轻球员，或者增加经验丰富的球员作为保险，同时仍有操作空间。
这只是一件小事，但以这种方式平衡阵容并腾出一个名额是精明的管理，这也正成为布莱恩·莱特 (Brian Wright) 领导的管理层的标志性特点。
点击查看原文：Spurs’ smart offseason continues with Kelly Olynyk trade
Spurs’ smart offseason continues with Kelly Olynyk trade
The Spurs are not only making interesting big moves but also being smart when it comes to the fringes of the roster.
The Spurs traded Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, and a second-round pick for Kelly Olynyk. It’s a minor move in the grand scheme of things, but it continued the pattern of smart transactions and decisions from the front office.
Let’s take a look at all the aspects in which this trade is beneficial for San Antonio.
The Spurs cleared a logjam without adding long-term salary
It was a little curious to see the Spurs pick up the fourth-year option on both Wesley’s and Branham’s contracts last October, considering neither could get consistent rotation minutes in their first two years. Still, rookie deals are cheap and at the time, the two guards offered affordable depth and at least some untapped potential that could be intriguing to explore in the 2025/26 season, when Chris Paul and Tre Jones were expected to enter free agency and potentially leave. Once San Antonio traded for De’Aaron Fox and drafted Dylan Harper to join Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell in the backcourt, things changed. There were no minutes for the two young guards going into the season.
Moving them made a lot of sense, and since they didn’t make much and were on the last year of their contracts, it wasn’t expected to be all that difficult. The only challenge was to do so without taking long-term salary back. Expiring deals are not as valuable as they used to be — although that could change soon, with the new CBA restrictions — but they can be useful trades, especially with rebuilding teams. Keeping a considerable amount of expiring money was likely worth a second-rounder on its own to make sure there is enough ballast to make a deal happen with a trade partner that is trying to clear its books, or to be able to trim salary going into next offseason.
Olynyk can play, fits well, and fills a position of need
Olynyk is more than just an expiring contract. The veteran big man can still play. He’s a career 37 shooter from outside who has hit over 40 percent in the past two years in an admittedly low amount of attempts. He can also pass, posting elite assist percentages for a big throughout his career when given the chance to be a playmaker. He doesn’t have vertical pop, but he’s a crafty inside finisher who has a surprisingly decent offensive rebound percentage for a guy who spends so much time in the perimeter. Offensively, he’s what the Spurs hoped Zach Collins could be and could be a great partner for Jeremy Sochan, as he would allow the young forward to operate inside, like Wembanyama does.
The problems come on the defensive end, where Olynyk doesn’t offer rim protection or switchability. The good news is that San Antonio should only ask him to be the only big man on the floor for short stretches, in which his offense should make up for his limitations on the other end. With Wembanyama and Luke Kornet in tow, Olynyk is a change of pace option as a sole big instead of the main backup, and his range and feel for the game should allow him to play next to a center on massive lineups. He’s not a difference-maker, but he gives the Spurs the ability to throw out different looks against certain matchups, as well as have a big body to sop up minutes in case of an injury.
The extra roster spot gives the Spurs valuable flexibility
Had the Spurs kept Branham and Wesley, they would be sitting on 13 guaranteed contracts, with a need for a third big man. The trade has trimmed their commitments to 12 guaranteed contracts and has given them a full rotation, which also affords them flexibility when it comes to the open roster spots.
The Spurs could simply add someone for the minimum, carry the minimum 13 players into the season, and be ready to either take on more players than they send out in a trade or use the approximately $3 million left on their mid-level exception to absorb contracts from teams desperate to cut some salary while getting an asset back. They could also use both the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions to add two more quality players and still have a spot open. They can gamble on some young guys or add veterans as insurance while still having room to maneuver.
It’s a minor thing, but balancing the roster in this way while opening a spot is smart management, which is becoming a staple of the Brian Wright-led front office.
By Jeje Gomez, via Pounding The Rock