In the NBA, the worst thing you can be is mediocre.
After all, the league’s lottery system rewards bottom-feeding teams – whether you like it or not. If your team isn’t good enough to compete for the NBA championship, you’d better hope it’s bad enough to have a chance at receiving the number one pick.
The San Antonio Spurs have spent the past several years occupying the NBA’s middle ground.
The result has been predictable: year after year, the Spurs miss the playoffs without gaining a top pick in order to land premium talent.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: Updates On San Antonio Spurs
This summer, the Spurs finally put an end to that vicious cycle. They traded their only star, Dejounte Murray, to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for three first-round picks. Having made that decision, they might as well go all-in on their rebuilding efforts.
Here are three trades that allow them to do so.