Trading for this Warriors outcast could be brilliant move for Spurs

During a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons came up with a really good trade idea for the San Antonio Spurs.

“What if San Antonio traded for Jordan Poole and Jonas Valančiūnas (from the Washington Wizards)?” Simmons mused.

“And gave up (Tre) Jones and (Zach) Collins and a first-round pick and kind of dabbled in getting better but didn’t really do it and didn’t really give up anything?”

Simmons argued that Washington would be interested in the deal because they would get worse and be in a better position to tank effectively for the rest of the season.

Simmons’ guest for the pod, Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor, applauded the idea from Simmons and made some interesting points of his own about what San Antonio’s trade strategy should be at present.

Essentially, O’Connor argued that the Spurs should engage in small-scale moves with a high ceiling that don’t feature any huge names. This way, San Antonio can stay competitive without being forced to give up any of their truly coveted first-round draft capital before the time's right.

O’Connor also argued that the Spurs should wait another few years (when Victor Wembanyama enters his mid-twenties) before spending this aforementioned valuable draft capital to acquire a superstar.

Acquiring a guy like Poole falls right in line with what O’Connor is described as “taking a swing” on a player. Sure, Poole might not pan out, but his contract expires in a couple of years and the Spurs aren’t ready to contend yet, anyway.

On the flip side, Poole is showing signs of delivering on the potential he displayed a few years ago in Golden State, as noted by both O’Connor and Simmons.

Poole is playing very well for the lowly Wizards this season, shooting over 40 percent from three for the first time in his career (40.2 percent entering Thursday) and averaging 21.4 points per game.

Poole could end up being a great get for the Spurs if he continues this type of shooting. Poole’s ceiling as a player is incredibly high when you think about what he looked like as a young player with the Warriors.

Why not take a swing on him if you’re San Antonio?

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