According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the San Antonio Spurs tried to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball.
The Cavaliers were not interested in trading Garland in the summer.
Meanwhile, the Hornets have never thought about moving Ball.
“The Spurs did call Cleveland on Garland last June, sources said, when San Antonio still had the Nos. 4 and 8 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft available to trade,” Fischer wrote. “The Cavaliers did not show much interest in those conversations. Another name that’s always lingered as a potential franchise point guard of Spurs interest: Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball. The Hornets have never welcomed trade inquiries for their eccentric ball handler. And yet the Spurs, sources said, have tried to register their interest in Ball during previous transaction cycles.”
The Spurs are trying to get a star floor general for Victor Wembanyama. They have already spoken to the Sacramento Kings about a De’Aaron Fox trade.
Fox hasn’t requested a trade from the Kings, but he prefers to get traded to the Spurs.
“Fox’s preferred destination, as has been widely reported, is San Antonio,” Fischer wrote. “Sources tell The Stein Line, however, that Fox’s side has no current plans to reveal that truth already reverberating around the league.”
The NBA trade deadline is on February 6. Everyone is waiting to see where Fox and Jimmy Butler will end up. Butler has requested a trade from the Miami Heat and wants to get traded to the Phoenix Suns.
“Three years later? It’s the Kings, according to the league sources, who first approached De’Aaron Fox’s Klutch Sports representation about putting the All-Star guard on the trade market with immediate effect,” Fischer wrote. “Sacramento sent word to some interested teams as early as last week that it was open to such overtures. That’s the flipped switch in Sactown.”
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!