The San Antonio Spurs are headed toward a familiar kind of problem, and the Oklahoma City Thunder just showed how quickly it can turn into a real decision.
For the Spurs, Devin Vassell is the name that keeps coming back into focus. He has three years and $80.1 million left on his deal, but the bigger issue is what happens as the roster gets more expensive around him.
San Antonio is $2.1 million under the tax this season, yet that cushion won’t last once Victor Wembanyama’s extension kicks in next season. Even if the Spurs let Keldon Johnson walk to stay clear of the line, the pressure only grows from there.
The next major squeeze point arrives in 2028. That’s when Stephon Castle’s extension is expected to hit, and Vassell will be in the exact kind of spot Luguentz Dort just occupied for Oklahoma City: one year left on his contract, a rising payroll around him, and a front office forced to choose between keeping the full group together or avoiding the second apron.
San Antonio will also need a power forward to replace Tobias Harris and will have to give Castle a $30 million per year raise. That combination could push the Spurs into the same corner the Thunder just stepped out of.
Oklahoma City already made its choice. Keeping Dort would have meant going over the second apron, paying hundreds of millions in luxury tax, and dealing with roster-building restrictions. Instead, the Thunder sent him to Atlanta for draft capital and stayed under the line.
The comparison with Vassell is hard to miss. He’s a starting 3-and-D wing who has already seen his role shrink as the Spurs have added more talent.
His field goal attempts have dropped every year since 2023, and his scoring has fallen from 19.5 points per game to 13.9 last season. With the Tobias Harris signing in place, that sacrifice figure only figures to grow.
Dort went through the same kind of slide in Oklahoma City. His scoring and minutes declined for four straight years before the Thunder moved on, and he fell from 17.2 points per game in 2022 to 8.3 last season as the roster around him kept getting stronger.
There’s another layer to the comparison, too. Dort is 27 years old, and Vassell will be 27 in 2028, right as the decision point arrives. Both players are heading into the final year of their contracts when the pressure peaks.
The Spurs could still try to get creative. A De’Aaron Fox trade is already being discussed by fans, and San Antonio could explore moving on from Keldon, Harris, and Julian Champagnie to preserve the top end of the roster.
Vassell could also take less on his next deal to remain in San Antonio, just as Isaiah Hartenstein did to stay with the Thunder. But that would require a significant sacrifice, and the Spurs may still find that paying Vassell $27.5 million per year becomes too difficult once Wembanyama, Castle, and Dylan Harper are all in line for major raises.
That’s the reality here. Wemby already took less to help ease the pressure, but his 25 percent max contract begins next summer.
Castle and Harper follow in the next two years. If the Spurs give those three what they’re worth, Vassell could become the odd man out - just as Dort did in Oklahoma City.
The second apron doesn’t wait for anyone. It forces teams to make hard calls, and San Antonio looks like it’s heading toward one of them.
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The conversation around rookie max extensions has shifted lately, and ESPNs Bobby Marks pointed to a possible new pattern after the recent trade involving Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas. For San Antonio, that matters because Stephon Castle has quickly become one of the most important young pieces on a roster already built around Victor Wembanyama, and the Spurs have spent years establishing the kind of team culture that makes long-term planning feel intentional rather than reactive.
If Castle keeps developing at the expected pace, he could land in the same contract conversation, and the timing of that decision would carry real weight for the Spurs salary cap and their bigger championship picture. San Antonio has already set one precedent with Wembanyama, and what happens with Castle could help determine how tightly the franchise can hold together its core while keeping a clear path to a title window that is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]