Could Spurs Trade for Pacers' Chris Duarte?

The San Antonio Spurs are in the early stage of a rebuild. With that in mind, finding players who are capable of emerging as one of the top options in an offense is important.

Dejounte Murray had emerged as the Spurs' go-to scoring option after the chapter of DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge came to a close. Murray earned an All-Star nod last season and was traded in the offseason.

With the trade return for Murray consisting of future draft capital, the Spurs essentially moved their best player without even attempting to replace him. It's the ideal move for a rebuild and creates a large void for young players to fill.

Who will emerge as the Spurs' top scorer? Keldon Johnson appears to be a prime candidate after taking a step forward in his role last season. There will be even more shots to go around without Murray, but is he a true top option on a highly successful team? That appears unlikely.

Johnson could be a helpful talent that can complement top talent, but he hasn't yet shown to be a dynamic shot creator that a team can dump the ball to over and over. Perhaps he surprises this season, but regardless, that's the present reality.

The NBA Draft will be the key mechanism for the Spurs to add their next star. That won't be a fix to everything. Finding more potential complementary options like Johnson on the trade market for a reasonable trade price could be a great option.

One option that stands out is Chris Duarte, who the Indiana Pacers selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He appeared in 55 games during his rookie campaign and averaged 13.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 28.0 minutes per game.

Duarte isn't like most young players considering he's not actually all that young. He's already 25. Is that young enough for the Pacers to invest a lot of their focus on as they work toward rebuilding around Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin? There's a case for a trade to be made.

In a recent hypothetical trade piece, NBA Analysis Network crafted a deal to send Duarte to the Spurs. In exchange, San Antonio would send the Pacers a return of Keita Bates-Diop and a 2025 lottery-protected first-round pick.

Indiana Pacers Receive: F Keita Bates-Diop, 2025 First-Round Pick (Lottery Protected – ATL via SAS)

San Antonio Spurs Receive: G Chris Duarte

The key element of this trade package for the Spurs is that a deal wouldn't be involving their own draft pick. They can continue to organically rebuild with their own selections for the long haul as a result.

The Spurs would have a perimeter that consists of Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Josh Primo, and Duarte. It's a major luxury to have depth on the wing of this level, especially with their diverse skill-sets. It's a good place to be in the early stage of a rebuilding process.

Given that Duarte had just a 20.7 percent usage rate during his rookie campaign, there's real room for a rebuilding team to test his ceiling in a larger role. With the Spurs, he could get more reps running ball screens, play out of handoffs and off-ball actions, and be one of their more relied upon isolation threats.

If Duarte was to thrive in a large role while helping the Spurs to fill the Murray void, he could emerge as a very intriguing trade candidate for a contending team. He will be 27 in the final year of his rookie contract and will enter restricted free agency when his contract ends.

By the time Duarte finishes his time as a team controlled asset, he will almost surely already be in his 30s. For any small market team, it would be a fascinating option to trade for him given those circumstances.

The Pacers would need to value future draft capital over Duarte's perceived long-term potential in order to make this trade. He is signed to a rookie contract through the 2024-25 season, so there isn't necessarily a need to move him.

Indiana would need to be genuinely enticed to part with Duarte in a trade. Perhaps a younger perimeter talent who better fits Haliburton's timeline could be an intriguing option for the Pacers. There are plenty of options for the Spurs to include in a trade package if needed.

You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.

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