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Free agency isn’t over yet, even for the Spurs. In a surprise move, they have traded Davis Bertans to the Washington Wizards as part of a three-team trade, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Spurs are finalizing a trade to send F Davis Bertans to the Wizards, league sources tell ESPN. Bertans will be absorbed into an exception, allowing Spurs to complete deal for DeMarre Carroll.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
As part of the three-team deal that will land Davis Bertans with the Wizards, they will send the rights to F Aaron White to Brooklyn, per source. The Nets are sending DeMarre Carroll to the Spurs in a trade.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 6, 2019
To complete the three-way deal, the Wizards are reportedly sending the rights to Aaron White to the Brooklyn Nets, who in turn will execute a sign-and-trade to send DeMarre Carroll to the Spurs. While both sides had already agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal, Carroll’s contract has reportedly been reconstructed to three years, $21 million.
The Spurs and agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports reworked free agent F DeMarre Carroll's deal to make it three-years, $21M, Bartelstein tells ESPN. The original agreement was two-years, $13M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
By signing Carroll via sign-and-trade instead of a straight free agency signing, the Spurs now have an open roster spot, which is going to former Celtics combo-forward Marcus Morris in a two-year, $20 million deal (second year player option).
Free agent forward Marcus Morris has agreed to a two-year, $20M deal with the San Antonio Spurs, with a second-year player option, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2019
Last season Morris averaged 13.9 points and a career-high 6.1 rebounds for the Celtics. While not the shooter Bertans is — he shot 37.5% from three last season: the second best of his career — he’s a far superior defender with a knack for rebounds and a better all-around game on offense.
The Spurs have gone from severely shorthanded at the forward positions to stacked in a matter of a week. They are legitimately 12 players deep now (minus Chimezie Metu and their two rookies, who are expected to spend most of their time in Austin next season), so it will be interesting to see how Gregg Popovich manages minutes going forward. One thing is for sure: the Spurs are not lying down despite the West getting more stacked by the day, all while keeping their youth movement going. This will truly be a fascinating season.
In the meantime, thank you to Davis for the excitement you brought to the Spurs, and from one identical twin to another: welcome to San Antonio, Marcus!