A pair of veteran basketball players who changed teams this offseason are being flipped for one another. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs came to terms on a deal ahead of the NBA trade deadline that will send Goran Dragic to Texas and Thaddeus Young north of the border.
The Toronto Raptors are trading Goran Dragic to the San Antonio Spurs for Thad Young, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2022
Dragic went to Toronto this past offseason in the sign-and-trade that sent Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat. It had been speculated for some time that the veteran guard would not spend all that much time in Toronto, as a number of teams were interested in acquiring his services. He did, however, appear in a few games at the very start of the season for the Raptors before leaving the team to tend to a personal matter, and has not taken the floor since Nov. 13, 2021.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, this might not be a lengthy stay in San Antonio, as the Spurs and Dragic are expected to work on a buyout. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports that the Dallas Mavericks will be at the front of the line to acquire his services.
ESPN Sources: The Spurs — who are trading for Toronto's Goran Dragic — are expected to negotiate a contract buyout with Dragic. Among the interested expected to be interested once he becomes a free agent: Dallas, Milwaukee, Chicago, Clippers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022
Upon completion of an expected buyout between Goran Dragic and the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks will be the favorites to add the veteran point guard, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 10, 2022
Young, meanwhile, went to the Spurs in the trade that sent DeMar DeRozan to the Chicago Bulls. He appeared in 26 games for San Antonio this season, but made clear he was not a fan of his situation back in December. Young averages 6.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.2 minutes per game this year.
As for additional compensation in the deal, some picks will be swapped between the teams, while Drew Eubanks is going to Toronto.
Sources: Full Spurs-Raptors deal:
Raptors: Thad Young, Drew Eubanks, 2022 Pistons second-rounder
Spurs: Goran Dragic, Toronto 2022 first-rounder (protected 1-14, protected 1-13 in 2023, turning into future seconds)
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2022
