Report: Spurs rumored to trade Danny Green for Josh Howard
Earlier this season, the San Antonio Spurs were interested in signing free agent Josh Howard. 
However, in the end, he chose to play for the Utah Jazz.
But it would seem the Spurs haven't stopped trying to acquire the swingman.
According to HoopsWorld, the Spurs are reportedly involved in a three-team deal which would send Howard to San Antonio in exchange for Danny Green who would be sent to the Utah Jazz.
The San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves are discussing a three-team deal, according to sources close to the situation. Nothing is imminent, but the teams will continue to talk over the next two days.
In the rumored deal, the Spurs would acquire Josh Howard, the Timberwolves would acquire C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley and the Jazz would acquire Danny Green and Wayne Ellington. Other players and draft picks will likely be included in the finalized trade.
Utah holds a $10.9 traded-player exception and San Antonio holds a $854,400 traded-player exception as well.
Sources described the talks as ongoing, but stressed that no deal is imminent.
This season, Howard has averaged 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 23.2 minutes per game. Green is averaging 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 22.9 minutes per game.
However, giving up Green is questionable seeing how James Anderson has expressed his desire to leave the Spurs. Still, Anderson hasn't displayed the skills which made his a first-round pick by the Spurs to make him an attractive player for other teams while Green has played solid for the Spurs this season.
Moreover, do the Spurs really need another shooting guard/small forward? The team is stacked at the position with Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, and Anderson. This rumored deal, if true, could be seen as an insurance policy seeing how Manu has been oft-injured this season.
Note that should the Jazz send a draft pick to the Spurs, it is top-seven protected, so if the Jazz were to get a top-seven pick, it will not be sent to San Antonio.
Also, with T.J Ford retiring and the team still needing a quality big man, one would think adding a point guard or a center/forward would be at the top of the Spurs' wish list and not another swingman.
What do you have to say Spurs fans? Is giving up Green for Howard a good deal?
I don't like this cuz we are giving up a young player who knows the spurs system for an aged player who does not, and would have to learn a lot in a short amount of time before playoffs. Their stats are pretty similar, so I really don't see the point. Unless the FO is planning trying to dump salary to be a player in free agency (Duncan's new contract, and amnesty RJ for Howard's contract), it doesn't make a lot of sense. I think most will agree we need a big. Kaman, Okafor, Diaw those are guys I would give up pieces for... depending on what those pieces are. We don't need anything drastic, just a tweek here and there.
Look at those numbers....almost exactly the same. Green is young, healthy and inexpensive at this point. He will only get better. I'd rather keep him in black and silver. He knows how to win and play the game the right way. (Played in more wins than any UNC player in their program's history)!
Trade Anderson for Kurt Thomas straight up. Gives us the defensive interior big we've been looking for, and with Crawford likely opting out after the season and the Blazers generally imploding gives them a chance to see if Anderson could fit for them.
I really don't see Anderson fitting in well on the Spurs, and the salaries are comparable. I think it definitely helps us this season and we don't know if we'd have Anderson after that anyway. Plus Thomas' contract is expiring, while I believe Howard's s for 3 years. If we are just trying to upgrade to make a run this year we shouldn't hamstring ourselves for the future. With Timmy coming off the books this season depending what his next contract looks like we could add a good piece and we would sure regret it if Josh Howard' contract prevented us from doing that.
@CincyKid I still think that the Kaman-Vazques for Anderson-RJ is the best trade for both teams. Hornets want to get rid of Kaman badly, Spurs want to get rid of RJ badly, Hornets need more SFs, and the Spurs need a big and a PG
@spurs123 I would love to add Kaman, believe me. But with his salary, not sure it would be possibel, and I'm not sure what NO would want with RJ and his contract while they are in clear rebuilding mode.
Not saying adding Kurt Thomas is my dream move or anything, but it's a realistic possibility that wouldn't hamper the organization into the future. Almost no risk. Granted there would be little reward, but Thomas could give some hard fouls in the playoffs if nothing else and can space the floor a bit better than Blair or Tiago at this point.
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I'm sure this deal is going to be restructured because the deal doesn't work in the ESPN Trade Machine. Plus, as mentioned in the report, "Other players and draft picks will likely be included in the finalized trade." I trust what RC Buford and the rest of the staff are doing.
I do not see this trade going down. Stats wise Green and Howard are about the same. Like I said, the only reason SA does this is an insurance move seeing how Manu is getting hurt a lot this season.
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It's not even April Fool's day, but this has to be a joke..right? DGreen is our best on ball defender and he will only get better, it's likely we can lock him up for "cheap" (cheaper than RJ) at the end of this year as well. I would be sorely disappointed if this goes through.As for James Anderson, nobody wants him. Oklahoma State wouldn't even take him back.
The spurs use Green to handle the ball sometimes; without a backup PG, Green is a better fit than Howard. He is young and an athletic defender.
@TomArmstrong I hope they would just take Anderson because it looks like Utah is just trying to dump salary (Anderson makes more than Green). But Jefferson wouldn't work. His contract is toxic. If this trade goes through, this all but solidifies RJ's amnesty this offseason.
@Enzo the Baker Agree that Anderson should go and not Green, but I have no love for Jefferson!
We can always go back and re-sign green this offseason. Does anyone know the specifics of Howard's current contract?
i dont like this trade at all. especially with many being hurt all the damn time. very frustrating
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@TEXAS This would help with that. Howard is a player who can create his own shot. I'm still on the fence about this though. I love Green.
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@Enzo the Baker yeah same here. i know thats why they want to go after him. but green has been great at that posisiton .young and springs in the legs. howard has the IQ but his is injury prone to. either way we cant win without many being healthy. so i say no on the deal.
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no. that's terrible! josh howard isn't even that great! and he isn't what a true spur should be. he's openly admitted that he smokes pot in the offseason. sure do whatever you want but you're a role model. and Green might now have his points up, but when he's on the floor he's always involved. danny green could be amazing if he got better at penetrating and laying up.
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Oh and if the spurs go as far as the western conference playoffs, and maybe a championship, who would deserve it more? green or howard? green is the one who helped the spurs out while ginobili was out. and now josh howard is reaping his benefits because he's a bigger name? no. danny green should stay.
Nah screw this, unless the Jazz tank the season but not too bad that they get a top 7 pick and we get Anthony Randolph instead of Josh Howard then this is a horrendous trade.
This trade literally makes no sense, unless RJ is leaving. To be quite honest, James Anderson has the potential to be a better player than Green if given the playing time, so why not try to get this Green for Howard trade done, then get a RJ and Joseph for Vazquez and Kaman/Okafor, and we would be not only set for the playoffs, but set for the future, as well.
@spurs123 I disagree completely. Anderson is dumb. sure he might be athletic, but he's dumb. Every time he's on the court he makes terrible decisions. In fact anderson started as soon as ginobili broke his hand. I think he started like 3-4 games. He had his chance to be what the spurs needed and more, but danny green just out shined him. He's smarter and fits in the whole system better. The reason anderson doesn't get that many minutes isn't because pop just isn't giving him minutes, it's because he's not that smart. There's also a reason the spurs didn't pick up his third year option. I mean I encourage you to watch the entire 2nd half of the spurs/trailblazers game when they beat us by 40. Cory joseph showed much more promise than james anderson.
@aamador521 Danny Green actually only started one game, and that was against the Warriors. Don't bother looking at the Blazers game, that was a total joke of a game. Green has a better basketball IQ than Anderson, but Anderson is a MUCH better ball handler and can create his own shot (see Green's ugly last second airball floater against the Kings). I like both players for completely different reasons; Green is a very solid defensive player for the Spurs with a good basketball IQ, while Anderson can create his own shot and can play provide an offensive spark off of the bench. I'm pretty sure the Spurs didn't pick up his third year option is because they hadn't seen Anderson play much and because of that they didn't want to guarantee him anything yet. Also Anderson's poor play might also be related to the fact that he is pretty much only getting garbage time minutes. Also, Joseph is, quite frankly, terrible at the moment. Let me know what you think!
@spurs123 @aamador521 I have seen Anderson miss 3 dunks, that's the first time I have seen a player miss 3 dunk attempts.
Look you obviously are high on Anderson, so was I for a bit. But you need to face the reality, Anderson is not that great a player.
The Spurs FO made a mistake to draft him, his lateral movement is horrendous, and when can he create his own shot?? he tried to post up McGrady and got blocked. Danny Green is a much better player, have you see how well he plays in pick and roll? or how easily he lets if fly? or how much a better defender he is? I would trade Anderson for a bag of potatoes any day.
@aamador521 Yeah, I meant James Anderson started one game sorry for the confusion. Every single game against good teams, Anderson has had one driving left-handed layup where he blew past his defender. He shows that he can have offensive outbursts if he wants to. I've never actually seen Anderson try to dunk it, so I wouldn't know about that one. I agree that we shouldn't trade Green, but we really need to get rid of this overflow at SG and SF and trade for PGs and PFs. I'm not sure if we should trade Anderson or not simply because he has the potential to be really good (just as he was in college).
@spurs123 I'm not doubting you haven't watched the games, but I'm pretty sure I've maybe seen james anderson create 3 shots for himself. And the rest of the time, it seems like he wants to dunk at very inappropriate/heavily guarded times. Did you mean james anderson started one game? but no, danny green didn't start until a few games after his big game. so I'm pretty sure james anderson started more than once, but you can call me out on that because i'm not that sure.
all I'm saying is, from what i've seen of anderson, he's garbage. Also, we shouldn't trade danny green.
No trade anderson dont like it bc first of all were getting older and Danny Green is having an amazing season really dont want to trade him unless we do get the picks which is not happening so no i dont like the trade
