NBA Trade Rumors: Spurs' Price for Jakob Poeltl, Josh Richardson 'Remains High'

Although trading Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in June cemented the San Antonio Spurs' rebuild, the franchise reportedly still intends to drive a hard bargain with its best assets.

LJ Ellis of SpursTalk reported Sunday that Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson "are the two Spurs players most commonly involved in trade talk" and that the price required to acquire them "remains high."

According to Ellis, the Spurs want a first-round pick for Richardson and two first-rounders for Poeltl.

The 29-year-old Richardson averaged 10.2 points and shot 41.5 percent from beyond the arc across his spells with the Spurs and Boston Celtics in 2021-22.

The 6'5" wing is on an expiring deal and will earn $12.2 million for the upcoming season. That might increase his value since there's no long-term financial risk in acquiring him.

A late first-round pick may be a reasonable demand for a player who can fit into the three-and-D archetype.

Ellis' newest reporting on Poeltl aligns with what Heavy's Steve Bulpett reported in July. Bulpett spoke to a general manager who said his impression is the Spurs "don't want to burn the thing to the ground and start from there." To that end, San Antonio isn't desperate to offload the veteran center.

Poeltl is also coming off a career year. The 26-year-old averaged 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and he held opponents to 55.6 percent shooting inside six feet, 8.2 percentage points below their average, per NBA.com.

The 7'1" big man is a limited scorer, but his rim protection would be a prized commodity for a contender. Like Richardson, he's on an expiring deal, and his $9.4 million salary is a relatively modest sum.

With Poeltl, the Spurs are better positioned to demand a good return.