The San Antonio Spurs didn’t used to be big players in the trade market unless it involved assisting other teams with fringe players or someone relatively inconsequential asking out. There were still some surprises here and there — like trading George Hill for Kawhi Leonard and picks in the 2011 draft, Richard Jefferson for Stephen Jackson midseason in 2012, etc. — but usually the trade deadline would come and go without any excitement.
However, that started to change in the last five years after Leonard demanded a trade. The Spurs then became more open to moves at first meant to maximize the LaMarcus Aldridge-DeMar DeRozan era, then get assets in return for DeRozan as he left in free agency, and finally to pick a direction for the franchise.