Jeremy Sochan’s Top 3 Destinations After Spurs Announcement

When the news was published that The San Antonio Spurs released former lottery pick Jeremy Sochan after failing to find a deal before the 2026 NBA trade deadline, he has placed a very interesting chess piece on the board for teams across the NBA.

Initially landing in San Antonio as the ninth overall pick out of Baylor, Socan was a big Gregg Popovich project before he moved from coaching to the front office. He played minutes as a point guard in an attempt to become a Ben Simmons-style big guard in a position-less basketball system, found full-court success as an athletic finisher around the rim, and eventually moved to plug off the bench for Mitch Johnson when Victor Wembanyama became the team’s unquestioned focal point.

While Socan’s development largely plateaued between 2023-25, with the Spurs opting to use him as a deep backup in 2025-26, there were still teams that showed interest in his services earlier this montheven if an agreement could not be reached before the deadline.

Now free to sign with any team he wants, Socan will not only be looking for a landing spot until the end of the season, but a potential long-term destination for 2026-27 and beyond. Will he sign with a team with clear NBA Finals aspirations? Or will he instead look for form against the Finals odds, knowing that an impressive stat line to close the season will help his cause in free agency? Needless to say, his midseason free agency has the potential to be fascinating.

Jeremy Sochan could finally join New York Knicks

For a while, it looked like the Knicks would leave the 2026 NBA trade deadline with Socan in their rotation, with San Antonio allegedly not interested taking back Gershon Yabusele as compensation for his 2026-27 player option.

Fortunately for the Knicks, not only were they able to turn around and eventually let go of Jose Alvarado, who caught fire Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night from the bench, but now they might as well just have their cake and eat it too.

Unlike in previous seasons, when Tom Thibodeau would insert his starters during the regular season, the Knicks are actually far more willing to share the load under Mike Brown, with 10 players on the roster. logged at least 600 minutes of action before the All-Star break. Of those 10 players, however, only four are natural frontcourt players: Mychal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, with Josh Hart occasionally forced to play as a 6-foot-5 power forward due to the plethora of quality backcourt options.

What role would Socan play for the Knicks? Is he good enough to warrant a spot in their playoff rotation, when regular contributors like Tyler Kolek and Landry Shamet could be benched? That remains to be seen, but he would be given months of runway to show what he can do as a forward with some ball-handling ability, which could then create playoff opportunities if things go his way.

Could Jeremy Sochan find a long-term home with the Phoenix Suns?

Despite moving on from two multiple All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, the Phoenix Suns would still be in the playoffs if the season ended today, and the seventh seed in the Western Conference guarantees the team a spot in the play-in tournament.

With four players starting at least 40 games for the team in 2025-26, and a fifth, Colin Gillespie, not reaching that mark at age 34, the Suns are building a quality program that can thrive for years to come if all goes their way.

What Spurs do not have, however, is a young striker who can build alongside the likes of Gillespie, Mark Williams, Khaman Maluach and Devin Booker in the future, with Dillon Brooks currently 30 and Royce O’Neale the elder statesman of the group at 32. and 4.7 assists per game, respectively, and could form a quality two-man game with Jalen Green on the second unit when the former Houston Rockets guard is given a chance to run the offense.

Is Jeremy Sochan the ultimate Philadelphia 76ers reclamation project?

And last but not least, after coming out of the trade deadline with just 13 players on NBA-standard contracts, could the Philadelphia 76ers be the team to land Sochan as the ultimate high-energy guy at the four spot?

After largely looking to fill their power forward spot with floor spacers during the Joel Embiid era, the 76ers made a conscious effort to change their game plan in 2025 to take some of the rebounding pressure off “The Process,” signing Dominique Barlow and Jabari Walker to two-way deals to provide rebounding and hustle when Tyrese is on, especially when Tyrese is at his peak.

So far, the results have been very encouraging, with Barlow earning a standard NBA contract for his efforts and Walker potentially following suit before the end of the regular season, but neither player — nor Trendon Watford, the team’s other power forward — is a particularly effective scorer when the ball lands in their hands on the outside right under the basket.

While Socan never managed to become a 3-point shooter in San Antonio, with just one goal 30.8 percent from 2023-25he did shoot over 50 percent from the field last season, and averaged over 11 points per game through his first 184 games of professional action.

With Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, a pair of highly athletic combination backs who can do serious damage in the open field, perhaps Socan could become a power forward that splits the difference between Watford and Barlow, while also providing some movement in the pick-and-roll as both a screener and ball-handler.