San Antonio Spurs: Grading The Offseason

Overall

This summer, the San Antonio Spurs lost something that’s become one of their patented trademarks over the last few years: their depth. One through 12, the Spurs became renowned for their high basketball IQ, their passing ability, their defense, their selfless teamwork and their perimeter shooting. Remember that dominant 2014 NBA Finals? That doesn’t happen without depth.

Tiago Splitter, Aron Baynes, Cory Joseph and Marco Belinelli are all gone, and that will hurt San Antonio’s bench. In the case of Splitter, it’ll hurt their defense. In the case of Belinelli, it’ll hurt their three-point shooting. The Spurs definitely had to sacrifice something in order to be able to afford Aldridge.

But if you seriously think any of this negates the impact of bringing LaMarcus Freaking Aldridge down by the River Walk, let me direct your attention to what should be the biggest takeaway of San Antonio’s summer:

Turning Splitter and Baynes into Aldridge and West is pretty darn good. San Antonio also did a great job bolstering the bench with what little cap space was left by trading for McCallum.

With Kawhi Leonard eligible for an extension, Danny Green and Matt Bonner becoming free agents and the futures of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili looking uncertain, there could have been a lot of change this summer in San Antonio. Instead, the Spurs re-signed ALL of them to home-team discounts, keeping around fan favorites, superstars and faces of the franchise while also preserving their ability to reel in the offseason’s biggest fish in LaMarcus Aldridge.

The defending champion Golden State Warriors the deeper Los Angeles Clippers and the healthy Oklahoma City Thunder are as good as anyone out West, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are reloading for a title run out East. But is there anyone in the league that would look forward to playing this revamped Spurs team in a seven-game series next year?

This was the biggest offseason for the Spurs since 2000, when Duncan thought about joining Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill on the Orlando Magic. This shouldn’t be a surprise for the franchise that never dies, but the Spurs nailed it in every single way.

Grade: A

Next: Charlotte Hornets: Grading The Offseason

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