The San Antonio Spurs played it safe and decided to keep their core intact, but was it the right decision? Here are their complete 2017 offseason grades.
Heading into the 2017 offseason, the San Antonio Spurs had some major decisions to make.
With Tony Parker injured and Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, Patty Mills, Jonathon Simmons, Dewayne Dedmon and David Lee ALL able to hit the open market as free agents, the Spurs had two options: Try to keep the core intact and run it back with a group that won 61 games last season, or blow up the bench and sacrifice depth to make room for a superstar signing.
What the Spurs managed to do was somewhat keep the core intact, but without the marquee offseason addition they needed to keep pace with the mighty Golden State Warriors or even the Houston Rockets in the constantly improving West.
While Spurs fans will cling to that double-digit lead they held over the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals before Kawhi Leonard went down, three quarters of one playoff game in a seven-game series does not put San Antonio on Golden State’s level — especially after watching the Dubs stampede their way to the title with one of the most dominant campaigns in NBA history.
From the draft to free agency, it was a relatively quiet, understated summer for the Spurs. Did they do enough to keep pace with the Western juggernauts? Here’s a look at their complete 2017 offseason grades.
Drafting White
The Spurs are used to finding serviceable talent despite almost always picking near the end of the first round. 2017 was no different.
Though Derrick White won’t ever be a stud, he’s a capable, 6’5″ combo guard who will provide backcourt depth to a team that may be missing Tony Parker for the first half of the season and only has sixth man Patty Mills and second-year guard Dejounte Murray to turn to.
In his lone season at Colorado, White averaged a well-rounded 18.1 points, 4.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. He also shot an efficient 50.7 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from 3-point range and 81.3 percent from the foul line.
White is already 23 years old after spending three years playing Division II basketball, and he doesn’t move the needle much for the Spurs in the short-term, but this was a good selection for the 29th overall pick.
Grade: B+
Drafting Blossomgame
Jaron Blossomgame falling to No. 59 gives San Antonio its annual “How did this guy fall that far? Of course the Spurs got him!” pick.
A 6’7″ power forward out of Clemson, this four-year player averaged 17.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field as a senior. He doesn’t have a 3-point shot to speak of, making him something of an undersized, old school 4, but he makes up for it with versatility, smart cutting and solid finishing ability around the rim.
Blossomgame will turn 24 before his rookie season even begins, so the upside here is limited. However, with an aging frontcourt of Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge, grabbing a younger player that late in the second round represents solid value, even if he never pans out.
Grade: A-
Re-signing Mills
With TP injured, Patty Mills being a free agent and Dejounte Murray being so inexperienced, it was no secret the Spurs needed a point guard heading into free agency. As often as names like Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry came up, San Antonio ultimately settled for keeping a fan favorite around.
By re-signing Mills to a four-year, $50 million deal, the Spurs are playing it safe with a comfortable, familiar option. Last year, the 28-year-old Aussie averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game, with 72 of his 80 appearances coming off the bench.
However, he stepped up when called upon in eight regular season and six playoff starts, and his 41.4 percent shooting from 3-point range was a welcome boost off the bench. He’ll either continue to anchor the second unit behind Murray, or keep a well-oiled machine running with the starters until TP can return.
However, as much as $12.5 million a year represents yet another team-friendly bargain for the Spurs, it’s not the high profile acquisition they needed to keep pace with the headliner offseasons of the Golden State Warriors or even the Houston Rockets. Mills will keep the engine running, but he doesn’t help the Spurs close the gap on that juggernaut down in Oakland.
Grade: B+
Signing Gay
At first glance, adding Rudy Gay does little to vault the Spurs into the upper tier where the Warriors currently reside by themselves. However, considering Gay opted out of $14 million to sign a two-year, $17 million deal, the Spurs still got great value here.
There are some obvious concerns. Gay can be a bit of a black hole on offense, he’s 30 years old and he’s coming off a season-ending Achilles injury. This is not the big fish San Antonio was looking for, nor does he close the gap on the Dubs.
With the second year being a player option, even if he is a major difference-maker for the Spurs, they’ll either have to pay up to retain him next summer or lose him to the open market.
However, as a career 37.2 percent shooter, Gay is a nice fit as a potential small-ball 4. He’ll get to play for a winning organization under Gregg Popovich, won’t be expected to be his former All-Star self and is playing on a Mid-Level Exception. Plus, the Spurs are the Spurs, so this will probably work like gangbusters anyway, even if it’s only for a year or two.
Grade: B+
Landing Lauvergne
The Spurs are a team in need of youth and frontcourt depth, and though Joffrey Lauvergne hasn’t quite panned out since being ousted from a crowded Denver Nuggets frontcourt, this could be a decent fill-in for David Lee.
Pau Gasol ultimately re-signed, but he’s getting older. LaMarcus Aldridge was on the trade block a few weeks ago, while Lee and Dewayne Dedmon both opted out to capitalize on better deals on the open market. Signing a 25-year-old who averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in just 17.6 minutes per game only a season ago is a decent way to go about bolstering the bench.
Lauvergne is a finesse big who hasn’t gotten his opportunity to shine, leaving a crowded Nuggets frontcourt to join packed frontcourts with the Oklahoma City Thunder and then the Chicago Bulls. He could be a nice fit in San Antonio, especially for a two-year, $3.2 million deal.
Again, this does little to nudge the Spurs into that elite tier where the Warriors reside, but it’s a low-cost move to add a little youth and upside to an aging roster.
Grade: B-
Manu’s last ride
After toying around with the prospect of retirement, it appears as though Manu Ginobili will be back with the San Antonio Spurs for one last ride. Well, actually, two last rides, since he agreed to a two-year, $5 million deal with no player or team option for the second year.
Last season, the soon-to-be 40-year-old averaged 7.5 points in a career-low 18.7 minutes per game. Though he only shot 39 percent from the field, he provided playmaking, veteran leadership and 39.2 percent 3-point shooting off the bench.
Two years seems like a lot given his decline in production, but the monetary side doesn’t really matter at this point. This move is about doing right by a Spurs legend and continuing to cement the league-wide reputation this organization has for being loyal to its mainstays.
The Spurs already missed out on the bigger fish in the free agency pool, so bringing back one of the top players in franchise history so he can potentially finish out his career there is a good move no matter the price — even if his best days are clearly behind him.
Grade: A-
Signing the other Paul
The Spurs didn’t get CP3, but they did sign another Paul — Brandon Paul, a 26-year-old shooting guard who will hopefully replace some of the breathtaking athleticism that Jonathon Simmons brought to the table.
After going undrafted in 2013, Paul has spent time in the D-League and has also played for club teams in Russia, Spain and Turkey. On a two-year deal worth the minimum (with only the first year being guaranteed), the Spurs are hoping they’ve landed yet another D-League success story like Simmons and Danny Green before him.
Paul impressed during his time at NBA Summer League with the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, and brings a catch-and-shoot element to the bench (assuming he actually gets minutes). He can create relatively well off the dribble as well.
While the Spurs’ decision to renounce Simmons remains questionable (especially after the Orlando Magic scooped him up for only three years and $20 million), this is a low-risk move for some depth at the 2-spot.
Grade: C+
Re-signing Gasol
Pau Gasol opting out of the remaining $16.2 million on his contract allowed the Spurs to create some salary cap flexibility at the time, and the six-time All-Star was rewarded for it with a three-year deal worth the exact same amount (with the third being partially guaranteed).
After being unable to put that extra space to good use and losing Jonathon Simmons, this deal doesn’t create much reason for excitement. Gasol taking a discount was great, but the Spurs weren’t able to do much with that extra space aside from sign Rudy Gay, Joffrey Lauvergne and Brandon Paul — hardly difference-makers in the wars to come with the Warriors.
At age 37, Gasol will be paid through at least his age-39 season, and his game has already diminished to a sixth man role, averaging 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last year. That’s less than ideal for a Gasol-Aldridge frontcourt that will need remodeling sooner rather than later.
The Spurs were thin up front, and signing Gasol keeps a perennial 55- or 60-win team intact, but as has become the theme so far, San Antonio’s summer didn’t really help them bridge the gap on the Dubs.
Grade: B-
Overall
To be clear, it wasn’t a bad summer for the San Antonio Spurs. Every single one of their moves — save renouncing Jonathon Simmons only to watch him get scooped up on a more than manageable deal by the Magic — was defensible.
More than likely, Kawhi Leonard will take another leap in 2017-18, perhaps even earning his first MVP Award as the best player carrying a 55- or 60-win team in a brutal Western landscape with even less help than last year.
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However, as often as we’ve been proven wrong about the Spurs being too old to be effective, Tim Duncan is gone. Manu is on his last legs, and TP still has to get those same last legs healthy before he can return to the court.
While passing on the chance to sign a Chris Paul or a Kyle Lowry makes sense given the bench demolition such a move would’ve required, it also leaves the team with a serviceable backup, a second-year player and a rookie to hold things down at the point guard spot.
That’s not going to cut it in the West, where names like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook run rampant. The Spurs lost two of their best defenders in Simmons and Dedmon, while Gasol, Aldridge, Parker and Manu all got a year older. Gasol getting a three-year deal is a bit much, even with the last year not being fully guaranteed.
Unless we’re missing something and Rudy Gay becomes some out-of-nowhere X-factor that launches San Antonio into the upper echelon, the Spurs spent their summer playing it safe, retaining a core that’s still miles behind from the best team in the league.
To that end, as much as each individual move made sense, it was still a pretty underwhelming offseason for a Spurs team that simply got older while almost every other Western powerhouse got stronger.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
Final Grade: B-