San Antonio Spurs: Complete 2018 offseason grades
Overall
The San Antonio Spurs will be different next season. In all probability, they will be better. The amount of depth on this team is incredible, and they just got even better upgrading from nine games of a rusty Kawhi Leonard to a fully healthy DeMar DeRozan.
Additions like Belinelli and Cunningham will ensure that there are enough options off the bench to keep other offenses guessing. Re-signing role players like Forbes and Bertans will also help keep bench chemistry intact, as will bringing back the veteran leadership of Rudy Gay. After another successful draft, the Spurs have a wealth of options and combinations to try off the bench.
The biggest hurdle they overcame this offseason was getting rid of Kawhi Leonard. Leonard is an incredibly talented player, but he was causing a rift in San Antonio and for that reason he had to go. The Spurs got a very good return for their troubled superstar, picking up an All-Star in DeRozan. Plus, how many teams can say they have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Poeltl on the roster?
It will be a new-look Spurs team we see this upcoming season. They may not have as much raw talent on the team after losing Leonard, but they still have the best coach in the league and they have assembled a really good group once again. This offseason marked the official transition out of the Kawhi Leonard era, and with the Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all finally gone, the Spurs are officially out in uncharted territory.
What comes next, who can say? What we can say with certainty is that another season of competitive Spurs basketball is coming up, against all odds. It will be fascinating to watch what Pop can do with this new collection of players, especially DeMar DeRozan, who will be the new focal point on offense.
Final Grade: A