San Antonio Spurs: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
With the San Antonio Spurs roster just about finalized and the offseason madness dwindling, it’s time to assess how Gregg Popovich’s squad has faired in the summer.
The San Antonio Spurs aren’t a team that centers themselves around drama or the general rumors and buzz that comes around an NBA offseason. They weren’t linked with any of the big free agents this summer.
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More or less, they did what they could to solidify a roster that is stuffed with young talent developing at a promising rate.
The first free agent they signed was DeMarre Carroll from the Brooklyn Nets. Carroll is an interesting addition to the roster, and he is on a team-friendly three-year deal.
There was also the Marcus Morris story. Morris backed out of a deal with the Spurs to join the Knicks after being offered $20 million over two years. After that, they took a chance on Trey Lyles. They also re-signed Rudy Gay, which was a no-brainer as the offseason started.
Other than that, only marginal improvements were made to a roster that made the playoffs as a seventh seed last year, taking the Denver Nuggets to seven games.
Now it is time for the annual public doubting of the Spurs, as analytics and season simulations place them outside of the playoffs.
Outside of the roster, Tim Duncan joined the Spurs staff as an assistant coach. Duncan’s credentials speak for themselves. Two decades in the league, five championships and multiple accolades. Duncan can help anyone on the roster, even Gregg Popovich himself.
For as long as Popovich is coach, the Spurs will have a chance. This year should be very promising for the Spurs. There is young talent and old talent alike, DeMar DeRozan will still give you 20 points a night and LaMarcus Aldridge will hold down the paint.
That’s not to mention young talents like Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV. And now, with the addition of Tim Duncan to the coaching staff, the leadership just gets better.
First, let’s look at the draft to fully assess this offseason.