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The San Antonio Spurs Have Not Done Enough This Offseason

by Damien Peters
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Photo Credit: Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports

The San Antonio Spurs Have Not Done Enough This Offseason

 

One thing is for sure, the acquisition of Rudy Gay for the San Antonio Spurs is an absolutely brilliant move. His scoring, versatility, length and defensive potential is a fantastic addition to this squad during a time where the NBA demands an influx of talented wing players if you’re going to have any success.

The problem is whilst this is a great move for them, they have not done enough to bridge the gap between themselves and the other elite teams that have gotten better this offseason.

The first huge mistake was letting Jonathan Simmons go. Another defensive oriented wing who is hungry and leaves it all out there every single night could have given the Spurs a formidable small ball and wing-dominant lineup. Simmons surprising scoring was also handy against the Warriors last playoffs when they were struggling for healthy and productive bodies. They’ve also allowed Dewayne Dedmon to leave the franchise, a player who gave them energy, rebounding and mostly notably defense, something their other big men failed to give them when it mattered most.

Secondly, the Spurs haven’t upgraded their talent elsewhere. Understandably linked with point guards this offseason as Tony Parker continues to find it difficult to stay on the court, the Spurs failed to land Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry. In my opinion, they weren’t aggressive enough in their pursuits at all.

They haven’t upgraded their talent elsewhere either. Resigning Pau Gasol to way too much money was another mistake. They’ve also resigned Manu Ginobilli which is basically a “nothing” move as well, it doesn’t make them better or worse.

Oklahoma City have upgraded their talent, The Minnesota Timberwolves have upgraded their talent, the Denver Nuggets have upgraded their talent and the Houston Rockets have upgraded their talent and might do so even more with the potential arrival of Carmelo Anthony. All of those franchises got better, and most notably improved on the wings.

Lastly, perhaps their biggest mistake has been not moving LaMarcus Aldridge for some decent pieces that could have helped them. Last season, we saw the true Aldridge, and he was horrible when asked to be the first option or do more than he wants/is accustomed to. Aldridge was massively disappointing and I believe the Spurs should have been super aggressive in moving him and gaining some serious pieces that can help in exchange for him. There was an abundance of talented free agents and players looking to move this offseason, but it seems as though the Spurs missed out on all of them except Gay.

Kawhi Leonard will again be asked to carry a massive load, but in doing so, other areas of his game may be effected. The addition of Gay will help Kawhi, but it’s not close to what they need in order to be at the very top of the Western Conference.

We saw what happened to them when Kawhi got hurt in last season’s playoffs, and let’s hope it doesn’t happen again, because that will be all it takes to end their campaign once again

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