30 Teams In 30 Days: Stable Spurs Aim To Surprise Again

Summer summary: For a team that embraces stability and player development rather than wholesale changes, the summer of 2019 was a return to normalcy for the Spurs.

Just in the previous 12 months, they waved farewell to a retiring Ginobili; let Parker live out his sunset season with the Hornets; then experienced a painful separation from Kawhi Leonard just when the former Finals MVP was all set to receive the mantel from Duncan. The entire episode was very un-Spurs like and it sent ripples through the franchise.

And then, a breather. The Spurs didn’t add any significant players this summer and instead spent the months locking in the most important figure in club history: Popovich.

There was always league-wide speculation about his future once his core championship players left the franchise, and the moment of truth finally arrived in 2019. Fueling the buzz was Popovich serving as coach of the U.S. men’s national team; if he wanted to retire from the NBA, he’d still have a basketball release. Plus, he’s in his 70s.

Well, so much for that. Popovich agreed to a three-year extension (which will make him the league’s highest paid coach) and appears ready to embrace a bold new era for the club. Pop had every reason to re-up with the Spurs: He has more power than any coach perhaps in NBA history since Red Auerbach, the pay raise will secure more bottles of vintage wine, and he can mold a few young players before he leaves for good.

Those young players, Murray and Walker, should be poised to produce when training camp starts. Walker played in the summer league and looked great at times. Murray’s recovery reportedly is on schedule. Which means, the second-most important aspect of the Spurs’ summer was making sure these guards of the future were making progress toward forming the starting backcourt next season.

There was one strange incident involving Marcus Morris. The free agent forward agreed to a two-year contract with the Spurs, only to get cold feet. Both sides went their separate ways; Morris signed with the Knicks — imagine choosing the Knicks over the Spurs — and San Antonio signed Lyles. He’s a young forward who seemingly has the tools to be a solid rotation player but has yet to find a groove or the right spot after bouncing from Utah to Denver. The odds are favorable that Lyles, who brings good size at 6-foot-10 and can shoot with decent range, will fulfill his potential in the Spurs’ player development lab.

The Spurs added veteran depth by trading for Carroll and then gave the swingman a reworked deal that’ll pay $21 million over the next three years. That’s probably good value for a player who began to show signs of life over the last year in Toronto and then Brooklyn.

The Spurs also gave an extension to Gay, who has rescued his career in San Antonio and fits well in the system and culture.

The Spurs had a pair of mid-level first-round picks in the Draft, which means the Spurs were right in their element. Remember, this is the organization that found Kawhi, Parker and Ginobili outside of the draft lottery and all became foundation players and champions for the franchise.

At. No. 19 they took Luka Samanic, a 19-year-old forward from Croatia who has the basic tools to resemble another Croatian forward who turned out pretty well: Toni Kukoc. Samanic is long and athletic and can shoot from deep and score off the dribble, and played professionally overseas, but of course he hasn’t displayed any of those skills yet on the highest level.

With the next to last pick in the first round they found Keldon Johnson, who left after one year at Kentucky and gives the Spurs an active, 6-foot-6 guard who will also be enrolled in the player development program.

The Spurs didn’t find the superstar needed to thrive in the loaded West, but they made sure the rest of the house is in order. Which makes them fully capable of pulling a surprise or two next season while others count them out.

Coming next: Boston Celtics