For the San Antonio Spurs, most of the summers over the past few years have been about adding a few minor pieces to the roster. Their core was usually intact, and the team never had too much cap space in free agency.
However, this past July was a memorable one for the Spurs as they were actually a serious contender in the free agent market with maximum cap space available.
The Spurs not only re-signed core pieces in Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, they also added one of the marquee free agents in LaMarcus Aldridge, while getting veteran David West to leave money on the table elsewhere and sign in San Antonio for the veteran’s minimum.
The acquisition of high-profile players Aldridge and West cost the Spurs some of their developed depth over the past few seasons. Tiago Splitter was traded and Marco Belinelli, Aron Baynes and Cory Joseph departed in free agency.
With the limited funds they had remaining, the Spurs were able to put together an unknown bench with players such as Ray McCallum and rookies Jonathon Simmons and Boban Marjanovic. Although nine players from last season’s team have returned overall, the five other new pieces are what will make this an intriguing season for coach Gregg Popovich and his staff. Oddsmakers have plenty of faith in the Spurs, listing them at 5-1 to win the championship — the shortest online betting odds of any team other than the Cleveland Cavaliers (7-2).
Here are five things to watch for during the Spurs’ 2015-2016 season.
1. How will LaMarcus Aldridge fit in?
Since their Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker joined forces in the 2002-03 season, the Spurs haven’t really added any high-profile talent to their roster during an offseason. The last high-profile name was Richard Jefferson back in 2009, when he was acquired after averaging 19.6 points with Milwaukee the previous season.
Being a franchise-type player makes the mystique of adding Aldridge that much more interesting as he is coming in having averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season, leading Portland in both categories and making the All-Star team for the fourth time.
Both Zach Lowe of Grantland.com and Coach Nick of BballBreakdown.com, wrote at length about how Aldridge will fit into the Spurs’ system offensively and where he could be placed defensively in the role Splitter left behind.
The first few months of the season are going to be critical for Aldridge and the Spurs. Through playing together, creating chemistry and developing, Aldridge and the Spurs will begin to craft a more consistent product in terms of roles and how much of an offensive load he will carry.
2. How effective can Tony Parker still be?
Parker recently told Yahoo! that he wants to play six more years, which would make him a 20-year player. That sounds like a tremendous stretch when you consider his recent track record.
Over the last three seasons, Parker, 33, has only been able to play a maximum of 68 games as he has consistently been bothered by lower leg injuries. Parker took off the summer of 2014 from playing with the French national team. But he arrived at camp a bit out of game shape and continuously dealt with lower leg pain throughout the season. Last season, he was the team’s second-leading scorer with just 14.4 points and 4.9 assists, his lowest averages since his rookie season.
In the playoffs against Chris Paul and Clippers, Parker was held to just 10.9 points in the seven-game series while shooting 36 percent from the floor, the lowest marks of his postseason career. Whether it can be attributed to injuries on not, teams began to go under screens and dare Parker to shoot jumpers rather than allow his paint penetration. Even in mismatches with big men where Parker would have an isolation, he usually couldn’t shake the big and instead often had to settle for a contested jumper.
Parker’s approach this offseason was to play for France at EuroBasket 2015, so he came into training camp in game-shape this time around, hoping to avoid injuries. Even at EuroBasket, however, Parker continued to struggle to score against rosters made up mostly of non-NBA players. He finished the tournament at 12.0 points while shooting just 34.3 percent.
Defensively, the Spurs often use Green or Leonard on an opposing attacking or high-scoring point guard such as Paul or Russell Westbrook, with Parker usually left to guard a spot-up wing.
Despite all the declines listed above, Parker has shown flashes of his former All-Star form. Last March, he was looking his healthiest as he averaged 18.2 points in 15 games during the month. Even at EuroBasket, Parker sometimes exploded with 10 or 12-point quarters. Still, for the Spurs to continue their attack of getting efficient shots out of the drive-and-kick game, a healthy Parker will be something the team will need for a majority of the season.
3. Lineup flexibility
With the added talent of Aldridge, West and some of the new faces on the bench, the Spurs will be able to have flexible lineups to either counter what an opposing team is doing – perhaps if the Warriors go small with Draymond Green at center, or Memphis going big with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the frontcourt – or find an individual matchup that strengthens their advantage and continue to exploit it.
With Aldridge, Duncan, West and Boris Diaw all possessing the skill to either shoot a 15-foot jumper or post up, and with Leonard having some experience at the stretch-4 as well, San Antonio has plenty of options to experiment with through the 82-game season. With such depth in the frontcourt, this could also allow Popovich to perhaps continue resting some of the elder players.
On the wing, the Spurs have some unknown pieces that could also be used in limited minutes, such as the athletic Simmons, who was a D-League standout defensively last season, or Kyle Anderson, who can basically play the stretch-4 but also initiate the offense like a point guard.
4. The unknown Marco Belinelli role
As written earlier this summer, the one role the Spurs haven’t’ quite filled on paper was the 22 minutes per game formerly filled by Belinelli, as he could play either wing spot. With Ginobili, Anderson and Simmons on guaranteed deals on the bench, there are some intriguing non-guaranteed players who might try out for that role, like shooter Jimmer Fredette, Reggie Williams and even reportedly former draftee Deshaun Thomas.
5. Can Kawhi Leonard make the All-Star team?
Two seasons ago, Leonard emerged as a star by winning the NBA Finals MVP award while matched up with LeBron James. Last season, Leonard was the team’s leading scorer at 16.5 points, but due to injuries was only able to play 64 games. Nevertheless, he won Defensive Player of the Year.
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After signing a maximum contract in the offseason, the next natural step in Leonard’s progression is All-Star. The addition of Aldridge could make that step possible. If Leonard can stay healthy, this could be the season he makes that jump to join the Western Conference All-Stars if he is productive from October to February.
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Paul Garcia is the lead writer for ProjectSpurs.com. You can find him on Twitter @PaulGarciaPS.