Via ClutchPoints
Key Players: DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dejounte Murray, Pau Gasol
"What if I told you that one tall clumsy kid, whose dad makes him play, would make it all the way to the NBA? That a bigman who only attempts layups, yet shoots 47 percent from the field somehow managed to stay in the league for a decade and a half? That he will forever be mentioned as a member of one of the greatest teams in basketball history? What if I told you that kid would single-handedly destroy a 20-year basketball dynasty? Welcome to Zaza Pachulia's 30 for 30."
The setting is May 14th, 2017, Oracle Arena, home of the top-seeded Golden State Warriors. Their opponent for the night is one of the few teams viewed near the same spectrum as them since their addition of Kevin Durant-- the Kawhi Leonard-led San Antonio Spurs.
*Slow motion visual clip of Kawhi Leonard guarding Kevin Durant plays*
The basketball world expected the high stakes matchup between the two best forwards not from Akron to be an instant classic, regardless of which team came out on top. What the basketball world didn't expect was for a 6'11 Georgian big man to play the role of Vickie Guerrero.
*Clip of WWE's seemingly useless Vickie Guerrero distracting the ref as her boyfriend does something illegal to win the match plays*
Down 21 at home with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter, Zaza Pachulia took an extra step on his closeout, causing Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard to land awkwardly and reinjure his ankle. Leonard missed the remainder of the series and would only play nine more games in San Antonio uniform.
*Clip of Zaza Pachulia holding up Larry O'Brien trophy fades into a clip of Kawhi Leonard being introduced as a member of the Toronto Raptors*
*30 for 30 ends*
After a season of will he play or won't he play, the San Antonio Spurs made the decision to move on from disgruntled superstar Kawhi Leonard, trading him, three-and-D guard Danny Green, and $5 million cash to the Toronto Raptors for star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a 2019 protected first-round draft pick.
Other notable San Antonio offseason additions came in the form of free agent signings Marco Belinelli, Dante Cunningham, and Quincy Pondexter along with draft picks Lonnie Walker IV and Chimezie Metu. Normally signings like the above-mentioned and second round picks like Metu are viewed as roster fillers, but the Spurs are the model team for maximizing player potential.
The Spurs significant subtractions of the offseason were two perfect examples of maximized potential. Future Hall of Famers Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker both played presumably their last game for the organization they helped bring four championships to. Tony Parker agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets; San Antonio offered the same amount for one year, but Parker preferred the security of two years and his larger role with the Hornets over the Spurs. Father of the euro-step, Manu Ginobili decided to call it a career at 40 years old, thus scrapping any major on-court remains of the 2014 San Antonio championship team.
San Antonio's Best Case Scenario
Via Dubsin
Where there is a Pop, there is a way. Despite what the above fictitious 30 for 30 suggested, the Spurs are far from done. In the last 20 years, San Antonio has failed to win 50 games just two times--one being last season's 47-win year and the other coming at the hands of a lockout season.
Despite Gregg Popovich being the last man standing of the dynasty's bunch, the Spurs roster is far from a collection of scrubs.
Popovich has a backcourt consisting of second-team NBA All-Defensive member Dejounte Murray and second team All-NBA member DeMar DeRozan and a frontcourt with 12 combined All-Star selections between LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol. Combining those talented pieces with versatile wings Rudy Gay and Lonnie Walker IV along with proven shooters like Marco Belinelli, Bryn Forbes, and Patty Mills gives arguably the greatest basketball mind of all-time all the tools he would need to pull out another 50-win season.
However as some of last season's struggles suggested, Gregg Popovich can only do so much from the sidelines. Stars DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge will have to carry the Spurs to success on the offensive end; however, numbers provide Spurs fans with hope that they can do just that.
Aldridge resurrected his career in San Antonio last season, posting an impressive 23.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a night. San Antonio finished fourth last year in two-point field goal frequency, shooting over 70 percent of their shots from inside the lines; meanwhile, the Raptors finished fourth to last in the same category. DeMar DeRozan was in elite territory in terms of two-point field goals made per game(6.9), trailing only LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. It should be no surprise if DeRozan puts up career-best scoring numbers in one of the few systems that still encourage his mid-range play style.
Via National catholic Register
For those not good at interpreting art, the above image illustrates purgatory.
With their current front office, San Antonio will never have a season poor enough to be apart of the draft lottery and have to rebuild; but with their current roster stacked up against the rosters of their Western Conference opponents, the Spurs could find themselves in the early stages of basketball purgatory. Defiition time.
Basketball Purgatory-usually occuring in small market teams, occurs when an NBA team is too good to rebuild, but not good enough to truly be considered contenders.
Ex.) "The Miami Heat have been in basketball purgatory since LeBron James' 2014 departure."
Even with a top-5 player in Kawhi Leonard, everyone, including the Spurs, knew they didn't have enough to beat Golden State. Ahead of the WCF matchup where Leonard went down, Popovich stated his gameplan for defeating the Warriors was to "pray". Replace arguably the best two-way player in the league with DeMar DeRozan and the Spurs will need a lot more than prayer to compete with the Warriors or any team near their level.
Record Prediction: 52-30, A dynasty unknowingly enters basketball purgatory.