The San Antonio Spurs are a franchise known for consistent playoff appearances, how they take care of their players, and most importantly, the legendary coach Gregg Popovich.
Since taking over at the helm in 1996, Popovich is the longest-tenured active head coach, not just in the NBA, but across most sports leagues in the United States. He is now the winningest coach in history, a five-time NBA champion, and a three-time Coach of the Year. More importantly, it’s under his watch the Spurs saw players rise to become legends. Those players include David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Kawhi Leonard.
In 2019, the Spurs missed the postseason for the first time since 1997- the same year San Antonio drafted Duncan. From there it was a downhill ride as the Spurs failed to finish no higher than tenth place in the Western Conference over the past three seasons.
During the 2022 offseason, the Spurs sent Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, three first-round picks, and a pick swap. San Antonio would later waive Gallinari. This was followed by Lonnie Walker IV signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
While the Spurs added Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley from the 2022 NBA Draft, there are still more questions than answers when it comes to the future of the Spurs.
Time to Rebuild
Dejounte Murray was supposed to be the Spurs’ next franchise player. However, Murray was said to be reluctant to sign an extension in San Antonio which forced the Spurs front office to act proactively.
When the Murray trade happened, many believed the Spurs were now heading down a path they hadn’t been on in a long, long time. A rebuild…
The good news for Spurs fans is that Gregg Popovich will be at the helm during this unfamiliar situation known as the rebuilding process. Even when the Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker slowly faded into retirement, the Spurs still had Kawhi Leonard to carry on the tradition. Then DeMar DeRozan. Then Murray.
Murray averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds, and two steals last season in San Antonio on his way to earning the Spurs’ All-Star selection.
Without him, wow are the Spurs going to move forward? Are they going to tank their way to a chance at possibly drafting Victor Wembanyama next year?
Tanking isn’t something Popovich would do even though he’s known to rest his starters throughout the season. Then again, even he pokes and prods his young team to maximize their potential, it’s unclear what the ceiling would be for this inexperienced squad in 2022-23.
If there’s one promising thing about the Spurs heading into the 2022-2023 season, it’s Keldon Johnson, who recently signed a four-year extension. Johnson started 74 of the 75 regular-season games he played last season, and in those 75 games, he averaged 17 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
Rebuilding might not be something we commonly associate with the Spurs, but for San Antonio, it’s the right direction for the team. As uncertain as the future might be for the club, if the three rookies can build on this season, they along with Johnson could form the foundation of the next generation of Spurs greats.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Mike. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.