Road ahead for the San Antonio Spurs

Manu Ginobili: The Spurs should keep hold of the veteran Argentinian for next season

The first is the Spurs greatest concern because despite Splitter being an excellent pick-and-roll defensive player and a low post defensive player, he is not a great rebounder or shot-blocker and post Duncan there is almost no rim protection for the Spurs. The Heat exploited the same to great effect as every single minute Duncan was on the bench, it was almost an open lane for the Heat. Considering the fact that the Western Conference house some of the best slash and dash guards in the game, it is imperative that the Spurs look to add a player who can give them some shot-blocking, rebound the ball and also add some vital points in the paint. Houston is looking to let go of Thomas Robinson in their pursuit of Dwight Howard, something that the Spurs could look to exploit. They also have the 28^th pick in the draft and though the Spurs would be very lucky to get some quality in an already weak draft class, the Spurs shouldn’t be swayed as they have a history of making the greatest draft steals and bargain picks. Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Thiago Splitter are good enough examples to validate the same. The Spurs could possibly be looking at Lucas Noguiera, Brandon Davies, Rudy Gobert or even Livio Jean-Charles to fill the positions.

Jean-Charles might very well be their best prospect as the 19-year old is very much in the mould of a Kawhi Leonard and could serve as an ideal back-up to Kawhi. Standing at 6’9”, he can play both as a three and four, and his 7’2” arm-span should go a long way in him developing a defensive versatility similar to Leonard. He may still be a suspect ball-handler and his jumpers need improvement, but the prospect and the promise is there for everyone to see. The Spurs have a raving reputation of developing players much beyond their potential and Jean-Charles could be a natural fit with the Spurs.

The Spurs would also be aware that Manu is soon going to be 36 and may have his best days behind him. Despite that he is too important a player for the Spurs to lose in free agency, and despite reports of him contemplating retirement, it will be a PR disaster if the Spurs don’t resign Ginobili. Ginobili may not command the $14m he earned in the last campaign but a cut-price Ginobili can turn out to be a huge bargain indeed. Ginobili may have had his weak moments in the NBA Finals especially with his egregious ball-handling and costly turn-overs in Game-6 and Game-7, but he still remains among the best playmakers in the game. Plus, one can’t count one poor series against a career of clutch plays. Popovich needs to manage his health and minutes more carefully and let Gary Neal take more of the responsibility, but Ginobili if healthy is still too big a weapon for the Spurs to give up.

The next season will truly be the last for the Spurs BIG THREE to make a combined quest for the NBA title. The Spurs have most of their pieces in place and have the cap room to go ahead and make some moves in the free agency market. They can’t afford a Chris Paul or a Dwight Howard but they can look for some cut-price bargains that can get their team better. Don’t expect any major changes, but the Spurs certainly don’t need any. They would still be smarting from the loss to the Heat and will have major motivation to work harder to go that extra step and win the Championship. And if they ever do falter they will still have the best coach in the league to continually motivate them and get them believing. Next year may not be that easy, because the Clippers will be stronger, the Thunder will be better and maybe even the Grizzlies and the Rockets would be pressing their claims as being among the best in the West. But, till any major moves happen in free agency the Spurs have enough reason to believe they have enough to be the Conference Champions again and stake another claim at the NBA crown.