Success has bred stability for the San Antonio Spurs. They have the league’s longest-tenured head coach, its fourth-longest-tenured GM, three players leftover from their championship squad from more than 10 years ago, and a Western Conference-leading dozen players back from last year’s Finals. That’s more than any other team in the league except the Heat, who also bring back 12 of the guys who edged the Spurs for the championship in June.
The Nuggets have 11 returnees from the end of last season, just one fewer than the Spurs, but nearly every other part of Denver’s basketball operations is new, including GM Tim Connelly and coach Brian Shaw. The Thunder hemorrhaged more talent this summer, losing Kevin Martin just months after trading away James Harden, but they, too, kept 11 of the players from last year’s disappointing playoff exit.
The Rockets made the offseason’s most noteworthy addition in Dwight Howard, but they’ve otherwise remained relatively stable, keeping 10 players. All four Western Conference teams with 10 or more holdovers made the playoffs last season, in contrast to the Eastern Conference, where three of the four teams who returned at least 10 players were in the lottery.
A pair of Western teams that didn’t make the playoffs were particularly active in turning over their rosters. The Mavericks bring back just six guys from the team that made a late-season run at a playoff berth last year, while the Suns have only five players left from their worst season in 44 years. Five is also the number of trades new Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough has pulled off since he assumed his post in May.
Here are each Western Conference team’s holdovers from the end of last season. We also ran down the Eastern Conference returnees earlier this week.
Spurs (12): Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Nando De Colo, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes
Nuggets (11): JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Andre Miller, Timofey Mozgov, Ty Lawson, Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier, Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller
Thunder (11): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Hasheem Thabeet, Perry Jones III, Derek Fisher
Rockets (10): Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, Francisco Garcia, James Harden, Aaron Brooks, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Patrick Beverley
Grizzlies (9): Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince, Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless, Ed Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Leuer
Kings (9): John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette, Patrick Patterson, Isaiah Thomas
Pelicans (9): Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith, Austin Rivers, Lance Thomas, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts
Clippers (8): Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Maalik Wayns
Timberwolves (8): Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Nikola Pekovic, Jose Barea, Ricky Rubio, Alexey Shved, Dante Cunningham, Chase Budinger
Trail Blazers (8): LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Damian Lillard, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, Will Barton
Warriors (8): Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Kent Bazemore
Jazz (7): Marvin Williams, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Jeremy Evans, Jamaal Tinsley
Lakers (7): Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Robert Sacre
Mavericks (6): Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Bernard James
Suns (5): Goran Dragic, Channing Frye, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker