It was a disappointing end in San Antonio for Leonard, who was once anointed as the player to keep the Spurs’ winning tradition alive once Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker had retired. Instead, at age 27, Leonard is likely to have his best seasons elsewhere, whether that’s in Toronto or another city after he enters free agency next summer.
Leonard’s dispute with the Spurs started with a quad injury that lingered throughout the summer of 2017 and into the start of the regular season. The team expected Leonard to return to action once he was cleared by the medical staff, but he claimed he was still in too much pain to play and consulted with private physicians who backed up his claims.
Leonard wound up playing just nine games last year, leaving a huge hole in the lineup for San Antonio following a near-MVP season. The Spurs struggled to earn the seventh seed, then were quickly dispatched in the first round. Leonard didn’t show up to support his teammates in the postseason, which heightened tensions between him and the organization. He informed team officials that he wouldn’t re-sign once he reached free agency, which left the Spurs with no choice other than to trade him.
Key offseason losses:
It’s hard to imagine a Spurs team without Ginobili and Parker, but neither was on the roster as San Antonio opened camp. After considering retirement for several seasons, Ginobili finally decided it was time at age 41. Although coach Gregg Popovich tried to talk him into another season, Ginobili said he didn’t have the desire to face another difficult 82-game season. A member of four NBA title teams, Ginobili leaves San Antonio as one of the most popular players in franchise history.
Parker is also gone, but not to retirement. After 17 seasons with the Spurs, the point guard accepted a two-year deal with the Hornets, where he expects to have a better shot at playing time. Parker is accompanying former Spurs assistant James Borrego, who was hired over the summer as the new head coach in Charlotte.
Another important loss was Kyle Anderson, who had a breakthrough season last year after taking Leonard’s spot in the starting lineup. Anderson turned that into a four-year, $37.2MM offer sheet from the Grizzlies, which the Spurs elected not to match. Shooting guard Danny Green, another member of the championship era, was shipped to the Raptors as part of the Leonard trade.
Key offseason additions:
After years of success with home-grown talent, the Spurs’ top player is now an outsider. DeRozan spent nine years in Toronto, made four All-Star appearances and just signed an extension in 2016. He will be counted on to replace the scoring punch that Leonard used to provide. DeRozan has been a consistent 20 PPG scorer for the past five seasons, but the Spurs would like to see him improve from 3-point territory, where he is a career .288 shooter.
The Spurs are also excited about Poeltl, who will bring some youth to a front line that features veterans Pau Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay. The ninth pick in the 2016 draft, Poeltl appeared in all 82 games for Toronto last season, averaging 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in a reserve role.
San Antonio also picked up some shooting help over the summer by bringing back Marco Belinelli, who was part of the title-winning team in 2013/14. Belinelli is a productive bench scorer who shot .377 on 3-pointers last season with the Hawks and Sixers.
Outlook for 2018/19:
The loss of Ginobili and Parker means the new era of Spurs basketball has finally arrived, although it’s still shocking that Leonard isn’t part of it. This summer’s roster turnover makes it difficult for San Antonio fans to know what to expect from their team.
The addition of DeRozan will provide perimeter scoring that the Spurs lacked last year. Leonard averaged 25.5 PPG during his last healthy season, and San Antonio didn’t have anyone of that caliber to challenge defenses last year. DeRozan, who averaged a career-best 5.2 assists per game a year ago, also provides another ballhandler and playmaker to the team’s backcourt.
However, replacing Leonard on defense won’t be as easy and the loss of Anderson will only make things more challenging. The addition of free agent Dante Cunningham should help, but the Spurs will eventually need to find a better solution.
San Antonio has the longest-running streak of postseason appearances in the NBA at 21 consecutive years. An offseason of change, an aging roster without a superstar and a long list of Western Conference challengers may require Popovich to do his best coaching job to extend that streak to 22.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Standard contracts:
Story of the summer: