2013 San Antonio Spurs

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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San Antonio Spurs (Last Year: 58-24)

2012-13 Season Summary:
People keep waiting for the San Antonio Spurs to finally fall off in the Western Conference, but the exact opposite happened. The dynasty nearly added a fifth NBA championship before losing in seven games to the Miami Heat in a thrilling Finals.

The veteran trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli did the heavy lifting for Gregg Popovich, who played it smart and rested them enough during the regular season to keep them healthy for a playoff run. However, it was the development of younger guys like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Tiago Splitter, and Gary Neal that really put this team over the edge. Those four guys played their roles to perfection in Popovich’s system, which has been a huge reason the franchise has been able to play at such a high level for the past 16 years.

2013-14 Projected Depth Chart:

C: *Tiago Splitter/^Boris Diaw

PF: Tim Duncan/Matt Bonner/Aaron Baynes

SF: Kawhi Leonard

SG: Danny Green/*Gary Neal

PG: Tony Parker/Cory Joseph/^Patrick Mills/Nando de Colo

NBA Free Agents:

G/F-Manu Ginobli (UFA)

PF-DeJuan Blair (UFA)

SF-Tracy McGrady (UFA)

*C-Tiago Splitter (RFA)

*SG-Gary Neal (RFA)

^PG-Patrick Mills (PO)

^C-Boris Diaw (PO)

2013-14 Team Salary: Approximately $41.8 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Re-sign Ginobli: Ginobli turns 36 years old this summer, and while his production is steadily declining, he is still an integral part of the Spurs’ dynasty. There is little doubt that he will return to San Antonio and finish out his career alongside Duncan, and at this point of his career, Ginobli should re-sign for a hometown discount and not be overly demanding as a free agent.

2. Extend Neal: The Spurs aren’t known for making big splashes in free agency or with major trades; the team prefers developing its own talent and Gary Neal is the perfect example of that. He has been a very valuable reserve the past two seasons and will be a restricted free agent this summer. Neal is due a nice pay raise from the less than a million dollars he made this past season, and the Spurs should extend him before some other team offers him a hefty deal that San Antonio wouldn’t want to match.

3. Size: With Splitter a restricted free agent and Diaw holding on option on his contract, the Spurs need to shore up their frontcourt depth. Extending Splitter should be on their “to-do” list, but only if the price is right. If some team offers him an overpriced contract though, San Antonio might be forced to let him walk and turn elsewhere for a post player to put alongside Tim Duncan.