2015 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: 55-27)

2015-16 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Tiago Splitter

PF: Boris Diaw/*Aaron Baynes

SF: *Kawhi Leonard/Kyle Anderson

SG:

PG: Tony Parker/Patty Mills/*Cory Joseph

NBA Free Agents:

*SF-Kawhi Leonard (RFA)

*PG-Cory Joseph (RFA)

*PF-Aaron Baynes (RFA)

C-Tim Duncan (UFA)

SG-Danny Green (UFA)

SF-Manu Ginobli (UFA)

SG-Marco Belinell (UFA)

PF-Matt Bonner (UFA)

PF-Jeff Ayres (UFA)

2015-16 Team Salary: Approximately $37.8 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Bring Back Veterans: With only five players under contract for next season, the Spurs have some serious work to do in free agency, and keeping their veteran core intact is vital. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli have taken hometown discounts in recent offseasons to remain with the Spurs, and both should do so once again this summer. Duncan is 39 years old and Ginobli turns 38 in July, so both of their storied NBA careers are winding down, but they each have enough tread on their tires to help the Spurs make at least one more push for another NBA Championship.

2. Extend Leonard: The 2014 NBA Finals MVP is due for a huge payday this summer. With respect to San Antonio’s Big Three, Leonard is the future face of the franchise, so the front office needs to open up the wallet and extend the versatile small forward before he becomes an unrestricted free agent at this time next year.

3. Shooting Guard: With Danny Green, Ginobli and Marco Belinelli all unrestricted free agents, the Spurs have a question mark at shooting guard. As I mentioned, Ginobli is expected to be back, and San Antonio should make re-signing Green a priority as well since he perfectly plays his role in Gregg Popovich’s system. If the Spurs feel they can find an upgrade with their plentiful cap space, they could get aggressive in free agency, but my money is on Green returning.

4. Frontcourt Depth: Assuming Duncan is back, he will join veterans Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw in the frontcourt, and restricted free agent Aaron Baynes is likely to return as well. Still, the Spurs must add some depth inside if they do not plan to bring back Jeff Ayres or Matt Bonner, who are both very replaceable. San Antonio could also look to use some of that cap space on finding a better running mate for Tim Duncan in the starting lineup and then have both Splitter and Diaw coming off the bench.