Spurs Remaining Silent During Free Agent Frenzy
The San Antonio Spurs are not a franchise that goes out and spends large quantities of money on big name free agents. The team has built a destiny through draft choices and finding the player that best fits their formula.
However, with the Big Three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili possibly not playing many more years together, many are beginning to question if the Spurs can win another championship without signing a big name free agent.
The Spurs did re-sign Boris Diaw and Patty Mills two important members of the team’s elite bench. The importance and contribution of the Spurs bench was indispensable in disposing of the Miami Heat during the recently ended NBA Finals.
Along with the player option of Tim Duncan, re-signing Diaw and Mills were the most immediate priorities the Spurs had as the offseason started.
The draft was also an important part of starting the offseason and the Spurs drafted Kyle Anderson from UCLA with the 30th pick.
Anderson should be t
he perfect pick for the Spurs as he is versatile and should fit into the mix of players on the Spurs.
The Spurs should have some room left under the salary cap to sign a mid-level free agent for $5 million. However, they may wait for the market to chill out a bit, as recent signings have been extremely expensive.
San Antonio is noted for its patience as a franchise and while the risk remains that the best free agents will be gobbled up quickly, the Spurs are a team that can find the diamonds they are looking for in the discount bin.
While picking a big name in the free agent market might be commonplace for most NBA franchises, the Spurs could be looking at a different angle.
San Antonio has a few valuable assets sitting quietly offshore with two that hold a great deal of promise.
Livio Jean-Charles is a 6-foot-9 forward out of French Guiana who the Spurs drafted in 2013 at No. 28. David Bertans is a 6-foot-10 forward out of Latvia a second round pick made in 2011 who the Spurs acquired from Indiana. That trade also brought San Antonio Kawhi Leonard.
The Spurs are hands down the best franchise at drafting and the developing players from overseas. Parker and Ginobili are two examples.
The Spurs likely will bring in one or both of their offshore stars in an attempt to work them into the fold with their draft pick Anderson and the rest of the current roster.
Leonard is a long term key as well as Parker, as he is younger than both Duncan and Ginobili whom both might be gone after next season.
If San Antonio remains silent in the free agent market, some will see it as a mistake, while others will chalk it up to another cerebral move my some of the best basketball minds in the NBA.
Coach Gregg Popovich and the front office will find a way to make it happen, with or most likely without the need to sign a high-profile free agent.
