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SAN ANTONIO SPURS: STATE OF THE FRANCHISE

State of the Franchise

Projected Cap Space (before luxury tax): $43.0 million

Background: Year after year, the same question comes up for the Spurs again and again. Are Duncan and Ginobili going to retire? The expectations are always set low. They're too old everyone says. They're not going to last. Well, pretty much every year, flying in the face of  all the doubters, the Spurs manage to earn the first seed in the West. Every year, they’ve been led by 32 year old PG Tony Parker, 37 year old SG Manu Ginobili, and 38 year old PF Tim Duncan. After making it to the Finals in 2013 after countless years of making the playoffs, they lost to the Miami Heat in a seven game series, separated from a championship by one Ray Allen three pointer. Unexpectedly, they came back next year better than ever and torched the Heat in a Finals rematch. The Finals MVP went to young Spurs SF Kawhi Leonard, who couldn't miss a shot that series. Now the Spurs are back at it again this year, defying all critics and maintaining their winning ways. But this year, it's a bit different because they're now being led by Kawhi Leonard.

Current Financial State: With their aging stars nearing retirement (still), the Spurs are soon due for a rebuild with a new core. Unlike other rebuilding teams, though, they have a pretty big head start with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. For now though, they're still winning so it'll be a bit longer before the rebuild starts so they just have to worry about keeping their current team intact. Parker is being paid $15 million a year and is under contract for a while, which might hinder them later, but if he keeps playing the way he is now, his contract will still be a reasonable deal. Duncan, Ginobili, and Leonard are set to hit free agency this year. Duncan and Ginobili might consider retirement, but if they decide to remain active, it is hard to envision them playing on any other team. Leonard is a restricted free agent and with his impressive amount of talent at such a young age, the Spurs might have to match a max deal from teams with a lot of cap space. With not much money being spent on their key players, the Spurs currently have great financial flexibility and are in good shape.

Targets: The level of basketball at which the Spurs played in the finals last year explains exactly why their main target in the offseason will be to keep the team they have. Their team chemistry, shown by their offensive flow and flawless passing, cannot afford to be compromised. The Spurs are known for not being particularly active in the trade market, and this year again, they have no need to be. All they must do is retain their free agents this year. Their main free agents this year are Duncan, Ginobili, and Leonard, which means their main targets are Duncan, Ginobili, and Leonard. The only thing in question for the Spurs this offseason is how much their free agents will be paid. Duncan and Ginobili will very likely remain in San Antonio and so coming to terms on a contract with them shouldn’t be a problem at all. Duncan will command a $10 million salary at most, maybe even accepting a hometown discount for San Antonio, for who knows how long. Ginobili will probably take something around a $5 million salary for a couple of years, maybe taking a discount as well. Leonard, on the other hand, is a different situation. He is a restricted free agent this year, meaning he can choose to sign an offer sheet with any team he wishes, but the Spurs have the right to match within a couple days and keep him. With his game on a constant rise at 23 years old (24 by free agency), it would make sense for the Spurs to match even a max contract offer sheet from another team. The Spurs should have little to no trouble retaining the core members of their championship team.

The Fit: The best way to see the way the Spurs' core players fit would be to watch the highlights of the 2014 NBA Finals, or the full 48 minute games, too. But for the sake of content for the paragraph, it must be attempted to be put in words. Putting these plays and images into words is a bit of a challenge but it should be able to be achieved in about one sentence: they play really well together. As shown above, the Spurs play really well together, and to break up their team would be to take apart a championship squad. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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