Friday, May 31, 2013

San Antonio Spurs Offseason Needs

Resign Manu to One Year Deal, Draft Shooting Guard:
Manu has been injured for the better part of the last two seasons and he has not been himself this year.  This year he did not shoot well and has been even worse in the playoffs. They should not let him go completely because he is an important part of the team, but they cannot afford to sign him to more than a one year deal because of injury concerns and age. They will likely only get one more productive year out of him anyways. Danny Green has become a pretty big part of the Spurs offense over the past two seasons. He shoots the ball very efficiently from three point range where he takes most of his shots. He is likely the starter for the foreseeable future, but when Manu departs, they will need someone to fill his void. There are some shooting guards worth taking a look at, even at their draft position. Jamaal Franklin and Reggie Bullock should be their first two options. Both should fit in right away, especially Bullock since he is a good shooter. If those two are off of the board and they need to dig deeper, Archie Goodwin could be a good pick. He struggle with his outside shot, but Kawhi Leonard also did when he went to San Antonio and now he is a good shooter.

Resign Tiago Splitter:
Splitter has improved every season he has been in the NBA and he finally got the chance to consistently start this season. His offensive game has finally developed to the point where the Spurs feel comfortable giving him the ball down low. He is also a pretty good player on the defensive end of the ball. He will be an essential part of this Spurs team when Duncan finally retires. They will need his reliability on the post. I think they should give him a 5 year deal worth around 8 to 10 million a year. He would be worth it.

Small Forward Depth:
As of now, the Spurs do not have a legitimate small forward behind Leonard. They signed Tracy McGrady, but I highly doubt he is on the team next season. This kind of ties in with the shooting guard need. If they drafted Reggie Bullock, he could play both shooting guard and small forward. That would be the best case scenario for the Spurs. However, that may not be the case, if not, they will probably have to wait until next season in order to fill the small forward need. They do not have a draft pick until very late in the second round, where you will likely not find a player who will play right away. I do not peg the Spurs as a team to pickup someone in free agency to fill this need.

The Spurs, even though they are in the Finals, have some minor issues that they have to deal with. How to deal with Manu is one of them. They need to resign him to a one year deal and draft a shooting guard to play behind him when he is injured. Tiago Splitter should be their main focus point in free agency. He will continue to improve and should be ready to take over the low post when Duncan retires. They also need small forward depth, but that wont be resolved until next season unless they draft Reggie Bullock in the first round. The Spurs should finish with the one or two seed in the Western Conference next season, Duncan will still be around to produce and they have the best point guard in the league. Even if Manu is declining, they should be just fine.

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