San Antonio
Spurs ROSTER
2-2 • 9th in WESTERN CONFERENCE
| NAME | POS | AGE | SALARY | HT | WT | COLLEGE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #14 | BlakeWesley | G | 21 | $2,624,280 | 6' 3" | 190 lbs | NOTRE DAME | |
| #4 | BrandonBoston | G | 22 | N/A | 6' 6" | 188 lbs | KENTUCKY | |
| #28 | CharlesBassey | C | 23 | $2,087,519 | 6' 10" | 240 lbs | WESTERN KENTUCKY | |
| #3 | ChrisPaul | G | 39 | $10,460,000 | 6' 0" | 190 lbs | WAKE FOREST | |
| #7 | DavidDuke | G | 25 | N/A | 6' 4" | 200 lbs | PROVIDENCE | |
| #24 | DevinVassell | G | 24 | $29,347,826 | 6' 5" | 205 lbs | FLORIDA STATE | |
| #40 | HarrisonBarnes | F | 32 | $18,000,000 | 6' 8" | 225 lbs | NORTH CAROLINA | |
JalenMcDaniels | F | 26 | $4,741,800 | 6' 9" | 205 lbs | SAN DIEGO STATE | ||
| #10 | JeremySochan | F | 21 | $5,570,040 | 6' 8" | 230 lbs | BAYLOR | |
| #30 | JulianChampagnie | F | 23 | $3,000,000 | 6' 8" | 210 lbs | ST. JOHN'S | |
| #0 | KeldonJohnson | G-F | 25 | $19,000,000 | 6' 5" | 215 lbs | KENTUCKY | |
| #22 | MalakiBranham | G | 21 | $3,217,920 | 6' 5" | 205 lbs | OHIO STATE | |
| #54 | SandroMamukelashvili | F | 25 | N/A | 6' 9" | 235 lbs | SETON HALL | |
| #25 | SidyCissoko | F | 20 | $1,891,857 | 6' 6" | 220 lbs | N/A | |
| #33 | TreJones | G | 24 | $9,104,167 | 6' 1" | 190 lbs | DUKE | |
| #1 | VictorWembanyama | F-C | 20 | $12,768,960 | 7' 3" | 235 lbs | N/A | |
| #23 | ZachCollins | F-C | 26 | $16,741,200 | 6' 11" | 240 lbs | GONZAGA |
Current Spurs Roster Status
As expected, the San Antonio Spurs were not involved in too much action during the offseason, with the team opting to continue working on the talent pool they currently have internally.
San Antonio did not make any trades during the break, and they also signed just one free agent. This came in the form of 24-year-old Keita Bates-Diop, who signed a two-way contract with the Spurs.
The team lost a number of guys during the offseason. A couple of players left via free agency, with Marco Belinelli opting to take his talents abroad while Bryn Forbes signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Spurs also decided to waive the services of Tyler Zeller and Chimezi Metu.
As mentioned earlier, San Antonio focused most of its energy internally. There were a number of contracts that required renewals, and the Spurs front office made sure to do just that.
For starters, the Spurs dug deep into their pockets to extend the deal of 6-foot-4 combo guard Derrick White. After a breakout 2019-20 campaign, San Antonio rewarded the fourth-year guard with a lucrative extension worth $70 million for four years.
The Spurs acted accordingly with Jakob Poeltl, who also established himself as a key player for coach Gregg Popovich last season. San Antonio wanted to keep him on board for the long haul, and it will cost them $26.3 million over the next three years.
Drew Eubanks, who averaged 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game last season, also penned an extension amounting to $5.3 million for three years.
Much of San Antonio's success this season will rely heavily on one man: DeMar DeRozan. The four-time All-Star had another memorable campaign with the Spurs in 2019-20, and over the offseason, the 31-year-old exercised his $27.7 million player option for 2020-21.
It is worth noting that DeRozan is currently on an expiring deal, with the two-time All-NBA team member set to enter free agency in the summer. It will be interesting to see if the Spurs offer him an extension during the season, or if they opt to get some value from him by trading him away. Whichever direction they decide to take, the last thing they want is for DeRozan to walk away for nothing in the summer.
Finally, the Spurs drafted 6-foot-5 shooting guard Devin Vassell with the 11th overall pick. The former Florida State standout will look to provide some depth in coach Pop's backcourt. San Antonio also brought on 6-foot-1 point guard Tre Jones as the 41st overall pick.
San Antonio enters the season with a starting five of Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, DeRozan, Lonnie Walker, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Key players coming off the bench include Patty Mills, Rudy Gay, and Derrick White.
san antonio spurs Team Analysis
Offense
—The San Antonio Spurs put up a top-10 offense in the 2019-2020 NBA season. They finished the regular season with a 111.7 offensive rating through their balanced and efficient offense. Their 10th ranked offense wasn't enough though, as they missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years last season.
This year, the Spurs continue to find their identity on offense with DeMar DeRozan still leading the way. The 31-year-old has grown to be one of the most lethal and consistent scorers in the league in his time with the Spurs and has been able to find ways to lead the team, at least offensively. He led the Spurs last season with 22.1 points per game and is poised to have another big year as San Antonio's focal point on offense.
In addition, DeRozan's assist numbers are also up, which just translates to a better offense for the Spurs as players like Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson get more touches. LaMarcus Aldrige, who's still a force to be reckoned with in the paint, also continues to get his attempts up. Putting up shots hasn't been a problem for the Spurs, who find themselves at the top of the league in terms of field goal attempts. Unfortunately, the shots just aren't falling.
The Spurs guards have also done a marvelous job at taking care of the basketball. Through Murray and Patty Mills, San Antonio has been able to run an efficient offense. Though their assist numbers aren't the best, they've still managed to lead the league in assists-turnover ratio, which has helped the team snag some big wins this season.
Defense
—The Spurs were awful on defense in 2019-20. They finished the season with a 112.6 defensive rating, which ranked them 24th, sandwiched between the New York Knicks (23) and the Charlotte Hornets (25). These defensive struggles were one of the main reasons San Antonio left the NBA Bubble early after watching their 22-year playoff streak end.
What the Spurs had going for them was their paint protection, as they ranked as the league's 6th best in terms of blocks (5.5 blocks per game). They had the services of LaMarcus Aldridge (1.6 blocks per game) and Jakob Poeltl (1.4 blocks per game) who both clogged the paint last season.
This season, the Spurs are still looking for ways to boost their defense. Without any huge additions to the team this offseason, the team is pretty much back to where they left things, and their defense, especially down the stretch, has been inconsistent. Their block numbers are down and steals have been virtually non-existent so far.
A positive note though is they have quite a number of great and fundamentally sound defenders on their roster, especially on the perimeter. The Spurs have guys like Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, and Lonnie Walker IV who are quite a handful if you're running the other team's offense. They also have an up-and-coming talent in rookie Devin Vassell, who has shown potential on the defensive end and is flying under the radar as one of this season's more underrated newcomers.
If the Spurs can stay healthy and possibly add more frontcourt defenders this season, they have a chance to be a really good defensive-minded team, which should only help their playoff chances.
Coaching
—For the 25th straight season, Gregg Popovich will be the head tactician for the San Antonio Spurs. Pop has been in charge since the franchise hired him in 1994 initially as the team's GM and VP of Basketball Operations. He took over the head coaching job in 1996 and has been the guy for the Spurs since. The 71-year old coach has won 1,285 of his 1,907 games, giving him an incredible win percentage of .674. Pop is currently third in most wins as a head coach in NBA history for both the regular season and the playoffs. The three-time NBA Coach of the Year awardee and a five-time NBA champion has put himself in the conversation of being one of the best coaches to ever step foot in the NBA.
Top san antonio spurs Roster Questions
Who Did The Spurs Recently Sign?
—The most recent addition to the San Antonio Spurs' roster is 25-year-old forward Keita Bates-Diop. Bates-Diop, who plays at the three and four positions, signed a two-way contract prior to the start of the 2020-21 NBA Season which means he's also eligible to play for the Austin Spurs, San Antonio's G-League affiliate.
Who Are The Spurs Targeting In Free Agency?
—The San Antonio Spurs are looking to inject some more youth into their roster and this could be at the expense of starting center LaMarcus Aldridge. The 35-year-old star is poised to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, which means the Spurs might need to move him before the season ends if they want to get someone in return for their 7-time All-Star. The team has been linked with younger bigs like Julius Randle of the New York Knicks or Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. They ended up re-signing backup bigs in Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks, but if the Spurs want a decent shot at being playoff contenders again, they need a solid superstar to lead their frontcourt.
Who Did The Spurs Most Recently Trade For?
—The most recent trade the San Antonio Spurs made was still back in July 2019 when they were part of a three-team deal with the Washington Wizards and the Brooklyn Nets. The Spurs shipped out shooter Davis Bertans to the Wizards and Nemanja Dangubic to the Nets and got DeMarre Carroll in exchange. The team eventually waived Carroll in February 2020.
What Is The Best Spurs Roster Of All-Time?
—The 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs had arguably the best roster in franchise history. Hungry from a tough 7-game series loss against the Miami Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili led the Spurs to an incredible 62-20 regular-season record. It was also the same season where a young Kawhi Leonard blossomed into a superstar, stealing the show in their rematch against the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals where he won his first Finals MVP trophy. The Spurs dominated the Heat and won in 5 games, denying Miami a three-peat. In that lineup, the Spurs also had the services of international stars Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli, Boris Diaw, and Thiago Splitter, who were all key contributors. Plus, they had other steady guards like Danny Green and Cory Joseph in the mix.
What Is The Spurs' Salary Cap?
—For the 2020-21 NBA season, the salary cap for the San Antonio Spurs is currently at $131,616,175 (via Spotrac). This number currently puts them around $22 million over the league's allowable maximum cap at $109,140. Two of their starters account for a huge chunk in the team's salary cap in DeMar DeRozan ($27 million) and LaMarcus Aldridge ($24 million).
