So the Spurs lose Gary Neal? Yeah, this offseason has been terrible for them.

[joeyjoejoe]

I'm not shedding any tears for spurs, they have plenty of hardware, great coach, stacked team

[TMT]

Bellinelli is a major upgrade from Neal so losing him isn't a big deal at all. They kept the same squad that was literally a few bounces away from an NBA title last season, and they might have a chance to snag Oden or maybe pull off some kind of move. It's still the middle of the offseason.

Don't understand how if you don't pull a CP3 or Dwight in free agency that the general consensus is you had a bad offseason.

[BlueCrayon]

The only way for the Spurs to win this year is to make a big move in the offseason but they took the defending champs to 7 games just a month ago?

[Haymaker]

If it ain't broke...

They just need a tweak here and there. The only thing that bothered me was the Manu signing. 7 mil per year they could've spent on Dalembert or Kaman. Manu should've asked for the minimum.

[SCdac]

arm chair GM's always doubting the Spurs

[HylianNightmare]

inb4 spurs championship

[BoutPractice]

Bringing back pretty much the same exact team will probably end with the same result as last season

You mean they'll be a once-in-the-lifetime-of-the-universe miracle away from a championship?

[steve]

Other things to consider are this: Neal's usefulness was becoming more limited. He was an excellent shooter and a decent ball handler, but it was becoming harder to find him minutes due to his poor defense. Also, the Spurs clearly expect players like Leonard (obviously), Joseph, and de Colo to all improve next season making Neal pretty redundant and replaceable next season.

[All Net]

Huh? They were one ray miss from being champs with this roster.

[DMAVS41]

arm chair GM's always doubting the Spurs

I don't even get it though.

They have two players on the team that will likely be much better by the time the playoffs roll around next year in Splitter and Leonard. That is like making moves in and of itself...

And then Belly is a definite upgrade in my opinion.

Actually love what the Spurs did.

I think people are going to be surprised at how much more Leonard is featured.

[Carbine]

I think you'll be surprised how much he isn't featured relative to your expectations. He's not a pick and roll player, at all. He's just not effective at it.....and that's what the Spurs do.

Plus it's Tony's team on offense....he's the one with the ball making the initial decisions/plays 95 percent of the time, the other 5 percent they dump it to Duncan....and when Parkers not on, Gino is....and takes over the role of Parker.

Pop isn't just gonna let Parker chill in the corners more now to let a much less effective pick and roll player in Leonard have the ball.

They very rarely do called iso's either for wing players.

Leonard will continue to play off the ball, hit open shots and attack close outs on offense. Believe that.

[secund2nun]

Gary Neal is just a perimeter chucking scrub that can easily be replaced.

[SCdac]

I think you'll be surprised how much he isn't featured relative to your expectations. He's not a pick and roll player, at all. He's just not effective at it.....and that's what the Spurs do.

Plus it's Tony's team on offense....he's the one with the ball making the initial decisions/plays 95 percent of the time, the other 5 percent they dump it to Duncan....and when Parkers not on, Gino is....and takes over the role of Parker.

Pop isn't just gonna let Parker chill in the corners more now to let a much less effective pick and roll player in Leonard have the ball.

They very rarely do called iso's either for wing players.

Leonard will continue to play off the ball, hit open shots and attack close outs on offense. Believe that.

The Spurs had 6 players average double figures last season, and every season the past 3-4 years they've become more and more balanced, more and more Larry Brown-Pistons-esque. Parker leads in scoring, but he's not necessarily "the leader".

Point being, Leonard, especially as the Spurs "Big 3" age, has nowhere to go but up.

His talents have been somewhat untapped anyways, which is normal for somebody his age on a veteran team. That will end though, very soon. He was 3rd in scoring last season for the Spurs and it wouldn't surprise me if he stays there or even improves. I don't think he'll become an AS over night, but I do think he's going to surpass Manu next season in terms of importance to the offense. I get what you're saying about pick and roll, but there are a multitude of ways to feature Leonard or just put the ball in his hands more or have more plays end with him slashing/finishing.

As for the OP, when will this dude realize the Spurs can't just get whoever they want

[Carbine]

I'm not saying he won't improve, he should.....but nobody is going to be surprised how much more he is featured. That's not his game right now.

His numbers should improve because of more minutes, not being featured more. More minutes = more stats

[SCdac]

I'm not saying he won't improve, he should.....but nobody is going to be surprised how much more he is featured. That's not his game right now.

His numbers should improve because of more minutes, not being featured more. More minutes = more stats

I think his improvement (in a broad number of areas from decision making to play making) will go beyond stats, but I get what you're saying. I'd be surprised if Kawhi is NOT featured more. Spurs have been in a youth transition for about a year or two now at least. The writing is kind of on the wall. He'll be featured but not forced.