After five weeks in Orlando, the Spurs finally left the Yacht Club hotel Friday morning to head home.
Players and staff were all wearing masks, per NBA protocol.
The way some Spurs see it, they might as well also have been wearing sunglasses.
“The future is bright for San Antonio,” point guard Dejounte Murray said.
It might be a hard sell after a season that saw the Spurs finish with a losing record (32-39) to miss the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1996-97.
Yet the Spurs played well enough in Orlando — reinventing themselves around youth and pace — to feel good about the prospect of restarting their postseason streak next season.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t make the playoffs,” guard Derrick White said. “But there were a lot of positives to come out of it. There were a lot of things we can take.”
How much of what the Spurs found in Orlando can translate to next season will define the speed and success of the ongoing rebuild.
Here are five important questions to track as the Spurs hit offseason mode:
Were the bubble Spurs for real?
The Spurs threw the league for a loop upon arrival in Orlando, unveiling a small-ball starting lineup with DeMar DeRozan at power forward, unleashing younger, more athletic players and pushing pace. They finished in the top 10 among 22 bubble teams in both offense and defense.
If Murray, White and Lonnie Walker IV continue to take leaps, and if sensational rookie Keldon Johnson is what he seemed to be in the confines of Orlando, the Spurs have the makings of a young “core four” worth building around.
The 20-year-old Johnson in particular was a revelation in the restart games, eclipsing 20 points in three of them.
Whether this newfound approach is sustainable over a full season will be one of the primary questions the Spurs face as they look ahead.
How do the All-Stars fit into all this?
The 31-year-old DeRozan seemed to mesh well with the kids in Orlando, averaging a team-best 21.7 points and ranking among the league’s top fourth-quarter scorers in the bubble.
The Spurs’ formula for success in the seeding games largely involved riding the younger players for three quarters before handing off to DeRozan down the stretch. The Spurs were 5-2 in games DeRozan played, as he sat out the finale against Utah with the playoffs already out of reach.
There is a good chance DeRozan exercises his $27.3 million option to return for a third season with the Spurs. Given the success of the Orlando experiment, the club will be glad to have him back.
LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs’ other former All-Star, did not travel to Orlando after April shoulder surgery.
Even at 35, Aldridge remains a lethal scorer. However, it is fair to wonder how having another player who needs the ball in his hands will affect the mojo the Spurs discovered in Orlando.
As the offseason unfolds, it would not be surprising to see the Spurs succumb fully to the rebuild and investigate trade options for either one of their top two scorers.
Should the Spurs bring back Jakob Poeltl, and can they?
With Aldridge sidelined, the 24-year-old Poeltl filled in as the lone big man in the Spurs’ new-look starting five.
The 7-footer provided much of what that up-tempo group needed — screen setting, rebounding and rim protection — without requiring many shots.
Poeltl is set to become a restricted free agent since the Spurs and the former No. 9 overall pick didn’t agree to a contract extension in October.
Even with Aldridge due back next season, the Spurs could use the lunch-pail benefits a player like Poeltl provides. Whether they can re-sign him remains to be seen.
Two things are working in the Spurs’ favor. First, because Poeltl is a restricted free agent, the Spurs have the right to match outside offers for him. Second, thank to the lengthy league shutdown, next year’s salary cap is expected to be lower than projected, reducing the amount of money available for teams to lure free agents.
The Spurs might be able to bring Poeltl back at a discounted rate.
How much money did Derrick White make for himself in Orlando?
Heading into this offseason, the Spurs are in the same position with White they were in last fall with Murray and Poeltl.
White has one season remaining on his rookie-scale deal, which expires at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. If the Spurs don’t ink him to an extension before the season begins, he will become a restricted free agent.
Facing the same scenario with Murray last offseason, the Spurs signed him to a four-year, $64 million deal. The team passed on extending Poeltl, which puts his services up for grabs this offseason.
White’s star turn as a starter in Orlando might have driven up his price tag. A four-year extension for White could fall in the range of four years and $52 million.
White is 26. His next deal could take him to age 30. He will want to maximize as much value as he can.
Have the Spurs considered just winning the draft lottery again?
The secret for the Spurs’ just-halted playoff streak is no secret at all. Three times, they participated in the NBA draft lottery. Twice they won the whole thing.
In 1987, the Spurs won the right to draft David Robinson first overall. A decade later, they landed the No. 1 pick in the Tim Duncan draft.
Together, the two Hall of Famers helped build the foundation that created five NBA championship teams.
The Spurs’ best shot at pressing fast forward on their latest rebuild probably involves doing that again. The odds are not in the Spurs’ favor heading into their first lottery since 1997.
They have only a 2 percent chance of walking away from Thursday’s drawing with the No. 1 pick. There is a 9.2 percent chance they end up with a top-four selection.
The most likely scenario has the Spurs ticketed with the No. 11 pick, which still would represent their highest draft choice since Duncan.
After five weeks in Orlando, the Spurs finally left the Yacht Club hotel Friday morning to head home.
Players and staff were all wearing masks, per NBA protocol.
The way some Spurs see it, they might as well also have been wearing sunglasses.
“The future is bright for San Antonio,” point guard Dejounte Murray said.
It might be a hard sell after a season that saw the Spurs finish with a losing record (32-39) to miss the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1996-97.
Yet the Spurs played well enough in Orlando — reinventing themselves around youth and pace — to feel good about the prospect of restarting their postseason streak next season.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t make the playoffs,” guard Derrick White said. “But there were a lot of positives to come out of it. There were a lot of things we can take.”
How much of what the Spurs found in Orlando can translate to next season will define the speed and success of the ongoing rebuild.
Here are five important questions to track as the Spurs hit offseason mode:
Were the bubble Spurs for real?
The Spurs threw the league for a loop upon arrival in Orlando, unveiling a small-ball starting lineup with DeMar DeRozan at power forward, unleashing younger, more athletic players and pushing pace. They finished in the top 10 among 22 bubble teams in both offense and defense.
If Murray, White and Lonnie Walker IV continue to take leaps, and if sensational rookie Keldon Johnson is what he seemed to be in the confines of Orlando, the Spurs have the makings of a young “core four” worth building around.
The 20-year-old Johnson in particular was a revelation in the restart games, eclipsing 20 points in three of them.
Whether this newfound approach is sustainable over a full season will be one of the primary questions the Spurs face as they look ahead.
How do the All-Stars fit into all this?
The 31-year-old DeRozan seemed to mesh well with the kids in Orlando, averaging a team-best 21.7 points and ranking among the league’s top fourth-quarter scorers in the bubble.
The Spurs’ formula for success in the seeding games largely involved riding the younger players for three quarters before handing off to DeRozan down the stretch. The Spurs were 5-2 in games DeRozan played, as he sat out the finale against Utah with the playoffs already out of reach.
There is a good chance DeRozan exercises his $27.3 million option to return for a third season with the Spurs. Given the success of the Orlando experiment, the club will be glad to have him back.
LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs’ other former All-Star, did not travel to Orlando after April shoulder surgery.
Even at 35, Aldridge remains a lethal scorer. However, it is fair to wonder how having another player who needs the ball in his hands will affect the mojo the Spurs discovered in Orlando.
As the offseason unfolds, it would not be surprising to see the Spurs succumb fully to the rebuild and investigate trade options for either one of their top two scorers.
Should the Spurs bring back Jakob Poeltl, and can they?
With Aldridge sidelined, the 24-year-old Poeltl filled in as the lone big man in the Spurs’ new-look starting five.
The 7-footer provided much of what that up-tempo group needed — screen setting, rebounding and rim protection — without requiring many shots.
Poeltl is set to become a restricted free agent since the Spurs and the former No. 9 overall pick didn’t agree to a contract extension in October.
Even with Aldridge due back next season, the Spurs could use the lunch-pail benefits a player like Poeltl provides. Whether they can re-sign him remains to be seen.
Two things are working in the Spurs’ favor. First, because Poeltl is a restricted free agent, the Spurs have the right to match outside offers for him. Second, thank to the lengthy league shutdown, next year’s salary cap is expected to be lower than projected, reducing the amount of money available for teams to lure free agents.
The Spurs might be able to bring Poeltl back at a discounted rate.
How much money did Derrick White make for himself in Orlando?
Heading into this offseason, the Spurs are in the same position with White they were in last fall with Murray and Poeltl.
White has one season remaining on his rookie-scale deal, which expires at the end of the 2020-21 campaign. If the Spurs don’t ink him to an extension before the season begins, he will become a restricted free agent.
Facing the same scenario with Murray last offseason, the Spurs signed him to a four-year, $64 million deal. The team passed on extending Poeltl, which puts his services up for grabs this offseason.
White’s star turn as a starter in Orlando might have driven up his price tag. A four-year extension for White could fall in the range of four years and $52 million.
White is 26. His next deal could take him to age 30. He will want to maximize as much value as he can.
Have the Spurs considered just winning the draft lottery again?
The secret for the Spurs’ just-halted playoff streak is no secret at all. Three times, they participated in the NBA draft lottery. Twice they won the whole thing.
In 1987, the Spurs won the right to draft David Robinson first overall. A decade later, they landed the No. 1 pick in the Tim Duncan draft.
Together, the two Hall of Famers helped build the foundation that created five NBA championship teams.
The Spurs’ best shot at pressing fast forward on their latest rebuild probably involves doing that again. The odds are not in the Spurs’ favor heading into their first lottery since 1997.
They have only a 2 percent chance of walking away from Thursday’s drawing with the No. 1 pick. There is a 9.2 percent chance they end up with a top-four selection.
The most likely scenario has the Spurs ticketed with the No. 11 pick, which still would represent their highest draft choice since Duncan.
