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The rest of the NBA should be terrified by what the Spurs are doing this summer
(Eric Gay/AP)
The San Antonio Spurs have had 16 straight 50-win seasons and 18-straight playoff appearances.
Nobody in the NBA world thinks they're starved for success, but after getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first round this season, the Spurs are going all-in this summer.
Despite a glut of their own players hitting the free-agent market, the Spurs have found a way to both keep their core intact and create cap space to add the most coveted free agent of the summer.
Since free agency began at midnight on July 1, the Spurs have agreed to a max contract extension with Kawhi Leonard, re-signed Danny Green on a discount deal of four years, $45 million, and traded center Tiago Splitter and his $16.7 million in remaining salary to the Atlanta Hawks. As a result, the Spurs retain their most important wing players and now have cap space to sign LaMarcus Aldridge.
Spurs are walking into the LaMarcus Aldridge meeting right now, armed with Danny Green, cap space and frontrunner status on luring Aldridge.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 1, 2015
It appears the Lakers — another top competitor to land Aldridge — didn't do as well in their pitch:
Lakers didn't make strong impression in Aldridge meeting, sources say. Spurs can close on him. LMA expected to make decision fairly soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 1, 2015
Additionally, the Spurs are expected to convince free agents Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to come back on discounted contracts one more time before retirement.
The Spurs have never been a premier free-agency destination, but because of their Hall-of-Fame core of Duncan, Ginobili, and Tony Parker, they've only ever had to fill in the gaps with quality surrounding players.
With their big three aging and the Western Conference becoming increasingly competitive, the Spurs now have a shot at forming a new core with Aldridge (a perennial All-Star and one of the top power forwards in the NBA) and Leonard (a 23-year-old wing who's already won Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year). Around them, they would have Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and valuable role players like Green and Boris Diaw.
At the very least, the Spurs will now return a core that's won an NBA championship, with the possibility of adding one of the 20 best players in league. The Spurs will never go away.
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