Sir Charles in Charge
Fansided

NBA Summer Champs: The Spurs Look Great, But We Shouldn’t Crown Them Yet

By Michael Saenz

facebooktwitterreddit

If an NBA team could win a championship in the offseason, the San Antonio Spurs might’ve accomplished that over the past few days. Here’s why we should’t crown them yet

More from Sir Charles In Charge

There’s no question that the San Antonio Spurs have won the NBA’s offseason. They signed the most coveted free agent in this year’s class, managed to retain a few of their own guys on discount and even got a player to take an $11 million pay cut in order to join the cause.

The San Antonio Spurs have accomplished big things this summer that even Pat Riley can appreciate.

Nevertheless, between inking LaMarcus Aldridge, re-signing Danny Green and snagging David West’s services on an unprecedented low price, the Spurs are far from NBA Champions. They haven’t even begun the run, despite what popular opinion is echoing.

The Spurs haven’t won anything, other than the summer, Adam Silver hasn’t cancelled the NBA season and the Golden State Warriors are still the NBA Champions.

It’s easy to get caught up in the NBA’s offseason. It’s almost as popular as its regular season. But, as we’ve seen time and time again, nothing in the summer guarantees anyone, or in this case any team, anything in May and June.

The Spurs definitely have the horses, though. They’re probably going to be one of, if not the, deepest teams in the NBA this upcoming season, headlined by potentially the best frontcourt in the NBA — LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard.

If that wasn’t enough, the Spurs are also led by the best coach in the NBA. Gregg Popovich is a great leader when he has limited assets. Just imagine what he’s going to do when he has a full assortment of toys to tinker with? Good luck.

But before we crown them, let’s remember what a healthy Oklahoma City Thunder team looks like. The last time that they finished a postseason healthy, they were in the NBA Finals losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat — that was three years ago.

Let’s remember that the Golden State Warriors are fresh off winning their first NBA Championship — and the fact that they haven’t, for the most part, even hit their primes yet.

Let’s also remember that the Cleveland Cavaliers, in their own rights, are going to be highly favored to win next year’s chip. They won two games in the NBA Finals and were without both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

The Houston Rockets will likely also have a word in who gets out of the Western Conference, too — James Harden is only getting better.

The San Antonio Spurs will be among the favorites, but they aren’t even the official favorites yet, according to Bovada.com.

  • Cleveland Cavaliers 11/4
  • Golden State Warriors 9/2
  • San Antonio Spurs 9/2
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 15/2
  • Chicago Bulls 16/1

Let’s calm down on crowning the Spurs — just as we did with the LeBron James-version of the Miami Heat in year 1 and when he returned to Cleveland last season. Winning an NBA Championship is never that easy.

However, San Antonio has done the easy part. It’s now time for them to roll up their sleeves and actually get to work.

Next: NBA Free Agency: Playing Bargain, Overpaid or Just About Right

Home/San Antonio Spurs