A dozen players have struck free agent deals with the Spurs over the past two months, as our Free Agent Tracker shows, and they’re apparently in the market for more. Still, stability remains the hallmark of the San Antonio franchise, as Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, who’s been with the Spurs longer than any other NBA player has been with his team, remain on board. See more from San Antonio amid the latest from around the Southwest Division:
- The Spurs convinced LaMarcus Aldridge to sign, but, as Aldridge’s recent comments suggest, they may still need to sell him on the team’s egalitarian philosophy as it applies to individual stats, writes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Aldridge told USA Today’s Sam Amick that he pointed to his scoring average when he expressed concern about joining the San Antonio to Spurs assistant Ime Udoka, who prevailed upon him to choose San Antonio anyway.
- The Pelicans brought back largely the same cast that made an 11-win improvement from 2013/14 to 2014/15, but they still have depth issues, and a ceiling still appears to exist for their core despite the strides New Orleans made this past season, opines Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders.
- The five offseason additions most likely to have a negative impact, wear out their welcomes or otherwise disappoint all joined Western Conference teams this summer, according to ESPN’s Summer Forecast panel, and two of them are Mavericks. Wesley Matthews, who signed a four-year max deal, and Deron Williams, who inked a two-year, $11MM contract after his buyout with the Nets, are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, on the ESPN list.
I don’t think Matthews will disappoint if his Achilles holds up. He’s a solid replacement for the scoring they lost when Monta Ellis left. Williams, though, is a total wild card. I could see him flaming out in Dallas just like Rondo did.