The Spurs' season came to an early conclusion on Wednesday evening as they fell to the Thunder 107-99 in Oklahoma City. The loss marked the second consecutive season in which the team finished with the best regular season record in the Western Conference but failed to reached the NBA Finals. With an aging roster and Tim Duncan's pending free agency, the Spurs face a summer of slight uncertainty heading into the 2012/2013 season. Here's the latest news and notes out of San Antonio…
Let's check out some odds and ends from around the Association as we prepare for a pair of second-round playoff games in Boston and Oklahoma City….
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com reports that the following players have been named to the U.S. select team, which will scrimmage against the Olympic roster this July: Klay Thompson, Jeremy Lin, Paul George, Gordon Hayward, Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair, Ryan Anderson, Taj Gibson and Derrick Favors. We'd previously heard that Kyrie Irving, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and DeMar DeRozan would be part of the squad.
- With the Clippers and Spurs preparing to face off in round two, Caron Butler tells reporters, including Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, that he very nearly signed with the Spurs in December (Twitter link).
- The Heat announced today that Chris Bosh has a strained abdominal muscle and will be out indefinitely (Twitter link). Bosh's comments to the media today indicated that he's not expecting to return during the Pacers series (Twitter link).
- Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler would like to become a bigger offensive threat for the Knicks next season, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com writes.
With Kyrie Irving's name all but officially engraved on the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, let's take a look at some of the other rookies around the league who are making headlines as their first season winds down.
- Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News says Pistons point guard Brandon Knight is ready to put in the necessary work this summer to make big strides as he enters his second season in the NBA. Knight has struggled against some of the more athletic teams in the league but has put up respectable numbers during what would have been his sophomore year at Kentucky. Through 63 games with the Pistons, Knight is averaging 12.8 PPG, 3.8 APG and 3.2 RPG.
- While Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker has enjoyed some degree of success as a rookie, the franchise can't help but wonder how much further along the former UConn star would have been if the lockout hadn't impeded his development, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The three areas where the Bobcats would like to see Walker improve include pick-and-rolls, a higher shooting percentage and defense. With starting point guard D.J. Augustin set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, the Bobcats would promote Walker to floor general if Augustin does not return.
- USA Today's J. Michael Falgoust reports the Spurs are pleased with their draft-day decision to trade for Kawhi Leonard, who was selected 15th by the Pacers in the 2011 NBA draft. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich went as far as to say that Leonard is a more talented version of former defensive stopper Bruce Bowen. "Kawhi guards the toughest perimeter player on the other team. He's got great length. A great body. Has an inclination to do it. He enjoys the role. He's more gifted than Bruce, skillwise."