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San Antonio Spurs Rumors [Update]: Transition To ‘New Era’ Is A Work In Progress

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 12:51 PST, Nov 9, 2015

The San Antonio Spurs are working through an identity crisis as the team’s veterans are trying to adapt to a new culture.

San Antonio is 4-2 in the early going, but with six newcomers on the roster, developing the right chemistry will take time as David Aldridge of TNT reports. The Spurs went into the offseason with the goal of getting younger this season as well as remaining competitive in the present as well as the future.

Update: The Spurs improved to 5-2 on the season with a 106-88 victory over Sacramento on Monday as Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for 40 points and 12 caroms.

Presumably, San Antonio did both with the acquisitions of LaMarcus Aldridge, Rasual Butler, Boban Marjanovic, Ray McCallum, Jonathon Simmons along with David West, as well as the re-signing of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. According to RealGM, Simmons has been assigned to Austin of the D-League.

As a result of those moves, along with the “Big Three”- Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker –, the Spurs came into the season a one of the favorites to dethrone the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.

While the transition with all the newcomers hasn’t been smooth, Leonard has become the new face of the franchise. The 24-year old has been the best player on both ends of the court for the Spurs through the first six games and head coach Gregg Popovich has taken notice.

“He already plays at both ends,” Popovich told The San Antonio-Express. “Which is pretty spectacular. There aren’t too many guys in the league who can excel at both ends. They’re good players, but they’re mostly offensive. They don’t do what he does.”

Leonard’s role is different as well this year with the offense being run through him. Leonard apparently has already embraced his new role as he opened the season with 32 points in the Spurs loss to Oklahoma City Thunder and has tallied double-figures in each of his first six games. The 2014 Finals MVP is averaging 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and 2.0 steals a games. Leonard, the 2015 Defensive Player of the Year, signed a five-year, $90 million extension during the summer.

In the meanwhile, Aldridge and West have struggled to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings completely. And to some surprise, Parker has not fully bought into his new limited role like Duncan and Ginobili have.

Aldridge, a four-time all-star, has been inconsistent in the early going. The 30-year old power forward struggled in the season opener against the Thunder and then looked better in the next three games, all wins – Aldridge posted two double-doubles. He then took a step back in the team’s loss to Washington before bouncing back with a good performance against Charlotte despite being plagued with foul trouble.

“It’s tough,” Aldridge said. “But I have guys like Tim and everybody that tell me it’s going to be a process. I’m not used to having 10 points. I’m not used to not shooting the ball well on back-to-back nights. I’m not used to not knowing where I’m going or where I’m going to be, things like that. But it’s a process. As long as we keep winning in the process, then it’ll be all good.”

West is also feeling his way in a new role. The 35-year old is seeing just 14.8 minutes of action and has attempted 3.5 shots a game though he has shot the ball well (57.1 percent). He did see his first extensive action since opening night against the Hornets. West scored nine points, grabbed nine boards, and doled out six assists against Charlotte on Saturday.

Parker has seen his minutes decrease over the past three seasons but is only getting 27 minutes of run so far. The 33-year old is shooting the ball well (52.8 percent),however, his assists are down to 3.5 a game from 4.9 last season.

Green, who is also seen as key piece to the future, has yet to find his shooting stroke. The 28-year old has made only 14-of-his-48 shots (29.2 percent) and 6-of-28 from beyond the arc (21.4 percent).

Despite the struggles, 39-year old Duncan doesn’t seem too concerned.

“Everybody’s trying to think. They’re trying to think the game. They’re trying to react the right way. They’re trying to make the right decision every time. And when you think too much, your normal reactions become secondary. And that pause and that hesitation takes something away from your game. We just have to play through that. That’s what the 82 games are for. We’re going to figure it out, and guys are going to come around.”

San Antonio begins a two-game road trip to Sacramento (1-6) – the Kings are without DeMarcus Cousins – tonight and then plays at surprising Portland (4-3) on Wednesday.

The Spurs rank No. 16 in the NBA in points (101.7) and tied-for No. 21 in turnovers (15.7). They also are No. 3 in scoring defense (92.3), No. 2 in scoring margin (9.2) and No. 4 in rebounding margin (+7.0).

[photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images]

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tim duncan Tony Parker Sacramento Kings Kawhi Leonard LaMarcus Aldridge
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