The San Antonio Spurs looked like they might be able to win yet another championship with the same nucleus they've already won four championships with since 1999, but Gregg Popovich's team came up just short against the Miami Heat.
NBA Draft 2013: San Antonio Spurs hope to hit on another late pick
The Spurs have a long history of capitalizing on late draft picks. Can they do it again this year?
Christian Petersen
Considering the majority of the stars on this San Antonio squad are nearing retirement age, it's time for the Spurs to start retooling. They made a nice move by getting Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 NBA Draft and have found a couple younger diamonds in the rough like Danny Green and Gary Neal, but they'll need to continue hitting home runs if they want to continue competing at a high level once Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker retire.
Draft picks
Complete San Antonio Spurs draft coverage
Visit Pounding the Rock for more on the Spurs. The Spurs own the No. 28 pick in the first round and the No. 58 pick in the second round, so it should be interesting to see what falls to them.
Depth chart
Point Guard - Tony Parker, Cory Joseph, Patty Mills (player option), Nando De Colo
Shooting Guard - Danny Green, Manu Ginobili (free agent), Gary Neal (restricted free agent)
Small Forward - Kawhi Leonard, Tracy McGrady (free agent)
Power Forward - Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw (player option), Matt Bonner (fully guaranteed if not waived by June 29)
Center - Tiago Splitter (restricted free agent), DeJuan Blair (free agent), Aron Baynes
Aside from Ginobili, the team’s nucleus is all under contract next season (and Ginobili is expected to re-sign if he doesn’t retire, anyway). This is a team that has already shown it can compete with the best team in the world, but as Duncan, Parker and Ginobili age, it’ll be important to find youth that can give the team a shot in the arm once in awhile.
Biggest need(s)
The biggest need in this year’s draft is probably going to be the best available player at any position. Youth is a big factor and the majority of the young players on this roster can be shuffled around to make room for the right new addition. A big man would be nice, though, as the team could use some more talent up front as it prepares for Duncan’s final seasons.
Potential targets
It wouldn’t necessarily be surprising if San Antonio went with a high-upside big man like Lucas Nogueira (scouting report) or Rudy Gobert (scouting report) if either happened to fall to where the Spurs are picking. Kansas big man Jeff Withey (scouting report) is also projected to go near the end of the first round, but the Spurs would likely feel just as comfortable with Baynes to do what Withey might be able to do at the NBA level.
A sleeper pick for the Spurs could be Jackie Carmichael (scouting report) as Illinois State’s big man could pay big dividends for a team looking for hard-working frontcourt depth at the end of the first round.
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