A Season with Expectation - San Antonio Spurs Season Preview

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A Season with Expectations

Can Bertans Live Up to his New Contract?

The Spurs going into the 23-24 Season had internal expectations of making the playoffs as a possible seventh or eighth seed in the West, but those expectations were blown out with the team finishing the season with 59 wins, the second best in the west. The backcourt duo of Terry Rozier and Frank Ntilikina both took huge leaps from the previous season showing the league they were the best two way backcourt in the league.

Even with a surprising and exciting regular season, the luck of the draw did not swing in the Spurs favor as they drew the CSL Champs, Sacramento Kings. On top of the bad draw, the Spurs also lost sharpshooter Davis Bertans due to injury leaving a big hole on the team. With everything stacked up against the second ranked team the Spurs succumbed to the Kings in 5 games exiting the playoffs earlier than the team expected leaving the players both disappointed and hungry for next season.

Off-Season:

Going into the offseason, the team’s top priority was to retain the core. The Front Office was successful in accomplishing this objective, but it did come at a cost with Indiana signing Davis Bertans to a near max deal that Spurs matched without hesitating. Other key objectives were to find someone to fill Serge Ibaka’s role and improve the overall team defense. To fill those holes, the Spurs pulled a trade to obtain Jordan Adams and Clint Capela.

Key Losses: Mo Harkless, Serge Ibaka, Dion Waiters, Demetrius Jackson, Dejounte Murray

Key Additions: Jordan Adams, Clint Capela, Ray McCallum, Kyle Anderson, Terrence Ross


Spurs Roster


#3 Jordan Adams / SG-SF / 29 / 6'5" / 189 lbs

The Spurs chased after Adams last off season, as they were looking for that elite wing defender to guard the opposing team’s leading scorer. After losing him to Chicago last year, the Spurs were able to trade for him from the Clippers. Adams is expected to be the first Wing off the bench in most games spending most of his time lined up against the opposing team’s leading scorer freeing up Bertans, Rozier, and Nitikilina. With the addition of Adams, the Spurs now have three of top perimeter defenders in the league pairing him with Ntikilina and Rozier.


#5 Mo Bamba / C / 22 / 7'0" / 225 lbs

The foundation of the Spurs front court defense, Bamba is entering a contract year and the expectation is he will build upon his 12ppg, 10rpg, & 2bpg last season. The big question around the league is will he remain on the Spurs come season end? It was rumored that teams have reached out to the Spurs about Bamba’s availability.

#8 Ray McCallum / PG / 32 / 6'1" / 180 lbs

McCallum is coming in to backfill the backup PG role vacated by Jackson being traded to the Clippers during the offseason. The veteran point guard has spent the previous three seasons in Philadelphia backing up one of the league’s top young PGs Lonzo Ball. McCallum is expected to get around 10 minutes per game w leading the bench and providing minimal turnovers.

#11 Frank Ntilikina / PG / 21 / 6'5" / 190 lbs

One of the league’s top young PGs, Ntilikina is looking to build upon his breakout sophomore season. He has quickly erased any thoughts of being a potential bust and now is setting l. At 6’5 Ntilikina wreaked havoc against opposing point guards leading the league with 2.4spg. This season Ntikilina will share responsibility with Adams on guarding the opposing team’s top offensive guard or wing which could bring his SPG slightly down not spending as much time solely on opposing point guards. Offensively, Ntilikina saw growth in Handles, Passing, and Jump Shooting during training camp which will translate into an improved season building upon the 16.1ppg and 5.9apg he averaged last year. As much as the spotlight was and is on Rozier, this season’s Spurs will go as Ntikilina goes.

#12 Terry Rozier / SG / 28 / 6'2" / 180 lbs

The man, the myth, the legend, Rozier solidified himself last year as one of the top superstars in the CSL being the only player to be in the top 10 in both points per game and steals per game, yet he still remains one of the most underappreciated players in the league. Going into this season, the bullseye will be on Rozier each night he plays by the opposing team and getting buckets will not get any easier. Expect a small drop off this season in offensive production from Rozier, but the Spurs Staff and Rozier are not concerned and have begun to game plan for the added attention Rozier will see next season.

#23 TJ Warren / SF-PF / 30 / 6'8" / 205 lbs

Coming in last off-season, Warren provided the toughness and depth off the bench. After Mo Harkless decided to go with a more lucrative offer in Dallas, the Spurs decided to bring back the veteran on a two year to help provide the veteran leadership off the bench. With the addition of Jordan Adams, Warren’s minutes are expected to decrease to less than 10 minutes per game.

#33 Montrezl Harrell / PF / 30 / 6'8" / 225 lbs

The beast of Texas, Harrell hopes to continue what he did last year in San Antonio. He was the vocal leader and heart of the team. A player who will never put up sexy statistics, but it is unselfishness that really help the starting line-up mesh. After averaging 30mpg and 14ppg, Harrell will continue to anchor the starting line-up again this year but expect to see his minutes to slightly decline providing more minutes to young big man Jordan Bell.

#35 Clint Capela / C / 30 / 6'11" / 232 lbs

The other player to come over in the Jordan Adams trade. The Spurs have been looking for a player an offensive bigman like Capela since trade trading away Walter Tavares a few seasons ago. Capela will provide an offensive spark along with the ability to draw fouls on the opposing bigman.

#42 Davis Bertans / SF-PF / 28 / 6'10" / 210 lbs

Bertans might be the most surprising contract of the off-season, but when the Spurs saw the offer sheet Bertans signed from the Pacers, it took two seconds for the front office to match the offer sheet. The $13M/year deal was well above the Spurs budget, but they also knew without Bertans, the Spurs offense would struggle this year. He provides the spacing the team needs to provide Rozier, Harrell, and Bamba the space needed to score baskets in the paint. The Spurs also saw last year how quickly the team collapsed when Bertans was out during the playoffs.

Expectations for Bertans this year is big! The new engine is expected to benefit Bertans and some think this could be his first 20 points per game season. If Rozier is the face and Harrell the heart of the team, then Bertans is definitely the lungs providing the team the air they need offensively to win.

#51 Jordan Bell / PF - C / 25 / 6'8" / 224 lbs

Many deemed Bell as a broken player, and his play in OKC really showcased what could go wrong with Bell, but since joining the Spurs and not having to carry a team on his back, Bell has shown he can be a top all-around player. Averaging a double/double per 36 on over 50% shooting plus a block and steal is well rounded. The team expects Bell to take another step this year increasing both his minutes and impact on the team. There has also been talks already that Bell might move into the starting line-up depending how the first part of the season goes.

2024-25 San Antonio Spurs Depth Chart
Point Guard: Frank Ntilikina (36) – Ray McCullum (12) – Terry Rozier
Shooting Guard:Terry Rozier (34) – Jordan Adams (28) – Terrence Ross
Small Forward:Davis Bertans (32) – Jordan Adams – TJ Warren (2)
Power Forward:Montrezl Harrell (28) – Jordan Bell (20) – Kyle Anderson
Center:Mo Bamba (30) – Clint Capela (18) – Jordan Bell

2024-25 Team Expectations

This year will be a challenge for the Spurs as it will be the first in many years where the CSL is expecting the Spurs to make the playoffs. Can Rozier prove last year was not a fluke? Can Ntilikina prove he can continue to grow? Can Bertans show he was worth the big contract he received?

All these questions will be swirling around the heads of Spurs, but those answers do not matter if the Spurs cannot make the playoffs. Spurs officials believe the team’s performance this year will be based upon the growth the team sees from Bertans, Bell, and Nitilikina. If those three can improve over last, than the Spurs should be in a good position to have homecourt in the West again. The addition of Adams will provide additional defensive power the Spurs lacked last year on the bench.

All in all, the future looks bright for the first time in a long time for the San Antonio Spurs.

[TheTwoWallaces]

My hunch is that Jordan Bell is going to thrive in 19 -- I put my money on him becoming a starter for you guys.

Your backcourt kicked ass last season. If that stays true this year then watch out for the Spurs

[hardenwithnod]

This team looks really good on paper, I think it is ready to contend now as we transition into a new engine, and many of us have no idea how this engine works. The race to the top is about as open as it gets.

[emplep7]

Im interested to see how this team translates to the new engine and you have some players that were well suited for DDS3, but might need to be adjusted by your to slot into the same role in DDS19. I still think this is a talented team though in the end.

[Flaming Homer]

I liked how you put this team together last year. And this years moves should improve it a little bit more as well.
Only Bertan's price tag could be in the way a bit down the road. But if he turns into this deadly shooter he looked like last year also worth it.

Let's see if the team can close the last gap into the Western elite of Phoenix, Houston and Sacramento

[cb4raptorscb4]

Somehow Bertans needs to take more shots. Throughout the preseason so far, he's not shooting it enough but his 3 pt % is still there. Frank looks really nice, the future for you.

[Dennis]

You gonna be fine. Looks like teams with thief’s and blockers benefit. Your team should be primed to capitalise on that