Biggest Offseason Priorities and Targets for San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich drew plenty of attention for impugning Zaza Pachulia's character—for closing out hard on Kawhi Leonard and re-injuring the All-Star's ankle—during a nearly five-minute rant prior to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. One part, in particular, summed up why Pop was so distraught, beyond the concern he had for the well being of his best player. Per Pro Basketball Talk's Dan Feldman:

"We're playing very possibly the best team in the league. We don't know what's going to happen in the East. And nine point seven five people out of 10 would figure the Warriors will beat the Spurs. Well, we've had a pretty damn good season. We've played fairly well in the playoffs. I think we're getting better, and we're up 23 points in the third quarter against Golden State, and Kawhi goes down like that. And you want to know if your chances are less and you want to know how we feel. That's how we feel."

A healthier Spurs squad, even without Tony Parker, might have given the Golden State Warriors a run for their money. Instead, San Antonio, down its top two on-ball creators, struggled to generate offense against the now-three-time conference champs and ended a 61-win season with a whimper by way of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Warriors.

The Spurs can't spend too much time licking their wounds, though. There's too much to be done to assure that the Alamo City sees its 19th straight 50-win campaign and its 21st consecutive trip to the playoffs.

Get to the Point

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The Spurs' situation at point guard is shaping up like Russia was to Winston Churchill: a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma.

Not that Popovich's bachelor's degree in Soviet Studies or his fluency in Russian will help him unpack San Antonio's conundrum up top.

The Spurs already have Parker, a future Hall of Famer, to play the position. But he could be sidelined by his ruptured quadriceps well into the 2017-18 season, and at 35, there's no telling how effective he'll be.

In Dejounte Murray, San Antonio may have another floor-general gem waiting in the wings. Though Murray, the No. 29 pick out of Washington in last year's draft, may develop into a disruptive two-way force down the line, it's tough to envision the 20-year-old earning the keys to Pop's offense so soon.

The Spurs have at least one in-between option on their radar: Patty Mills. The 28-year-old has hit at least 40 percent of his three-pointers during four of his six seasons in the Alamo City, including 2016-17 (41.3 percent).

But bringing Mills back in unrestricted free agency could cost the Spurs a king's ransom. After watching him struggle in Parker's absence against Golden State (7.8 points, 3.3 assists, 21.7 percent from three), San Antonio must wonder whether the native Australian is the right person for the job.

It just so happens that this year's free-agent class is loaded at point guard. Fortunately for the Spurs, two of the top options—Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry—could be keen to go ring chasing this summer. San Antonio won't have anything close to max cap space, but if either one indicates he wants to sign with the Spurs, they can always find creative ways to clear out existing salary.

Would adding Paul or Lowry move San Antonio back to the catbird seat out West? Probably not, so long as there's a superteam in the Bay Area...but it wouldn't hurt.

LaMarcus Aldridge's Long-Term Fit

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Popovich needed just one word to answer whether LaMarcus Aldridge lived up to his expectations during a Game 3 loss to the Warriors.

"Sure," Popovich replied before leaving the podium, per the Mercury News' Daniel Mano.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a guy who tallied 18 points and five rebounds in a 12-point defeat.

That was far from the first time Pop called Aldridge into question. Four days earlier, he chided the former All-Star for being "timid" and turning down shots following a 36-point loss in Oakland. Even before that, the Spurs' top decision-maker was never shy to criticize the most consequential free-agent signing in franchise history.

It's tough not to wonder, then, if Aldridge will be in the Alamo City for the remainder of his current contract. He can opt out after 2017-18, but might the Spurs consider moving him before then? Back in October, ESPN's Jackie MacMullan suggested to Early Edition that an LMA trade might be in play this season (via CBSSports.com).

Aldridge has always been an odd cultural fit in San Antonio, and if the Spurs aren't convinced he can carry the load they need him to—or if they are convinced he'll walk next summer—they may be better off moving him sooner rather than later.

Fill in the Frontcourt

Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press

With or without Aldridge, the Spurs will have some patching to do in their frontcourt.

David Lee has a $2.3 million player option for 2017-18. Dewayne Dedmon has one for $3 million. Both seem like strong bets to opt out and seek more money on the open market, be it back in San Antonio or elsewhere.

Pau Gasol has an option as well, though that $16.2 million payday will probably be too big for the 36-year-old to turn down.

Having Gasol and Aldridge atop the big-man rotation would leave the Spurs just as old and slow up front, without Lee's additional offensive craft or Dedmon's defensive potential. And if Gasol stays, San Antonio won't be flush with cap space to attract a younger big of comparable quality.

That is, unless someone like Taj Gibson is willing to swap some of his earning power for a shot at some serious jewelry.

Otherwise, the Spurs can turn over more minutes to internal options like Kyle Anderson and Davis Bertans. Neither looks like a low-post operator or rim protector, but they both have good skill for their size and can hold their own in small-ball lineups.

Beyond that, San Antonio will have to scour the globe for another giant—a task at which the Spurs have excelled over the past two decades (more on that later).

Jonathon Simmons' Free Agency

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Of all the Spurs who dodged the injury bug in these playoffs, Jonathon Simmons acquitted himself the best. He scored in double figures nine times in San Antonio's last 10 playoff games, and averaged 15.3 points per game in the Western Conference Finals, just in time for his foray into free agency.

In four years, the 27-year-old has parlayed the $150 he spent to try out for the NBA D-League's Austin Toros (now the Austin Spurs) into what figures to be a life-changing payday this summer.

The Spurs may be the ones to bolster Simmons' bank account. Assuming they extend him a qualifying offer, they will have the right to match any offer that comes his way.

San Antonio could certainly do worse than bring Simmons back. His energy, athleticism and hustle have been critical to a club that's still torn between its glorious past and a promising future. If Manu Ginobili retires, the Spurs will need someone to be their sparkplug off the bench, and Simmons has already shown he's equal to the task.

But Simmons isn't as young as his sophomore standing would suggest. Nor was the decline in his regular-season efficiency (42.0 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from three) at all encouraging.

That leaves San Antonio with a difficult decision. Should the team reward another of its scrap-heap gems with a lucrative contract, or move on to the next one and save some scratch in the process?

The Next Round of Imports

Darren Abate/Associated Press

The Spurs' transoceanic talent pipeline is as steady as ever.

During the 2015-16 season, they brought over Boban Marjanovic, who quickly became a fan favorite before inking a deal with the Detroit Pistons. This past campaign, they brought over Davis Bertans, a second-round pick of the Indiana Pacers in 2011, to be the second coming of Matt Bonner.

With Ginobili potentially on the way out, who might be the next international sensation to make the trek to Texas?

Will it be Nemanja Dangubic, a 24-year-old Serbian forward whose rights San Antonio acquired in 2014? Could it be Cady Lalanne, a 25-year-old big man from Haiti who's played summer league ball with the Spurs the last two years? How about Olivier Hanlan, a Canadian kid from Boston College who averaged 10.4 points for a French club this past season? Or will it be Nikola Milutinov, a 7-foot Serbian whom the Spurs snagged with the No. 26 pick in the 2015 draft?

Considering San Antonio's cap crunch, this offseason may be the right time for one or more of those draft-and-stashers to make the leap to the NBA.

All stats via NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and listen to his Hollywood Hoops podcast with B/R Lakers lead writer Eric Pincus.