Mike Conley (Photo : Ezra Shaw | Getty Images Sport)
Pau Gasol (Photo : Getty Images)
Most observers believe that the San Antonio Spurs' season ended prematurely and Gregg Popovich might have a busier offseason than he expected.
The Spurs won 67 games in the regular season and with the rocky path that the Golden State Warriors took in the first round, the Spurs were the title favorites. Then they massacred the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game of the season.
It went downhill from there, as the Spurs lost four of the next five games and now Coach Pop has to shed his invincibility cloak and put on his recruiting hat just one season after winning the LaMarcus Aldridge sweepstakes.
With the retirement of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili looming in the horizon, the long-term future of the Spurs could be at stake.
In an attempt to predict where the top free agents land, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report put high hopes on the Spurs.
There is a big possibility that Tim Duncan might end his legendary reign as the game's best power forward (though he has been playing center a lot lately) and Pau Gasol may take over his spot beside Aldridge. This is exactly the right time for him to join the Spurs, not to mention the best chance to win a title before hanging up the sneakers.
"Gasol will be 36 when the 2016-17 season begins, and San Antonio has a track record of getting the most out of aging, somewhat limited players. Whether Duncan retires or not, there's a fit here; Gasol could play center alongside
LaMarcus Aldridge or spell him off the bench at the 4," Hughes wrote.
While Gasol may be a relatively easy catch, the Spurs have set their targets on a much more coveted target: Mike Conley as mentioned by CBS.
Hughes believes the Spurs, just like last year would win out and it's not for the Spurs' sake but for Conley.
"Conley deserves this. He fought through injuries in nearly every year of his Memphis Grizzlies tenure, never complained, always defended and succeeded in running an offense that adhered to some seriously outdated principles," Hughes points out.
Now that the Memphis Grizzlies has fired Dave Joerger and hired David Fizdale, a former Miami Heat assistant as their new coach, the Grizzlies may have to make him wait to contend again.
Conley has the reputation of being the "best player nobody knows is a star" according to Hughes. He has been underrated and unrecognized yet his sacrifices never yielded him a title. Signing with the Spurs will change all that.
