SAN ANTONIO — Still stung by the controversy surrounding All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard’s protracted feud with the franchise over his mysterious quadriceps injury last season, the Spurs made one thing perfectly clear Monday at their annual media day.
They’re ready to move on. Oh, boy, are they ready to move on.
When the Silver and Black open training camp Tuesday, the team will look markedly different than the one that finished 47-35 and lost in the first round of the playoffs last season. Leonard played only nine games before being shut down for the remainder of the season in January.
“I thought the team did a great job winning 47 games last year, considering everything,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We’d just like to build from that. We’re going to add the talent like DeMar (DeRozan) that we didn’t have last year, so we’re excited about it."
“The goal will be the same as it has been every year. We want to be the best team we can be as the playoffs roll around. Get into the playoffs and do the best job we can.”
The Silver and Black host Miami in their preseason opener at 4 p.m. Sunday and tip off their regular season against Detroit on October 5 at the AT&T Center.
Leonard and four other players in the Spurs’ rotation last season – Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, and Kyle Anderson – are gone. Parker signed with Charlotte as a free agent in July and 41-year-old Ginobili retired August 27.
Popovich was asked how strange it will be to start camp with so many familiar faces missing.
“In one way, it’s a little bit melancholy because I’ve been with them for so long,” he said. “And at the same time, it’s a great opportunity for a new challenge, new energy, different route, different perspective. Seeing all the new faces we have to try to put together will make it a real interesting, as I said challenging, year. But in a good way.”
Tim Duncan, who retired after the 2015-16 season, Parker and Ginobili, won four NBA championships together and more games than any other trio in league history in 14 seasons as teammates. The Big 3 sparked the Spurs to an unparalleled run of success that made them one of pro sports’ elite franchises.
The Silver and Black cut their ties with Leonard in July, trading him and starting guard Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors for All-NBA guard DeRozan, 7-foot center Jakob Poeltl.and a 2019 protected first-round draft pick.
Next to speculation over where LeBron James would play this season, the breakup between the Spurs and the player they had hoped would keep the team among the league’s elite moving forward was the main storyline of the offseason.
“Everywhere we went, you’d see it on ESPN or First Take, you know, Kawhi-Spurs, Kawhi-Spurs,” point guard Dejounte Murray said. “It was a lot of drama. We’re just glad it’s over with and we get to go into training camp with no drama and new guys, exciting guys, and it’s just going to be a fun year.”
For his part, Murray was ready to turn the page months ago.
“Like I always say, I don’t want to speak on the past,” he said. “It is what it is. As long as Kawhi is happy, that’s my guy for life. I don’t care what happened between him and the Spurs. That’s got nothing to do with me. It’s bigger than basketball. We got a great player. Toronto got a great player, and let’s just go from there.”
Veteran power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the first player to talk with the media Monday, steered clear of talking about the controversy that shook one of pro sports’ model franchises to its foundation.
Asked whether he thought the drama finally has settled down and the Spurs are getting back to the business of basketball, Aldridge said: “I wasn’t going to even talk about it, so obviously it’s gone now. I mean, if you’re going to ask me questions about that whole thing, I’m not going to answer."
“I’m just saying we’re happy to turn the page. DeMar is here, happy. He’s motivated. I played open gym with him. He’s going to make us better, so you’ve got to look forward. We’ve got a very talented team. I’m looking forward to playing with him,” Aldridge said.
A four-time All-Star, DeRozan started his NBA career with Toronto and played nine seasons with the Raptors before they traded him in a move that surprised the league and stunned DeRozan. The deal left DeRozan angry and frustrated because he said Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri had assured him he wouldn’t be traded.
On Monday, DeRozan reflected on how he felt when the Raptors dealt him away.
“It was tough,” he said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t tough. It was definitely tough. It was one of those things that kind of threw me off about two weeks by the time I got regathered and got refocused. Once I got past that, it’s been smooth ever since.”
Did DeRozan do anything in particular to get over his initial shock and come to terms with the trade?
“Nah, I just kind of indulged in the reality of what happened,” he said. “Kind of just really soaking that in and making it reality, instead of feeling like, you know, nah, this didn’t happen, this didn’t happen. Just figuring that part out. Once I got past that, it was easier after that.”
DeRozan said that Spurs forward Rudy Gay, a former teammate in Toronto, helped him get past his anger and redirect his energy in a positive way.
“Leaving Toronto, that definitely wasn’t my plan,” DeRozan said. “But being accepted and wanted elsewhere in a place like the Spurs is definitely a high honor . . . I’m excited by the talent of the guys that are here. You see what they did last year, being down one of their best players, but they were able to accomplish the fight that they had with the young guys.
“I was just great to watch. From a basketball point of view, I’ve always been a fan of the Spurs, just how great (a brand) of basketball that was played. So for me to be able to be here and kind of grow with all these guys that’s here, that’s something I’m definitely looking forward to.”
DeRozan, a deadly midrange shooter, averaged 23 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists last season. A USC alum, he was selected by Toronto with the ninth overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
DeRozan smiled when he was asked whether he and Aldridge have talked about how they’ll space the floor when they’re on the offensive end of court.
“We’re going to figure it out,” DeRozan said. “When it comes to basketball, you know, it’ll be figured out without a doubt. I don’t have no worry with that. He’s great and dominant with what he does."
"I remember a couple of years ago, I used to be mad when I saw he shot more midrange shots than me. We’ll figure it out."
You can see more sights from the Spurs' media day below.
