SAN ANTONIO — After one of the strangest and more frustrating seasons in franchise history, the Spurs started training camp Tuesday ready to make a fresh start and get down to the business of retooling their team.
“First day was great,” veteran forward Rudy Gay said after practice. “It’s like the first day of school. Everybody raised their hand, said their name and where they’re from.”
Asked by a reporter if he was serious, Gay replied, “Nah.”
“Pop said yesterday he didn’t know everybody’s name,” the reporter said, referring, of course, to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“I’m glad he knew mine – barely,” Gay said, smiling.
For the first time since 1996, Popovich started camp without any of the Big 3 on the floor. Tim Duncan retired after the 2015-16 season, Tony Parker signed with Charlotte in July and Manu Ginobili ended his career just last month.
With All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard sidelined for all but nine games, the Silver and Black slipped back into the pack last season.
After reaching the Western Conference finals in 2017, the Silver and Black finished the regular season 47-35 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to league champion Golden State.
The Spurs’ 2017-18 season started to fall apart when Leonard was diagnosed in the preseason with tendinopathy in his right quadriceps. As time passed, Leonard had a falling out with the franchise over the diagnosis and treatment of the injury.
Disgruntled, Leonard never played for the Silver and Black again after being shut down in mid-January. He asked for a trade and he got it. The Spurs dealt Leonard and starting guard Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors for All-NBA guard DeMar DeRozan, 7-foot center Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick.
So now the Spurs begin anew, and they’re ready to move forward.
“There were a lot of factors against us last year,” Gay said. “A lot things heavy in our hearts. Obviously, the coach (Popovich’s wife died during the playoffs) and a lot of turmoil. But I think it’s a clean slate, the chance to prove everybody wrong.”
Asked if the mood at the Spurs’ practice facility is different now that the team has moved beyond the fallout of Leonard’s messy departure, Gay said: “Yeah, definitely is. We have everybody here. This is what we got. Nobody is hurt.”
For that matter, Duncan and Ginobili were even at camp.
“Manu’s still here,” Gay said. “I told him this morning he hasn’t missed a camp yet. Obviously, those guys (Parker and Ginobili) not being out there, we all learn together. You’ve been with somebody that’s been in the system for 20 years, it’s easy to lean on them. But, now, we’re all together. We’re all learning, we’re all figuring it out together as a team.”
After missing more than half of the 2016-17 NBA season with a career-threatening Achilles injury, Gay opted out of the last year of his contract with the Sacramento Kings last summer to make a fresh start with the Spurs.
One of the league’s most productive small forwards before getting hurt, Gay started the 2017-18 season with high expectations. After all, what better team to jump-start a career with than the Spurs, one of the most stable and successful pro sports franchises the past two decades, right?
Unfortunately for Gay, things didn’t quite go according to script. Signed by the Spurs as a free agent to back up Leonard and give them another scoring threat at the wing, Gay was slowed by injury again last season. As it turned out, Gay played in only five games with Leonard.
Playing in 57 games, Gay averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds and a career-low 21.6 minutes. His scoring and rebounding averages were the lowest of his career since his rookie year.
Gay missed 23 games with a heel injury before returning to action in a road game against Denver on Feb. 23. He played in all five of the Spurs’ playoff games, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 32 minutes. The postseason series against the champion Golden State Warriors was only the second in Gay’s 12-year career.
Gay opted out of his contract with the Spurs in July, but wound up re-signing with them. With Leonard gone, Gay will be counted on to give the team another scoring threat.
“I feel good,” he said. “I feel like my legs are under me. When you worry about one thing, it’s hard to get your focus off of that and continue to be a basketball player. Now the injury is out of my mind. I’m just playing basketball like I know how."
Going into last season, Gay was one of three NBA players (LeBron James and Russell Westbrook) with at least 13,000 points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,000 steals.
Gay turned 32 on Aug. 17.