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Reserves
Manu Ginobili
Position: Guard
Experience: 14 years
Age: 39Scouting report
+ Future Hall of Famer remains effective reserve in late 30s
+ Efficient scorer who serves as co-point guard on offense
+ Aggressive, instinctive defender with high steal rate
Analysis
Closing in on age 40 (he turned 39 in July), Ginobili remains San Antonio's top reserve and an indispensable part of the system. It's unthinkable that Ginobili could play somewhere else, but the Philadelphia 76ers reportedly came calling with a big offer for the unrestricted free agent this summer before the Spurs upped their own offer to $14 million for 2016-17.
Ginobili has proven an effective partner in the second-unit backcourt for Mills, allowing the score-first point guard to play off the ball at times, while Ginobili runs the offense. In another lifetime, on another team, Ginobili could have been a devastating lead ball handler. As it is, he averaged more assists per minute than Mills and remains capable of getting to the basket off the dribble if no longer the outstanding finisher of his heyday, making a career-low 53.7 percent of his attempts inside three feet according to Basketball-Reference.com. After a series of down years from 3-point range, Ginobili hit 39.1 percent from beyond the arc last season and was even better (42.9 percent) in the playoffs.
Defensively, Ginobili remains the wide-ranging free safety to Leonard's cornerback. His steal rate (3 per 100 team plays) ranked in the NBA's top 10 among players with at least 1,000 minutes. Ginobili has phenomenal ability to recognize plays before they're happening and is a historically great defender of inbound passes -- although he did commit a violation when pressuring Dion Waiters during the wild finish to Game 2 of the Spurs' series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Patty Mills
Position: Guard
Experience: 7 years
Age: 28
Scouting report
+ Aggressive point guard who's a dangerous scorer
+ Fine outside shooter who likes pull-up game
+ Active defender, though vulnerable to misdirection
Analysis
Healthy last season after missing the first part of the 2014-15 season following shoulder surgery, Mills returned to being one of the league's top backup point guards. His elite performances for the Australian national team, including averaging 21.3 points on .604 true shooting percentage in the 2016 Olympics, makes one wonder what Mills could do if he got a chance to start.
Of course, one reason Mills makes more sense in a reserve role is that he's not really a point guard and gets to share ball handling duties with Ginobili off the bench. Not only is Mills' court vision limited, he's a dangerous weapon playing off the ball coming off screens -- something he does for the national team playing alongside Matthew Dellavedova- and spotting up. After hitting just 34.1 percent of his 3-point attempts in 2014-15, Mills bounced back to 38.4 percent. He's not quite as effective as a pick-and-roll ball handler because of his tendency to shoot pull-up jumpers just inside the line. He made an inefficient 39.5 percent of his 2-point attempts beyond 16 feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Defensively, Mills is hyperkinetic, sprinting everywhere on the court. That generally works well to compensate for his small size (6-foot, 185) but can leave Mills going quickly the wrong direction when opponents beat him backdoor or catch him leaning the wrong way off the dribble. Mills has improved his ability to navigate screens on the ball.
Kyle Anderson
Position: Forward
Experience: 2 years
Age: 22
Scouting report
+ Versatile combo forward found a role off bench
+ Most effective with the ball in his hands
+ Struggles to contain elite athletes off the dribble
Analysis
Duncan delivered one of the lines of the 2015-16 season when he told reporters that he came to a realization watching Anderson on a fast break. "I can get Kyle in a footrace," Duncan said. "I can get him. That's bad." Alas, one of the two chooses not to race, so we'll never know. Despite his well-do ented lack of quickness, the man known as "Slo Mo" found a role on the Spurs' second unit in his second season as a backup small forward.
Throughout his prep career, Anderson had the ball in his hands as the focal point of an offense, but his skills don't merit that role in the NBA. So he has had to discover how to be effective without the ball. That started with improved shooting. While Anderson still made just 32.4 percent of his limited 3-point attempts, he knocked down a solid 45.2 percent of his 2-point attempts from beyond 16 feet per Basketball-Reference.com. Anderson was also able to use his playmaking as an entry passer, and of course he did get chances to play isolation basketball, where he likes to use a crossover or back down smaller opponents -- and that's nearly all of them at small forward -- from the perimeter. Anderson's isolation results suggest he might merit more opportunities. He shot 57.1 percent on such plays according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats.
Defensively, Anderson is stuck somewhere between small forward and power forward. On the wing, his lateral mobility isn't good enough to deal with go-to scorers, and Anderson hasn't been able to use his size to contest from behind. Power forwards are probably more ideal matchups, but Anderson gives up strength at the position. However, he's a good enough rebounder to hold his own at the 4 and may get more minutes there with David West's departure.
DeWayne Dedmon
Position: Center
Experience: 3 years
Age: 27
Scouting report
+ Productive on per-minute basis but failed to win trust of coaches
+ Above-the-rim finisher who rolls hard to the rim
+ Mobile defender whose instincts don't match athleticism
Analysis
With only their $2.9 million room exception to sign a backup center, San Antonio did well to grab Dedmon, who brings needed athleticism to their frontcourt. Despite averaging 13 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes last season with the Orlando Magic, Dedmon was as likely to get a DNP-CD (22 times) as start (20 times) in Scott Skiles' rotation roulette. We'll find out this season whether Skiles knew something the rest of us didn't.
During their playoff loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs were lacking a roll man who could expose Enes Kanter's difficulty defending the pick-and-roll. Dedmon could be that guy off the bench. He shot a robust 71.2 percent as a roll man last season, third-best among players with at least 50 such shot attempts according to Synergy Sports tracking on NBA.com/Stats. And despite concerns about his hands, Dedmon's turnover rate in the pick-and-roll (6.1 percent) was on the low side. The Magic used Dedmon at times in the high post, but that's a poor fit since he shot just 33.3 percent outside the paint, per NBA.com/Stats.
Dedmon's athleticism is a welcome addition at the defensive end as well. He moves well for a 7-foot center and can hedge against the pick-and-roll on the perimeter and successfully recover or even switch on guards without completely embarrassing himself. Dedmon's volleyball background -- raised as a Jehovah's Witness, he didn't play basketball until age 18, as Chris Ballard detailed in a wonderful Sports Illustrated feature- shows up in the way he powerfully blocks shots at an above-average rate, albeit frequently out of bounds. But Dedmon's late start also means he doesn't read plays quickly -- one reason coaches have been reluctant to turn him loose.
David Lee
Position: Forward
Experience: 11 years
Age: 33
Scouting report
+ Aging big man who remains threat diving to the basket
+ Ambidextrous finisher who shoots high percentage at rim
+ Poor defender who's too slow to play on perimeter
Analysis
Given his well-earned reputation as an all-offense, no-defense big man, Lee doesn't exactly fit the San Antonio model. But teams with only the minimum salary to offer can't be choosers, and Lee signed a two-year deal for the veteran's minimum that includes a 2017-18 player option. He's the favorite to replace West as the Spurs' backup big man.
Lee began last season as the Boston Celtics' starting power forward but lost the job after just three games. He was dreadful in Boston, shooting 45.5 percent on 2-point attempts after never having been below 50 percent before. Brad Stevens excised him from the rotation in December, and the Celtics took off while Lee worked with the training staff to improve his conditioning in anticipation of another opportunity.
That chance came after a buyout, when Lee landed with the Dallas Mavericks as a free agent as an entirely different player. He was a perfect fit for the Mavericks' pick-and-roll game, beating slower centers to the basket, where he can finish with either hand. Lee's 2-point percentage shot up to 63.6 percent in Dallas, which would have been a career high. Expect San Antonio to use him in a similar fashion, albeit more likely as a power forward than a center.
After all, the 6-foot-9 Lee offers no deterrence at the rim. While he blocked shots at a career-high rate last season, he was still only average for a center. Lee isn't much better at power forward. Guarding stretch 4s on the perimeter is too much to ask from him at age 33, so despite strong defensive rebounding Lee is a major defensive liability.
Jonathon Simmons
Position: Guard
Experience: 1 year
Age: 26 (27 on Sept. 14)
Scouting report
+ Defensive-minded wing who fell out of favor during rookie season
+ Capable secondary ball handler who shot 38.3 percent from 3-point range
+ Has necessary physical tools but not yet reliable individual defender
Analysis
For much of his rookie season, Simmons looked like the Spurs' latest D-League success story. He was a key reserve from December through February, supplying 3-and-D play on the wing and bringing needed youth and energy to the San Antonio second unit. Then, Simmons fell out of the rotation and played just 26 minutes in the playoffs, none against Oklahoma City. He'll have to battle in training camp to win his spot back.
Simmons was a pleasant surprise offensively, translating his effective play in summer league in 2015. His improved D-League 3-point shooting in 2014-15 carried over to the NBA as Simmons shot a solid 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, albeit on just 47 attempts. Nearly half of Simmons' shots came within three feet, per Basketball-Reference.com, and he proved particularly adept at generating easy scores by running the floor hard in transition. Simmons can also handle the ball -- he has played point guard in summer league -- and initiate the offense.
The coaching staff's concerns probably had more to do with the defensive end. An athletic 6-foot-6, Simmons has stopper potential he has yet to harness. He likes to play up into ball handlers and overplay in the passing lanes, but generated few steals while taking the risk of defensive breakdowns. If Simmons simply executes the scheme and stays solid, he'll find his way back into the rotation.
Davis Bertans
Position: Forward
Experience: Rookie
Age: 23
Scouting report
+ Latvian stretch 4 who will fill Matt Bonner's role
+ Accurate 3-point shooter from FIBA line
+ May struggle to find a position he can defend
Analysis
Five years after San Antonio added Bertans with a second-round pick acquired in the trade that brought them Leonard, he's finally joining the team on a two-year minimum contract that is fully guaranteed. Now 23 (he'll turn 24 in November) and fully recovered from an ACL tear suffered in 2013, Bertans takes Matt Bonner's long-time spot as the Spurs' stretch 4 off the bench. (He won't be able to replace Bonner's unique off-the-court humor. Nobody could.)
A native of Latvia, Bertans has spent the past two seasons playing for Laboral Kutxa Baskonia in Spain, where he shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range in 2015-16 between ACB and Euroleague play. My SCHOENE projection system translates that to about 36.6 percent accuracy from the NBA line, factoring in the lower percentage he shot in 2014-15 (38.7 percent) and the transition that often leads to lower 3-point percentages for international players as NBA rookies. Bertans knows his role: 130 of his 175 shots last season came from beyond the arc.
The big question with Bertans will be whether he can guard NBA opponents. At 6-foot-9, 210, he's going to give up a lot of strength to power forwards, yet doesn't appear quick enough to defend on the wing full-time. If Bertans plays with Anderson, a combination that could work well offensively, they might be able to cross match at times to hide Bertans defensively.
Dejounte Murray
Position: Guard
Experience: Rookie
Age: 19 (20 on Sept. 19)
Scouting report
+ Big point guard who was inefficient in lone college season
+ Excels at getting to the basket but struggles to finish there
+ Has defensive potential if he can maintain focus on each play
Analysis
Murray's draft-night slide may ultimately prove the best thing for him. Considered a possible late lottery pick, Murray nearly ended up stuck in the green room the entire first round before San Antonio grabbed him with the No. 29 overall pick in a value play. Given the importance of improving his shooting to Murray's long-term future, he couldn't have found a better shooting coach than the Spurs' Chip Engelland.
A 6-foot-5 point guard with a wingspan measured at more than 6-foot-9 in 2014, per Draft Express, Murray has tantalizing physical tools. That starts with his ability to create off the dribble. Murray has the elusive "shake" scouts want in point guards, which allows him to beat defenders and get into the paint. The first question is whether he can actually finish there. Murray shot just 58.6 percent at the rim during his lone season at Washington according to Hoop-Match.com. Then there's the question of how much defenders will back off him given Murray shot 28.8 percent from 3-point range while firing up three-and-a-half triples per game. Murray's form isn't bad, so there's hope for improvement, but he wasn't much better at the free throw line in college (66.3 percent).
Murray's size gives him the potential to become a plus defender, but he'll have to become a lot more sound on a play-to-play basis. He had a tendency to lose focus defending on the weak side, leaving him in poor position to contest shots when the ball was reversed. Murray also doesn't contain the ball as well one-on-one as you'd expect given his athleticism. However, he's a good rebounder for a point guard who grabbed a higher percentage of defensive rebounds than teammate Marquese Chriss, a 6-foot-9 power forward drafted in the lottery.
