There's another article down the page that's probably more to the point. The question nobody seems to be asking is: "If DeRozan was the wrong move for the Spurs, why would it be the right move for Orlando?"
https://syndication.bleacherreport.c...32192380004833
Second-guessing the San Antonio Spurs seldom seems advisable, but they've given us no other choice.
How did they not start over when Kawhi Leonard forced his way out in 2018? Why make a now-30-year-old DeMar DeRozan the centerpiece of that exchange and only collect one first-rounder—not even a lottery pick—while giving up both Leonard and Danny Green (i.e. 40 percent of the Toronto Raptors' championship starting five)?
Why were they mulling a possible max extension for DeRozan before the season, as Mike Finger reported for the San Antonio Express-News? Why did they feel it necessary to fully guarantee Aldridge's $24 million option for the 2020-21 season eight months before they needed to?
Are they seeing something we don't? Because to us, these look like 30-somethings who are in decline and incapable of leading a team to anything more than one of the West's final playoff spots. Embracing mid-range chuckers in a time of analytics feels not like a zig against a league-wide zag, but rather simply applying an outdated approach and shrinking the team's ceiling because of it.
"A seemingly unwavering faith in post-ups, long 2s and Marco Belinelli has locals and outsiders alike wondering, for the first time in eons, if the Spurs are behind the curve rather than ahead of it," The Athletic's John Hollinger wrote.
They don't have an elite player on the roster. They have no guaranteed future stars, either. Dejounte Murray comes closest, but he's facing a treacherous path to get there as a non-shooting perimeter player.
San Antonio should embark on the fire sale that it should've had as soon as Leonard wanted out. The rewards won't be nearly as rich as they could have been, but anything that moves the Spurs away from this forgettable present and toward whatever the future holds is worth exploring.