It’s the start of a new era in San Antonio.
Of course, we knew that already, but the scene at Spurs media day on Monday hammered that home, one that was defined by who wasn’t there as much as who was.
For starters, there was no Manu Ginobili. The 16-year veteran, all with San Antonio, called it a career earlier this summer. Kawhi Leonard, a Spurs draftee who picked up from where Tim Duncan left off as the team’s best and most important player, was 3,000 kilometers away being introduced to the media in Toronto. And there was Tony Parker, like Leonard set to embark on his first stint with any team other than the Spurs, decked out in his new Charlotte Hornets uniform — a look that will take some getting used to after 17 seasons in black and silver.
@tonyparker taking pictures like a pro at his first #HornetsMediaDay pic.twitter.com/L2WYgzGsYw
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) September 24, 2018
With those three gone, what’s left from the Spurs reign over the course of the last 15 years have almost disappeared, save for point guard Patty Mills and head coach Greg Popovich, arguably the most important figure of all. In their place is a group of returning players — promising youngsters like Dejounte Murray, veterans like Pau Gasol and Rudy Gay, and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs lone all-star last season.
And then there’s DeMar DeRozan, the prize return for Leonard in the July trade between the Raptors and Spurs.
“I think it’s growing on me,” DeRozan said of the black and silver after putting on his Spurs jersey for the first time on Monday. Unlike Parker, it was a natural look, and the team will hope the transition is as seamless on the court as well.
Going into his 10th pro campaign — they grow up so fast — DeRozan said he’s more motivated at this point in the season than any year prior. And why wouldn’t he be? The 29-year-old arguably has more to play for this season than ever.
In the past, this time of year marked vows for incremental improvement — more wins, going another round deeper into the playoffs, putting new skills to practice on an NBA court. But now DeRozan faces a different kind of pressure stepping into a situation with well-worn shoes to fill and expectations to keep the winning ways going in San Antonio following a summer of substantial change for both the player and organization.
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Sure, DeRozan will be out to prove Masai Ujiri and the Raptors’ brass wrong; to prove that he’s capable of being the go-to player on a championship-calibre team. He’ll also be expected — even if it’s not made explicit by Popovich & Co. — to be the new face of the franchise, a role he was allowed to grow into organically during his Toronto tenure.
Despite the change, expectations will be high in San Antonio. The team managed to make the playoffs last season despite losing Leonard — their cog on both sides of the court — for all but nine games. With a healthy DeRozan in the fold they’ll be looking to fight for home court advantage in a loaded Western Conference that got even tougher with the addition of LeBron James to the Lakers and DeMarcus Cousins to the defending champion Warriors.
For DeRozan, who you could argue had reached his apex as a Raptor, the change of scenery may have left him hurt at first — he says it took him two weeks until the shock and pain of being unexpectedly traded began to subside — but could prove to be the best thing that happened to his career.
“In his situation, as long as he’s really open to putting in the work — and I’m pretty sure he is — he’ll really be able to fit right in,” says NBA veteran Joel Anthony, who played under Popovich in San Antonio. “At this stage of his career this could take him to even another level.”
It’s a challenge DeRozan seems excited for.
“You definitely want to be around a culture of this magnitude, playing for a coach of this status — one of the greatest of all-time,” DeRozan said on Monday. “It’s definitely a blessing.
“From a basketball point of view I’ve always been a fan of the Spurs. For me to be able to be here and grow with all the guys that are here is definitely something that I’m looking forward to.”
That San Antonio decided to bring in DeRozan in exchange for Leonard should also be a badge of honour of sorts for the four-time all-star.
“They do their background checks,” says former Spur Jaren Jackson, a member of their 1999 championship team. “They do the due diligence to find out what kind of person you are.”
Off the court, the fans have already accepted DeRozan as their new star, signalled by a massive mural of him that went up in the city shortly after the trade. “Damn, they love me like this already?” DeRozan thought when he first saw it.
On the court, the key to the Spurs’ success and DeRozan’s potential to improve is Popovich, one of the few NBA coaches who players would clamor to play for thanks to a reputation of developing winners and unlocking potential like few others can. He’s built his coaching persona around accountability and the ability to evolve and learn from past mistakes.
One of the biggest question marks surrounding DeRozan is how, exactly, he’ll fit with this current Spurs roster. In the past, the shooting guard role in San Antonio required an ability to knock down three-pointers. Sharing crunch-time minutes with the likes of Murray, Aldridge and Gay — who, like DeRozan, all excel in the mid-range or near the basket — it’s brought into question whether or not the team will be able to space the floor effectively. DeRozan has improved as a three-point shooter, but it’s still an area of weakness.
Popovich has no intention of changing DeRozan’s game to fit his system, something he did attempt — unsuccessfully — when the team first signed Aldridge.
“He’s already an all-star,” Popovich said of DeRozan, “and he plays a certain way so there’ll be some things that we try to add to his game, if he’s willing. But I’m not going to jump on him like I did [Aldridge]. I tried to turn him into John Havlicek. I think I confused him.”
But Popovich will hold DeRozan accountable like never before.
DeRozan said he expects his shots to come a little easier this season, more within the flow of the offence and with fewer forced attempts or end-of-clock bail-outs. When asked about it, Popovich sidestepped the question and focused on the other end of the floor. “I’m more worried about defence than I am anything,” the coach said, pointing to the departures of key perimeter defenders Danny Green and Kyle Anderson.
DeRozan will be asked to do more than he ever has before and will be expect to defend at a high level, something he’s struggled to do with consistency to this point. But with those orders coming from a coach with Popovich’s resume, it’s hard to put up a fight.
DeRozan mentioned that he’s been told that Popovich can be hard on his players. “That’s fine,” he said. “I got a warning that I’m gonna get it eventually. I don’t mind it at all.”
It’s nothing new in San Antonio, and that kind of accountability across the board has been a hallmark of their success.
“I remember him challenging Duncan and Robinson early on, as if they weren’t superstars,” Jackson says. “It was refreshing to see a coach challenge a superstar player without fear of them tuning him out. It was eye-opening for me and the rest of the guys — and Coach Pop knew it.”
This season will be unlike any other for DeRozan. He may have established himself as a premier player and elite scorer over the course of the past decade, but there’ll be less freelancing, more accountability, and the pressures of not only replacing a player of Leonard’s talents but of carrying on the Spurs’ winning ways.
“In one way it’s a little bit melancholy,” Popovich reflected on Monday, “because I’ve been with [Ginobili and Parker] for so long. At the same time it’s a great opportunity for a new challenge, new energy, a different route and perspective. To see all of the new faces that we have to try to put together will make it a real interesting and challenging year — but in a good way.”
Needless to say, it’s a sentiment DeRozan can relate to.