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In the wake of the Spurs six-game loss to the Oklahoma CityThunder in the Western Conference finals, San Antonio at leastknows it will be getting Duncan back. What we know after that islimited. The Spurs won t have much cap space available and are notlikely to engage in a massive shakeup. Shooting guard Manu Ginobiliis in place, wrapping up a contract that will pay him $14 millionnext year. Tony Parker, too, is on the books, and though the Spursexplored trading Parker last year, they instead dealt George Hill,making them unlikely to move Parker this time around. So the core of the Spurs will return, and considering the team wasthe best in the league the last two regular seasons, that s not abad thing. Stephen Jackson has a year and $10 million left on hiscontract, and youngsters Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter are surebets to be back, too. But considering that coach Gregg Popovich, after Game 6, floatedthe notion that his team may have played over its head, you have towonder whether this can be considered a championship bunch goingforward. We had a wonderful season, Popovich said. Everybody wants tobe the last team standing, but in many ways, this group may haveeven overachieved. Duncan s contract aside, the Spurs will have some difficultquestions to answer this summer. 1. Do you believe in Boris? Boris Diaw is 30 and obviously overweight as he slogged through alackluster season in Charlotte. When the Bobcats cut him in March,the Spurs signed him, and he was resurrected as the starting centernext to Duncan he was a good scorer and an excellent interiorpasser, and his defense was adequate. Diaw is an unrestricted free agent, and to sign him, the Spurs willhave to eat into their mid-level exception. He will have othersuitors for his services, and if a team with cap space getsanxious, Diaw could be priced out of the Spurs range. 2. What s Danny Green s value? Green had a solid year for San Antonio, taking over as the startingshooting guard for 38 games (a number that is significant) andaveraging 9.1 points on 43.6 percent shooting from the 3-pointline. He is a restricted free agent, so the Spurs can match anyoffer to Green, and he has said he wants to stay. San Antonio must decide, though, whether to extend Green aqualifying offer, and thanks to a quirk in the newcollective-bargaining agreement, that number will be in theneighborhood of $3 million rather than the $800,000 he made lastyear. That s because Green, a former second-round pick, started atleast half the games this year, and the new CBA says that meets, starter criteria. (That s defined as 41 starts in an 82-gameseason and 33 games in this 66-game season.) The Spurs have toextend Green a qualifying offer equivalent to the 21st pick in the2008 draft, a rule designed to reward second-round picks whooverachieve. Green still can work out a long-term contract even after thequalifying offer is extended, but it is a significant amount. 3. How much foreign influence will there be? The Spurs own the rights to two prospects with NBA-leveltalent French guard Nando de Colo and Slovenian forward ErazemLorbek. If the Spurs reach into their midlevel exception to keepDiaw, it could affect their ability to sign de Colo and/or Lorbek. Now 28, Lorbek has developed into one of the better big men inEurope, and if he is to make the jump to the NBA, it probably needsto happen soon. De Colo is the more interesting prospect, though, a 6-5 point guardwho is close with Parker, his countryman. DeColo has said he willgive the Spurs the first shot at signing him this summer, but witha backcourt that already includes Parker, Ginobili, Jackson andGary Neal, as well as youngsters Patty Mills and Cory Joseph,finding a spot for him will be difficult. 4. Is it time to swap out some role players? DeJuan Blair started 62 games but fell out of the rotation over thecourse of the season, and it would make sense for the Spurs to lethim walk in free agency. Neal has developed a well-earnedreputation as a gutsy shooter, but he is a tweener, and if you wantto make room for de Colo or give a true point guard like Mills orJoseph (who has plenty of potential) a chance to play, letting Nealgo is the logical choice. Moving Matt Bonner might sound like a good idea, too, but with twoyears and $7.5 million on his deal, there might not be many takers. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Aluminum Makeup Cases , China Aluminum Tool Cases, and more. For more , please visit Aluminum Cosmetic Cases today!
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