The San Antonio Spurs came as close as any team ever has to winning an NBA Championship without actually winning it and after recovering from the hangover of the loss, the team will have to look towards the summer and free agency to rebuild and some options include Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Devin Harris, Tony Allen and Tiago Splitter.
The team has to decide on resigning Manu Ginobili and Splitter and for how much money and also to see if Tim Duncan will return for another season after the emotionally and physically draining loss. The team will have some money to work with but not much and they have shown in the past they are smart about bringing in players. Gregg Popovich has a certain style and that could be a good fit for a number of free agents.
The Spurs likely feel that they should be champions, as they gave away Game 6 with some close plays and near misses. The team missed free throws in that game and some substitutions came back to haunt the team, as Chris Bosh was able to grab a rebound and kick it out to Ray Allen for a the tying three point shot that sent the game into overtime. Bosh came up big again later on when he blocked Tony Parker and Danny Green from making big shots and later James came through with more clutch plays. James turned it on in the fourth quarter of that game and he finished with a triple double before storming back in Game 7 to win the MVP and the championship with a perfect jumper at the end.
James gave the team a four point lead in Game 7 with the jumper and that came after Duncan had the chance to tie it on a point blank shot that he couldn't get to go. Duncan led the team with 24 points and Kawhi Leonard had 16 rebounds and the Spurs were just drained by the time the end of the game came. James was fantastic once again and the Spurs showed that while they are deep, they may not be deep enough to win another championship, which leads into free agent options this summer.
The team obviously has to decide on its own players and it also can use a midlevel exception that could help with Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap, as they are expected to cash in. Both players are solid on defense and appear to fit into the Spurs' system, as does Harris and Allen. Korver could be an interesting option to add depth on the outside and after the way he played in the playoffs the team will likely keep Splitter.
The team needs to add some support to the core to get back to the finals and while they should have won the championship most likely, it's the Heat with the second straight ring. Allen is a star defender and that could be perfect for the Spurs, as the team loves to focus on defense. There are plenty of names out there and for the team to get back to the finals they will have to reload.
