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[SIZE=12pt]The Reconstruction of the Alamo[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Last year the Spurs sold the fanbase on the fact that a rebuild would take place but they were searching for young players with upside and reclamation projects. Some guys shined with the opportunity and made names for themselves such as Harry Giles and brief Spur Jordan Clarkson. Some guys showed flashes but never piece together the consistency needed like Andrew Wiggins. Still in search for a franchise player the basketball gods rewarded the Spurs with a top 5 pick. Initially reports from mock draft reporters centered on the Spurs fondness for point forward Luka Doncic and DeAndre Ayton. But there was a third prospect those inside the organization was really high on in Marvin Bagley. The scouting department consistently mentioned how rare an athlete he was for a big man and his ability to jump twice before most bigs could jump once. The lottery odds didn’t go in the Spurs favor as they dropped out of the top 3 and fell to five. They were fortunate enough to land Bagley at the fifth pick. But even the biggest Bagley supporters couldn’t have foreseen the quick ascension to stardom for the 19 year old center.[/SIZE]
Bagley's quick rise to stardom has given the Spurs a true franchise player immediately.
[SIZE=12pt]Bagley started out his first 32 games in the NBA averaging 22/11 while being the primary focus for the opposing team. It’s arguably the best rookie season this league has seen but one young player can only do so much. So it’s forced for some reshuffling of the Spurs roster. Jordan Clarkson was shipped out for Dennis Smith Jr who was then promptly shipped out to OKC for sharpshooting guard Malik Monk. Then the biggest move was made trading fan favorite and second team all rookie big man Harry Giles, expiring contract in George Hill, and a first round pick from the New York Knicks for Ben Simmons, Jabari Parker, Mozgov and Greivis Vasquez. But to be direct this deal was strictly about Ben Simmons and bolstering the bench scoring with young combo forward Jabari Parker. General Manager TYO issued this statement at the introductory press conference “ We’re elated to bring these four guys into our organization and we’re sky high on what we envision the possibilities to be long term for these guys as key contributors to us building towards a contending team.” Those closest to general manager TYO believe he sees Simmons as being an All-Star talent at the point guard position which is shocking considering Simmons was a power forward in college and won ROY as a SF. But the Spurs organization already views him as a cornerstone for their organization along with Bagley. After early return averages of 11/8/6 and a winning sim it seems the fanbase is buying in as well.[/SIZE]
Can Simmons transition to a star PG after dominating as a college 4?
[SIZE=12pt]The key question for the organization at this point is can they surround those two young talents with enough shooting and veteran leadership to eventually build a realistic contender in the Alamo. The only answer we have now is we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out. But one thing is for certain the organization is in a much better place now with the arrival of a franchise player and his running mate in Simmons.[/SIZE]
