Welding the wings...Spurs sign Kent Bazemore.

Long-armed, 7'0 wingspan-savv Kent Bazemore once said, "They've got some very special players that make big shots" about the Spurs, and now he joins them as a free agent on a two-year 16.5 million contract. A recipient of a hefty contract during the summer when the salary cap went bonkers, Bazemore came from a 'life' of poverty but had a strong family support system. It saw him break into college stardom and receive the Lefty Dreissell award, as best defensive player of 2010-11. Despite this accolade, Bazemore went undrafted before bouncing around the league for the Warriors, Lakers, Atlanta Hawks & Trail Blazers. ESPN even ranked him as the league's 499th best player, miffing Bazemore as old players (some deceased) were even above him; in response, Kent etched "499" into his sneakers, a testament of his perseverance--a value that's always been inside him.

“It’s the role less traveled,” Bazemore said. “I found if I wanted to stick around in this league, I had to be different. And I don’t really have the offensive skill-set to be elite on the offensive side of the ball. But defensively, I can really help, and I knew if that became what I was known for, I could stay around for a long time. You need those stoppers. The Tony Allens. The PJ Tuckers. The Bruce Bowens. You need those guys on your team to help you win. And that’s the role I want to play."

 

Spending most of his career at the 2 spot, Bazemore has shown strides on the wing more recently, due to his agile and athletic prowess. Coach Stotts of the Trail Blazers regarded Bazemore positively last season, saying: "He takes a lot of pride in his defense. He’s long and athletic, he anticipates. He has evolved into a good shooter and good scorer, but he made his bones by being a good defender.” Superstar Damian Lillard followed up with, “He’s just a pest. He likes to get his hands dirty. He’s all over you. He’s always reaching and poking at the ball. And he’s always there, always ready for an opportunity to make a play.”

Why the tenacity? Bazemore says, "The dream. The hunger is always there. I love the game of basketball. I'm so hard on myself; I can't help it. I want to be great. I went undrafted, then signed a very lucrative deal four years ago. But I'm still trying to remain true to who I am, stay humble and hungry. Bazemore's coaches, from the then D-League and most likely from Coach Popovich later this season, have sung his praises on Kent's appreciation and professionalism and his dedication to his craft. The only negative is Bazemore's age at 30, but it only means perfect timing by the front office. Now, the Spurs have gotten a tenacious wing player that will replace Bradley's heart and shore up the defensive front lines.

The icing on the cake is that Bazemore has tallied not only over 500 steals, but also splashed in over 500 three-pointers.

King of the Glass...Andre Drummond joins the Spurs.

The Spurs organization can thank its championship pedigree and winning culture for landing the biggest name of this summer's free agency bonanza: Andre Drummond is now a Spur, once seen embracing now-Assistant Coach Tim Duncan, talented big man to talented big man. Now, he must take up the mantle when no player since Duncan has quite lived up to the Spur-fect golden age of the Spurs (Duncan/Parker/Ginobili). Sure, Kevin Garnett & Pau Gasol did admirably, and there were whispers of Marc Gasol joining the titanic team of the western conference.

However, after being grossly out-rebounded by the Los Angeles Lakers last season in a grueling seven-game war, Coach Popovich & R.C. Buford knew they needed to shore up the paint and make sure every rebound has a chance of falling to the Spurs. With Andre Drummond on board, the Spurs now have the league's leading rebounder of last season, who's already tallied 8,000 rebounds for his career in just eight NBA seasons. Drummond is known as Big Penguin, and now it's only more fitting as he'll don the silver-and-black, wearing #1 for the Spurs, as reigning king of the glass and more than ready to challenge Lakers superstar (fresh off signing a new 5-year max contract) Anthony Davis for each possession: A.D. vs A.D.

Acquiring Drummond meant renouncing free agency rights to Taurean Prince, a move that most Spurs fans anticipated given his up-and-down play since joining the Spurs last season. Once-upon-a-time prospect, Dragan Bender, also was let go due to his 6m team option, but the Spurs were able to absorb the team option on Jarrett Allen, the shot-blockingly athletic, albeit raw center. San Antone will have another season to develop Allen's talents, but with Drummond aboard, they can focus more on Allen's growth with their search for a star center now over.

"He's going to do great for us. I can't speak enough about his hustle for the ball. His passing skill reminds me a lot of Timmy, and I'm sure the two of them will have fun in training camp," Coach Popovich said at the introductory press conference. Also returning is Joe Harris, whose clutch performance in the playoffs offset streaky shooting in the regular season. He will provide nice contrast to VanVleet, with more playing time now open at the SF spot, with J.R. Smith & Nik Stauskas also moving on from the Spurs. Financial flexibility came in the form of the league granting the Spurs an exception for the remaining 10m salary of Timofey Mozgov, who despite strong play last season, underwent knee surgery, bowing out of the league on his own terms. "We were glad to have Moz. He was outstanding for us down the stretch," Popovich said.

It's so hard to say goodbye... Spurs trade Bradley, White to Raptors for VanVleet

Avery Bradley's three-year stint in San Antonio has ended.

Confronted by a summer of tempting possibilities and tough choices, the San Antonio Spurs made bold waves after the NBA Draft in free agency, trading pesky defender Avery Bradley to one-time NBA Finals opponent Toronto Raptors, in exchange for newly re-signed combo-guard prospect, Fred VanVleet. Bradley spent three seasons with the Spurs, winning three championships and certainly had his moments of awe-inspiring tenacity and will to win.

To acquire a talented young player like VanVleet, the Spurs had to sweeten the pot in exchange as Toronto gets a nice parting token for VanVleet in prospect point guard, Derrick White. White showed flashes of promise for San Antonio, but his inclusion got the deal done as the Raptors receive an expiring contract in Bradley and a promising young player in White, as star point guard Kyle Lowry enters the legacy phase of his career for Toronto. The addition of Bradley & White will help lessen the blow of losing star mid-range beast, DeMarr DeRozan, to the Orlando Magic. The Magic had been filling up trade rumor reports last deadline, but did not budge before time ran out, rather signing DeRozan's talents outright this summer on a three-year pact, pairing the volume scorer with rough-edged potential star Aaron Gordon and resurgent point guard, Markelle Fultz.

VanVleet has tremendous passion for the game.

In acquiring VanVleet's services, which include guarding Steph Curry to a tee (as lured ex-Spur Iman Shumpert to San Antonio in years past) and unlike Bradley, a deadly 3-PT stroke (reminiscent of Lakers legend, Derek Fisher), the Spurs are poised for the always-frenetic dog-eat-dog future of the NBA. Fred is two inches shorter than Bradley, similarly undersized, but plays much bigger than his height, as Bradley did for the Spurs.

VanVleet is also four years Bradley's junior, and will be age 29 when his new four-year contract is set to expire. Fred went undrafted out of Wichita State, but impressed the Raptors in Summer League that year before securing a two-year guaranteed deal. "I'm a very ambitious guy and work my butt off to continue to grow and better each day," VanVleet described his approach to the game. "There's new levels for me to keep reaching. I think the future is bright." Deep inside VanVleet is a desire to be a starter; joining the Spurs made it a reality (due to Lowry's dominant presence in Toronto). "I'm ready for it."