The San Antonio Spurs are definitely set at the guard spot. After an MVP-caliber season from Tony Parker and with Cory Joseph and Patty Mills maturing, their depth at the position is hard to match.
On top of that, they drafted Marcus Denmon, a guard out of Missouri and they’re finally getting Nando De Colo to join the squad after drafting him in 2009.
The problem that the Spurs have, which isn’t really a problem, is that Tony Parker is only 30 and his minutes don’t have to decrease yet. The role of the backup point guard isn’t as important as it is on some other teams. Of course, TP will get older so it’s important to have a strong backup waiting in the wings. It will be a tough balance getting experience and still having the best five guys on the floor.
So with these five guys all battling for playing time, the Spurs have to make some adjustments.
I imagine Denmon will spend some time with the Toros. He’s got a lot of talent but his game isn’t quite ready for the NBA. The same might be said for Cory Joseph. He spent most of last season in Austin and he may need a little bit more time to improve.
I’d like to see De Colo on the roster next season. I haven’t seen him play much but I’ve heard good things and he has a lot of professional basketball experience. He can also add depth at shooting guard as well if the Spurs want to try out a smaller lineup, but as we all know the team is just as deep at SG as they are at PG.
The same can be said for Mills. I think he has a lot of potential to be a solid backup point guard for the Spurs and maybe a starter for another team somewhere down the line. Spurs fans should keep an eye on all their international players during the upcoming Olympics to get a preview of next season.
As long as the Spurs keep all these guys within the organization, which it appears they intend to do, they’ll have some time to try everyone out and find where they best fit. It’s truly a win-win situation.
