The San Antonio Spurs made it to the play-in tournament but were eliminated by the New Orleans Pelicans. San Antonio is growing a young core, and they weren't expected to even make it to the play-in.
While the Spurs lost, they showed promise for the future. Rising star guard Dejounte Murray had a breakout campaign, establishing himself as the building block for the franchise. Murray averaged a career-high in points per game with 21.1, rebounds with 8.3, assists with 9.2 and steals with 2.0.
San Antonio needs to continue building their young group, but should sprinkle in some additions via free agency. Legendary head coach Gregg Popovich has declined to answer questions about whether he will retire or coach for at least one more season. This will be a crucial part of the Spurs' offseason, as replacing the five-time champion coach wouldn't be easy.
However, San Antonio needs to look toward free agency regardless, as they could make upgrades to their roster. With that said, here are three early targets for the Spurs in 2022 NBA free agency.
Spurs 2022 Free Agency Targets
Mitchell Robinson is heading into free agency for the first time in his career and would be a good fit in San Antonio. Robinson is an effective rebounder and shot-blocker, fitting more of a traditional center mold.
With the New York Knicks this season, he averaged 8.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He's also very efficient from the field, shooting a mind-boggling 76.1%.
Robinson could round out the center rotation for San Antonio along with Jakob Poeltl.
Gary Payton II has had a great season with the Golden State Warriors as a role player. Payton II played in 71 games this season, averaging 7.1 points per game and 3.5 rebounds. He shot 61.6 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from behind the arc.
But it's his defensive prowess that helped Payton establish himself as a rotation player this season, abilities that would fit the Spurs' system well. He is also ver explosive, which would lead to easy baskets at the rim with Murray's playmaking. Payton's tenacity would fit right in with the Spurs culture, and he would be a phenomenal role player to pick up in free agency.
Adding a spark off the bench would help the Spurs improve drastically. Harrell is always in the Sixth Man of the Year discussions and would give San Antonio a great backup for Poeltl. This season, Harrell averaged 13.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game. He shot 64.5 percent from the field and a career-high 71.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Harrell is a great scorer in the paint and would give the Spurs a big boost offensively. While Harrell isn't a great defender, he would give San Antonio's offense a new dynamic. Center is the weakest position for the Spurs, as they have promising young players at guard and forward.
A veteran scorer off the bench in Harrell would be a great signing to make.
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