The San Antonio Spurs have had a rather rough offseason, with DeMarre Carroll and rookies Luka Samanic and Keldon Johnson representing their only pickups of significance (they also re-signed Rudy Gay). They tried to sign Marcus Morris and thought they had a deal with him, but he reneged to sign with the New York Knicks.

The worst part about that: The Spurs traded Davis Bertans just to make room for Morris, so they got burnt twice.

San Antonio snuck into the playoffs as a 7 seed this past season and lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round, the latest sign that the Spurs' run of dominance is over.

Now, Gregg Popovich's club heads into the 2019-20 campaign with a lot of uncertainty.

Here are three questions remaining for the Spurs after free agency:

3. How Much Better will They be Defensively?

With Dejounte Murray returning from a torn ACL and Carroll on board, the Spurs should be better defensively than they were this past season, when they ranked an uncharacteristic 20th in the league in defensive efficiency.

But just how much better will San Antonio be in that area?

The backcourt defense could be really, really good as long as Murray gets healthy and stays healthy. Derrick White is a terrific perimeter defender, and Murray has already made an All-Defensive Team.

However, we can't ignore the fact that key rotation players DeMar DeRozan, Gay and Patty Mills are not strong defenders. The older LaMarcus Aldridge gets, the worse he becomes at guarding the pick-and-roll.

2. Just What are They Trying to Build?

There is no doubt that the Spurs have a good nucleus of young talent with Murray, White, Bryn Forbes and Lonnie Walker, not to mention Samanic and Jakob Poeltl.

However, San Antonio seems to be stuck between trying to rebuild (something Popovich has never done) and trying to contend, and that is not a good place to be.

It makes you wonder if the Spurs have any real sense of direction right now, because for the first time in Popovich's 23-year tenure as head coach, San Antonio seems to be flailing.

The Spurs need to get a more precise plan, and soon.

1. Will they Put their Stars on the Trade Block?

I use the term “stars” lightly, because DeRozan has proven that he is not capable of leading a team, and Aldridge is certainly past his prime. Yet, the question must be raised as to whether the Spurs will consider moving either player before the start of the regular season.

There was some talk a couple of months ago that San Antonio could potentially trade DeRozan, but nothing seemed to come of it. However, it would not be surprising if the Spurs revisited those discussions at some point between now and October. To be perfectly honest, it would be silly if they didn't.

Let's face it: The Spurs are not going anywhere as currently constructed, and DeRozan is not connected to their long-term future. Neither is Aldridge.

It certainly seems like it's time for San Antonio to trade at least one of the two players, but whether the Spurs actually do it remains to be seen.