The San Antonio Spurs will have to re-configure their strategy coming into this 2018-19 season, no longer boasting their estranged star Kawhi Leonard, but a mid-range artist in DeMar DeRozan.

Head coach Gregg Popovich, who took charge in Team USA's minicamp this past week in Las Vegas, was reportedly a fan of DeRozan's game even before the organization decided to swing a deal for the Compton native.

“He always showed me mutual respect that I definitely appreciated,” DeRozan said of Popovich, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press. “There have been times he’s told me things on the sideline about my game, that he was a fan and to keep working. Just to see things to come full circle, for me be in this position, definitely cool.”

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The two will have to combine forces in hopes to make this the Spurs' 22nd straight season in the playoffs. San Antonio has been a staple in the NBA's postseason and a mainstay in the later rounds, having only faced a first-round exit in five of the last 22 seasons.

DeRozan's disciplined game will mesh well with a systematic coach like Popovich.

Having been burned by Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, DeRozan will likely find the loyalty he's longed for in perhaps the most loyal organization in the league — one that usually honors contracts to the day they expire.