The San Antonio Spurs find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being a fringe playoff team heading into the 2019-20 NBA season.
In an improving Western Conference, the Spurs have fallen behind in the arms race. Gone are the days of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili leading the path to title contention. This San Antonio club is very, very different.
The Spurs still have some veterans sprinkled in amongst what is a fairly impressive stable of young talent. Because of that, San Antonio is still hoping to win now, even if it isn't all that likely.
So, here are the three Spurs players under the most pressure heading into next season.
3. Trey Lyles
To put it plainly, Trey Lyles was atrocious this past season with the Denver Nuggets.
Lyles averaged 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting just 41.8 percent from the floor and making a meager 25.5 percent of his 3-pointers, one year after having an incredibly efficient 2017-18 campaign.
But now, Lyles is getting a chance in new surroundings with the Spurs, signing a two-year deal where only the first year is guaranteed.
Basically, the 23-year-old needs to start validating himself as a 2015 lottery pick and assure himself of a spot on San Antonio's roster for the 2020-21 season.
The good news is that Gregg Popovich tends to get the best out of his players, so this should be a beneficial situation for Lyles.
2. LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge may have signed a three-year extension with the Spurs in October 2017, but the final year of that deal (2020-21) is only partially guaranteed.
San Antonio may not be preparing to part ways with Aldridge, but it would obviously behoove the 34-year-old to stave off any significant dropoff this coming season.
Plus, it should be said that Aldridge has only made one conference finals appearance in his career. While he is certainly a future Hall of Famer and is one of the best frontcourt scorers we have seen over the last decade, there will always be that blemish of playoff shortcomings on Aldridge's resume.
Is it fair? No, but Aldridge will go into every season from here on out with that added pressure as a result.
1. DeMar DeRozan
I'm not sure there was anyone in the league who felt as bad as DeMar DeRozan when the Toronto Raptors won the title.
How Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors may have felt after being beaten by the Raptors? Multiply that by 10, and that's probably how DeRozan felt after seeing his former club finally win a championship a year after ditching him.
DeRozan spent the first nine years of his career in Toronto, making four All-Star appearances but never delivering in the playoffs, to the point where people began calling him “DeFrozen” for his postseason failures.
Now, people look at DeRozan as a net negative (which his stats have generally reflected throughout his career), and there has been some chatter all summer long that the Spurs could look to trade him.
This is a pivotal year for DeRozan to prove that he can, in fact, have a very positive effect on his team.
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