Spurs acquire Kevin Love & Buddy Hield, sign Otto Porter & Matthew Dellavedova as roster takes shape.

Kevin Love is officially a Spur, as San Antonio reluctantly parts ways with Alex Caruso & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which leaves them a bit short in the backcourt, despite signing spunky defender Matthew Dellavedova to assume Caruso's backup point guard duties. "Delly" will now don #8 like fellow Aussie, Patty Mills, once wore for the silver-and-black squad.

Love has had a rough time since LeBron James left Cleveland, falling out of the rotation due to various injury concerns, but the Spurs are hoping to reignite that championship fire inside of Love, whose rebounding and perimeter scoring will give Drummond some help down low. It also allows Brandon Ingram to slide down to the SF position, if needed. The Spurs intend to use Love primarily at the backup five spot, freeing them up to experiment with lineup possibilities. With Love's injury concerns, the Spurs plan to set his minutes at 25 per game.

Going to Sacramento is Evan Fournier, as the Spurs bid adieu to the French marskman in their effort to land its biggest fish of the summer. Off a 52% 3PT season, Fournier will be sure to exact some revenge on the Spurs as he showed flashes of Manu Ginobili during his two-year stint here. 

Meanwhile, in exchange for Buddy Hield, the Spurs have parted with sophomore Devin Vassell and rookie selection, Josh Primo, with some draft picks to acquire the sharpshooter. The Spurs lose some height in acquiring Hield for Fournier, but Hield is a deadly spot-up off-ball marskman who should benefit from San Antonio's trusted playmakers and Coach Popovich's elaborate offense. Pairing Buddy with Freddie V in the starting lineup will ensure that San Antonio has two deadly snipers, much like last year.

Otto Porter "took the money and ran" on a max salary contract years ago, with injury history spoiling it thereafter, but the Spurs are confident the worst is behind him. San Antonio has agreed to terms with Porter, Jr, via its mid-level exception on a three-year contract worth 30.15 million.

Otto is a natural scorer and a career 40% 3PT marksman, whose scoring ability and pretty fadeaway jumper, along with a pure perimeter touch and veteran presence, was much-needed. Porter's height also helps matters, as he has proven to be a solid wing defender during his stints in Washington, Chicago & Orlando, an ideal 6'8" sixth-man to have.

In other league news, the Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off a third loss to the Spurs in the NBA Finals in recent memory, have traded Tobias Harris. Trader's remorse set in for the Sixers, who reacquired Joel Embiid from the Rockets to pair alongside the deadly James Harden. Both players have scored 40+ in the Finals against the Spurs, and the 76ers are definitely eyeing a 4th meeting this year. The young Rockets were happy to say yes on Simmons, who still has a long career ahead of him.

Philly will now get to see the alternate future, if only two seasons later, had they kept Embiid originally whilst acquiring Harden. The 76ers are eager to see the classic center/guard duo go to work. The last time Embiid faced off against the Spurs, it was a historical double-overtime clash and the big man had 40 points & 25 rebounds with 3 blocks.

The Lakers have also made a move to nab Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, along with a bevy of savvy veterans to hopefully capture that elusive western conference title from the Spurs.

The Lakers are hoping that Westbrook's playmaking and passionate athleticism will pair nicely with Anthony Davis & LeBron James. The King is still recovering from a dislocated shoulder that James suffered in the series-ending loss during the Western Conference Finals last season against the Spurs.

The Riverwalk timlessly tied to a basketball team sublime, dominating in ever-changing form.

Now the winning-est franchise in professional basketball's record books, the San Antonio Spurs have once again put a fresh coat of paint onto the wheels of winning. As the league's greatest strategic minds continue to amp up the caliber of foes, the Spurs have made some anticipatory decisions. Although the star trio of Dejounte Murray, Brandon Ingram & Andre Drummond was met with turbulence during last year's title run, Coach Popovich & R.C. Buford have opted to change the periphery mixture and see if it eases the egotistical tension.

With a fond farewell to P.J. Tucker, who had one heck of a sendoff year, the Spurs prioritized a suitable bench replacement in Paul "The Anchorman" Millsap. The 35 year-old veteran, a former 4x All*Star & all-NBA defensive player is joining San Antone on a 2 year deal by way of its bi-annual exception, which was last used on Alex Caruso two seasons ago. They look forward to his locker room presence, steady defensive effort and scoring ability, much akin to that of Tucker. Millsap spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz, before playing with the Hawks & Nuggets, as he joins the Spurs on a 7.65m pact.

Speaking of Caruso, the reliable back-up point guard will be sticking around. The Spurs used his Early Bird Rights to secure his services--spunky defensive effort and calming presence under pressure--that amount to a 175% raise, as Caruso will earn roughly 10.5m per year on a 3-Year deal.

Caruso showed promise while Murray rested throughout the year, which included an elbow injury, and though his shooting could improve, Alex's defensive hustle and driving ability can't be lost, as the Texas A&M alum will have plenty more time to improve from long range with San Antonio.

Letting go of Austin Rivers, Rodions Kurucs, Jabari Parker and Skal Labissiere, the Spurs had to restock its bench with promising talent: the first was Brandon Clarke, acquired from the Grizzlies, who surprisingly took the Spurs to a seven-game series last year, for draft picks and Marc Gasol.

Clarke is a gutsy young stud with a killer vertical and knack for breaking up passing lanes and running from rim to rim. Coach Pop & Buford were impressed by Clarke's sixth-man impact on the game we love, so much so that they just had to nab him.

In this year's draft, the Spurs took big-man Charles Bassey, two-time Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Bassey has potential to be a quality rim runner and protector, especially under the tutelage of Andre Drummond & Kevin Love, who will each offer veteran knowledge to him.