Knicks created a Spurs dilemma San Antonio clearly never saw coming

After a crushing NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a spot they probably never expected to be in. They made the NBA Finals in their first playoff run with this current roster, making the 2025-26 season a massive success.

Unfortunately, it ended in awful fashion, leaving the Spurs to figure out how to respond this summer. The most likely roster move, at least among Spurs fans, is to trade De'Aaron Fox, though that doesn't seem entirely realistic.

Fox's disastrous NBA Finals performance forced many fans to come to grips with the fact that he simply may not be a max-level player. Many hoped that he would at least be a great player on a bad contract, but instead he played like a bad player on an awful deal.

The Spurs can't overreact following their NBA Finals loss

Keeping Fox isn't what most Spurs fans want, but it's probably a smart move. After all, trading him after that NBA Finals performance would likely cost them at least two, possibly three first-round picks.

Instead, the Spurs should work to maximize his strengths in the hopes that he can still be a crucial piece going forward. He probably isn't going to average 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists like he did during his peak Sacramento Kings days.

Nor is he likely to average 12.8 points like he did during the NBA Finals. That leaves a lot of middle ground for the Spurs to work with.

Aside from Fox, they have some other decisions to make. They are unlikely to bring back players such as Harrison Barnes and Kelly Olynyk but still need to beef up their power forward and center rotation.

The best way to do that is to re-sign Julian Champagnie, give Carter Bryant a bigger role, and possibly draft a power forward with the 20th pick in this year's draft.

The Spurs could be far better with minimal roster changes this summer

San Antonio definitely needs a bigger power forward instead of having to play Keldon Johnson at the four. Fortunately, they could use their mid-level exception to add one as well as possibly add a center to play behind Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet.

Adding both would help the Spurs improve upon an already strong season. Nevertheless, the bulk of their improvement must come from Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper.

Wembanyama upped his game in the NBA Playoffs and played big minutes too. Meanwhile, Castle showed terrific playmaking and improved shooting over the course of the season.

If he can rein in his turnovers and careless fouls and continue to knock down threes and pull-ups, then he could be an all-star next season.

As for Harper, he was the third-best player in the NBA Finals behind Jalen Brunson and Wembanyama. That is extraordinary for a 20-year-old and proves his ceiling may be second to only Wembanyama on the Spurs.

The development of those three players would trump any trade the Spurs could make. All they have to do this summer is make minimal changes, which will be easier said than done after being beaten by the Knicks.

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