San Antonio Spurs: Tank or not, the future is bright

For 22 years, the San Antonio Spurs were the face of consistency in the NBA. With Coach Gregg Popovich at the helm and The Big Three on the court, they became one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of the NBA.

For those long 22 years, the team always had one goal in mind: An NBA championship. The team and its fans became accustomed to the greatness that the organization had become known for. But now, with the days of Duncan gone, DeMar DeRozan likely finding a new home this offseason, and one year left on Pops contract, the Spurs are left without one true direction.

The most obvious move for a team in the Spurs situation is to do what seems easiest -- tank. With a future as bright as the Spurs' future seems to be, tanking shouldn't be too scary of an idea. But in the case of the Spurs, there are a few glaring issues. The most prevalent of these issues is Coach Gregg Popovich.

Coach Popovich is widely considered one of the greatest coaches to ever grace the sidelines and arguably the greatest ever. With that being said, losing has not exactly been a common occurrence throughout his coaching career.

Since next season could possibly be the final of Pop's illustrious career, would it really be fitting for the third coach in history to hit the 1300-win mark to go out tanking? The obvious answer to this is no, but this is where the lack of direction and identity is accentuated.

With a coach that great, you never want to tank, but with a young roster and the potential lack of a true star, where else can the team go?

Would tanking really make a difference for the San Antonio Spurs?

The answer to this question is very complex. The team could go many ways, although some may be more favorable than others. San Antonio has developed itself into one of the best franchises in all of sports and is unlikely to lose this title anytime soon.

Although the Spurs may seem stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment, there is much silver lining among what seems to be a demoralizing situation.

On the Spurs roster, there are only three players over the age of 30 years old. This means, at its core, the team is centered around young and developing players that still have much of their best basketball to come.

So despite all the uncertainty that the future of the organization holds, it is very likely that we have just seen the tip of the iceberg, and much of this team's best basketball is yet to come.