ESPN: Spurs Have Brightest Future

Recently ESPN announced that they believe the Spurs will repeat as NBA champions. And now they also believe that the Spurs have the brightest future in the league. In their updated “Future Power Rankings” Spurs comes on top followed closely by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Future Power Rankings are ESPN Insider's projection of the on-court success expected for each team in the next three seasons. They rate each team in five categories to determine the rankings. The categories are players, management, market, draft and money.

For the first time in Future Power Rankings' five-year history that the Spurs have ranked No. 1. Not surprised at all, they are the defending champions and with everyone returning they have a really good chance to win again. But we are talking about for the next three seasons. The big three is not getting any younger. Both Parker and Ginobili did not play in the current Fiba World cup because of injury. Duncan is 39 years old, probably only has a year or two left. Ginobili is 37 years old. Parker at 32 years old is entering the end of his best years. So why is the Spurs No. 1?

Kevin Pelton explains Why ESPN’s panel moved the Spurs from four to one in these power rankings:

"[Kawhi] Leonard is likely to sign a long-term extension this fall, the Spurs having already locked up point guard Tony Parker through 2017-18 this summer. San Antonio also will have to re-sign starting guard Danny Green, which will cut into the team’s cap flexibility the next two summers.

Still, if there’s any management we trust to manage the future, it’s the Spurs, who earned a perfect score. [Gregg] Popovich is clearly the league’s best coach — he might be as difficult to replace as Duncan when he decides to retire — and GM R.C. Buford earned overdue honors as the league’s Executive of the Year in 2013-14."

It's hard to argue with his statement. But it does all remain to be seen. And I hope he's right. But for now we have to wait for the next three years to answer this question. "Are the Spurs going to be championship favorites for the next three years?"