New players:
Last year Gasol averaged 19-13-5 with 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes playing roughly the minutes San Antonio will ask him to play (32 mpg). Next year is also going to be his 16th season at 36 years of age. That production is actually better than his career averages, but that is partly because the peak of his career was on a stacked Lakers team. IMO, we're looking at a smart basketball player who is going to fit right in, but we're taking a chance that his production doesn't tank.
Also new to the team are combo guard Dejounte Murray, Livio Philippe Jean-Charles (not one, not two, not three, but FOUR first names!), and likely Davis Bertans. I'm assuming we won't get much out of the draft pick until I see differently, but LJC could very well contribute defensively as an extremely athletic combo forward. Bertans is an oversized SF; he doesn't have the bulk to play PF effectively, but he's got a quick release and a nice shot.
That puts our post situation thus:
C: Gasol, ?Duncan?, BOBAN
PF: Aldridge, LJC, (Kawhi)
That's not super deep, but it gives you a clear top 10 offensive center in Gasol and a top 5 PF in Aldridge. You can run conventional PF+C lineups or you can slide Aldridge to the 5 and Kawhi to the 4. It's not the same as running prime Diaw at center, but it's a mobile lineup that can do a credible job defending small ball and punish small ball lineups on the offensive end.
Wings:
SF: Kawhi, Anderson, ?Bertans?, ?Kevin Martin?
SG: Green, Manu, Simmons, Murray
Wing is actually a strength nowadays. It's the best defensive 2-3 in the league, both starters are good three point shooters, and there are a variety of skillsets to bring off the bench. IMO there's not enough depth in the post or speed at SF to try big lineups. Slide Kawhi to the 2 and you have to play almost every post at once so no one is resting; keep Kawhi at the 3 but bring in Anderson or Bertans and the lineup gets awfully slow.
Point:
Parker, Mills, (Murray)
Parker is a caretaker at this point. He still shows flashes, but the consistent playoff caliber burst to the rim is behind him. Still, he can feed the post, work the pick and roll, and spot up in the corner. With scorers like Aldridge, Leonard, and Gasol, that should be enough. I'm sure we'll see Murray work with the second team but I doubt he'll get any run in the playoffs.
I've listed 14 players counting Duncan and Bertans but not Martin. Duncan is probably <50% to come back (
), bringing it to 13. Any new Euros (LJC, ?Bertans?, ?Hanga?) will undoubtedly do the I35 Shuffle. The biggest needs are a top flight PG (unattainable) or a young mauler at center (likely unattainable). At this point, they'll probably take one more, the best talent they can find regardless of position. It would be nice to have another PF/C as injury insurance or a slasher at PG.