So close, but yet still so far. That is pretty much how a team who loses in game 7 of the NBA Finals is going to feel. You come within minutes of winning the championship only to wind up seeing the other team raise the trophy in celebration. There are no consolation prizes for coming in 2nd place and the Spurs are feeling that right now. They put together a great season and had an amazing run through the playoffs, pretty much destroying every team that got in their way until the ran into the Heat. The most important question for the Spurs however isn’t about what could of been now that the finals are over, it is more so about where do they go from here with some aging star players. Check out more about it after the jump.

@IamJOE357

When you have some older star players like the Spurs do such as Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, you have to realize you have a very small window of opportunity to get to the Finals and win it all. There is a good chance that both Duncan, who is now 37 years old, and Ginobili who is currently 36 years old, will both be back next season, but at what level will they play? Tony Parker is a veteran now but at age 31 he is still right around his prime, but can he carry a team without high level play from Duncan and Ginobili? That remains to be seen. The Spurs have to feel great about young player Kawhi Leonard and the way he performed all playoffs long. He showed repeatedly that even though he is young and underrated, he was never scared of the big stage and bright lights that come with playoff basketball. The Spurs got contributions from Danny Green and Gary Neal, but neither one of those players are consistent threats. Can the Spurs big 3 put together one more long run through an NBA season? Honestly I just do not see it happening.

To be honest, the Spurs probably should of never been in the NBA Finals. If Russell Westbrook doesn’t hurt his knee in the first round against the Rockets, most likely we would of have a Finals rematch of last year with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Heat. I know this may be a stretch, but who knows how the Spurs first round series with the Lakers would of went if Kobe was able to play. Looking forward to next year, when you consider a fully healthy OKC team they will be the favorite to win the west with Westbrook and Kevin Durant. With recent trade talk, the L.A. Clippers could look like a much improved team, as well as the Lakers might finally gel together like they were expected to this past season and play much better with Dwight Howard and Kobe together. Even the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors will be heavy in the race to finish with high playoff seeds in the west if they keep their teams intact. Now all this is not to say the Spurs can’t get back, because you can never count out a warrior like Duncan who had a great season at age 37, and you can never count out the heart of a champion. But even with mastermind coach Gregg Popovich looking over them it is very hard to see the Spurs putting together anymore playoff runs in the near future. Regardless if you think the Spurs are a “boring” team to watch, if this was their last hoo-rah then as a basketball fan you should feel honored to see what they have done on the court over the last 10 plus seasons.