Determining which Western Conference teams are worth rooting for

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesOne of the reasons we all enjoyed the Beautiful Game Spurs teams was their continuity. The Big Three were “our guys” — drafted by the Spurs, grew up with the Spurs, succeeded (and failed) as Spurs, retired as Spurs (ignoring Tony Parker’s brief stay with Charlotte, which I contend never actually happened). And the Big Three took over for the classic Spurs Legacy player, David Robinson.

Of course, Kawhi Leonard grew up with the organization and was well on his way to becoming a Legacy Spur until he wasn’t — which made his departure so infuriating to Spurs fans. Other key players may not have been drafted by the Spurs, but they had been cut loose by prior teams,…