The NBA season is still in progress, thanks to Cleveland's victory over Golden State on Friday that prolonged the NBA Finals to a fifth game.

The Spurs have been cooling their heels since May 22, when those same dominant Warriors dumped them from the postseason as well. Star forward Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, has been cooling his ankle since the May 14 sprain that ended his season.

In the time since the ouster, Spurs fans have filled their heads with visions of what comes next in the quest to unseat the Warriors once NBA free agency opens for business July 1.

Could the Spurs add Chris Paul? Could a George Hill homecoming be in the offing? Is there some other needle-moving free agent who might find his way to San Antonio?

There is no shortage of potential scenarios, so long as one does not let a pesky thing like reality get in the way.

Let's indulge a few, for entertainment purposes only:

The Chris Paul Conundrum

The hottest of hot stove topics in San Antonio, since even before the final buzzer sounded against Golden State, involves Paul's potential – if unlikely -- defection to the Alamo City.

The Spurs are considered a strong contender to pitch the nine-time All-Star, should Paul opt to leave the Los Angeles Clippers this summer. Paul is reportedly intrigued by the thought of joining the Spurs.

It seems like a match made in hoops heaven, arguably the world's best point guard – even at age 32 -- joining forces with Gregg Popovich, the world's best coach.

What could keep it from happening? To quote the words to an old ABBA song: "Money, money, money."

Paul would have to leave a total of $53 million on the table just to leave L.A. in the first place.

The Spurs, meanwhile, would face painful cost-cutting measures simply to make room for the maximum $35.7 million they could pay Paul next season.

The cap gymnastics general R.C. Buford and his team would have to perform are complicated. They would almost certainly begin with Pau Gasol opting out of the $16.2 million remaining on his deal (not likely) or being traded, injured franchise cornerstone Tony Parker retiring or being waived, and the Spurs letting free-agents-to-be Patty Mills, Jonathon Simmons and Dewayne Dedmon walk.

There could also be tough decisions to make involving Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and David Lee.

That's quite a bit of potential roster upheaval for a team that prioritizes "corporate knowledge" over almost all else.

The Clippers remain the favorites to retain Paul, especially given the financial advantages they have to keep him.

Still, the prospect of forging an All-Star alliance between Leonard, Paul and LaMarcus Aldridge to take a run at the star-studded Warriors might be too alluring for the Spurs to ignore.

Expect the Spurs to explore their options in regards to Paul this summer. Expect Paul to return their interest in kind before re-upping with the Clippers.

The Hill homecoming

It has been six years since the Spurs sent up-and-coming backup point guard George Hill to Indiana in exchange for the draft rights to a cornrowed kid from San Diego State named Kawhi Leonard.

The trade clearly worked for the Spurs, who in Leonard uncovered an unexpected franchise player for years to come.

Hill, in the meantime, developed if a solid – if not quite spectacular – NBA point guard.

Hill, now 31, is set to become a free agent this offseason. Could a return to San Antonio be in the cards for a player Popovich once dubbed one of his favorites?

It makes a modicum of sense, given the hole Parker's devastating knee injury has created atop the Spurs' depth chart at point guard.

Hill played well in his first season in Utah, a key reason the Jazz were able to not only break into the Western Conference playoff field but finish in a tie with the Clippers for fourth.

The Jazz have made no secret about their intention to bring Hill back, and Hill has made no secret of his desire to return to Salt Lake – though he did turn down an extension during the season worth $88.3 million.

According to reports, Hill will seek a maximum contract or something close to it in free agency, which would force the Spurs to undergo the same sort of salary cap machinations mentioned above to carve room for him.

The Spurs might consider making over their roster for a star player like Paul. It seems like overkill for a not-quite star like Hill.

The Rose by another name

The Spurs clearly have questions to answer at point guard in light of Parker's injury.

If they don't shore up the position this summer, they will probably begin the 2017-18 season with 21-year-old Dejounte Murray running the show.

It isn't a terrible option. Murray is the team's undisputed point guard of the future, boasts an explosive set of skills and mostly performed well when thrust into the playoff pressure cooker after Parker went down.

There is also an argument for signing a low-cost veteran to ease Murray's transition to full-time starter.

That's where a player like Derrick Rose might enter the picture.

Once upon a time, the words "Derrick Rose" and "low-cost veteran" wouldn't have appeared in the same sentence.

He was the NBA's MVP in 2011, before a spate of knee injury derailed his All-Star career with Chicago.

The torn meniscus Rose suffered in his left knee while playing with New York in April was his fifth major knee injury since 2012.

Given such pre-existing conditions, Rose is clearly a risk.

Still, Rose is only 28 and did average 18 points for the Knicks last season before going down. If the Spurs could convince him to work cheap, he might become next season's version of David West or David Lee – long-in-the-tooth veterans who took short money to resurrect their careers in San Antonio.

The other Paul

The Warriors and Cavs are embroiled in a Finals series that includes seven All-Stars.

The Spurs just finished a season in which they boasted one (Leonard), though Aldridge remains in the ballpark.

Stockpiling stars seems to be the order of the day for teams that fancy themselves a title contender.

If the Spurs fail to land Paul, perhaps there's another 32-year-old All-Star with a similar name who might wind up on their radar.

Paul Millsap opted out of $21.4 million in Atlanta to become a free agent, and will be the top power forward on the market this summer.

The process for creating cap space for Millsap is basically identical to the work required to fit Paul, so the same caveats apply.

It would probably be cost-prohibitive, but the idea of a Leonard-Millsap-Aldridge frontcourt is not without its appeal.

The 2018 plan

It doesn't take a math whiz or a salary cap-ologist to conclude all this should be easier next summer.

As of now, the Spurs only have four players totaling $52 million on the books for 2018-19, and that's if Aldridge and Green exercise player options.

The Spurs could have something like $40 million in cap space to play with in July 2018, when the free agent class could include the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, DeAndre Jordan and – since we're getting nutty – LeBron James.

The Spurs' best tack for this offseason might be to work to preserve that cap space to come, while still remaining competitive in 2017-18.

No sense mortgaging the future for a short-term patch, in other words.

That means running back the bulk of a team that won 61 games last season and had Golden State down by 25 points in the second half of Game 1 before Leonard went down, and filling in roster blanks with inexpensive veterans.

Adding a sharpshooter like Kyle Korver or a bench wing defender like Thabo Sefolosha won't strike immediate fear in the Bay Area, but those players will be available for cheap, allowing the Spurs to improve the roster while keeping their powder dry to hook a bigger fish in 2018.

It's not the sexiest approach to an NBA offseason, but it might wind up being the correct one for this Spurs team.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN