**** Spurs offseason thread ****

150,885 Views | 1430 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by Obi Wan Ginobili
Ulrich
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Yeah, but you are about to move to SA. You should probably stay away from the Dominion just to be safe.
BigBrother
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AG
Miss me yet?

Ulrich
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At the end of the day, the doctors are going to say whether it's a good idea to move Splitter and Parker.

If they can come back healthy, then the Spurs go right back to being the best team in the league. What they bring to the team in skill-set, intangibles, and corporate knowledge can not be replaced, and especially not by a no-defense chucker and a guy who was a really good defender several years ago. We're not talking about guys who had average careers; Parker might have had a statistical downward trend, but he still garnered a number of MVP votes as recently as last year. Splitter has been a starter for the best team in the league over the last three years. Why you would want to trade that straight up for two starters at the same positions from a much crappier team I don't know. You're not even making a trade for young guys; Chandler/Ellis have played a combined 54,000 NBA minutes.

HOWEVER, if TP or Splitter are legitimately done, then almost any trade is worth it. Parker especially has a crapload of miles on the odometer. Hopefully a long offseason (for once) will do the trick, but if it doesn't then the Spurs need another source of scoring.



Guys like Splitter and Green are underappreciated. That's the way it is. They do so much for the team, but uneducated basketball fans don't know what to look for. The Spurs aren't incredible year in and year out JUST because of Duncan and Parker and now Kawhi. I get that national broadcasters won't always get it and fans of other teams won't get it, but it irritates me when Spurs fans don't. It's right there in front of you every night. Those "little things" aren't magically bestowed upon every random guy the Spurs bring in off the street. Few players have the basketball intelligence of a Green or Splitter, and of those players not all of them are willing to put in the unsung work in the offseason and on the court to capitalize on it. The Spurs only try out guys that they think have the right attitude and skills, and most of them still wash out within a few days.

Just try to watch a regular season game between the Raptors and Kings. It's painful.
Ulrich
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vote it down
BigBrother
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quote:
Guys like Splitter and Green are underappreciated. That's the way it is. They do so much for the team, but uneducated basketball fans don't know what to look for. The Spurs aren't incredible year in and year out JUST because of Duncan and Parker and now Kawhi. I get that national broadcasters won't always get it and fans of other teams won't get it, but it irritates me when Spurs fans don't. It's right there in front of you every night. Those "little things" aren't magically bestowed upon every random guy the Spurs bring in off the street. Few players have the basketball intelligence of a Green or Splitter, and of those players not all of them are willing to put in the unsung work in the offseason
and on the court to capitalize on it. The Spurs only try out guys that they think have the right attitude and skills, and most of them still wash out within a few days.
I agree with this, but I will say that Pop's closet "disciple" managed to get the Hawks playing this way in two seasons of continuity as a brand new coach. I definitely hope we hang on to Green.

Honestly, even though GS told me he'd cost 20 mill/per I still want DJ if we could somehow work it out. I envision a twin towers defense that would bring symmetry to how Timmy came into the league.
MookieBlaylock
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AG
Pop ha 3 chances to draft Jordan

He doesn't fit the spurs
The idiot that wants to trade Parker and Tobago for Ellis and
Chandler good Lord
GatorAg03
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I imagine I have played basketball at a higher level than 90% of this board and am extremely knowledgeable about the game, but I'm sure I'm the idiot. I'll likely even get into coaching later on here in life. I was also called an idiot when I said the pelicans lost cost us our chance to repeat. Well lack of HCA was definitely the difference in an ultra close series vs the Clips.

Us Spurs fans are the ultimate homers but for good reason. The loyalty and consistency has been key to making them great. With that said, Green and Splitter are greatly over hyped on this board. Both are role players with good attitudes, but far from elite. To bring both back we will likely have 20 million plus tied up between the two of them. That is far from a bargain and would greatly limit our ability to address the PG and post deficiencies we had this season.

Again, my Ellis trade proposal is predicated on TP being on the decline as we witnessed this postseason. If that is not true then obviously keep him and in theory he returns to being a good PG for the next 3 years. That's a huge risk though as he is due 45 million over the next three year, has a ton of minutes and never seems healthy come postseason. If he struggles again next year then he will basically be untradeable and his salary would be a huge burden. We will be stuck with a slowand old PG in 3 of KLs prime years and the last days of Tim Duncan.

There just isn't much out there to address the PG position which is why I proposed giving someone attainable like Ellis a look. Obviously we go after an elite FA first (LA or Gasol), but what most here seem to not realize or accept is that if we bring back Parker, Splitter, Green, Leonard and Duncan then we will have zero ability to pay to upgrade any position and are just trying again with the same old crew. That lineup pretty darn good if healthy, but I think there is a reason the Spurs FO structured this year to be the year of mass free agency. I would expect some real changes regardless of how great and irreplaceable we as Spurs fans tell ourselves our role players are.

Plus GSW, Atlanta, etc are all running similar schemes and using the Spurs model with success. I'm quite sure Pop can find and mold other players to buy in and do the little things.
tbirdspur2010
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Yeah, but you are about to move to SA. You should probably stay away from the Dominion just to be safe.


Touche! Lmao
Natasha Romanoff
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quote:
Well lack of HCA was definitely the difference in an ultra close series vs the Clips.
Really? When the home team had a losing record in the series? We didn't play great at home when we got the chance save for 1 game, and the refs were't any more favorable to us at home than away.

I'll reiterate what I said that night: this Spurs team wasn't repeating with a banged up Splitter and Parker no matter if we were the 2 seed or the 8 seed.
GatorAg03
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Absolutely HCA was the difference. The Clips went 2-2 at home. The Spurs only getting 3 chances at home went 1-2. I have complete faith that if the Spurs had HCA they would have gone at least 2-2 as did the Clips. This series was as even as it gets, HCA was absolutely the difference. It is laughable that you refuse to even consider that.

Not to mention it is a whole different playoffs if we beat the cans and are the 2 seed. It is hilarious that you act like there would have been no difference between the 6 seed on the road vs the clips and the 2 seed at home vs the mavs. The Mavs series would have given Parker and Splitter a ton of extra time to rest/heal up and we again would have had HCA in round 2.
tbirdspur2010
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While I do think that getting the 2nd seed would've been more favorable, I can't think of a series the Spurs have played recently where HCA mattered less. Each time had one blowout win on their home court. Other than that, they both traded monstrous road wins. People put too much emphasis on HCA as it is, but when teams are as evenly matched as SA/LAC, there really was no tangible advantage.

There were many factors why SA was eliminated. HCA? Not one of them.
Natasha Romanoff
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1) I didn't pretend that the first round would not have been different. That's you inferring, incorrectly, from what I wrote.

2) Whatever you want to tell yourself. But after watching them starting in December through now, this team wasn't repeating this year. They were less focused, more banged up, and a year older than their competition.
GatorAg03
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They wouldn't even be playing the Clips if we had HCA. That apparently is the big one that is being overlooked.\

The Clips were likely the worst matchup the Spurs could have had this playoffs and we get them in round 1 on the road. Yes, HCA mattered tremendously and is the reason the Spurs are fishing and not still playing.
GatorAg03
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You sure as hell weren't saying the Spurs chances to repeat were gone, when you were ripping on me for saying the Cans loss would keep the Spurs from having a shot at repeating (which it did). That's some revisionist history there.

I think the Spurs would have had a better than even chance of repeating as the 2 seed. That number dropped to less than 25% when they dropped to the 6 and lost HCA.

The Clips were likely the worst matchup for the Spurs due to their strengths (PG and Post play) being our biggest weakness (Parker and Splitter). No other team in the playoffs have those same advantages except perhaps the Griz and they are nowhere near the prolific offensive team that the Clips are.

It amazes me that you went from calling me an idiot for saying the Cans loss and losing HCA was going to keep us from repeating, to now saying the Spurs had no chance of repeating since they were less focused and a year older and acting like losing the 2 seed and losing HCA had no bearing on our first round exit.
Natasha Romanoff
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No. I said that THAT PARTICULAR LOSS did not end our chances of repeating. I said that this team most likely wasn't repeating once we knew that Splitter and TP were banged up, regardless of playoff seeding. I am still beating that drum today. Hell, blame the Knicks loss, or the Cavs loss, or the losing streak on the RRT - all much more winnable games than that Pelicans loss - or whatever if you truly believe HCA was the MAIN reason we won't be playing for the championship...the theme all year has been: injuries and lack of focus. And guess what? That bit us in the ass again in this series.

I've been consistent, all season, that the most important thing in the playoffs will be the health of every player on our team. Not HCA. So, no, you're incorrect again.
Kramer
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Tony is playing for France in September
GatorAg03
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That's not what you have said until today. Show me one post were you definitively said that the Spurs weren't going to repeat. Plus Splitter and Parker were healthy enough to play the entire series. There is a huge debate, especially on Parker, on if he is injured or just old and injury prone.

Saying some obscure reference to being healthy come playoff time says nothing. That is true about every team in the playoffs and has been true of the Spurs every year.
Natasha Romanoff
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Here are my posts from that game, since you seem to care enough to bring them back up:

quote:
You do tend to jump to dramatic implications on various sporting topics. This game is important, but let's not act like we have the same stuff on the line as NO. HCA is vital, but it's not like fighting for your playoffs life.
quote:
Because stating that title hopes go down the drain during a regular season game isn't a dramatic conclusion. Nope. Not at all.
quote:
This is the quote everyone is referring to. If you had said "this makes it harder to repeat" probably no one gripes. But definitive negative statements really have no place as a Spurs fan. Did I think we were going to repeat at the beginning of the season? The middle? Now? The answer is no for all three, but to act like this team right now is the same as before the all star break is blind pessimism. If you want to be miserable as a sports fan, that's your prerogative, and as an A&M fan I understand. But the Spurs are a team that always has a chance to win and surprise you, so, yeah, I don't see the point for the dramatic, definitive statement above.

Look, if you want to be miserable when it comes to Aggie sports, fine, but it seems pretty silly to get down on a team that has brought 5 championships to a small market and moved up (and now back down) to the 2 seed in the last 3 weeks of the season. They have the ability to win it all. Should be interesting to see if they play up to that.
I bolded that just in case you missed the point. At the time, I was more optimistic regarding Splitter's health, hence the next sentence. But I was never convinced this particular team was winning the 'ship this year.
quote:
And I don't see how a loss in the regular season against a team with a lot more to play for all of a sudden drastically changes your opinion on the Spurs winning the championship. The teams in the WC haven't changed. They are all good and good on the road. Winning road games is a fact of life for an NBA champion.

Does it hurt? Yes. Is it the nail in the coffin? No. That's either not going to come or is coming from one of the many capable teams in our conference. And that was always the case.


On an unrelated note, I think we've seen how important a healthy Tiago and a Kawhi who plays out of his mind is for us to repeat. Without those two at a high level, we aren't as dangerous.

I could go back earlier in that thread and show my posts stating that: HCA is important, but not as important as a healthy team, but I have no idea exactly when all of those were posted.

So no, I was never thinking that Pelicans game is the game that did us in, because I always thought we were fighting from behind the whole time. The teams in the West didn't change. The personality of this team didn't change. And the health of key players actually was worse than I thought.
GatorAg03
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Tony is playing for France in September
That is terrible news if he decides to do that. I would move him for sure if this is the case.
GatorAg03
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Ok, I'll give you credit for never believing the Spurs could win the championship based on your post, although it sure would have been nice to see a post stating that before we fell from a 2 to a 6 seed and lost HCA.

I actually thought they could repeat until the Cans game, but I guess I am the miserable sports fans though for thinking they had a chance until that game.

I still think the Spurs chances were greater than even to repeat if we had the two seed, which is why the Cans game was so critical. The Clips with HCA was just a terrible matchup for the Spurs.
tbirdspur2010
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Honestly I never thought we had the fire/focus to repeat (and my posts on THE SEC Rant bear that out). The 2014 squad was just in another zone mentally that few title teams ever reach.

We had the talent this year, and maybe had seeding fallen differently would have advanced further, but that's it imo.
Sher Thing
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Spurs needed a lot of things to go their way to repeat. Clearly had a very tough regular season injury/scheduling wise which ultimately is the number one thing that did them in. Easy to sit here right now and say "see! I told you we were going to lose!". There was not much left in the tank after the last three years.

Regarding the Monta Ellis thing, you are also proposing he sign a 3 yr/12M contract. Not happening. First off, he has a player option for 9M this year and if he ends up turning that down it will be because he clearly wants another long term deal (4+ years).

Sher Thing
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Also wouldn't surprise me if he got a similar money to what he's been getting recently given the new CBA/Salary Cap numbers.
Sher Thing
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Latest Manu Article:

quote:
"I Haven't processed the retirement decision yet"

SAN ANTONIO.- The first 48 hours are normally complicated, but afterwards you start to digest what happened and you gain tranquility. The whole body starts to free up tension and you can sleep better. Now I can analyze that we didn't play very well. We had a couple of very good games, but the thing is we played against an amazing team and a team that normally give us trouble. It was an incredibly even series, could've gone either way and they won. It's disappointing, because you always have great expectations, and because even though we finished sixth in the conference, I thought we had good chances. We didn't feel any other team was a lot better than us, and I think the series against the Clippers has shown that. We just beat houston twice; if we would've moved on, if Golden State was in our path, we're a team that plays them well... I'm not saying we were a lock to the Finals, but we certainly had a shot to put up a good fight. Sometimes this stuff happens and when it happens it's better than it happens now, and not June 20 in game 7 of the Finals. It hurt less in that sense.

I forbade my wife to watch any games, at least until I'm done processing the loss. I don't want to watch, still hurts if I do. I don't know if it's a bit of arrogance, or ego(?). It's difficult not seeing us out there playing, we're always confident, and thinks we should've had an opportunity to continue. That's why until that goes away a bit, I rather isolate myself a bit. After a very long season, video after video, I just say "stop, time to free up my mind a bit". I haven't watched anything, just only saw the scores.

I know some of you are wondering what's going to happen with my career. I'm honestly flattered by all the nice words recognizing my work and all the affection I received. Even though I'm not somebody that reads a lot, I've seen nice comments that make me feel good. They say I should play another year, that I can still contribute... but it's not that, it's beyond whether I can or not. It's just how you feel, or how hard you feel every time you have to put together your little bag to go to each city, or play five games in a week. Or play 85 games in 165 days. So it's a moment of uncertainty.

There are times when I look back at the season, and I say, of course I can play some more and there are other moments where I don't want to see a basketball nearby. I'm going to wait out this month and see how I feel. If I feel like a former player or not. If I start missing the game or how does my body responds. It's a unique moment, I've never been in this situation. I thought about it very superficially in 2013, but after a week or 10 days I knew I wanted to take on another challenge and that was not the moment. Now we'll see, maybe the same thing will happen or maybe it will be harder and I'll have to wait more time. So, I'll take it easy and see what I do, because these are decision you don't want to rush.

Right now I don't think there's a correct decision, either way. You never know if it's a good decision or not. Because it's a very particular situation and nobody can tell you what to do. Because yes, there's a ton of former players that went through this moment and so on, but every player has it's own experience, with different moments, different physical realities, different team situations. To stop doing what you did 100% of your adult life up to this point is a unique moment, which gives you a lot of uncertainty. I'm sure I haven't processed the retirement decision yet, because I still have my doubts, and because sometimes I think it's time and sometimes I don't. I remember when it was time for my brother, Sepo, he was 39 years old, he started the season, and then he realized he couldn't face it, he had thought about it. I definitely have a lot more doubts, although I'm generally a person to think more about situations and things. That's why I want to give myself some time.

Pop told us that he wanted Tim and me back next season. They're words that makes things more difficult to me. The reality is that if the franchise would've said they didn't want me or that it was time to rebuild and they wanted a younger team, they would've made my decision a lot easier. It's possible it would've hurt a bit, since even though one is at the edge of the precipice, you want to fall on your own, not to be pushed out. So it would've hurt a bit but it would've made the decision a bit easier. But it was the other way around, those words help you emotionally, with your confidence and you feel it, but I'm not at a time where I need the job. It's not about continuing because they want me, but it's time to define if I really feel like doing the job and getting fully involved in it again.

In the team exit meeting I had a couple of very nice conversations with Pop and Tim, because we're the guys that are in this somewhat particular situation, although Pop made clear with what he said what his idea is. And well... we talked with Tim a bit about the possibilities and we're like in the same wavelength about waiting a little bit. We need some time, see what happens, how we feel and what our families say. Our bodies are not the same, even though in his case you can hardly tell. But there's thoughts running through our heads.

Today it's time to be 100% with family. Many said that I have to make the decision and she'll support me in anything I choose. She's fine with whatever I want to do. So she made it a bit more complicated for me, I thought it was going to be more of a team decision. So I'll debate what to do as the days go by and I'll throw some ideas out there... and see what sticks. She'll be happy with whatever I choose if it makes me happy.

I don't think San Antonio is going to take a huge hit if we don't come back. If they were preparing a full rebuild.... that Pop goes away and some other coach comes in, Tim retires, Tony doesn't play anymore. That's where the situation would change a lot. I understand it's time to change things on the team, or the look of the team, and that's understandable. But if Pop continues and Tim can continue, everything is different. Because we would need less of a compromise with our teammates and everything. I suppose we're going to have to talk to Tim a bit, who looks to be on the same edge I am. We'll see where the wind blows.
tbirdspur2010
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AG
I love reading Manu's articles.

Gonna miss #20 terribly if and when he hangs 'em up.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Would we have beaten the Mavs? Yes. Would we have beaten the Clippers if we had HCA? Doubtful.

Homecourt made little to no difference in that series. It's not accurate to say we lost because of HCA.
Brian Earl Spilner
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AG
Also, you have to stfu already Gator. Nobody cares that you think you were proven right. We lost, time to move on.
Chipotlemonger
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quote:
Tony is playing for France in September


Boo.

Also, Natasha and Gator, it's okay people. Simmer down.
Brian Earl Spilner
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AG
That's a great article. Do you have a link to the source?
Natasha Romanoff
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quote:
quote:
Tony is playing for France in September


Boo.

Also, Natasha and Gator, it's okay people. Simmer down.


I'm not really upset about the loss. I feel like if they had to get beat, that that game 7 wasn't a terrible way to go out. I don't enjoy being called a liar when I know what I've said, that's about it.

Plus it was easy to find my pelican game comments
GatorAg03
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HCA and the 6 seed made a huge difference in the Spurs chances. Look at the Vegas odds or ask any coach in the NBA and they would tell you same.

It is funny that the smart fans are apparently the ones that thought the Spurs had no shot all along, that HCA and playing the Clips had no bearing and that the Spurs would lose regardless. Y'all are sensitive bunch for sure. I haven't made a single personal attack but have been called a miserable fan, an idiot and told to STFU for stating my opinion.

I am one of the few discussing actual basketball, what the Spurs could do this offseason to improve. To add relevance to it I imagine I am one of the few with actual basketball playing experience at a high level, so yea I do think I have a background and perspective that is different from the average internet fan.

I have no problem taking a few of your advice though and will STFU and stop posting now. Gig'em and Go Spurs Go
tbirdspur2010
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Calm your shrill ass down. You're not the only one discussing actual basketball--you just can't deal with the fact that others don't hold the importance of HCA in this particular playoffs against this particular opponent in as high a regard as yourself. And in that vein, you come off as the sensitive one, not someone grounded in their perspective, tbh.

I've not told you to stfu, but I do wish you'd move on from this inane line of discussion, as it's clear you have some personal hangups. We all cope with the end of the season in different ways, but this is a little silly on your part, tbh.
Guitarsoup
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quote:
To add relevance to it I imagine I am one of the few with actual basketball playing experience at a high level, so yea I do think I have a background and perspective that is different from the average internet fan.


So did Isiah Thomas. How well did that translate into him having great ideas on how to run a team?

I personally know people that do/did post on here that played for A&M. Doesn't make their opinion any more valid than Ulrich's.
Brian Earl Spilner
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The basketball talk is great. What's annoying is you saying HCA was the difference in the loss to the Clippers, when the evidence suggests it wasn't.

But you said we had NO chance at winning it all as the 6th seed, and clearly you just want to be proven right, regardless of the circumstances.

The bottom line is, if everyone had been healthy, I like our chances to have won the Clippers series (and the ship), HCA or not.

Also, I apologize for the stfu comment if it offended you that much.
Natasha Romanoff
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Honestly, no one cares if you have high level basketball experience, especially if you're just trotting it out there And expecting it to somehow prove your points.
 
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