As for the age argument....the Spurs are about as young as they have been since the pre-Duncan era.
Yes, their big guns are on the wrong side of thirty, namely Parker, Manu, and Gasol.
Everybody else is in their prime years or under it. They got a huge value contract on Gay if he can stay healthy, Aldridge is still in perfectly good shape as a bigman at 32, and everybody else on the roster is like 26 or under.
They've bolstered the youth movement with guys like Murray, Anderson, Bertans, Forbes, and Paul.
If the Spurs had let Manu and Gasol walk, suddenly everyone would be saying they are too "young and inexperienced" or "don't have veteran leadership".
All the whine-o-saurs on this board can call this a spin, but you'll all still be there acting like you give a when the Spurs are knocking on the door to the WCF again.